Sometimes the most difficult part of moving a heavy safe during installation or removal is in the final few feet or even inches. Issues, such as walls, carpeting, delicate flooring, surrounding cabinetry or trim, adequate manpower and generally tight conditions, can make this part of any safe move the most challenging and prone to risks that include property damage and injury. This is particularly true in residential environments where many safes ultimately are installed or moved during renovations.
Since 1982, Airsled has offered unique mobility solutions that particularly excel in confined spaces where the risk of flooring or property damage is high and bodily injury, such as back strain, is common.
Airsled products use low-pressure, air-film technology to “float” heavy objects on a cushion of air, much like a hovercraft. Airsled was the first to develop and commercialize this technology specifically to create portable, lightweight mobility solutions that run on standard 120-volt electricity, and it remains the global leader and gold standard in this field.
Airsled offers standard solutions that can lift from 450 to 4,300 pounds simply by plugging them into a household electric outlet. Custom solutions have moved loads that weigh more than 10 tons.
How It Works
The technology is simple and innovative. Each Airsled system comes with thin, rectangular aluminum air beams that are wrapped with a perforated rubber fabric. Standard air beams are one-eighths or three-sixteenths of an inch thick, depending on the Airsled model, which makes them easy to slide under countless objects.
A small air pump carried over a shoulder via a strap forces air into these air beams through connections that are pressed together. As the air beams fill with air and inflate, they generate a lifting action that causes anything resting on them to rise off the floor.
At the same time, air escapes from the bottom of the air beams through perforated rubber holes. This escaping air greatly reduces the coefficient of friction between the flooring surface and the rubber fabric, which gives you the ability to move heavy objects on your own in any direction. The load never is levitated off the ground; rather, it remains suspended by a cushion of air while you safely slide the heavy load to the desired location.
Certain conditions are required for optimal Airsled performance, such as the floor being smooth, flat, and nonporous. Floors made of wood, tile, laminate or vinyl and sealed concrete are ideal.
All Airsled systems come with four Rough Surface Adapters (RSAs). These heavy-duty plastic sheets can create a nonporous track over carpeting. However, you just as easily can use cardboard.
A video on Airsled’s YouTube channel demonstrates the step-by-step process of how an 825-pound gun safe that rests on a rug against a wall was moved. In the video, Airsled’s Dual Speed, Heavy Duty Appliance Mover model AM2400-DS, rated for 950 pounds, was used as well as RSAs and cardboard to create a track over the rug.
The video also illustrates how the air beams might have to be repositioned during the move. With safes, much of the weight is toward the front because of the door. This might require the rectangular air beams to be placed further toward the front to generate more lifting power where weight is most concentrated.
In the video, you also will notice how the safe, which sits flush on the rug, is tipped slightly to either side to place Airsled’s one-half-inch-thick spacer sticks. This produces the necessary clearance to slide the rectangular air beams under the gun safe.
About Airsled
Airsled is based in Newark, Delaware, and all products are manufactured using only domestically sourced materials and components. Airsled offers a high degree of customer service and technical support, and all standard products and accessories generally ship from our facility within 24 hours of being ordered.
For more information, contact Airsled at 66 Albe Dr., Newark, DE 19702. Telephone 800-AIRSLED (800-247-7533). Email [email protected]. Website www.airsled.com.
