Another 2 Post Lift thread.....

[Homewrecker]

Haven't posted here in a long while.

Several years ago I was looking at getting a 2 post lift but never followed though due to other priorities. I am now restarting my quest lol.

One thing I am regretting right off the bat is not getting a lift back when I was originally looking (2015ish) because the prices have increased to beyond insane levels for some of the models I had looked at before. For example I had previously looked at a DirectLift Model HR8000. Back then I was quoted $2195 (Canadian, plus tax, delivery etc). I requested an updated quote and today they quoted me $7295 for the same model and that doesn't include tax and delivery!! I was expecting an increase but over $5K is insane. I would never pay that much for the HR8000.

I was also looking at a MaxJax back then. I think I was quoted around $1800 (Canadian) and even Costco had them. The newly revised MaxJax M7 sells for $3970 (on sale now) and $4690 regular price. I can't justify spending that much on a MaxJax now. It may be portable which is the selling feature but if I'm going to spend that much I'd rather get a full size lift. Part of the problem is that it is only available from one BendPak distributor here and they can charge what they want.

My ceiling in the Garage is just at 11 feet which limits me to a MaxJax (or similar) or a baseplate unit. The Mohawk A7 would've been perfect but sadly has been discontinued. I'm not even sure if Mohawk Lifts are even available in Canada anymore.

I have been researching various lift models and options and most of them require a floor thickness anywhere from 4.5" (for a MaxJax, BendPak) up to 6" (Peak Lift 209X).

There are a couple of models (from China I presume) that I was also looking at like the Protec CL-240B (http://protecequipment.ca/product/detail/cl-240b-9000lbs-baseplate-two-post-hoist) and something similar to a MaxJax (https://www.capitalautoequipment.co...uck-lift-hydraulic-lift-low-ceiling-6610-lbs/). What surprised me is that the manual states (in poor English lol) that floor thickness is to be 200mm which is aprox. 7.8".

Why is there such a large variation in floor thickness requirements for lifts with the same and less capacity? I would think the baseplate size, geometry etc is a factor in determining the thickness value but that's quite a large variation.

I had my garage slab poured thicker during construction in anticipation of a lift installation. My floor thickness is approx. 7.75". The floor may not be exactly 7.75" in all areas but very close. At the time I had never come across a model that called for more than 5" of concrete. So now I'm not sure what to at this point and what models to consider. I do have both 110V 20A and 220 30A outlets in the garage so power source won't be an issue.

A 4 post is not an option either due to space limitations.

 

[vwpieces]

Most any lift under $5K is going to be made in China.
My ceiling is a bit lower than yours and I went with a base plate type. I wanted it to be the first and the last lift I bought so I never considered the portables or scissor type. If your floor is not at Least 4in thick and in good shape I would go 4 post.
Also be aware that some of the Cheap Chinese lifts include 18mm anchors... Throw them out and get good quality 19mm or 3/4in anchors. I have never seen an 18mm concrete bit.

I am in USA and did my research only 4 years ago, but never heard of Protec. Really not liking the animated pic. Why do they not have a real photo of the product? Same in the pdf files... Some red flags to me and a big WTHeck!

 

[gizardlizard]

I have a Rotary 10,000 pound two post hoist. My directions called for 4 1/2” of concrete which I didn’t have. I cut out two four foot squares, dug down about a foot and also dug 6” under the slab in all four directions. I put in rebar and repoured. The new concrete is now “keyed” under the slab of the original floor. I also needed 12’ to mount the lift. I didn’t have that either. I had 11’-8”. What I did, was position my lift strategically between the trusses so the columns would fit. You don’t actually need 12’ to lift a vehicle, the safety bar shuts the lift down long before that anyway. You just need clearance for the columns. I boxed out the area above the columns and dry walled it. If you want a lift, there’s always a way. I wanted one….. bad lol

 

[mmb617]

One thing I am regretting right off the bat is not getting a lift back when I was originally looking (2015ish) because the prices have increased to beyond insane levels for some of the models I had looked at before.

As a car guy all my life I always envied those who had a garage when I did not. But when we bought a house that needed major renovations building a garage had to wait. We got the house in a great neighborhood for a low price but it took 20 years of working on it to get to the point that I could take the time and money to finally build a garage.

When I started my garage build in 2003 I didn't even look at lifts because I was under the impression that they were horribly expensive. I assumed they would be $10k or so and that was not in the budget. After the garage was built I found out that lifts were much more affordable than I thought. I could buy one at that time for under $3k, but I had built with 8 ft ceilings in the garage so a lift wouldn't fit.

Obviously there was only one thing to do. I added another bay onto the garage and since I knew it would be for a lift I built 12 ft to the bottom of the trusses in that bay and poured a floor that was more then adequate. The only minor problem was that due to setbacks I could only go 16 ft wide and a few ft more would have been nice, but it all worked out in the end.

