Trolley lifts

Trolley lifts are a specialised kind of lift used in the industrial and retail sectors. They are used to move goods of various kinds between floors, often on a pallet carried on a hand controlled lift trolley. Trolley lifts are not designed for carrying personnel, and because of this the legislation that governs their protection and their safety is somewhat more relaxed than for lifts that carry people.

Trolley lifts are similar to small goods lifts, However, as goods lifts are generally powered by a three-phase electric motor, trolley lifts because they can often be smaller than goods lifts, can in some cases be powered by a single phase electric motor. Trolley lifts are top driven. This means that the motive force is housed at the top of the lift structure. The lifting power is achieved through the use of either an electric chain or a traction drive system.

The trolley lift is usually a self-supporting structure made of galvanised steel that can be clad to the client’s specifications to provide an aesthetically please effect that can blend in with the lift’s immediate surroundings. On site erection makes this kind of lift an easy one to build and maintain. being able to assemble the lift structure in situ means that heavy lifting devices are not required.

This also means that the disruption to normal working practices can be greatly minimised. This has an obvious bearing on time and money savings as well. There is no separate room needed for the lift motor. This is a self-contained structural unit that has all it needs within its structure. There is no need also for a bottom pit, though without a shallow depth pit there may be a need for a ramp to lift goods up the 150 millimetres or so in order to enter the lift door.

Conventional lifts usually require a load bearing shaft for structural safety. because the trolley lift is contained within its own structure, this is not needed. This represents a considerable saving in building time, work disruption and overall costs, making the addition of a trolley lift for any company something well worth considering.

Because trolley lifts carry goods unsupervised, they are usually fitted with safety features to protect the goods while in motion. However, this can often be a feature that is added at the customer’s discretion and is not strictly required.

Where a goods lift is too large and a service lift is too small, the trolley lift can be the “Goldilocks” solution of being “just right.”