When searching to acquire a forklift let’s look at the many factors before you purchase
By Thomas J. Payne, Winemaking Consultant
Most hands-on winemakers praise, cherish, and respect their forklift. Maximizing the use of the winery forklift is crucial to saving labor and dollars. Try to take the labor energy and dollar savings and re-invest it into focusing on winemaking’s finer details. A great deal of thanks is owed to the forklift industry for saving our aching backs with these hugely useful tools.
Factors to Consider: Energy source, size, number of wheels, tire size and material, load capacity/size, lift height needed, fork length, options (tilt, side shift, rotating head) turf.
Energy Source: Electric is recommended for any type of indoor use. These are quiet and they do not emit carbon monoxide gases that can build to levels of toxicity in an indoor environment. Make sure the electric power source at your winery will be ample and properly configured to charge the forklift when speaking to suppliers. Propane and other fuels are only recommended in well-ventilated areas and typically outdoors.
Size: Do the best you can to get the smallest size forklift possible that will be able to handle the largest jobs anticipated. This will help conserve space in the winery by limiting the “swing room” needed to properly navigate certain areas. The smaller the turning radius, the larger amount of space that will be conserved for product storage and that equals greater return for the use of your building(s) floor space and overall utility bills. Look at doorway openings you plan to enter and exit rooms through and make sure the lift will be able to enter these areas. Look at any ceiling supports and/or free span areas to be confident the storage area can be maximized with the use of the forklift.
Number of Wheels: There are four-wheel and three-wheel models to consider. In general, it can be said the four-wheel models may have a touch more stability while balancing loads at heights. These, in my opinion, do not seem to have a swing room radius to that of a three-wheel model. The extra swing room one gets from a three model makes the three-wheel model a better choice for the small winery. Drive both types before deciding on this feature and review the overall needs before locking in on a choice.
Tire Diameter Size and Material: The size of the tires makes a major difference in terms of the terrain it may operate on. Larger tires may operate on more infirm surfaces, such as gravel dust, while smaller tires get stuck easily when driven off concrete or macadam surfaces. Pneumatic tires and solid tires are the choices but do keep in mind pneumatic tires may have less stability mostly at higher stacking heights. Most indoor winery forklifts have solid tires. The tire material will make a significant difference, especially in the cleanliness look of your winery. White tires are an option with most companies, and they leave less marking on floor surfaces if that is a concern to you and your operation. Keep in mind a forklift is often limited by even minor changes in flooring level heights so small edges, even an inch or more, in the flooring will need to be overcome if the winery has them. The tire size affects this.
Load Capacity/Size: The load capacity will range greatly with your needs. The size of the load one can lift will vary with the size and weight of the lift. Smaller wineries will want to review the following numbers at a minimum. If handling four standard 60-gallon barrels on racks one must calculate the weight to consider this will weigh approximately 2800 pounds. Then consider if your building and barrel room program is set up to stack these three, four, five and even six high while full. (Please do your own in-house calculations to generate your own numbers, review with your forklift supplier and winery safety personnel). The next potential calculation can be the bottled warehouse goods. Assuming 60 cases per pallet in standard glass one must calculate that load will be near 2600 pounds. Please remember the load size and fork length can greatly impact the height level of lift. Larger cumbersome items become unstable while smaller items keep the center of mass more manageable. [See the Rotating Head section]
Photo Credit: ForkliftTrader.com
Height: Review the above comments to understand the weight of an item factored in with the maximum height it may be stacked will influence the model forklift needed. The higher one desires to lift heavier items the heavier the actual forklift should be. Other items to consider are: Will a side shift feature exist on the lift? Does the lift have a tilt feature (most do)? How long are the forks on the lift? Has an extension to the forks been made, such a rotating head, which will affect the load capacity? These are all important considerations to keep in mind. Keep in mind that in most cases the lifting beams are triple recessed masts that extend upward one mast at a time allowing for better navigation while stacking. Again, the above-mentioned four or three wheel models will factor in greatly due to stability.
Fork Length: Look at the many variable day-to-day items one may use the forklift for at your location. Handling bins, pallets, and barrels may be the top needs for the lift. Size the forks to fit these needs both in length, width, and thickness and that the width may be adjusted between the forks. There are forklifts with thicker forks that have issues with getting into and out of certain areas. I prefer the thinnest thickness and width possible in conjunction with the best length. Most winery’s find 50-to-52-inch fork length ample ( some prefer 42 inches as well ). Double check to make sure this will manage your needs and your equipment set up. Wineries also source removable fork extensions that can be used for odd jobs and easily placed on or off the existing forks.
Options to Consider
Rotating Head: Forklifts also offer options that a winery may find useful. Make sure that if you think you will select and add an option in the future, that the unit selected will have the space or control levers present for that option and enough capacity, especially hydraulic, to run the option. The feature that comes to mind the most and perhaps is one of the best adaptations of the forklift to the winery trade, is the dumping option; they dump forward or use a 360-degree perpendicular rotating head feature. If handling fruit in bins, this feature should be highly considered. A rotating head is very practical feature for use in the winery. It also helps with other material handling such as pomace, lees filter cakes, tasting room and winery refuse etc.
Side shift as previously mentioned is a great asset in terms of stacking palletized case goods, barrels and other materials that should have uniform stacking.
When adding additional options be sure to investigate the actual load capacity of that individual option.
NOTE: In the past I have been able to obtain forklifts with both side shift and the rotating head feature. This, however, is becoming difficult to obtain directly from the manufacturer.
Other options could include a cage roof, lights, capitulating forklifts (hydraulic center swivel), and a host of other items to discuss with your sales representative.
Always keep safety in mind when having personnel operate the forklift. Make sure they have taken courses with an emphasis on safety since these units have obvious potential safety concerns.
Also to Consider
• In the humid east coast region’s summer weather, we notice considerable condensation when taking the forklift from the cooler cellar and warehouse rooms outside. There are forklifts that are made to resist condensation, resulting in electrical issues, so that feature could be explored as well with your supplier.
• Longer forks increase the swing room radius needed; make sure the rating of the floor will manage the weight of the lift as well as the items(s) carried.
• Relate the above into the PSI (pounds per square inch) per tire surface contact point and investigate your flooring.
• Watch items on the other side of what is being handled to make sure the forks do not pierce walls etc.
• Make sure loose items are secure before raising them to certain heights.
• Know when to get off the forklift and use a pallet jack, walk behind models or other means.
• Always, always, always be safe on or around a forklift.
Floor: In all cases make sure the floor load will manage the forklift PSI rating. This includes the flooring any tractor trailers may drive into. While setting up numerous wineries with engineers involved, they have always found the forklift was the single greatest psi rating issue to review when discussing the floor load ratings. As mentioned before, abrupt surface level changes of an inch and a half or more may be just enough height change to restrict a forklift from going into certain areas. Review this feature, also, in your building before selecting or sourcing a forklift. Make sure the flooring has an ample roughness to the floor, so traction is maintained. A light broom concrete finish is often ample or an epoxy with at least some aggregate. Avoid slick glazed concrete surfaces and if your winery has glazed concrete floor be especially cautious to keep it dry. These floors become very slick when wet!
As you can see, one does not just venture out and buy any forklift. Research must be done taking into consideration what one expects to do with the lift, factor in any building limitations and move forward from there. Select the smallest forklift possible that will adapt to your building and be able to do the largest job expected. The above is essential to maximize the forklift’s use for your operation, maximize your capital and keep labor costs at a minimum.
