Features of forklift masts
When choosing a forklift, you need to take into account many factors: will it travel outside the warehouse onto the street, is it acceptable to “stain the floors” with tires containing soot, is there room for the operator to “turn around”, what is the distance between the racks, what is the height of the ceiling – these and many other aspects are important to analyze before purchasing.
Forklift masts Actually, there are only 4 types of them
- Two-section (Duplex);
- Two-section with free movement (Duplex free lift);
- Three-section (Triplex);
- Four-section (Quardruplex).
Types of forklift masts
A mast is a telescopic system in which the load is transferred from a load-carrying carriage through support rollers or other rolling elements to the machine body.
“Complicated” description? Let’s put it simply. The mast (very vaguely) resembles a retractable ladder. It has a so-called “length range”, where FROM is the parameter when folded and DO is the maximum length of the ladder.
The principle of dividing masts into sections precisely implies the ability of a forklift to lift a load to a certain height.
Now let’s go through the types.
Two-section (Duplex)
One of the most popular types. The two-section mast has up to 20 cm of free play. After lifting the forks to a height of more than 15 – 20 cm, the loader begins to “grow” – the second section of the mast, extended by cylinders, can lift the forks up to 5 meters (depending on the modification).
Key disadvantage: the length may not be enough if you need to lift loads to a height just above the truck or container. Be sure to take this into account.
Duplex free lift
A slightly more “pumped up” version of the two-section mast. The difference with the classic Duplex is that the free lift has an additional cylinder that allows you to lift the carriage without extending the second section. A kind of “bonus” of such a mast is that the free movement height is not 20 cm, as in the first case, but already 1.5 meters! In total, Diplex FL is capable of lifting loads to a height of 3.0 meters or more.
Three-section (Triplex)
This design allows for lifting loads up to 7.5 meters! Perhaps this is one of the most optimal types of masts for warehouses with rack storage.
Four-section (Quardruplex)
A very rare type of mast that is practically never found on the market. As a rule, it is chosen due to its increased load capacity, which is up to 2.5 tons. Taking into account the massive departure of foreign brands, they are now practically impossible to find on the market. However, even if you can find them, we do not recommend giving them preference – the design requires regular maintenance, and in the absence of the necessary spare parts on the market, this can become a big problem.