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BLUE GIANT
'FHC' VS. KELLEY 'FX'
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| Manufacturers
of hybrid dock levelers including air bag design claim that they are better than
mechanical dock levelers and less expensive than hydraulic models. In reality,
they are power assisted mechanical dock levelers that do not offer all the features
that a customer can gain with conventional industry proven hydraulic dock levelers. |
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BLUE GIANT
FHC
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KELLEY FX
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| Hydraulic
lip = reliability and no maintenance |
Mechanical
lip = regular maintenance and cost |
| Rear hinge
has 7 support points full width |
Rear hinge
has only 4 support points, partial width |
| Quiet and
fast (up to 1.5 times faster) cycle times |
Full inflation
before operating = more time |
| Capacities
up to 30,000 lbs and up to 80,000 lbs with 'FHC' |
Capacities
up to 50,000 lbs only |
| Formed
box beam deck support with approximately 20 times greater under deck area support
coverage |
Formed
tube beam deck support with "flex" design |
| Easy access
and clear visual inspection under deck |
Maintenance
hindered due to air bag location |
| Available
in all common voltages |
115 voltage
only; requires 10 amp dedicated line |
| Push-button
activated lip control - no extra time wasted, no operator bending over for below
floor level trailers |
Manual
chain release activation by attendant required for each below level cycle |
| Hydraulic
fall safe protection maximum of 3" drop |
Mechanical
fall safe protection up to 12" drop |
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'FX' Comparison
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| The most significant
structural design aspects for all dock levelers are the amount or type of deck
support (total width of supporting beams Vs. total width of deck) and how the
dock moves to accommodate tilted truck beds. In addition to design parameters,
the two primary operating functions of any dock leveler are to raise the deck
and extend the lip. Functionally the air bag lifts only the deck, NOT the lip.
The 'FX' lip is extended by a mechanical linkage system as mechanically operated
dock levelers. The BLUE GIANT fully hydraulic system lifts the deck and extends
the lip with separate hydraulic cylinders. Therefore the customer is only receiving
50% powered automatic operation compared to BLUE GIANT fully automatic operation. |
