Guardian Premium

This is the only decision that changes the price, and it is decided by geometry rather than by weight. The 4 × 4 ft deck is 48 × 48 in; the 5 × 5 ft deck is 60 × 60 in and costs $200 more.

The rule that matters: the whole load has to land inside the deck edges or the reading means nothing. A standard 48 × 40 in GMA pallet sits on the 4 × 4 ft deck squarely, with the long side matched edge to edge. That is the case the smaller deck is built for, and if your traffic is uniform pallets it is the right buy.

Take the 5 × 5 ft deck when the loads are not uniform: drums on a pallet, banded bundles that splay, cartons stacked past the pallet footprint, or anything long enough to overhang. Take it also when a forklift operator has to aim at the deck in a busy aisle, because the extra six inches on each side is what absorbs a bad approach. The wider deck does not raise the capacity and does not change the accuracy; it buys tolerance for imperfect loading.

One knock-on effect worth planning for: the ramp is matched to the deck. The 4 × 4 ft scale takes a 4 ft wide ramp, the 5 × 5 ft scale takes the 5 ft wide one, and the 5 ft ramp costs more. If a ramp is in the plan, price the pair together rather than the scale alone.

This surprises people, so it is worth stating plainly: the 10,000 lb Guardian Premium costs exactly the same as the 5,000 lb one. The 4 × 4 ft platform is $1,625 whether you order G-PREM-4x4-5K or G-PREM-4x4-10K, and the 5 × 5 ft platform is $1,825 either way. Capacity is an option you pick on the product page, not an upgrade you pay for.

There is also no certification penalty for taking the higher one. Both capacities are separately NTEP certified and legal for trade as supplied, so a 10,000 lb scale is just as valid for a commercial transaction as the 5,000 lb version.

So why would anyone choose 5,000 lb? Resolution. A scale's displayed increment scales with its capacity, so a 5,000 lb scale counts in finer steps than a 10,000 lb scale over the same number of divisions. If your heaviest realistic load is comfortably under 5,000 lb and you care about small differences, the lower capacity gives you a finer reading. If anything might approach or exceed 5,000 lb, take the 10,000 lb: an overload is a real risk to the scale and the higher rating costs nothing.

Both are covered by the same 7,500 lb corner and 15,000 lb edge shock ratings, which are about surviving a hard set-down rather than about steady weight. For legal-for-trade use, the finest division is 1 lb on the 5,000 lb scale and 2 lb on the 10,000 lb scale, because the platform is certified to 5,000 divisions.

The Guardian Premium stands 4.3 in (110 mm) tall overall, which is low for a floor scale and is the number the whole access question turns on. A forklift drives straight onto the deck and the diamond tread is there so its tires grip when the plate is wet. A pallet jack cannot climb 4.3 in.

Above-ground with a ramp is the common installation. Set the scale on any flat surface, level it with the feet, and add a ramp for roll-on access. Ramps are orderable in three sizes: 4 × 3 ft at $415, 4 × 4 ft at $520, and 5 × 4 ft at $625, and the width is matched to the deck. A ramp does cost you floor space on the approach side, and it only serves the side it is on.

In-floor pit frame sets the deck flush with the floor. That removes the ramp entirely and lets forklifts and pallet jacks approach from any direction, which is why it is the usual answer for a high-traffic aisle or a station people work around all day. The cost is concrete work and a contractor, and it makes the scale a fixture rather than something you can move next quarter.

If neither is practical, the honest answer is a different product: portable weigh beams sit at floor level, straddle the load and need no ramp and no civil work.

The floor itself is the last part of this question. The self-articulating ball-and-cup feet are 2.25 in in diameter and adjust from the top, so a corner can be leveled without lifting the platform. Real warehouse floors are not flat, and a scale that is not sitting on all four feet is not accurate regardless of what is underneath it.

If a person reads the number off the display and writes it down, nothing here matters and the scale is complete as supplied. If a system has to receive the weight, this is the decision.

RS-232 is standard on every G-700K, full duplex, and it will carry a weight string with a time and date stamp to a PC or a printer. It is the cheapest route and the one most existing software already understands.

Wi-Fi and Bluetooth are modules, orderable as add-ons on the same product page rather than as separate orders: G-PREM-WIFI puts the indicator on your network or straight into a WMS, and G-PREM-BT pairs it to a phone or tablet for a remote readout. Both are fitted to the indicator you are buying.

An RF wireless kit is a different thing from Bluetooth: it replaces the 15 ft homerun cable between platform and indicator, so there is no cable across the floor at all. If that is what you want, the Premium Wireless trim is that scale bought complete rather than assembled from parts.

For controls integration, RS-485 for multi-drop networks, 4–20 mA and 0–10 V analog outputs are available for direct PLC wiring. These are not on the product page as add-ons, so name the output when you order. Ask us for a price on any of these before you order.

There are two routes to a controller, and they are alternatives rather than a stack. Either the weight leaves the G-700K as analog or RS-485, or a signal conditioner takes the platform's junction box output directly and the indicator is not in the signal path at all. It has to be one or the other: an indicator and a conditioner both excite the load cell bridge, so a single junction box output feeds one of them, not both. If somebody reads the number at the scale, buy the indicator's output option. A conditioner is the right answer when nobody does, and on this page that usually means you wanted Platform-Only and a DIN rail instead of a complete scale.