You may need to have quiet casters for many reasons. For example, you may require them for use in a hospital where you do not want to disturb patients or in a quiet office where you do not want to disrupt the thoughts of employees.
Be aware that choosing casters for hardwood floors can be especially tricky. There are two things in particular you should look out for when narrowing down your casters: you will want to ensure that the caster is acceptable for hardwood floors so it will not mark or damage the flooring, and you will want to make sure that the caster will work quietly.
When deciding on the right wheels for hardwood floors, you want to ensure it has a soft surface that will not mark, scratch or dent the hardwood. The best choices include soft rubber, polyurethane, neoprene or mold-on rubber wheels. For a quieter caster, you will want to consider something with precision-sealed ball bearings or annular ball bearings, as these products offer some of the quietest caster functionality around.
How Hard is it to Find a Quiet Caster for Hardwood Floors?
This may sound like a daunting task, but there are many casters offered that can fulfill this function and request. Douglas Equipment has partnered with many different caster manufacturers to ensure that we have a large selection available to suit your needs. Here are a few casters from some of our many suppliers that are great for hardwood flooring and provide quiet motion:
- Albion MedCaster NeoTeq Casters: This series of casters is designed to provide your equipment with a smooth, quiet roll. With a bright chrome finish, matching chrome thread guards for the wheels and non-marking soft-neoprene, these casters look great and will protect a hardwood floor. The dual ball swivel raceways provide added strength and precision ball bearings create easier rolling. The upper raceway is sealed to prevent dirt and dust build up and brakes are available. Wheel diameter is 3” and load capacities are 175 pounds.
- Colson Series 2 Casters with ThermoTech Wheels: These wheels provide quiet rolling and non-marking floor protection and they can handle the heat. The series 2 caster comes with a zinc plated finish that is attractive and durable, full double ball bearing raceways for better performance and greater durability. ‘Colson 45’ multi-temp grease lubricates in extreme hot and cold temperatures for greater convenience and long life. Wheel sizes range from 2 ½” to 5” with load capacities from 125 pounds to 325 pounds.
- Faultless Series G400 (Threaded Stem Casters): These threaded stem casters offer smooth, quiet swiveling made possible by double ball bearing construction. The threaded stem is useful in applications such as grocery carts, brackets, plugs, legs, etc. The casters come with a corrosion resistant zinc finish for exceptional resistance to wear. Wheel options suitable for wood floors are soft rubber and Dyna-Tred TPR. Wheel diameters available range from 3” to 5” and caster load capacities range from 175 pounds to 325 pounds per caster.
- Hamilton Forged Steel Dual Wheel Casters: These extra heavy duty casters can come with Poly-Soft wheels with a liquid cast 85A polyurethane tread chemically bonded on iron that is quieter, easy rolling and debris resistant. Forged steel dual wheels are built on the proven and reliable heavy service and extra heavy-duty swivel platforms that offer lots of flexibility. Bearing options are precision ball bearings, precision tapered roller bearings or straight roller bearings which each provides different benefits. Wheel sizes are 4” to 12” with load capacities of 1200 pounds to 5600 pounds with the Poly-Soft wheels.
- Jarvis B13 Swivel and J23 Rigid Casters with Triton Wheels: These polyolefin wheels are suited for use on carpet, brick, concrete, linoleum, terrazzo, wood, smooth steel and ribbed steel. The wheels will operate well even when exposed to water, steam, mild chemicals, oil & grease, extreme cold and animal fats. Wheel diameter is 6” with roller bearings. Wheels can withstand temperatures form -20F to 180F and have load capacity up to 1250 pounds.
- Rhombus Innovation 399 Caster: This high grade, centrally locked bed caster includes a new integrated wheel lock and is a winner of the Red dot design award. There are various colors available on these hygiene-friendly, corrosion-free, aluminum die-cast housings. The casters are even designed to be suitable for cleaning in disinfecting cabinets. Load capacity is 150 kg.
- Shepherd Omega with MonoTech wheels: The shepherd Omega series of caster have fully heat treated precision ball bearing wheels for smooth, quiet and easy roll-ability. With high luster chrome or black finish these casters look as great as they perform. The MonoTech Donut or Flat wheels provide ultimate floor protection and a quiet, cushioned ride. These wheels roll over obstacles with ease, will not flat spot, are excellent on any floor type and, reject floor debris including metal shavings and glass. Wheel diameters available are 3” with load capacity of 110 for the MonoTech wheels.
Douglas Equipment: For Answers to Any Special Caster Need
If you have any special requirements — like quiet casters for hardwood floors — the team at Douglas Equipment knows the right product to recommend. Douglas Equipment has been in the business of quality casters and material handling equipment since 1955 and in this time our dedicated service professionals have learned a lot about which caster products are suitable for different applications. We are confident that we can help you find the right type of caster at a price that is within your budget.
If you are local to South Florida call us today at 305-888-3700, and national customers can call us toll free at 800-451-0030. From our location in Miami we can easily service the entire United States, and we can also quickly ship products to South America and the Caribbean as well. If you would prefer we can also be contacted online and one of our service members will respond as soon as possible. Our team is ready for you when you need casters that are extremely quiet and will not harm your hardwood flooring.
