The Difference between Light, Medium, and Heavy Duty Casters

The Difference between Light, Medium, and Heavy Duty
Casters
There are a few important considerations when it comes to choosing the right caster for a project, and of these, capacity
is the most important. A caster’s capacity indicates the amount of weight it can support. Though others exist, the three
most common capacity categories are light, medium, and heavy duty. Here, you can learn the differences in these so you
can make better decisions.
Light Duty Casters
A light duty caster is one that has a rating for lighter loads, and it can typically support 500 pounds or so each. You will
find these on many household items and appliances, including standard furniture dollies, refrigerators, shopping carts,
the food carts and buffets, hotel luggage carts, and more. These casters are available online and in many common
bricks-and-mortar home improvement stores. Not all light-duty casters are created equally, however; some are better
built than others, and many have ergonomic features that simply cannot be duplicated.
Medium Duty Casters
A medium duty caster, then, is a caster designed to support anywhere between 500 and roughly 1500 pounds each.
These are not quite as common in household applications, but they can be found in numerous industries. For example,
the casters used in the medical industry for stretchers and hospital beds are usually medium duty, and many of the
larger trucks you see out in the neighborhood may have medium duty casters on their trailers. They are perfect for
moving heavy loads, including numerous gallons of liquid or even heavy metals like steel.
Heavy Duty Casters
Heavy duty casters can be classified as casters that support more than 1500 pounds each. Though there is no true limit
to a heavy duty caster’s capacity, the average top end capacity ranges from 15,000 to 20,000 pounds. They often have
much different features than their light and medium duty counterparts, and they are most commonly used by
government agencies like NASA and the United States Postal Service (USPS), in the aerospace and aeronautics industry,
in the automobile manufacturing industry, and in a wide variety of manufacturing facilities that move huge loads of raw
materials or finished products from one location to the next.
Extreme and Custom Casters
Of course, while most heavy duty casters have capacities that top out at 20,000 pounds or less, there are some projects
out there that simply do not understand these limitations and call for unique caster solutions. In this case, extreme and
custom casters are the solution. They are specifically engineered to provide one or more unique benefits in extreme
situations. For example, if an aerospace company needs to move the tools they use to build and finish aircraft, those
tools can weigh nearly 100 tons, or sometimes more. Fortunately, custom solutions exist to make that movement safe
and effective.
Light, medium, and heavy duty casters are the most common caster categories, and each one consists of its own unique
set of maximum capacities. They come in a wide variety of sizes and styles with benefits designed to suit various
situations, as well. However, when even the biggest heavy duty caster cannot get the job done, custom extreme casters
certainly can.