This past Saturday morning, some friends and I were invited to a party…a moving party. Most of us have had them, and most of us have likely hosted them. In fact, it’s such a popular concept that it has its own bumper sticker:
Lucky for us (and our backs), there wasn’t anything appreciably heavy – a desk and a couple of dressers were really the worst of it. As Moving Party Veterans, the relative ease of this move gave us plenty of chances to discuss the pros and cons of various equipment:
Friends’ trucks vs. Rental Truck: if the above bumper sticker doesn’t say enough about this, I’m not sure what will. Unless you’re moving from your parents’ house to your first apartment, you shouldn’t even consider the former. It’s not necessarily bad form, however, to ask your friend who shows up with a pickup truck to move, say, your lawn mower in it, so you don’t end up with gas, oil, or grass stains on your mattress.
Dolly vs. Lifting Straps: Appliance dollies are a MUST if you have a washer, dryer, chest freezer, refrigerator, etc., especially if any of those items are going up or down stairs. They’re not very handy for moving something longer like a piano, though. For that, nothing beats a good set of lifting straps. Believe it or not, you don’t have to be a body builder…two able-bodied adults can lift (and carry) quite a bit of weight with them.
Back to the truck…Ramp vs. Lift Gate: The prime consideration here, to me anyway, is the number of heavy objects, and their individual weights. Yes, a lift gate might be a little slower to run up and down all the time. You have to leave the truck’s engine running. There’s only so much you can put on the platform at a time. But if you have a piano, a gun safe, a giant marble statue (I’ve never had the pleasure of moving one, but here’s an idea: if you can afford one, you can afford to HIRE SOMEONE to move it), then the lift gate is a must, again, to me anyway.
Almost every day at EXAIR, we come across an opportunity to compare and contrast different solutions to an application. This morning, I had the pleasure of discussing a welding smoke ventilation application with a caller. He’s currently using an electrically powered blower unit, and, while it’s doing an adequate job, it’s bulky, loud, and if he runs it continuously, it’s also prone to overheating and eventual bearing failure. He’s testing out a 4” Super Air Amplifier because it addresses each of these concerns: it’s lightweight and portable, quiet, and, with no moving parts, can run continuously with no ill effects.
If you have an application that involves moving air, an EXAIR Air Amplifier may be just what you’re looking for. If you need help moving anything else, I’m busy that day…sorry!
Russ Bowman
Application Engineer
EXAIR Corporation
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