The Base Bracket carries every pound of merchandise above it and quietly determines whether the section stays plumb five years into a heavy-load category. Lozier gives you three distinct components to work with, and there is one persistent confusion worth clearing up first: Load Easer is not a duty tier of the Base Bracket, it is a separate supplemental accessory. Once that is straight, the three parts and when to spec each one become a much simpler decision. Here is how they actually fit together.

Three Components, Not Three Tiers of the Same Part

Lozier's load story for a gondola section runs through three distinct components, all working together on the same footprint:

  • Spring Locking Base Bracket (BB prefix, S suffix): The standard-duty Base Bracket. Every section gets Base Brackets. S is the standard offering, and there is no non-Spring-Locking alternative in the current catalog. Reading S as "small" or "starter" is a common misread; S is Spring Locking, which IS the standard duty. [cite: catalog p.98, line 981]
  • Heavy Duty Base Bracket (BBH prefix): The heavy-industrial duty tier. BBH is its own prefix, not a suffix on BB. Physically thicker construction, and always paired with an HD Uprite in the same section because HD components are engineered as a matched set. [cite: catalog p.98, line 981; line 337]
  • Load Easer (LEBB, separate SKU family): A supplemental accessory bracket that mounts between the primary Base Brackets, roughly halfway across the section. It does not replace the primary Base Brackets; it adds capacity to the deck above them. [cite: catalog p.213, line 2123]

Depths, Heights, and Finishes (Corrected)

Standard Base Brackets (BB) are offered in seven depths: 13, 16, 19, 22, 25, 28, and 31 inches. [cite: catalog p.98, line 982] Heavy Duty Base Brackets (BBH) are offered in a narrower band: 16, 19, 22, and 25 inches. [cite: catalog p.98, line 984]

Two base heights are available on both prefixes: 06 is the 8-inch base, and LB is the 6-inch Low Base. [cite: catalog p.98, lines 985; catalog p.213, lines 2137, 2139]

Base Brackets are a hardware component, not a finish-forward part, so the finish palette is narrow: PTD (Painted Random) and CHR (Charcoal) only. Every stocked BB and BBH SKU in inventory ships in one of those two finishes. [cite: inventory: LBBH1606S PTD; BB Spring Locking family, PTD/CHR] [cite: LozierFinishMap.php line 136: PTD = Painted Random] They are not offered in W08, WHT, GRY, SIL, or GLV. The Load Easer follows the same rule: PTD or CHR. [cite: catalog p.213, line 2123]

Base Bracket SKUs are called out in inches (for example LBB1606S is a 16-inch depth, 8-inch base, Spring Locking Standard). Lozier does not use a "13D through 31D" notation; that shorthand is not in the catalog.

Real Load Ratings (and What They Are Ratings Of)

The 600 lb and 800 lb numbers people quote for Base Brackets are actually the SD Standard Deck's load ratings, evenly distributed, sitting on Spring Locking Base Brackets. The bracket itself does not change the number; the deck rating is the number.

  • SD Standard Deck on Spring Locking Base Brackets: 600 lbs evenly distributed on 13-19 inch depths, 800 lbs on 22-31 inch depths. [cite: catalog p.212, lines 2102-2105]
  • Load Easer (LEBB) added, 13-19 inch depth: 1,100 lbs per deck. [cite: catalog p.213, line 2123]
  • Load Easer added, 22-31 inch depth: 1,300 lbs per deck. [cite: catalog p.213, line 2123]
  • Heavy Duty (BBH plus HD Uprite): refer to the Lozier catalog for the specific HD configuration you plan to run. [cite: catalog p.98, line 981; line 337]

Read the Load Easer numbers as "with the LEBB installed, the deck rating goes up to this." You do not get the Load Easer capacity by ordering a different Base Bracket; you get it by adding the Load Easer accessory to the section.

Load Easer SKUs: Depth Agnostic

The Load Easer is not depth-keyed. There are two Load Easer SKUs, matched to the base height of the section (not the deck depth): LEBB06 for 8-inch base sections, and LEBBLB for Low Base 6-inch sections. Both ship in PTD or CHR. [cite: catalog p.213, line 2123; line 2137; line 2139] One LEBB per section spans across whatever deck depth the section is running.

