Pyroban recently converted nine Linde T20 pallet trucks for safe operation in Zone 2 warehouses for the UK and Ireland’s largest manufacturer and distributor of professional vehicle cleaning products for trade customers.
The new fleet of explosion protected trucks replaces a fleet that was previously operating in stores.
A Zone 2 area is potentially hazardous due to the possibility of air and flammable substances mixing in the form of gas, vapour, or mist. This is generally unlikely to occur in normal operation, but if it does, it will persist for a short period of time.
The company needed to comply with ATEX and wanted to make its operators aware of a flammable release so chose Pyroban’s system6000 active gas detection for its Zone 2 materials handling applications.
system6000 combines active gas detection with various explosion protection methods. If any solvent vapour or gas is detected at 10% LEL* (propane in air), the active gas detection system gives operators a visual and audible warning, prompting them to drive away from the area and raise an alert. If the vapour levels continue to rise the trucks will automatically be brought to a controlled stop.
On these ATEX compliant Linde pallet trucks, arcing, sparking and hot components have also been risk assessed and fitted with restricted breathing enclosures to restrict the ingress of any flammable gas/vapour.
As a preferred supplier of explosion protected Linde trucks, Pyroban was the clear choice for this conversion of the 2,000-kilogram lift capacity pallet trucks, which was completed in less than six weeks.
The customer purchased the fleet of nine explosion-protected Linde ATEX pallet trucks outright, as well as some LiftMate MHLS540M – 540mm x 1150mm, stainless steel, high lift hand pallet trucks, also converted by Pyroban.
Pyroban explosion protection conversions are not only designed to eliminate the risk of ignition and heighten safety for the operation, but they are also built to be highly reliable and deliver a low cost of operation in tough environments.
From a service and maintenance perspective, active solutions are generally less invasive than passive solutions. For example, the Linde T20 pallet trucks’ pump motors now have restricted breathing Ex nR enclosures which are more cost effective than a passive Ex d explosion proof enclosure.
For more information about system600 gas detection and other explosion protection options for forklift trucks, email sales@pyroban.com or call +44 (0) 1273 456800.
