Katool KT-T800 and KT-B700: a pairing you can check to the millimetre
Most shop equipment copy asks you to take "heavy-duty steel" on trust. This pairing is unusual in that Katool publishes the actual thicknesses, and they are the most useful thing on the page. The jaw faces on the KT-T800 changer are case-hardened to a depth of 0.8 to 1.1 mm over a fully quenched core. The KT-B700 balancer's cabinet is 3 mm steel, its pressure-sensor mounting boards are 8 mm top and bottom, and its shaft thread is 36 mm and quenched.
Those four numbers are worth more than any adjective, because each of them maps onto a specific failure this equipment suffers. Together they describe an entry-to-mid pairing built for a general repair bay that wants tire work in house without buying a dedicated tire shop's machinery.
Case depth on the jaws, and what it prevents
A tire changer's jaws take a shock load every time a rim is clamped and an eccentric load every time a stiff sidewall fights the turntable. Harden the whole part and it becomes brittle; leave it soft and the gripping faces round off within a season and start slipping on painted rims. Case hardening is the compromise: a hard skin, quoted here at 0.8 to 1.1 mm deep, over a core left tough enough to absorb the shock. The jaws then carry covers so the hardened steel never touches the rim at all, and the mounting head is stainless with a plastic rim guard that is meant to be consumed and replaced.
The practical reading is that the wear parts on this machine are the covers and the guard, both cheap, rather than the jaws and the head, both not. That is the difference between a changer that stays kind to alloy wheels in year four and one that does not.
The clamping range is what separates this changer from its siblings
The KT-T800 takes a wheel up to 41" (1,040 mm) in overall diameter and up to 15" (380 mm) wide, driven by a 2.0 HP motor on a 110V single-phase (1PH) supply. Its jaws clamp 12" to 20" from the outside of the rim and 14" to 24" from the inside.
That outside figure is the one to read carefully, because outside clamping is the gentler grip and the one you want on a finished wheel: the jaws close on the outer flange, under covers, and never enter the barrel. Above 20" you are clamping from the inside instead. If the wheels through your door are mostly 20" and under, this machine will take almost all of them the gentle way and there is nothing to gain by paying more. If you regularly see larger fitments, look at a changer with a wider outside range before you commit.
The bead breaker and the mount and demount functions run from pull-type foot pedals, with an inflation gauge on the pedal circuit so a bead can be seated hands-free. Compressed air runs at 0.8 to 1.0 MPa, topping out at 145 PSI, through a lubricator and filter that keep moisture and grit out of the pneumatics. The cabinet is closed, which matters in a bay where the same air line drives a blaster. Net weight is 186 kg (410 lbs).
Why the balancer's steel thicknesses are the specification that counts
A wheel balancer measures force, and force measurement is only as good as the thing the sensor is bolted to. If the cabinet flexes under a spinning wheel, the flex is measured along with the imbalance, and the machine confidently reports a number that is partly its own movement. This is why the KT-B700's 3 mm body, its solid welded frame and its 8 mm sensor mounting boards are quoted at all, and why the 36 mm quenched shaft thread belongs in the same paragraph. A shaft thread that stretches or a board that deflects both show up as scatter between two spins of the same wheel.
On top of that structure sits a spin at 180 rpm with a cycle around seven seconds, a one gram display resolution, a moisture-proof and antistatic computer board, several balance modes for different rim types, and self-calibration with built-in fault diagnosis so the machine can be checked without a service visit. Units switch between ounces and grams and between millimetres and inches. The balancer runs on 120V single-phase (1PH).
Will it fit your shop?
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Wheel envelope. The balancer takes a rim under 30", a wheel 3" to 12" wide, an assembly under 880 mm (34.64"), a centre bore under 135 mm (5.31") and a wheel weight under 65 kg (143 lbs). It is the narrower of the two machines, so check your widest regular fitment against it, not against the changer.
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Air and power. A regulated compressed air supply that holds pressure through a bead break, and single-phase circuits for both machines. Confirm the exact circuits with us before ordering.
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Floor and space. A flat, solid floor, room to work the pedal side of the changer, and the balancer within a step of it. Both machines are crated and heavy; 186 kg (410 lbs) for the changer alone.
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Your responsibility. Confirming power, air and floor is the buyer's job. We can state what the machines need but we cannot inspect your building.
Perfect For
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General repair shops bringing mounting and balancing back in house instead of subletting it.
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Tire and service bays working mainstream car and light-truck fitments up to 20" outside clamping.
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Fleet workshops with a predictable, repeating wheel range.
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Well-equipped private workshops with a real compressor already in place.
What is in the box
- KT-T800 wheel clamp tire changer, closed body, with alloy steel jaws and jaw covers
- Stainless mounting head with plastic rim protector and spade cover
- Pedal-controlled inflation gauge, lubricator and air filtration
- KT-B700 wheel balancer with integrated power board and composite guard provision
The wheel guard is listed as optional on the balancer, so confirm whether you want one at the time of order. Air supply, electrical connection and anchoring are not included.
Specifications
| Changer, max wheel diameter |
41" (1,040 mm) |
| Changer, max wheel width |
15" (380 mm) |
| Changer, outside clamping |
12" to 20" |
| Changer, inside clamping |
14" to 24" |
| Changer, motor and supply |
2.0 HP, 110V, single phase (1PH) |
| Changer, air pressure |
0.8 to 1.0 MPa, up to 145 PSI |
| Changer, jaw case depth |
0.8 to 1.1 mm, fully quenched core |
| Changer, net weight |
186 kg (410 lbs) |
| Balancer, rim diameter |
under 30" |
| Balancer, wheel width |
3" to 12" |
| Balancer, wheel diameter |
under 880 mm (34.64") |
| Balancer, rim centre hole |
under 135 mm (5.31") |
| Balancer, wheel weight |
under 65 kg (143 lbs) |
| Balancer, balancing speed |
180 rpm |
| Balancer, body and boards |
3 mm steel body, 8 mm sensor boards |
| Balancer, shaft thread |
36 mm, quenched |
| Balancer, supply |
120V, single phase (1PH) |
Certification, stated plainly
This listing records no third-party North American safety listing for either machine, and we will not imply one that the data does not support. For most independent buyers that is a non-issue, because tire service equipment is not regulated the way a vehicle lift is. It stops being a non-issue if your insurer, a fleet contract or a local authority names a specific listing as a condition. If that is your situation, verify the requirement with whoever imposes it before ordering, and ask us for the documentation the manufacturer does provide.
Shipping and delivery
Both machines travel by freight truck to addresses in the lower 48. The freight figure is generated live at checkout from your own address, so it reflects the carrier's current rate rather than an estimate baked into a page months ago. Unloading is the receiver's responsibility: a forklift, a suitable machine, or a booked terminal pickup, which is usually the easier route because the terminal already has the equipment. Choosing residential delivery adds a residential fee at checkout.
Check the crates before you sign for them. Crushed corners, broken banding, oil stains and torn wrap all belong on the bill of lading in writing, with photographs, while the driver is present. Signing clean is the carrier's evidence that nothing was wrong on arrival.
Warranty
Coverage is governed by Katool's own warranty document rather than by anything restated here, so request the current version from us if it will affect your decision. Independent of the terms: leave a faulty machine intact until the claim has been opened. Dismantling first is the fastest way to turn a valid warranty claim into a declined one.
