Kardex Remstar vertical storage units

thunderskunk · Sep 16, 2022

I've worked with these before, and they're freakin awesome. We had a maintenance department storing an entire warehouse of spare parts and hardware taking up less space than a lathe with a barfeeder. Saw it again at IMTS. They run low 6 figures.

For a moment, just a moment, I was entertaining this for my home shop. Not to buy now, but to work into a big machine purchase. The justification is a simple comparison: The Kardex carousel has 3x8' shelves, and can be built top feeding. So lets say you dig a 15' hole to drop it into and get 25' of vertical storage. Shelves are roughly 3x8, so you get something like 600 sqft of shelving at 24" height per shelf. Never mind that this can do inventory control.

Obviously reality sets in when the price tag is about the same for a building the size needed for a warehouse, but then again it's not terribly far off and I don't have the land for a second building. I've seen places implement the Toolboss dispensers with wild success. Is this the same principal for inventory control? In the end I think it's way too expensive. Any cheaper solutions?

Garwood · Sep 19, 2022

Multiple times, I've seen those things free on craigslist if you can disassemble and move them. They sure look neat, but I wondered why they were free if they worked?

I think putting it in a hole would be a disaster. You'd need an access to the bottom to install, repair and retrieve stuff that fell down. You'd have to deal with groundwater/moisture. If you already had a basement, then no worries. But a basement just for that thing-No way.

kb0thn · Sep 19, 2022

So I just bought a unit like this. Used. $4000. Roughly 12.5' long, 12.5' tall, 5' wide.

It needs 480V (I have 208V) and apparently has a control issue. So it is a $4k gamble for me. I wouldn't spend 6 figures on it, but at what I paid and a few grand to get it working, I'm going to give it a shot. Having access to a whole bunch of small parts at ground level will be really cool. No more not seeing things on high shelves and low shelves.

boosted · Sep 20, 2022

We have had them at two previous employers, and they were fabulous. I completely understand why the resale value sucks. Install, alignment, and troubleshooting is not trivial. For the cost of relocating it, most larger organizations will just buy again new.

cyanidekid · Sep 20, 2022

given the price per cubic foot we pay in New York City, (and in other high cost locales) if your needs match the bin sizes and your parts count and picking frequency is high, it would pay for its self easily.

RC Mech · Sep 20, 2022

kb0thn said:
So I just bought a unit like this. Used. $4000. Roughly 12.5' long, 12.5' tall, 5' wide.

It needs 480V (I have 208V) and apparently has a control issue. So it is a $4k gamble for me. I wouldn't spend 6 figures on it, but at what I paid and a few grand to get it working, I'm going to give it a shot. Having access to a whole bunch of small parts at ground level will be really cool. No more not seeing things on high shelves and low shelves.

GTA real estate is $1400/sq ft (no tangible reason for that). At that square footage you’re at $87,500 Canuckbucks per shelf.

Colour me an investor.

Cynich · Oct 10, 2022

The benefits of these units encompass more than saving space. You can program your inventory into the control system so while your can call up tray 10, you can also call up a part number and get the same result.

I with with two units back to back holding 50 trays each. Unfortunately they were so old and badly maintained that risking any sort of programming attempt could shut one down, and if we can't get it back up without vendor support, we can't work on anything requiring parts from that stacker.

Good with the bad I suppose.

john.k · Oct 11, 2022

I used to service Kardo-veyors in the 70s,and had a lot as takeouts free ,and already taken out for scrap price............I wouldnt bother with any kind of autofind setup.....If you are the only user,then just operate the unit with a simple push button........most already have an inching button..........they also have a manual crankhandle for power fails,but its hard work.

Roboman01 · Oct 11, 2022

The building I'm in has one of those running through the first three floors for the cabinet shop that's in there. It's awesome, especially for a shop that does a ton of volume with moderately large panels and associated hardware that would need to be shuttled up and downstairs via freight elevators throughout the day. They use it for tracking inventory and parts kitting, and each floor has an operator console so everything in it can be accessed from every level of the facility. Their guys are really hard on equipment and it just keeps chugging along.

I was there as it was being installed over the course of a few months - they had to cut huge holes through two 18" concrete floors and then construct the system in place. Definitely not an easy or quick process, and not something I'd want to attempt myself.

mottrhed · Oct 13, 2022

Been wanting to grab one of these for years, glad to see you guys like them. Bid on a few at auction a few years back, but couldnt go too high since Id have to remove them and was unsure what I was getting in to .

john.k · Oct 14, 2022

Another nearly free unit worth considering is a "compactus" ......basically shelves on wheels .....they are just sitting on the floor in most cases,and are easily removed either as units or pulled down into flat panels.

thunderskunk · Oct 27, 2022

john.k said:
Another nearly free unit worth considering is a "compactus" ......basically shelves on wheels .....they are just sitting on the floor in most cases,and are easily removed either as units or pulled down into flat panels.

That's awesome. Emailed them as that's a much more reasonable solution than one that costs about the same as building a warehouse.

DDoug · Oct 31, 2022

Heavy-Duty Mobile Racking | Spacesaver Corporation

Convert aisles to productive space in warehouses, storage areas, and coolers/freezers with heavy-duty mobile storage racking.

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thunderskunk · Dec 28, 2022

Yea, now that I've seen this one go for not even 5 figures... used it is.

Although I am curious why it is it needs a fire suppression system in the first place...

ShaunM · Dec 28, 2022

thunderskunk said:
Although I am curious why it is it needs a fire suppression system in the first place...

Insurance.
We are working on a new Kardex install and our insurance company strongly suggests integrating the fire suppression system into the unit regardless what we intend to stock it with.

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