The TECNA 9346LOD is an outdoor retractor tool balancer for tools weighing 1.1-4.4 lb, built for equipment that works outside or in unheated areas - EV charging points, fleet and forklift charging, airport ground support, car wash hose management. Rust-free, and rated for indoor and outdoor use from -40 to 140 F (-40 to +60 C).

Cable travel is 8.2 ft (2,500 mm) and capacity is adjustable across 1.1-4.4 lb (0.5-2 kg). It is a retractor, so the tool returns to its rest position when you let go rather than staying where you leave it.

This model has an automatic ratchet lock. It stops the rope rewinding so you can work without it pulling back on the tool. Let the tool rise slowly to lock it; to release, pull down slightly and let it rise quickly. Let it rise at a sensible speed and it will not lock when you do not want it to. The lock can be disabled by tightening a screw, if you would rather not have it.

Do not need the ratchet lock? The TECNA 9336LOD is this same outdoor retractor without it, at the same capacity and cable travel.

What makes it the outdoor version is rust-free materials inside the housing and out. The cast aluminium housing is powder-coated, so it resists oxidation and chemical corrosion. The exterior parts are rustproof and stainless steel, and so is the screw-lock carabiner. The rope is Dyneema, a high-strength synthetic fibre, in place of steel cable.

Specifications:

• Capacity: 1.1-4.4 lb (0.5-2 kg), adjustable
• Cable travel: 8.2 ft (2,500 mm)
• Rust-free: rustproof and stainless steel exterior materials
• Operating temperature: -40 to 140 F (-40 to +60 C)
• Powder-coated cast aluminium housing, resistant to oxidation and chemical corrosion
• Dyneema high-strength synthetic fibre rope
• Stainless steel screw-lock carabiner
• Unit weight: 6.9 lb (3.14 kg)
• Safety suspension
• Automatic ratchet lock to stop rope rewinding, can be disabled
• Adjustable stroke limiting device
• Cable guide in antifriction material
• Inert spring drum assembly
• Polyamide thimble

The structure you hang it from has to be stronger than five times the balancer weight plus the maximum load - and if several balancers share one structure, five times the total of all of them, each on its own independent connection point. Always connect the safety suspension to a separate support, and set the stroke limiter so the tool never comes to rest above the operator.

Other capacities in the 9346LOD-9350OD series: 9346OD (4.4-8.8 lb), 9347OD (8.8-13.2 lb), 9348OD (13.2-17.6 lb), 9349OD (17.6-22 lb), 9350OD (22-31 lb).

If you need the load to stay where you leave it instead of returning to rest, you want an outdoor zero-gravity balancer rather than a retractor. The outdoor range covers both.

Not working outdoors? The TECNA 9346L is the same retractor in the standard build, at the same capacity and cable travel, with stainless steel cable.

Supported in the USA by Tool Balancers USA.