[NHCOLL-L:848] Re: compactor systems

[Janet Waddington]

We have three ranges of compactors.  All have fixed banks of cabinets
at both ends, so we do not have the problem of tripping on the stops.

Two ranges comprise a Spacesaver electric system installed in 1981. 
At the time of installation there was built in expansion space to add
two more carriages on each of the two sides of this system (two open
aisles).  Before we added the new carriages, we did have a problem
with tripping on the metal stops bolted to the tracks.  The stops had
to be removed when additional carriages were added (a problem in
itself since they had to be cut off, and there was no way to install
another one further down the track when only one new carriage was
added)  This is an extremely strong system, designed for a weight load
far greater than the floor can handle.  We did have a "near miss"
incident when a limit switch failed and the moving carriage crashed
into the fixed end bank of stacked cabinets, nearly toppling it.  This
is an AC system, so it does not brake automatically.  The carriages
roll about 12-15 inches or more after you release the button.  In
fairness, I don't think that new systems do that.  Ours is also
obsolete, so the electric components are no longer supported by
Spacesaver.

Since installation of the initial Spacesaver electric system we have
added four additional carriages, all manual.  One was built by
Spacesaver.  The other three were made by Storage-Plus Systems to ride
on the original Spacesaver tracks.  Apart from having to move the
manual carriages before the electric ones can be moved, we have had no
problems with mixing the two systems.  I would love to be able to
convert our electric carriages to manual some day.

Storage-Plus has been servicing our Spacesaver system since
Spacesaver dropped it.   They have also installed a manual system in
an awkward shaped area.  This has a very low track (we can get an
electric forklift up the rise of the raised floor).  The system is
manufactured in England and was considerably less expensive than
others we looked at.  So far, it is performing well.  Although based
in the Toronto area, Storage-Plus has installations around the world.

Things to consider:

1) As Judith Price mentioned, bear in mind how many people will be
wanting to access the collection at any given time.  Even with
separate ranges, two people inevitably want to get into different
aisles on the same side.  Our aisles are wide enough that we can have
two skinny access aisles open at once, but they will not accommodate a
ladder.
2) The manual carriages are geared so low that it takes numerous
effortless, but boring, turns to move them.  I would rather have to
expend a little effort to have them move more quickly.  It's a bit
like cycling downhill in first gear.
3) Although it is possible to move several carriages at a time with
one crank, we were told that this is not good for the mechanism and
should not be encouraged.  Check with your supplier.
4) Make sure that the system can handle the load of cabinets and
contents, but MOST IMPORTANT make sure that the floor can handle the
extra load of the compactors.  You are potentially nearly doubling the
load on the floor.  Have a structural engineer involved at the
planning stage. 
5) Both our systems (Storage-Plus and Spacesaver) do have a raised
wooden floor to accommodate the track.  This could pose a potential
breeding ground for insect pests (not a big problem with our
collection).  It also added a complication when we had a sprinkler
head fail in the collection room.  Water pooled under the raised
floor, with no way of getting at it to speed up the drying process,
and no way of knowing actually how much water was there.  Time will
tell whether we have any problem from the extended period of raised
RH.  There has been no obvious mold formation, luckily.

Storage-Plus Systems
6155 Tomken Road, Unit #2
Mississauga, Ontario 
Canada L5T 1X5
phone 905-565-9420
fax 905-565-9423

Good luck.

Janet Waddington
Palaeobiology (Invertebrate Fossils)
Royal Ontario Museum

>>> Doug Yanega <dyanega at pop.ucr.edu> 01/11/01 04:04PM >>>
Hi. We're in the initial stages of preparation of a grant to get a
manual
compactor system for our collection (of 3-4 million specimens), and
I'm
looking for manufacturer contact addresses and any
recommendation/warnings
from people who have had them installed in the last 10 years or so.
One can
only get so far simply doing web searches - and testimonials from
pleased
or displeased customers are more valuable, anyway. I've also looked
through
my list archives and haven't found much in the way of detailed
information
or compilations, though it certainly sounds like there may be a few
of you
who went through a similar process recently, and I'd be especially
interested in hearing from you. Practical advice (about "things you
learn
the hard way") is especially welcome in addition to advice regarding
manufacturers. I leave it to your discretion as to whether or not to
post
replies, though I do suspect a great many folks here are interested -
and I
can also promise (easy, given my packrattish nature) that any and all
info
I compile will be kept handy and in electronic form should anyone
else here
need the info down the line.

Thanks very much in advance,


Doug Yanega        Dept. of Entomology         Entomology Research
Museum
Univ. of California - Riverside, Riverside, CA 92521
phone: (909) 787-4315 (standard disclaimer: opinions are mine, not
UCR's)
           http://entmuseum9.ucr.edu/staff/yanega.html 
  "There are some enterprises in which a careful disorderliness
        is the true method" - Herman Melville, Moby Dick, Chap. 82