Got my BendPak MD-6xp, but is there a problem?

safetyfast · Mar 1, 2008

I got my Bend Pak MD6xp mid rise today from ASEdeals.com Service was good and shipping only took a week. Set up was pretty easy and it seems to work good, but I have one concern. The front stationary bar that rests on the ground appears to be either warped slightly or thicker at the middle. If I put a carpenter square on it, there's nearly a 1/16" gap on one end. The result, combined with the fact that my concrete is not perfectly level, but is close, is that the bar only contacts the floor for about a foot in the middle but has between a 1/16" and 1/8" gap from there on out on each side. Is this normal for this lift? I suspect the welding heat is to blame. Should I just get some steel plate and put under it at each end to compensate?

PxTx · Mar 1, 2008

I would ask ASEdeals what they think. I'm sure Bend Pak would love it if you would modify the lift and remove liability from them, but I would think it's their problem to solve.

ron in sc · Mar 1, 2008

Set up was pretty easy and it seems to work good, but I have one concern.

I would send an email to the president of the company you bought the lift from, sending a copy to the saleperson you dealt with and say something like. I received my lift and once I set it up per the instructions I observed that (put what you observed). Then say you are concerned that using the lift as it is may be unsafe and you do not intend to use it until they send you confirmation that what you have observed is normal and does not present any safety issues.

If I was concerned with a safety issue I would dispute the credit card charge and tell the company I bought it from to come and get.

sneezer41 · Mar 1, 2008

There must be a procedure to account for an out of flat floor. Might have to call bendpak

safetyfast · Mar 1, 2008

Called ASE and he gave me the direct # of a person to call at Bend Pak. Unfortunately, they are not open today. The house is new and concrete is level, but of course the human element means that even a level concrete floor is not perfectly set a carpenter square level throughout. Here's a pic of what I'm referring to. I put a light behind. Otherwise, it's difficult to see the gap.

sneezer41 · Mar 1, 2008

I'm saying its the floor

ovilla · Mar 1, 2008

Does the light still come through when the lift is all the way down? In other words, have you verified if the pipe is consistently off by 1/16" no matter the position of the lift? If the pipe is constant, then it's a low spot in your floor and that can be fixed with a bucket of leveling concrete mix or by simply moving the lift to another section of the floor. If your house is new, you may just want to wait until the concrete has settled a few more months as the concrete may not be fully cured yet.

safetyfast · Mar 1, 2008

There's less light in the down position, but it's still there. I'm pretty sure it's a combination of the floor and the lift. I've put a carpenter's square to both. Concrete was poured almost a year ago.

safetyfast · Mar 2, 2008

I suppose it's possible my carpenter square is off, but I doubt it.

boiler7904 · Mar 2, 2008

A more accurate way to see if the tube is bent or not would be to use an equal size spacer at each end of the tube and then stretch a string between the two spacers. Measure the gap between the string and the tube at several locations. Then you'll know if it's bent or not and how much.

ron in sc · Mar 2, 2008

I have the Eagle Portable Mid-rise Lift - PMR-6000-48. I think it's the same as the one you have only in a different brand. The bar accrosss the bottom is in complete and even contact with the floor.

safetyfast · Mar 2, 2008

boiler7904 said:
A more accurate way to see if the tube is bent or not would be to use an equal size spacer at each end of the tube and then stretch a string between the two spacers. Measure the gap between the string and the tube at several locations. Then you'll know if it's bent or not and how much.

