Ensuring safety with air balancers
An air balancer is a safer alternative in handling heavy items as these balancers create a safer, more ergonomic operation by doing away with manual lifting and positioning and replacing it with a near-float system, where heavy loads are lifted and positioned by the balancer and not by people.
Air Balancers are typically rated for capacity at 100 psi at the device and in order to pick up 100% of your load, you must maintain this pressure. If you are receiving only 90 PSI at the device (as opposed to at the compressor), then the balancer is capable of only 90% of its capacity.
When sizing a balancer, for lifting applications, you want the maximum load to be 80% of the rated capacity of the device at 100 psi. For example, if you are lifting with the device, and your maximum load is 200 pounds, then the device needs to be rated for at least 250 pounds. If you are balancing with this device then your maximum load would be 150 pounds, again all rated at 100 psi.
The standard balancer wire rope is rated at 1,400 pounds, with a cycle rating of 250,000 cycles. To maintain safety, you should inspect the wire rope daily for any imperfections, and replace the entire rope if any are found. You must use a glove for inspection.
Air balancers use very little air at only 1/8 cfm per cycle and the Z-brake, a safety device which prevents excessive upward acceleration, is standard on all devices except the 50-pound tool balancer. All hanging points, such as at the hangers, should have safety cables in place as a safety measure on rail systems.
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