EXECUTIVE
REPORT
Alitrak advantages
Bat-Trac is marketing small battery-powered material carriers made by Alitrak. Nick Johnson suggests they have considerable hire appeal.
Whilst wheelbarrows and pull-along trolleys are cheaper to buy, small powered material carriers offer greater efficiency and reduce the risk of strained backs or muscles. There is much untapped potential for greater use of mechanised barrows and material movers and, ironically, one incentive these days must be to minimise the risk of being sued by an employee who sustains an industrial injury.
Powered by sealed gel batteries, the D-Trak D500 has a manually tipped skip.
As more manufacturers introduce small barrows and carriers, so some have been developed especially as battery powered units that provide additional ecological advantages. Alitrak, based in
Italy, has made a range of ‘environmental positive’ machines. Its walk- behind electric barrows and carriers are now available in the UK and Ireland from distributor Bat-Trac of Cheltenham.
The big feature of the 2WD Alitrak machines is that they are powered by maintenance free gel batteries, rather than the more traditional lead-acid ones. This sealed power source allows quiet operation without exhaust fumes or hazardous corrosive acids. Bat-Trac’s Colin Smith says the batteries on Alitrak units provide sufficient power for up to eight hours operation per charge. An external portable charger is used to recharge the units overnight from a 240V socket, and a 110V charger is available as an option.
Battery level indicator
It is essential that a gel battery be recharged before it is fully drained. Therefore, the Alitrak machines incorporate a battery level indicator with red warning lights and an audible alarm to alert users that they need to stop and use the charger.
In the Alitrak range, the D-Trak 500 model is basically an electrically powered wheelbarrow. The machine is powered by two 60Ah batteries and its slim width of 775mm means that it can easily be driven through standard doorways. It has a manual tip, dumper style skip that can carry 500kg on level ground and 400kg on slopes up to 20%. The machine has two main driving wheels and a non-powered swivelling rear castor wheel that aids tight turns. The design allows
loads such as soil and rubble to be shifted easily at speeds of up to 5km/h in forward mode and 2.5km/h in reverse.
Whilst the drive configuration of the D-Trak 500 does not provide as much traction as some more established 4WD micro dumpers, it does, as I discovered on site, cope surprisingly well when travelling up slopes and over loose material. Fitting turf tyres is an option and this little motorised barrow can also score on grass, as it potentially causes less surface damage than a 4WD skid steer machine. The controls are simple and easy to master. There is a deadman’s lever on the left handle and a twist grip speed control on the right handle. Forward or reverse travel is chosen by means of a lever below the right handle and there are illuminated arrows on the display console to show the direction selected.
Slide-out panels
Bat-Trac is also promoting the 500kg maximum capacity, front wheel drive D-Trak 500L carrier, which has two non-powered, free swivelling castor wheels at the back. This arrangement is not quite as easy to steer as the D-Trak 500 with its single rear castor wheel. The 775mm- wide D-Trak 500L can be supplied with a flat bed body complete with slide-out front and side panels to facilitate the movement of more bulky loads (including poles, which can be carried longitudinally along each side). This arrangement lends itself for use in applications such as landscaping, garden centres and stables where there is the need to move fence posts or the poles for horse jumps.
Colin Smith reports increasing interest in the machines from hire companies, landscapers, garden centres and small builders who are seeking a green machine to move materials quietly and efficiently. He is keen to talk to regional hire companies that could add the units to their fleets, and/or become part of a national sales network.
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Bat-Trac reports increasing interest from hirers, garden centres and small builders.
01452 558231 www.bat-trac.com
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