BB28 and BB31 Are Already Heavy Duty Rated

An important decision-matrix caveat: the 28-inch and 31-inch standard Base Brackets (BB28, BB31) are already rated as heavy duty in the catalog. [cite: catalog p.98, line 991] If your section is running a 28-inch or 31-inch deck, you are already at the heavy-duty rating with the standard Spring Locking prefix. You do not need to upsize to BBH for those two depths. BBH applies at 16-25 inches, precisely the depth range where the standard BB is at its lightest rating and a step-up in the bracket itself is meaningful.

When Spring Locking (Standard) Is the Right Call

The Spring Locking Base Bracket handles the majority of retail categories at normal loading. If your merchandise per section stocks at a normal retail cadence at typical weights, you do not need a Load Easer and you do not need HD.

  • Health and Beauty Aids, cosmetics, over-the-counter pharmacy
  • Greeting cards, stationery, small housewares
  • General merchandise at normal facings
  • Convenience-store snacks and dry goods
  • Specialty retail (apparel accessories, gifts, hobby)
  • Cereal, crackers, and light dry snacks in grocery

When to Add a Load Easer (LEBB)

Add a Load Easer per section when merchandise weight for a deck climbs above the SD Standard Deck rating (600 lbs on 13-19 inch depths, 800 lbs on 22-31 inch depths) but still lands under the LEBB-boosted rating of 1,100 to 1,300 lbs per deck.

  • Canned goods (canned vegetables, soup, tomato products)
  • Bottled beverages sold two-deep on the shelf
  • Cleaning supplies and detergent
  • Pet food in medium bag sizes (up to 20-pound bags)
  • Automotive fluids and small parts
  • Multipack paper goods (toilet paper, paper towels)

Order one LEBB per section, matched to the base height (LEBB06 for 8-inch base, LEBBLB for Low Base). Mounting is between the primary Base Brackets, halfway across the section width.

When Heavy Duty (BBH) Is the Right Call

Heavy Duty is a matched configuration of HD Uprite plus BBH Base Bracket, ordered together. [cite: catalog p.98, line 337] It applies when section loading exceeds Load Easer specifications at the 16-25 inch depth range: club stores, pallet-adjacent break-pack areas, bulk pet food (40-pound and larger bags), and specialty bulk categories.

BBH is not a "premium" Spring Locking; it is a different engineered configuration. You cannot mix a BBH Base Bracket with a standard Uprite or vice versa. Order both together. And again, if you are speccing 28 or 31-inch decks, the standard BB is already at heavy-duty rating for those two depths, so BBH is redundant there.

How to Estimate Section Load

Working estimates for a 4-foot section (48-inch width) per deck:

  • Cereal, cracker, dry snacks: 100 to 200 lbs (Spring Locking alone)
  • Canned vegetables, soup: 400 to 700 lbs (add Load Easer)
  • Bottled beverages two-deep, cleaning bottles: 500 to 900 lbs (add Load Easer)
  • Bulk pet food, multipack paper, cases of beverages: 900 lbs plus at 16-25 inch depths (Heavy Duty BBH); at 28 or 31 inch depths the standard BB is already heavy duty rated

These are planning estimates, not engineering load ratings. For engineered specs, refer to the Lozier catalog for the specific bracket and deck you plan to use.

The Mixed-Base Store

Mixing across a single store is normal. A grocery might run Heavy Duty (BBH plus HD Uprite) on pet food and bulk paper aisles at 22-inch depth, Spring Locking plus Load Easer on center-store canned goods and beverages, and plain Spring Locking on HBA and cosmetics. Standard Spring Locking sections share standard Uprites; BBH sections use HD Uprites, so structural transitions happen at the aisle boundary, not mid-run. Do not mix standard and HD Uprites within a single section.

Retrofitting an Existing Store

If you inherit a store built on Spring Locking and one aisle is showing overload signs, you can add Load Easers to that aisle without changing the rest of the store. Order one LEBB per affected section in matching finish (PTD or CHR), and installation drops it between the existing primary Base Brackets. Stepping up to BBH is a bigger job because the Uprites are replaced too; plan HD retrofits for a full-aisle reset, not a Sunday-night patch.

For the complete Base Bracket dimension reference, see our Gondola Shelving Dimensions Guide. To spec a project with a mix of Spring Locking, Load Easer, and BBH sections, browse Lozier Base Brackets.