A metal warehouse or rental warehouse has narrow aisles, high floor loads, and heavy and long loads. A conventional forklift is often redundant here: it is bulky, requires wide aisles and is not always suitable for precision work with high racks. Therefore, many managers of metal warehouses are looking at an electric stacker. New equipment is expensive, and the budget is rarely flexible, so a used electric stacker becomes a reasonable alternative - if you approach the choice consciously.
The first thing you should look at is the load capacity and lifting height. For a metal warehouse where sheets, pipes or profiles are stored on pallets, it is important that the equipment supports the declared load at the entire height of the mast, and not just at the base. The difference between the rated load capacity at the floor and at the maximum lifting height for budget models can reach 30-40%, and this is critical if metal is stored on the upper tiers of racks.
The second parameter is the state of the battery and electric motor. For used equipment, this is the main source of hidden costs. It is worth asking for the service history, date of manufacture of the battery and, if possible, a test charge-discharge cycle under load. A stacker with a worn-out battery may look good in the seller’s warehouse, but lose up to half its service life after just a couple of months of operation for two or three shift lifts.
Third - chassis type and track width. For narrow aisles between racks, and in metal warehouses they are often like this, it is worth considering a drive stacker with a small turning radius. It is more compact than a classic reach truck and easier to maintain: less electronics, fewer points of failure, which is doubly important for the used market.
A separate topic is the condition of the forks and carriage. For long rolled metal products, the length of the forks must correspond to the load, otherwise the pipe or sheet will sag and create a risk of tipping over when turning. If you plan to work with different types of containers and profiles, the Side Shift carriage speeds up the operator's work and reduces the number of small collisions with racks when positioning cargo. You can find suitable models among used electric stackers with different configurations of forks and carriages.
A typical mistake when buying used equipment is to look only at the price and appearance, forgetting about the engine hours and year of manufacture. Two identical-looking models can differ significantly in the residual life of hydraulics and electronics. A reasonable approach is to check the engine hours with the year of manufacture: if a 2016 vehicle has only 1,500 engine hours, this indicates gentle operation, while 8,000+ hours for the same model is a reason to take a closer look at the condition of the components.
The experience of companies is indicative