Good idea. I tried that, stretching a thin copper wire between and measured with a machinist rule and found that the center is 1/16 closer to the wire than the ends.

dawg · Mar 2, 2008

1/16 to 1/8 off for structural steel is within tolerance.
as long as the car isnt wobbling I wouldnt worry about it.

ovilla · Mar 2, 2008

I know this sounds crazy but I have to wonder too if Bend Pak purposely builds it that way so that over time (after so much use) the entire pipe will start making contact with the floor. Have you ever seen a new flat bed trailer being pulled by a semi? When brand new they are always bowed in the middle. Anyway, I'd definitely call Bend Pak and get their assessment on what you have there.

mikeyr · Mar 2, 2008

I have the same lift and mine seems off a little also but since mine sits on Racedeck tiles it fits perfectly with the floor

The only concern I would have with that is that it might allow the lift to rock sideways a little but I seriously doubt it and also doubt its a safety issue. Better safe than sorry and call them on Monday, they are very helpful and friendly. Both Bend-Pak and ASE but I would call Bend-Pak for this one. (actually, I would drive over but that is just silly old me)

boiler7904 · Mar 3, 2008

ovilla said:
I know this sounds crazy but I have to wonder too if Bend Pak purposely builds it that way so that over time (after so much use) the entire pipe will start making contact with the floor. Have you ever seen a new flat bed trailer being pulled by a semi? When brand new they are always bowed in the middle. Anyway, I'd definitely call Bend Pak and get their assessment on what you have there.

That's called camber. It gets built into the trailer (and steel roof joists, wood trusses, etc.) so that they don't sag when fully loaded.

If watch a trailer get loaded or unloaded, the deflection of the camber will change with the load.

+1 on calling Bend Pak or their local rep for an assessment.

jimval · Mar 3, 2008

How come Jeff Kritzer or someone from bendpak hasn't posted an answer on this thread? They seem to be following the other lift thread very closely. If there is any camber built into this lift, it should be the other way so that the lift doesn't rock. Anybody that has ever laid hands on a welder knows what happens to steel when it is welded. The design should take this into account. In fact, the design should take into account uneven concrete floors because they are never perfect.

safetyfast · Mar 3, 2008

Called Bend Pak today and they asked me to email the photos. I got the following response:

"I forwarded you pics to my manager who sent them to our QA team.

QA says this is a normal occurrence with this model as weight is concentrated on the cylinders and safety bar; if the lift bows any more, let us know"

I'm not sure that's a satisfactory answer of not.

I also mentioned an issue on the lifting arms, which I've seen raised before in another forum. At some point the design was changed so that the bolts are just long enough to sit flush with the end of the nut instead of extending on through the nut. I would have felt better with longer bolts,but he assured me that is normal.
Also, one of my arms would bind up unless the nut was loosened until the nylon portion of the threads of the nyloc nut were no longer engaged. I removed that arm and found that the problem is that the bolt was welded on at an angle rather than perpendicular to the lift arm. Pulled the other arms and found the same issue with them, but to a lesser degree.

jay50 · Mar 3, 2008

I would make them pick it up and replace; defective product.

l_bilyk · Mar 3, 2008

Yeah but it bows without the weight on there. The pipe they welded in probably had a bow in it to begin with

sneezer41 · Mar 3, 2008

I would shim it, but I would not think it is dangerous

christian · Mar 3, 2008

have you tried putting it on a rubber mat like workout equipment? just a thought. nice purchase!

rburke65 · Mar 4, 2008

Why would a string and a rule be more accurate than a straight edge?

boiler7904 · Mar 4, 2008

rburke65 said:
Why would a string and a rule be more accurate than a straight edge?

The accuracy of a straightedge along a surface is going to be subject to the surface itself. It can be misleading. There is also the potential for the straightedge to be bent which will further alter your measurements

If you set a string 1" or so off of each end, you are starting with an indpendent straight line to set your measurements from.

safetyfast · Mar 4, 2008

I've got to give Bend Pak credit. They are shipping out new lift arms to me and also shipping me a Ranger oil drain for my trouble.

1fastvx · Mar 6, 2008

What are they doing about the bow in the bottom metal piece?

John

jay50 · Mar 6, 2008

safetyfast said:
I've got to give Bend Pak credit. They are shipping out new lift arms to me and also shipping me a Ranger oil drain for my trouble.

They should be sending out an entire new lift for building **** like that :spit:

...Guess they have eliminated the QC department as a cost cutting measure.. :shocking:

safetyfast · Mar 6, 2008

1fastvx said:
What are they doing about the bow in the bottom metal piece?

