Manual hive lifter Kaptarlift® CHW

01 · GRIP

Jaws from 38 to 70 cm, a third of the way down

The FlexiGrip jaws carry a 165 × 60 mm rubber pad and adjust between 38 and 70 cm. You bring them up to the box with the fixing lever raised, close them with the clamping lever and set them a third of the way down from the top, so the hive does not tip forward as it rises. They pivot to pick up the hive on uneven ground, with up to 13° of slope according to the manufacturer, and the clamping force is adjusted with two 13 mm spanners and one 10 mm.

02 · LIFTING

Crank and chain up to 107 cm

The crank pulls the chain and raises the hive at the pace you set; at the top, the crank safety latch drops onto the cross bar so the hive cannot come down on its own. The 107 cm is measured from the ground to the fork: the bed of your trailer or van has to sit below that. Fully raised, the lifter can tip over, so always lift with it standing still and nobody underneath. The auxiliary fork carries up to 60 kg: supers, crates or jerrycans, not full drums.

03 · MAINTENANCE

Check the lever nuts after the first use

The 15 × 6.00-6 pneumatic tyres, roughly 38 cm in diameter with a 15 cm tread, sit outside the frame, run at 2 bar and do not dig into wet grass or sand; with them the lifter is 70 cm wide. The manual says to set the chain tension with an empty hive of about 15 kg, leave 1 mm of play in the lever screws and grease the chain and rail. After the first few loads, go over the lever nuts and fit lock nuts: if they work loose, the tension spring can come off.

04 · BEFORE YOU BUY

It is manual: the hauling and the lifting are down to you, and you feel it on slopes or in mud. If you move a lot of hives in a day, the electric AWD drives and lifts under power, with the same jaws and the same 100 kg limit. The rubber pads press vertically against the side walls of the box: if your boxes have handles or protruding rims right there, send us a photo with measurements before you order.

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