"Ignoramus8802" wrote in message
...
On 2011-11-04, Steve B wrote:

"Steve W." wrote in message
...
Ignoramus8802 wrote:
I am thinking, that when the forklift holds a weight on the forks, the
pressure in the main lift cylinder should be a linear function of
weight:

P = A + B * W

Does anyone make a product or some such that I can hook into the
hydraulic line somehow, that would tell me the pressure and the weight
of the item being lifted?

i

Sure, most lift companies sell them. They are a calibrated gauge that
attaches to the lift side of the ram. You pick the item up. Release the
handle and the gauge reads out the weight in pounds/kilos. The
mechanical
ones work OK but they are hard to read sometimes.
I like the electronic versions.

Electronic versions with a pressure transducer.
http://www.americanforkliftscales.com/
http://www.materialshandlingequipmen.../weight-guage/
http://www.forkliftscales.us/


The ones we used at conventions had a little printer that would print out
a
tape of serial lifts. Not very complicated, and I believe wouldn't be
very
expensive. They were the very old pin printers, and you'd hit PRINT and
it
would sound like chicken scratching, then spit out a ticket as wide as a
cash register tape. The unit was four by four by six inches. Digital
weight readout.

They're out there, they ain't expensive, just find one.

Steve



Thanks guys.Those things seem to be expensive.

I am thinking about something simple, such as installing a pressure
gauge on the hydraulic line that lifts the main ram, mounting it where
it is convenient to see. I would then attach a little card with a
table of how pressures match weights, next to the gauge.

If I want to be fancy, I can install an electronic gauge.

That should work pretty easily, no?

i

I am not sure how those hydraulic systems work, but a regular pressure gauge
in a line that goes to the tines after the gate should show an increase in
pressure with a load in place. That could be calibrated, even tared with an
adjustable zeroable dial, and with some test loads of known weight, a
somewhat accurate calibration could be accomplished. If that could be done,
you could do it very inexpensively. Of course, it would not be "legal and
usable for trade", but it might give you results that were close enough for
what you're doing. Depends on the degree of accuracy you need, and if you
are going to use it to weigh important things that HAVE to be right, not
just close.

ebay? craigslist? newsgroup? A guy like you should be able to pick up a
used one inexpensively.

Steve