Vertical mast lift and installation lift: what they are for and how to choose

A vertical mast lift (for example the Haulotte Star 10 or JLG Toucan) is a mobile elevating work platform with a basket for 1–2 people (200 kg capacity) for work at heights of up to about 12.5 m indoors. A vertical mast and a short jib raise the basket with tools: a safe solution instead of a ladder or scaffolding for service, installation and maintenance. An installation lift (for example the Sumner 2000) is something else: a manual lift for materials such as ducts, pipes and boards. It must never be used to lift people.

What is a vertical mast lift used for?

Typical uses are replacing and servicing lighting, work on installations under the ceiling, installation work, warehouse work and maintenance in interiors with limited space: in shops, retail buildings, halls and offices. Everywhere where you previously used a ladder and the work should be safer and more convenient. You will find the full range in the section on vertical mast lifts.

Dimensions: doors, goods lifts and floor slabs

When stowed, the Haulotte Star 10 and the JLG Toucan 10E L are 0.99 m wide and 1.99 m high: they will go through a gate or double doors, but not through a standard single door. The JLG Toucan 12E Plus is 1.2 m wide. For their size they are heavy machines (2,600 to 4,900 kg), so check the capacity of a goods lift, a floor slab or a mezzanine before driving onto it. The wheels do not mark the floor, and the electric drive is quiet and emission-free, so the machine works in buildings in use, including outside trading hours. The condition is a hard-surfaced, level floor: a mast lift is not a rough terrain machine.

The Sumner installation lift: for materials only

The Sumner 2000 manual installation lift raises up to 300 kg of material on its forks, such as a ventilation duct, a pipe or a board, to a height of up to 7.7 m with no power supply or fuel. It weighs 190 kg and is 0.79 m wide when stowed, so you can wheel it along a corridor to the place of work. It is a material lift, not a cherry picker: lifting people with it is forbidden.

Mast lift or scissor lift: which one when

Both types raise the platform vertically, but they differ in scale. A mast lift is narrow, has a basket for 1–2 people (200 kg) and a jib that moves the basket 3–6.2 m sideways. When you need a larger, wider platform, a higher capacity with materials, or work on rough ground, a scissor lift is the better choice. If, on the other hand, you have to go round an obstacle and reach sideways, an articulating boom lift comes into play.

Qualifications and selection

A self-propelled vertical mast lift is a mobile elevating work platform, so operating it requires a UDT licence certificate for MEWPs; there is more in the article on UDT licences for mobile elevating work platforms. An operator can be trained: we run our own UDT training. Describe the working height and the type of task, and we will choose a machine for the space and prepare a rent quote.

Frequently asked questions

What is a vertical mast lift used for?

For service, installation and maintenance work at heights of up to about 12.5 m indoors, as a safe alternative to a ladder. A vertical mast lift (for example the Haulotte Star 10 or JLG Toucan) is a mobile elevating work platform: a vertical mast and a short jib raise a basket with a 200 kg capacity for 1–2 people with tools. It suits lighting, installations under the ceiling, warehouses and shops. The Sumner 2000 manual installation lift is something else: it lifts materials only (ducts, pipes, boards), never people.

Will a vertical mast lift fit in a lift and pass through a door?

When stowed, the Haulotte Star 10 and the JLG Toucan 10E L are 0.99 m wide and 1.99 m high: they will go through a gate or double doors, but not through a standard single door. The JLG Toucan 12E Plus is 1.2 m wide. The machines weigh 2,600 to 4,900 kg, so check the capacity of a goods lift or a floor slab before driving onto it. The Sumner 2000 manual lift is 0.79 m wide when stowed and weighs 190 kg.

How does a vertical mast lift differ from a scissor lift?

A mast lift is narrower and has a smaller basket (200 kg, 1–2 people), but its jib moves the basket 3–6.2 m sideways: over racking, a machine or an installation. A scissor lift has a larger, wider platform, a higher capacity and reaches higher, but it only lifts straight up. For a large platform, greater height or work on rough ground choose a scissor lift; for work over an obstacle in a cramped interior, a mast lift.

Does a vertical mast lift need a power supply?

Self-propelled vertical mast lifts (Star 10, Toucan) have battery-electric drive: they are quiet, emission-free and suitable for work indoors; the batteries are charged from a socket. The Sumner 2000 manual installation lift works without power or fuel (hand crank), but it is for materials only.

What qualifications are needed to operate a vertical mast lift?

A self-propelled vertical mast lift is a mobile elevating work platform, so operating it requires a UDT qualification certificate for MEWPs (UDT is the Polish Office of Technical Inspection), the same one as for scissor and articulating boom lifts. An operator can be trained; we run our own UDT training. The Sumner 2000 manual installation lift does not require a UDT certificate.