Filling Niche Opportunities
The new Genie GS-3232 pulls 90% of its parts from existing products.
February 7, 2007 • Development of the new 32-foot-tall GS-3232 scissor lift, manufactured by Genie Industries,
Ninety percent of the parts used on the new GS-3232 are pulled from existing products. The 500-pound capacity platform and chassis are common to the GS-2032 and GS-2632, and the links, or scissor, stack is borrowed from the GS-3246. The operating system is common to both products. However, the GS-3232 incorporates a new automatic-leveling hydraulic outrigger system. This 32-inch wide machine can not only pass through a standard doorway, but the self-leveling system also enables it to work on sloped floors.
Staging stability
Although Genie calls them outriggers, they actually are fitted inside the frame, just to the rear of each wheel.
It is important to point out that while Genie calls them hydraulic outriggers, they actually do not protrude outside the frame of the machine. As you can see in the image above, they are fitted just to the rear of each of the four wheels. Since they do not stick out, they would be more appropriately called downriggers.
Operating the automatic-leveling system is fairly simple. Starting with the downriggers in the stowed position, the operator sets them in place by utilizing the secondary panel that has been added to a standard control box, which is the same as those found on all electric GS models. At the same time the operator sets the downriggers in place, the self-leveling system signals that the unit is level. Once the four status LEDs • located on the extra panel • are lit green, the deck can be raised.
Operators set the outriggers via a secondary panel on the control box.
A key part of the automatic-leveling system is the pressure transducer. Used in place of a limit switch, the pressure transducer inside the hydraulic system senses the pressure on the non-marking pads added to the downriggers. Until pressure is sensed on each one, the transducer will not allow the machine to elevate.
The GS-3232's self-leveling outrigger system works on slopes of 5° side-to-side and 3° front-to-back. The ability to work on an uneven floor opens the machines up for a wide variety of applications, including movie theaters, churches, and virtually any other area where the floor is sloped for drainage.
Machine operation
It is important to make sure the machine is in the proper location before elevating. If the platform is not at the correct work point when elevated, then the operator will have to return all the way to the stowed position and retract the outriggers before repositioning the lift.
With the downriggers fully retracted, the 5,100-pound GS-3232 can be driven with the platform elevated up to 22 feet. Other key points are the 25 percent gradeability, which is excellent for a machine this size and weight, and the 30 percent outrigger approach angle. As with all other GS products, the inside turning radius is zero.
Users may expect a scissor lift this narrow and goes up to 32 feet to be a little on the wobbly side • but it isn't. Most likely, this is due to the fact that the scissor stack was originally designed for the wider GS-3246. Stability could also be attributed to the rigid base that the four-point downriggers provide.
Added features
Some key accessories and options are a platform laser light, which helps to line the platform up with overhead work, an 800-watt inverter, dual flashing beacon, motion alarm, power and airlines to the platform, and platform work lights. Pricing is expected to be about $700 to $900 more than the wider GS-3246, which does not incorporate the automatic-leveling outrigger system.
