Ergonomic pail lifter

FARGO, North Dakota—The Pail Partner lifter/transporter from Lift’n Buddy helps eliminate back strain from lifting and transporting heavy 5-gallon pails. The Pail Partner’s yoke securely holds a plastic or metal pail just below its rigid collar. The yoke can be easily raised or lowered as necessary to pick up stacks of up to three pails, add to or take from a stack, wheel the stack to another location, and place the pails on a floor, shelf, tailgate, etc.

The compact, ergonomic unit is the first of its kind. A full pail of paint, joint compound, food, etc., can weigh more than 50 pounds, and worker fatigue, back strain and injury can often result from carrying such pails. A traditional hand truck helps transport these heavy containers, but the user has to lift every pail to load/unload it. In contrast, the Pail Partner has a battery-powered lift that effortlessly adjusts to the appropriate height to pick and place pails.

Whether in a paint store, a manufacturing plant, or a distribution centre, its stable, 4-wheel counterbalanced design makes it easy to move pails to and from racks, pallets, countertops, paint tinters/shakers, delivery trucks, customer vehicles, etc., without interference from straddle legs found on most small powered stackers.

Ideal even for narrow retail aisles and crowded warehouses, the Pail Partner requires no more room to operate than an ordinary two-wheel hand truck and can turn a complete circle within its footprint.  The lift works equally well for case-packed goods when its hinged metal platform is flipped down over the yoke.

A pushbutton linear actuator ensures smooth lifting and lowering of the unit’s yoke/platform to minimize bending and stretching.

The Pail Partner can carry loads of up to 200 pounds and place them on surfaces up to 35 inches high. Lifting power is from a 12-volt battery with an on-board charger.