Rescue Equipment

Maximum Capacities Are Based On:

1. Full surface contact of the bag to the load and support area.
2. Maximum lifting height the bags — unloaded @ 30 psi. (Putting more than 30 psi in an “unloaded” airbag can cause damage).

MAXIMUM LIFTING HEIGHT AND MAXIMUM LIFTING FORCE CANNOT BE ACHIEVED SIMULTANEOUSLY.

When inflating, the airbag begins to “oval”, and looks like a pillow from the side. With each additional pound of air pressure introduced, the bag inflates more and higher inlet pressure creates higher lifting ability. But this also creates an arc — and this arc reduces surface area of the airbag making contact (which reduces lifting capacity). The same phenomenon occurs if the load that is being lifted (i.e. beams or similar items) are smaller than the bag itself. In this situation, use a steel plate (or similar) to “spread the load”, increasing your lifting power and lowering chance of damaging the airbag.

When only partial surface area of bags contact the load-lifting capacity varies in relation to load weight and bag arc.

NOT RECOMMENDED

Maximum lifting power cannot be achieved when only partial contact with top of bag is achieved (as illustrated).

RECOMMENDED

For partial contact loads, use steel plate (or equal) to place under load increasing load distribution over more bag surface area.

LIFTING CAPACITY EXAMPLES:

Example 1:
Given 1: 15” x 15” Airbag Lifting Surface
Given 2: 50% of Airbag Surface Making Contact
Given 3: 65 psi inlet pressure (MatJack max 120 psi inlet pressure)

Pounds of Lift = Surface Area Making Contact x PSI
(15” x 15”) x 0.5 x 65 psi
7,312.5 pounds of lift

Example 2:
Given 1: 15” x 15” Airbag Lifting Surface
Given 2: 20% of Airbag Surface Making Contact
Given 3: 105 psi inlet pressure (MatJack max 120 psi inlet pressure)

Pounds of Lift = Surface Area Making Contact x PSI
(15” x 15”) x 0.2 x 105 psi
4,725 pounds of lift

Illustrations and information above are for reference only and are not to be used as examples of the actual performance capabilities of the bags.