One of the most common attachments that forklifts come with, is forklift tines, they are the two metal lengths, hanging on the front of the forklift carriage. They are what the forklift use to be able to lift and lower loads.
Do You Have The Right Forklift Tines For Your Business ?
There is two different type of forklift tines – Hook type fork and pin forks, as with any engineered product in Australia, forklifts and their attachments need to comply with the relevant Australian Standard and Workplace legislation.
The forklift arms and attachments need to comply dimension-ally to Australian Standard 2359.11.
The minimum capacity of the forklift tines should be the sum of the specified capacities of the individual for arms or the attachments fitted to a forklift, need to be at least the total capacity shown of the rating plate for the forklift tines or attachments.
Different Lengths of Forklift Tines
It is possible to get forklift Tines that are different lengths to fit on to the same forklift.
For example a standard Class 2 – 2500 kg Forklift will come standard with a 1070 mm length of fork arm. But you can get various longer sizes, as long as they are shown on the Forklift rating plate, with the correct rating for the forklift.
Will Forklift Tines wear out ?
Overtime yes, forklift tines will wear out. Generally this is caused by lift chains that aren’t adjusted properly and operators dragging the heels of the forklift tines on the ground. Under the Australian standard, there is a 10% allowance for wear on the heal of the fork tine compared to the arm, a trained forklift technician will check these each time they service your forklift.
Using a Forklift Slipper
Sometime you might need to use a slightly longer tine to pick up a certain load, but then really need a standard length of tine the rest of the time. That’s where using a forklift slipper or fork extension can be very handy.
Fork Extension Slippers need to be designed and manufactured to be compliant with Australia 2359.15
To safely comply with current safety legislation slippers used for general usage should not be longer than 167% of the Forklift Tyne length
If the slippers are actually longer than 167%, then the usage of the slippers shall be restricted to their specified application.
What Do I Really Need for Forklift Slippers
When you’re looking for a set of forklift slippers to suit your forklift, there should be a minimum design specification that you should be looking for.
Slipper Specifications:
- Made of High Tensile Grade Steel
- Zinc Plated for added Protection (type SL painted finish)
- High Safe Working Load (SWL) Rating
- Supplied with Toggle Locking Pins
- Fitted with a Rating Plate
- Supplied with Instructions to use.
Forklift slippers and Forklift tines are sold in pairs
Before buying or hiring a forklift make sure you know what size Forklift tines you need to use for your application, getting it wrong can be costly. If your still not certain what length and size you need, make sure you know the dimensions and weight of the load you will need to be lifting and talk to you local Forklift dealer.