Two machines, two duty classes: read the KT-T160 and the KT-B795L separately

The single most useful thing to understand about this package is that its two halves are not built for the same size of work. The KT-T160 is an electro-hydraulic changer sized for heavy vehicle wheels, taking rims from 14 inches to 26 inches and wheels up to 62 inches in overall diameter, and it weighs 1,257 lbs (570 kg). The KT-B795L balancer alongside it tops out at a wheel diameter of 51.18 inches (1,300 mm) and weighs 529 lbs. Both are professional machines. They are not the same machine twice, and if the very largest wheels you handle are the reason you are buying, the balancer is the half that sets your ceiling.

Will It Fit?

Neither machine touches your ceiling, so the constraints here are floor, doorway and power. All of them are yours to confirm before ordering, because we cannot see your bay.

• Floor space. Katool lists the balancer's occupied area as up to about 118 inches, and the changer needs clear floor on the sides an operator works from. Lay both footprints out with tape before you commit a bay to them.
• Getting them in. The changer alone is 1,257 lbs (570 kg) net and the balancer 529 lbs. Check your door width and the route from the delivery point to the bay first.
• Power. Both machines are listed at 220V, and the changer is listed as single-phase. If your building is on a different supply, the electrician's quote belongs in your budget alongside the machines.
• Hydraulic oil. Katool specifies AW-46 for the changer, or AW-32 for colder climates. That is a real decision for an unheated shop in a cold state, and it is cheaper to get right at commissioning than after the first winter.
• Your responsibility. Floor, power, unloading and siting are the buyer's to arrange. Sort them out before the freight is booked rather than while a driver waits.

The changer: two motors doing two jobs

The KT-T160 does not run its hydraulics and its turntable off one motor. There is a 2.0 HP pump motor driving the hydraulic circuit, and a separate 3.0 HP gearbox motor turning the wheel. That separation is the reason the machine keeps rotating smoothly while the hydraulics are simultaneously loaded, which is exactly the moment a single-motor design starts to feel slow: bead breaking and rotation are not sequential on a big commercial wheel, they overlap.

The rest of the changer follows the same logic. Force comes from the electro-hydraulic system rather than from an operator leaning on a bar, so the tenth wheel of a shift gets the same treatment as the first.

The balancer: 180 rpm, and why a slow spin is the right answer

The KT-B795L spins at 180 rpm and returns a measurement in about eight seconds, to a stated balancing accuracy of one gram. Those three figures belong together. A balancer that spins faster gets to a reading sooner but throws more energy into a heavy assembly and needs longer to stop it again; 180 rpm with an eight second cycle is the compromise a busy bay actually wants, because the time saved in a workshop is the time between wheels, not the time inside a single measurement.

The practical range is rim widths from 1.5 inches to 20 inches, wheels up to 51.18 inches (1,300 mm) in overall diameter, and a well-lit display for reading results without stooping. Running noise is under 65 dB, which keeps the machine quiet enough for two people to work a wheel between them and still talk.

Two figures to confirm before you order

Published figures for the KT-B795L balancer differ in two places, each attributed below to the source that states it.

• Maximum wheel weight on the balancer. The specification table lists 150 kg, given on this page as 330 lbs; a feature bullet lists 440 lbs.
• Rim diameter range on the balancer. The feature list gives a range up to 28 inches; the specification table gives 13 inches to 24 inches.

Both sets of figures stay printed in the specification block on this page, so you can see exactly what each source states. If maximum wheel weight or rim diameter decides your purchase, confirm the current figures with us in writing before you order — we will get them straight from Katool.

Perfect For

• Tire retailers adding commercial wheels to a business built on passenger work, where the changer needs headroom the balancer does not.
• Fleet maintenance shops bringing both operations in-house to stop paying a mobile service per call.
• General repair shops with limited floor where two machines bought and sited together is simpler than two purchases a year apart.
• Shops standardising on one supplier for parts, consumables and one warranty document rather than two.

What is in the Box

The package is the two machines: the KT-T160 electro-hydraulic tire changer with its multifunction control, and the KT-B795L wheel balancer with its display monitor. Katool does not publish an itemised accessory list for this combination, and we are not going to invent one. Hydraulic oil, compressed air supply, wheel weights, cones and any vehicle-specific adaptors are not described as included. If you need any of them commissioned on day one, ask us before ordering and we will confirm what is in the crates.

Specifications

KT-T160 tire changer

KT-B795L wheel balancer

Certification, stated plainly

The material we hold on these two machines does not claim an independent third-party safety listing from any recognised testing body, and we are not going to imply one with a badge. That is worth saying out loud, because a manufacturer's own declaration of conformity and an independent listing are different documents even when they look similar on a sticker. Some commercial insurance policies, some fleet and municipal contracts and some local jurisdictions require the second kind specifically. If that describes your operation, get the requirement in writing from your insurer or your inspector first, then ask us for the documentation that actually ships with these machines. We would rather lose the sale than have you lose a claim.

Shipping and delivery

This package moves by freight truck to addresses in the lower 48 states, free of charge. Both machines are heavy enough that unloading is the receiver's responsibility: a forklift, a loading dock or a machine capable of taking crates off a trailer. If that is not realistic where you are, collecting from the carrier's local terminal is usually simpler and the terminal already has the equipment. Delivery to a residential address carries a residential fee, applied at checkout when you choose that option.

Inspect both crates before you sign. Look for crushed corners, punctures, shifted banding and any trace of oil, write what you find on the bill of lading while the driver is present, and photograph it. A clean signature is the carrier's evidence that everything arrived intact, and it is very difficult to argue with after the fact.

Warranty

Katool publishes a written warranty document covering these machines. One warning applies to any hydraulic machine, whoever built it: if something fails, do not open the power unit, a cylinder or a valve block before a claim has been raised. A disassembled component is usually treated as a modified one, and that is the quickest way to lose coverage that would otherwise have been honoured. Photograph the fault, record the serial number, and call before you reach for a spanner.