There is nothing more annoying than installing the perfect casters onto your chair, cart or furniture only to find that you need to immediately remove them. The casters may look fantastic and even roll and function well, but if they are going to ruin your floors then they need to go! Replacing a floor is a much harder and more expensive proposition than just replacing the casters. However, this problem need never have happened in the first place.
At Douglas Equipment our dedicated service team is trained to ask the right questions when helping you choose the right casters for your unique needs. In this process one of the most important pieces of information we gather is the type of flooring that the caster will be used on. We know from experience that customers don’t want to pay for a caster that is going to mark or ruin a floor, and we safeguard against this with you.
Tile and Hardwood: Softer Treads for Hard Floors
Using a hard tread on a tile or hardwood floor can be the biggest cause of damage. The tile can become a white, powdery residue that shows up on the caster wheels that is actually ground tile sticking to the treads. It may also be possible to see the particulate matter on the floor when a hard floor chews up a nylon wheel. This can produce a residue that is not easily cleaned.
Even when the flooring is not extensively damaged it can be easily marked by a poor quality caster, which seizes and stops the wheel from rolling. This can leave unsightly markings from extremely soft tread materials onto a harder floor like concrete. Wheel materials that work well on tile include polypropelene, polyolefin, soft rubber, nylon or urethane, and these will keep your tile floor looking undamaged and bright.
Trust the professionals and find the right quality casters with the best wheel material for your flooring.
- Albion 01 Series: A light-duty caster, which is Albion’s best-selling model. These versatile casters are designed to be ideal for use in electronics, business machines, food manufacturing, construction, education, plastics/rubber manufacturing and health care machinery. The units are designed with a single ball-bearing raceway to keep the swivel section rotating smoothly, even under the load weight. The Polypropylene wheels are 2 – 4 inches in diameter, so they work well on hard tiled floors without causing damage to the tiles.
- Shepherd Soft Tread Ball: Similar in design to the Shepherd Metal Tread Ball, this caster provides a classic design that looks good on all sorts of office furnishings. The soft tread ball comes in finishes of Bright Brass, Windsor Antique, Satin Chrome, Bright Chrome and Unfinished. They can hold dynamic loads ranging from 40 – 100 lbs., and they include a rubber tread material on the metal ball that is good for use on hard tile floors without causing damage.
Carpet Casters: Not Just Anything Will Do
When you are looking for casters that will function ideally on carpet, you want to find something that will not mark up the fabric, such as a soft rubber. While soft wheel materials may not damage the carpet itself, they are likely to have less than smooth rolling and function, which can cause problems.
If you are moving your casters over a deep shag, you also need to think about a material that can move in this environment easily. Lower quality casters can have problems becoming seized by long carpet threads that can lead to further problems. This is why we recommend only the high quality casters that can withstand these environments.
- Shepherd Baron Series: With double ball bearing raceways for smooth motion, these casters from Shepherd are ideal for fixtures, furniture, office equipment and medical equipment. The 2″ model have a hard black spherical nylon wheel, that is ideally suited for negotiating on carpet of all heights, including deep shag carpets. The caster raceways are heat treated for superior wear resistance. For a stylish look, the finishing options are Metalized Brass, Bright Chrome, and Windsor Antique
- Shepherd Metal Tread Ball: These casters have an all metal swivel design, and are available in three caster sizes that can take dynamic load capacities from 40 – 100 lbs. per caster. Many office furnishings can be found with this classic caster design, with the choice of three very pleasing finishes including Bright Brass, Bright Chrome and Windsor Antique. While these hard metal wheels would pose serious problems for tile flooring they are ideal for carpeted areas.
Top Quality Service when Choosing Casters
One thing that is priceless when you are choosing the right casters is the top of the line service you get from the knowledgeable service professionals at Douglas Equipment. Douglas Equipment has been in the business of quality casters and material handling equipment since 1955 and we have learned a thing or two about helping our customers find the right tool to perform their unique task perfectly the first time.
With our wholesale pricing, we can save you money on your caster. We can have your casters shipped right away at a price that is lower than retail. From our location in Miami we have the ability to easily ship to the entire United States, South America and the Caribbean. We are confident that we can help you find the right type of caster at a price that is affordable.
So why not contact us now to find out more about our quality service that sets us apart from the competition? We can be contacted online and one of our team members will get back to you as soon as possible. If you are local to South Florida you can also call us at 305-888-3700, and national customers can call us toll free at 1-800-451-0030. We are waiting to serve you now.
