Advantages of Bisalloy or Hardox 450-Grade Hooklift Bins
It may be time to consider 450-grade wear plate for your next hooklift bins.
Having trouble bending, breaking, or wearing bins out too soon? Sick of spending money on bins only to constantly repair bent top rails and wall punctures?
With around double the tensile strength and wear resistance of 250-grade mild steel, 450-grade quenched and tempered plate, Hardox or Bisalloy (as they’re commonly referred to) are viable upgrades for high-impact or high-wear situations.
Demolition recyclables like concrete and bricks can be a real killer for mild steel hooklift bins, especially when loaded by an overzealous operator. Large dents and puncture holes are common problems, along with the constant abrasion from dumping masonry productions, which simply wears the mild steel away.
Another application for the 450-grade plate is in transfer station bins, especially when they are being hauled long distances to the dumping site. In these cases, maximising net load weights can be critical to the success of the contract. This often results in bins being packed hard with an excavator. Again, this quickly results in dents and holes, when mild steel bins are used. Over the term of a 3- or 5-year contract, the maintenance costs often far outweigh the initial extra cost of upgrading to Hardox or Bisalloy.
Not all “Hardox bins” are the same either. Some are made with just Hardox walls, with floor and door sheets supported by RHS sections. Others include folded Hardox wall top sections, front beam, and rear columns, like the bin in this photo.
There are several videos online, like this one that shows the amazing flexibility of a 450-grade wall sheet and top rail combination (skip to about half way through for the really impressive footage.)
RHS does not have the same ability to give under impact and spring back into place, and it therefore limits the advantages of Hardox wall sheets when they are paired with RHS top rails. Also, since they are the most likely to be hit by an ill-directed loader, upgrading to Hardox 450 top rail sections reduces the chances of them getting bent or bowed.
While it certainly is more expensive, a 450-grade QT plate is definitely worth consideration if your mild steel bins aren’t cutting it. Subsequently, in a lot of high-impact situations, the extra cost over mild steel pays off within a few years.