OZ Lifting launches spark resistant range

OZ Lifting has launched two spark resistant products – a chain hoist and push beam trolley –  – both available from 0.5USt to 10USt capacity.

The Minnesota, USA-based manufacturer has targeted the products at applications where there are gas or dust particles that could create a spark. Typical markets include oil and gas, wastewater, paper, mining, and others where an explosive atmosphere exists.

The products are launched as a complete capacity range – 0.5, 1, 2, 3, 5,  and 10USt – that covers most likely applications. As with other manual chain hoists in the catalogue, 10, 15, 20, and 30ft heights of lift are offered as standard, but custom lengths are available on request. All chain hoists and push beam trolleys are painted white, but distributors and end users might re-colour them to suit protocols at specific facilities.

Steve Napieralski, president at OZ Lifting, says,“The products go hand in hand. We saw a need in the market for spark resistant manual chain hoists, and if you are going to offer them, you typically will be hanging the equipment from a trolley that also needs to be spark resistant. However, the products can work independently of each other. You might have a situation where the manual chain hoist doesn’t need to travel down an I-beam and is fixed in one location. And the trolley can accommodate either one of our manual spark resistant hoists or one that is powered.”

Potentially explosive atmospheres exist in many areas of industry. These explosive zones carry extremely strict guidelines and equipment requirements that standard catalogue items cannot meet.

Both the new chain hoists and trolleys are manufactured in compliance with the EU’s explosion-proof standard ATEX94/9/EC and Machinery Directive 2006/42/EC. They can operate at explosion levels EX II2 GD c IIIC T135 C and are suitable for use in Zones 1 and 2 (gas) as well as Zones 21 and 22 (dust). The term “explosion proof” usually applies to electric-driven products, versus ‘spark resistant’ for those operated mechanically, as Napieralski reiterated.

Key features of the hoists include unique hand wheel design; minimal load lifting effort; fully enclosed gearing; stainless steel or copper components; totally enclosed gearing; and suitability to lifting and pulling applications. The push beam trolleys, meanwhile, boast copper-plated trolley wheels and lifting bale; copper riveted identification tags; precision ball bearing trolley wheels; anti-drop plate; and compatibility with most I, S, and W-beams. Both products come with individual test certificate and serial number.

OZ Lifting will show its full range of davit cranes, hoists, and lifting components at MODEX 2022 (Booth B2926) on 28-31 March at Atlanta’s Georgia World Congress Center.