Buyers looking for a freight elevator usually arrive with two numbers in mind: a size and a weight. The size is normally the car they have in mind, and the weight is the heaviest pallet they move. Both are the right place to start, and neither is what actually decides whether the lift fits the building. Four dimensions decide it, and only one of them is the car.
What a freight elevator dimension actually describes
A shaft freight elevator is described by its car size, its door opening, its shaft size and its travel. A guide rail cargo lift, which is what many warehouse and mezzanine projects actually need, is described by its platform size, its landing opening, its pit and the floor to floor height. The terms differ because the machines differ, but in both cases the numbers that matter are the ones the goods have to pass through, not the ones the platform happens to be.
The four dimensions that decide the installation
- Platform or car size. The deck the goods stand on. This has to fit the largest pallet or stillage, loaded in the direction it is handled, not the direction it was drawn in.
- Door and landing opening. The clear width and height the goods pass through at every floor. A large platform behind a narrow door is wasted, and this is the most common dimension that gets missed.
- Pit or shaft. A shaft elevator needs a deep pit and a machine room; a guide rail cargo lift needs a shallow pit or none at all. The building usually decides which of the two is possible.
- Travel height. Finished floor to finished floor, measured on site at the point where the machine stands, not scaled off a drawing.
A worked example: the 2.5 t goods lift we build most often
Our standard double guide rail cargo lift, which is the machine most customers mean when they ask for a freight elevator, is the CL5-2.5. These are its dimensions as built, and they are a useful reference point when you are checking your own building:
| Dimension | Figure |
|---|---|
| Model | CL5-2.5 |
| Rated load | 2.5 t |
| Lifting height | 5 m |
| Platform size | 1600 x 2200 mm, or 2000 x 2500 mm |
| Pit | 2200 x 2250 x 300 mm |
| Guardrail | 70 x 70 x 5 mm square pipe, 1000 mm high |
| Platform deck | 120 x 60 x 4 mm frame with a 5 mm anti-skid plate |
| Lifting speed | 4 to 5 m per minute with PLC control |
| Hydraulic cylinders | 2 x 90 x 60 |
| Power unit | 7.5 kW pump station, 380 to 400 V three phase |
| Loading direction | 180 degrees, through type |
Two of those numbers tend to surprise people. The pit is only 300 mm deep, against a metre or more for a shaft elevator, and the platform is 1600 x 2200 mm while the pit is 2200 x 2250 mm, because the pit has to clear the platform plus its frame and the guard posts.
How much capacity do you actually need?
Capacity is the total weight the platform is rated to raise, loaded reasonably evenly across the deck. Work it out from the heaviest realistic trip rather than the average one:
- The goods themselves. Weigh the heaviest pallet or stillage rather than estimating it. Loads grow over the years.
- Whatever carries them. A pallet truck left on the platform is part of the load, and so is the operator if anyone rides with the goods, which on a goods lift they should not.
- Impact. A load lowered on by a forklift is not a static load, so do not design right up to the rated figure.
- Distribution. A long or one-sided load puts more weight on one side of the platform. Tell your supplier the shape of the goods, not just the weight.
Shaft freight elevator or guide rail cargo lift
| Guide rail cargo lift | Shaft freight elevator | |
|---|---|---|
| Shaft | Not required, rails fix to floor and wall | Required |
| Pit | 300 mm, or pitless with a ramp | Deep pit, plus machine room |
| Installation | Your own team, from our drawing and manual | Specialist lift contractor |
| Carrying people | Goods only | Possible with the right certification |
| Platform size | Built to the goods, e.g. 1600 x 2200 mm | Car sizes follow shaft standards |
| Typical lead time | About 25 working days plus shipping | Longer, and building work comes first |
If your building already has a shaft, a freight elevator is the conventional answer and it can be designed to carry people with the right certification. If it does not, a guide rail cargo lift is bolted to the floor and wall, needs a 300 mm pit or a pitless ramp, and in most cases costs a fraction of the shaft installation.
What a quotation should give you
Ask for these four figures in writing, and a drawing that shows them: the platform size, the clear opening at every landing, the pit dimensions, and the floor to floor height the machine is built for. A quotation that gives only the capacity and the lifting height is not enough to check against the building, and it is where most site problems start.
Frequently asked questions
What is the standard size of a 2.5 t goods lift?
On our CL5-2.5 the platform is 1600 x 2200 mm as standard, with 2000 x 2500 mm available for bulkier goods. The pit for the smaller platform is 2200 x 2250 x 300 mm, and the guardrail is 1000 mm high in 70 x 70 x 5 mm square tube.
How deep does the pit have to be?
300 mm for the standard double guide rail cargo lift, so the deck finishes flush with the floor and goods roll straight on. That compares with a metre or more for a conventional shaft elevator. Where the floor cannot be cut, we build a pitless version with a ramp or a folding edge instead.
Can I use a lift table instead of a freight elevator?
Only if the goods do not have to change floors. A stationary lift table raises a deck by one to one and a half metres to bring goods up to a working height, and our BD series covers 0.5 t to 4 t with raised heights from 1000 mm to 1700 mm. If the goods have to reach another storey, you need a cargo lift.
Next step
Measure the platform size you need, the clear opening at each floor, the floor to floor height and the pit you can provide, and send a photograph of the position. We will return a dimensioned drawing and a price on the same document. See the double guide rail cargo lift for the full specification, or the cargo lift range for the other structures.