The weight range of balancers is determined by the weight of the tool or object being suspended. For example, if you are looking to balance a 15 lb tool in an application where heavy abuse may occur, you would want to use the 20EA over the BF18. The weight ranges are similar for both. The BF18 has a range of 13-18 lbs and the 20EA has a range of 12-20 lbs. Due to the severe service of the application, the 20EA has a cast aluminum housing and cover compared with the plastic composite housing of the BF series. For this example the 20EA would be the balancer of choice.

A true balancer allows the user to move the suspended tool or object up or down with very little effort. A balancer is able to achieve a true balance at any position within the active cable travel. A retractor is designed to retract the cable or tool out of the way of the worker. A light amount of force is needed to keep the object suspended at the desired position.

Severe service balancers are perfect for the support of production tools in demanding applications. They should be used when balancers are banging against each other or fixed objects. Severe service balancers have cast aluminum housing and covering that provide added strength.

A balancer, unlike a hoist, has a constant pulling force to equal the weight of the tool. If a load is disconnected then one must hold on to the cable. This is very dangerous, especially on some of the larger balancers. One could use the manual drum when changing tools(loads) but it is not intended for frequent engaging. The main purpose of a balancer is to be connected to a constant load, a tool, and to facilitate its handling.

The bullard hook offers several advantages. First it makes the unit easy to remove and replace. The standard mounting uses a shackle with bolt and nut. To safely remove and install it may require 2 people. With the bullard the balancer is simply hooked into place and gate is then locked. A simple one-person operation. The lower bullard offers a more rugged hook with a positive locking gate. In especially severe applications it may provide greater security against accidental unhooking.

No, but we have other balancers that have the same weight capacity. Please see the RB and RF Retractors in the interactive catalog.