Custom Equipment Lifts’ brand new Hy-Brid HB-1230 compact scissor lift is quick, agile, and light on the ground, yet strong enough to tackle tough jobs and durable enough to hold up over the long haul.
Custom Equipment founder and president Steve Kissinger says those characteristics apply to every model in Custom Equipment’s product line. “Hy-Brid lifts are tough, rugged, general-use lifts, not just niche tools.” As evidence, Kissinger cites Hy-Brid lifts that are still going strong in rental fleets after nine years of steady work.
Since premiering a prototype HB-1230 last February, Custom Equipment has field tested machines, fine-tuned details, and is now beginning full production.
HB-1230 competes with 12-ft. mast lifts
Though designed to work in all kinds of applications, the HB-1230 scissor lift is also built to compete for work previously done by 12-ft. mast lifts.
“The Hy-Brid HB-1230 scissor lift has about the same compact footprint as a 12-ft. mast lift, but it weighs 100 to 300 lbs. less than all but one of them,” says Custom Equipment marketing director Justin Kissinger. “Also, the HB-1230 offers higher capacity, a longer working platform, the ability to support two people, and many other advantages.”
Comparing published data shows that the HB-1230 weighs about 1,600 lb., versus 1,700 to 1,900 lb. for the other machines. Also, the HB-1230 offers the same 12-ft. platform height as most mast lifts in the class, while its 550-lb. platform capacity is about 10% more.
Although the HB-1230’s 25.5-in. platform is 1.5 in. to 4.5 in. narrower than those of competing mast lifts, its 55-in. platform length is 5.5 in. to 15 in. longer, and its slide-out deck extends the platform’s length by 30 in., compared with 17 in. to 20 in. for the mast-lifts’ deck extensions.
Light, nimble, and powerful
Just 30 in. wide, 55 in. long, and 64.5 in. tall with the platform stowed, the HB-1230 fits through a standard single doorway and into most elevators.
The two electric motors that drive the rear wheels provide plenty of power while weighing significantly less than a hydraulic travel system. The 12-in. diameter rear wheels roll easily over cracks and obstacles, and their rubber faces deliver excellent traction and minimize impact on flooring.
The HB-1230 can travel at 3.0 mph with the platform stowed, 0.5 mph with the platform raised, and climb a 30% grade with the platform in either position. Automatic pothole protection comes standard.
The two pairs of 8-in. diameter front (steering) wheels can swivel 360° and the rear wheels can counter-rotate, enabling zero-degree turning radius capability.
The single, fully-proportional, orbital joystick control lever responds quickly and accurately for precise operation. To steer, the operator simply moves the control lever in the direction he or she wants to go. The farther the lever is moved, the faster the lift travels. The deadman switch is built into the joystick, and a selector switch on the control box lets the same joystick operate travel or platform operation.
Stacking up features and performance
The HB-1230 uses the same proven scissor design as other Hy-Brid lifts, including Teflon bushings that work a lifetime without maintenance.
“A scissor lift is inherently rigid and reliable,” says Justin Kissinger. “It supports both sides of the platform and always has four points of contact with both the platform and base.”
To help reduce step-in height to just 20 in. and lower the HB-1230’s center of gravity, Custom Equipment mounted the scissor stack lower in the base.
A battery-powered hydraulic pump and single cylinder extend the stack to raise the platform. The platform can rise from stowed to full height in just 19 seconds and descend from full height to stowed position in 12. Because platform elevation is the machine’s only hydraulic function, the pump and reservoir are smaller and lighter than on lifts which also travel on hydraulic power.
The HB-1230 runs on two maintenance-free 12V AGM deep-cycle batteries, a system that costs and weighs less than using four 6-volt batteries. Justin Kissinger says that the maintenance-free AGM batteries also cost less in the long run than using two 12V we batteries by eliminating service calls and premature replacement caused by poor maintenance.
Justin Kissinger sums up, “The HB-1230 is the first 12-ft. scissor lift that offers light floor loading and two-person capacity in a tight-space machine. Add its ability to also work in all kinds of rugged applications and you have a real winner.”
Lift & Access is part of the Catalyst Communications Network publication family.