John

Like Dawg indicated, BendPak claims it is within spec. They claim there's no risk. They indicated I can put a piece of sheet metal under the ends for peace of mind, but it's not needed. I did move it back a few inches on my floor and the gap is less, but is still present.

32roadster · Mar 6, 2008

why would expect it to be straight ??

it's imported.

mikeyr · Mar 6, 2008

32roadster said:
why would expect it to be straight ??

it's imported.

Uh, not its not...

Bend-Pak does import a lot of stuff and I assume the steel for the 6xp is imported but its welded and assembled right here in the USA. I saw them being welded and assembled when I picked up mine.

I think most of their stuff is imported but not this one.

JSK · Mar 6, 2008

Hey guys,

Sorry for not posting earlier - been away.
When I read the first post I was a little confused as it has never been brought to my attention before so I wanted to do a little research before posting.

My initial thought would have been that the beam flexed during rise. On any scissors style lift there is tremendous force on all lifting components during the first six inches of lift. Especially at weights 4K and above. And the "bow" being in the downward direction would have made sense. But in this case it appears that the round beam is bowed even without a load.

I went into our warehouse on Monday and put a straight edge on all the welded frames in inventory. I was surprised that none of the ones I measured were bowed at all. I would have suspected that during the hot welding there would have been some bow due to the nature of welding heat. Remember when welding, the material pulls into the weld area which made sense as the gussets and inside square tubes are on the upside of the bow.

I’m not sure what happened in this case but we’ll go ahead and swap the unit.

safetyfast - thanks for being patient.

I’ll have our customer service people get right on it.

Jeff Kritzer
BendPak Inc.

safetyfast · Mar 6, 2008

Power of the board is amazing. Thanks for the follow up Jeff. I've been dealing with Brian in customer service. Let me know if I need to forward any of the emails to you.

JSK · Mar 6, 2008

No problem.

Will be interested in hearing your ongoings with the lift.

Must be a treat.

Gotta go - Poker night tonight.

Wish me luck!

Jeff
BendPak

jay50 · Mar 7, 2008

Hummm... interesting that Bendpak Customer service said it was inspec and no
risk...

safetyfast · Mar 7, 2008

Just to update, Jeff emailed me this morning and appears to be on top of things.

32roadster · Mar 9, 2008

From the bendpak website -

Welcome to BendPak

Around the world, value is a key motivator for customers. We are committed to continue providing top quality products at a price level that is competitive in the global marketplace. To achieve price competitiveness in today’s world economy we are forced to examine every business approach, evaluate all manufacturing operations, and explore all purchasing options available to keep operating expenses and manufacturing costs
to an absolute minimum. This direction coupled with other business strategies allows BendPak / Ranger to outdistance our competition.

In other words, we build this stuff in China......

Welcome to BendPak
Company History
Innovation
Corporate Structure
Careers

safetyfast · Mar 10, 2008

Bend Pak contacted me and is shipping a new lift my way. Last time I picked up at the terminal (an hour from my house). This time they are shipping to my door on a lift gate truck.

jay50 · Mar 10, 2008

safetyfast said:
Bend Pak contacted me and is shipping a new lift my way. Last time I picked up at the terminal (an hour from my house). This time they are shipping to my door on a lift gate truck.

Good action on their part to correct this problem; will have to look at Bendpak for my next lift for sure. :thumbup:

1fastvx · Mar 10, 2008

It is nice to see you are getting a replacement lift, but why did it take a member of this board who works for Bendpak to initiate the replacement? The first thing you posted was the tech support at Bendpak said it was in spec and it would be OK. What that really the case...what are the specs on figuring if it was good or not? To me this does not look good for Bendpak. The lift should have been swapped on the initial phone call to them.

John

rburke65 · Apr 5, 2008

JSK, according to boiler7904, you can't use a straight edge to check that steel.

Got my BendPak MD-6xp, but is there a problem?

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