When deciding the best types of casters for your unique application, there are several important factors to consider. Choosing the right casters for your needs can be overwhelming if you’re not sure where to start. As a top New England caster distributor for more than 80 years, our industry experts know everything you need to know about casters.
Today, we’re discussing the most important factors to help you narrow down your caster search. Our mission is to help keep your business rolling through product knowledge, expert advice, and quality resources.
How to Choose the Best Types of Casters: Size & Rollability
Choosing the best types of casters comes down to understanding the wheel diameter (size of your wheel) required for your applications and your rollability needs. Will you be requiring large wheels or small wheels? When choosing your wheel diameter remember, the larger the wheel, the easier your caster will be to push or pull. Another question to consider is how will the load be pushed, manually or not?
Rollability and the ergonomics of any caster are crucial to help you avoid injuries especially if when pushing loads manually. The mounting type (hollow kingpin, grip ring stem, threaded stem, etc.), and the type of bearing you choose determines what your caster’s ergonomics and overall rollability will be.
C.P. Lauman’s featured caster brands offer a variety of bearing types to suit your caster needs, from precision ball bearings to plain bore bearings, and more. The right type of bearing allows for maximum rolling ease, quiet operation, and a maintenance-free ride. Once you narrow down how you’ll be utilizing your casters, ask yourself about material and operating conditions.
Decide the Type of Wheel Material and Operating Conditions for Your Casters
As you continue narrowing down your search for the best types of casters, you’ll need to choose your desired caster wheel material and type of caster. Our caster specialists will guide you in the right direction, but here are a few things to consider first.
- What kind of floor surfaces will your casters be used on?
- Are you planning on rolling over debris or liquid?
- Will you be rolling over soft or hard surfaces?
- Is noise a factor?
- Do you need a 360° full-range of motion?
The type of caster you’ll need refers to either a rigid or swivel caster. Rigid casters will only roll forward and backward. Choose a swivel caster if you’re looking for a full-range of motion. Also, swivel casters give you the ability to change direction more quickly than rigid casters do.
Softer wheels will roll more efficiently over hard surfaces like tile, hardwood, or laminate. On the other hand, hard wheels require less force to roll on soft surfaces like carpets. Consider a soft wheel that is quiet rolling and non-marking like performa rubber. This material offers exceptional cushion when rolling over debris. Polyurethane wheels are another option if noise is a factor and a heavier load capacity is needed. Polyurethane is also a non-marking material offering a cushioned and smooth ride over debris.
If your application requires use of water, oils or chemicals, you may need stainless steel casters. The use of stainless steel helps improve the longevity of your casters as the material is corrosion resistant. Pair stainless steel hardware with polyolefin (plastic), polyurethane, nylon or performa rubber materials for use under these working conditions as well.
For high temperature applications, phenolic or fiberglass wheels are the best choices. With the ability to withstand temperatures of 475°F (for continuous use), or up to 525°F (with intermittent use), choose phenolic materials for applications like bakeries. Now, you’ve decided how you’ll be using your casters, let’s discuss capacity.
Understanding Your Caster Load Capacities
To determine the exact wheel capacity you’ll need, think about the total weight your casters will be carrying. Use this simple calculation to figure out your caster load capacity, add the weight of your cart plus its contents. Then, divide the number of casters you will be needing.
Here are three important factors to remember when thinking about capacity. One, your capacity needs to exceed the total weight of your load. Two, your carts may not always be rolling over even surfaces. Lastly, how will you be loading your cart? The way you arrange your cart could add excess weight to your casters. So, it’s always good to have a safety factor built into your load capacity calculation.
Materials like polyurethane, iron core, molded nylon, cast iron, and aluminum are ideal for medium-heavy duty to heavy duty loads. Your application needs will fit into these medium to heavy-duty categories, if your loads are more than 500lbs. Both Albion and Darcor offer extensive selections for medium-heavy duty and heavy-duty caster needs. For lower capacity needs, consider light-duty casters made with rubber or plastic from Colson and MedCaster. View our robust caster selection from these brands and more, using the quick guide below.
A Quick Guide to Finding the Best Types of Casters
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Medical Casters
- Antistatic chrome hospital
- Chrome (FX)
- Dual wheel
- Next generation nylon
- See all medical casters
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Heavy-Duty Casters
- Albion heavy-duty kingpinless
- Albion heavy-duty kingpin
- Albion 94 & 95 series
- Darcor dual wheel
- Colson 4 series stainless steel
- See all heavy-duty casters
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Medium Heavy-Duty Casters
- Colson D4 series
- Albion 16 & 18 series
- See all medium heavy-duty casters
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Medium Duty Casters
- Colson 3 series (conductive & non-conductive)
- Darcor medium duty
- Rigid & swivel mounting options available
- See all medium duty casters
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Light-Duty Casters
- Colson 2 series
- Albion 2 series
- Darcor light duty
- Shepherd Institutional series
- See all light duty casters
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Stainless Steel Casters
- Ideal for applications in sanitation
- Hygienic
- Strong
- Durable
- Rigid & swivel mounting options available
- Various brake options available
- Colson 4 series
- See all stainless steel casters
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Low Profile Casters
- Under 4-inch height
- High capacity
- Rigid & swivel mounting options available
- Keeps products low to the ground
- Makes transportation easier & safer
- Albion & Darcor
- See all low profile casters
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Leveling Casters
- Stabilizes & keeps your equipment level
- Reduces vibration
- See all leveling casters
If you have questions, require more information, or are looking for a quote, contact us. Our caster specialist want to help you make the right decisions!
