All you need to know about lift cars.

Car Sizes

Floor Plan

Table 1.1 of EN81 lays down a relationship between floor area and contract load.

You can lower the capacity of the car and keep a high floor area, but since the rules (EN81-2, 8.2.2.3) still require the equipment to tested to the higher value load (table 1.1), Clients may well have the full value.

Generally, the Self storage industry, uses 2m wide x 2m deep working area cars, providing a contract load of 2,000 Kgs.

Larger operations prefer a 2.4m x 2.4m working car (3000Kgs)

Other go for the American layout of 3m deep x 1.8m wide (2,750 Kgs) and sometimes have reduced door openings of 1400 or 1200 wide. The narrower doors require front wall returns which can give rise to trolly damage.

Ceiling

The ceiling height can be supplied from 2050mm up to 2350mm. DeSeM Liftmasters normally are supplied with ceilings in White (fire rated skin plate) or Galvanized finish where vandal resistance is requested. Recessed lighting provides for less damage.to the light units.

Car ceilings can be designed with a rear "Top Hat" section or even a "Pregnant roof" to allow for long lightweight objects like curtain poles to be transported in the car without stress.

Higher ceilings are achievable but increase the lifts headroom requirements (see hearoom below)

Walls

Wall finishes are what aestheticallty makes a lift car. Galvanized planks are the traditional low cost maintainence free finish. Skin plate planks in a standard range of RAL colours are used by those who wish to protray the corporate image.

Doors

Where possible doors should give maximum openings widths and heights as possible.Heights are offered from 2000 to 2500mm., Widths available start from 800mm to 5000mm.Where the car is wider than the door the car requires front wall returns which can suffer considerable trolley damage.

Doors can be manually operated or can be automatic. Your choice is critical to the manufacture cost and to the ongoing maintenance costs of call-outs and repairs.

Manual Doors

The beauty of Manual shutter doors we use, is that they are specially designed for our lifts and are virtually breakdown free with extrememly low maintaince. The doors can be supplied powder coated in a choice of RAL colours which does not effect their 2 hour or 4 hour fire rating.Manual doors also allow exceptionally low floor to floor dimensions (2350mm min for a 2 000 clear opening height door).

The use of manaul doors considerably reduces the overall shaft width due to their low parking volume.

Automatic Doors

Auto doors help with presentation but can generate high call-outs and increased maintenance costs. If they have clear opening equal to the car width they considerably increase the shaft width but reduce door panel trolley damage. Auto Door openings narrower than the car width require entrance wall returns which can give rise to trolly damage.

Autodoors are a necessity where your lift has to be disabled compliant (DDA 2004). Auto doors also demand much higher floor to floor dimensions (2650mm for 2000mm clear opening height). DeSeM auto doors come with full height light curtain protection (can see child's reigns) and can also be supplied 3D to detect arriving traffic (not recommended where passing traffic occurs).

Shutter Doors

Galvanised finish

and powder coated in RAL 3012

AUTOMATIC DOORS

Floors

The choice of floor surfaces and finishes.

Mild steel Chequer plate galvanized finish or painted "Dove Grey" or "Red Oxide" (budget cost). Stainless Steel chequer in bright (S & D) or Diamond surface stainless steel (high value) or Alumimium (S & D) admirality quality with 40mm wood backing (not for wet environments) or mild steel flat plate painted grip face or finished in any industrial carpet or tile finish.

Dados, buffer rails and between !

DeSeM Lift-Master cars normally come with 2 runs of 150mm tall Dado rail options of soft or hardwood, varnished or painted (including black) The lower dado rail is 50mm up from the floor to allow unhindered brushing of the car floor.

Between the two runs the wall space can be fitted with Alum diamond plate or MOD tank quality 1 piece black chequer rubber matting trimmed with stainless steel.

Headroom

Lift headroom is the distance from the last upper floor level visited measured up to the first obstacle with in the shaft area. The void generated above the car by the headroom is the work area (PUWER regs) for the required maintenance to be carried out from the car top. The regulations are designed to ensure no one is crushed when the car over travels the top floor.The dimension generally required is 3.8m. In the self storage industry "mansards" are often built in to the building roof to accommodated this "headroom" requirement. - remember although you may only want a "car" travelling from floor to floor but the regulations require it to be an "open top double decker bus".

DeSeM Lift-Master standard headroom is trimmed down to 3800mm.