It would have been easier and cheaper to have built with the lift in mind all along. But hindsight is indeed 20/20.

 

[HoosierBuddy]

Why is there such a large variation in floor thickness requirements for lifts with the same and less capacity? I would think the baseplate size, geometry etc is a factor in determining the thickness value but that's quite a large variation.

Not being able to speak to the designer, this is just a wild-***-guess....but it is possible that they are specifying a thicker than normal concrete base on a globally sold product, to make up for questionable concrete strength in some areas of the world they sell to.

If they sell one of these in Timbuktu, the concrete there may not be as strong as someone would use in Toronto. No disrespect to Mali. They may have fantastic concrete there. But thickness is one thing you can check after the fact. The compressive strength of an existing slab would be a lot harder to determine.

 

[Homewrecker]

Thanks for the replies.

Unfortunately I'm 'stuck' with my 11 foot ceiling in the garage. Could be worse though and have a 9 foot ceiling. The framing for the ceiling was dropped to make room for the steel beams directly under the bedroom floor over the garage. There is about 4 feet of dead space between the ceiling drywall and the structure above it. Unfortunately the framing runs perpendicular to where the lift would be so boxing it out is not an option. Although I would prefer a clear floor unit I don't want to start tearing things apart just to be able to fit one in.

I did look at Rotary Lifts but they don't seem to have a floor plate model. I sent an e-mail to those 2 companies I had listed the links for and asked for more info on their models. These companies try to portray themselves as being large and well organized based on their website designs but let me tell you that after reading their single sentence replies it was like I was trying to buy used patio furniture off Craigslist. I took the time to ask some questions with a well written e-mail and all I get are one line responses that don't address anything I asked so that's a hard pass on both these so-called lift companies yet people still seem to buy from them.

I've been considering this Peak 209X model --> https://www.babco.ca/Peak-209X which is currently on sale. I've been e-mailing this company back and forth and they are very professional; a far cry from the other 2 businesses. They are also the Canadian BendPak distributor but unfortunately don't carry the models I was interested in such as the XPR-9S.

 

[wssix99]

They are also the Canadian BendPak distributor but unfortunately don't carry the models I was interested in such as the XPR-9S.

You don't need a distributor for BendPak. Just order directly from the company.

 

[wssix99]

Why is there such a large variation in floor thickness requirements for lifts with the same and less capacity? I would think the baseplate size, geometry etc is a factor in determining the thickness value but that's quite a large variation.

Read the instructions carefully. There are typically 2 specs. One for a new slab, which you have, and one for a repair slab - a slab you have to pour in a cut-out of a larger slab of inferior quality. The repair slabs/sections are deep for a number of mechanical reasons. (They are NOT footers.)

If you are seeing slab variations for new slabs, it's all about the anchor bolts. A thin sidewalk can take the load of your car (or the lift) sitting on it. The problem is needing enough depth for the anchor bolts to do what they need to do. The more depth the anchor bolt has, the greater resistance it has to pull-out from the floor when the 2-post lift develops tipping moments. (Concrete is weak in this mode/tension.) Depending on the design, some manufacturers will need/call for longer bolts than others. This means deeper slabs.

 

[Homewrecker]

You don't need a distributor for BendPak. Just order directly from the company.

For Canada they refer you to their Canadian Distributor. They won't ship from the US to here anyway. Too costly and too much involved. It actually ends up being cheaper buying it here.

Read the instructions carefully. There are typically 2 specs. One for a new slab, which you have, and one for a repair slab - a slab you have to pour in a cut-out of a larger slab of inferior quality. The repair slabs/sections are deep for a number of mechanical reasons. (They are NOT footers.)

If you are seeing slab variations for new slabs, it's all about the anchor bolts. A thin sidewalk can take the load of your car (or the lift) sitting on it. The problem is needing enough depth for the anchor bolts to do what they need to do. The more depth the anchor bolt has, the greater resistance it has to pull-out from the floor when the 2-post lift develops tipping moments. (Concrete is weak in this mode/tension.) Depending on the design, some manufacturers will need/call for longer bolts than others. This means deeper slabs.

I did manage to find the instructions for both of those lifts. They both state the floor thickness requirements to be 200mm or 7.8" and don't mention anything about new slab specs. The manual is awful though due to poor translation and poor images. The section on floor conditions seems more like an afterthought compared to some other manuals I've seen.

So when I asked the 2 companies for clarification one stated I need "6 or 7 inches". Well which is it, 6 or 7?? The other company stated 6". This is getting too sketchy so I'm done with these 2 options.

 

[Homewrecker]

So after reading through the specs on all the units I was considering I've settled on the Peak Lift Model 209X --> https://www.babco.ca/Peak-209X.

It just went off sale. I couldn't leave a deposit as they couldn't hold it for me in the warehouse due to lack of space. I'll wait till it goes back on sale.

Does anyone know what the typical type of electrical plug these 220V Lift motors use? I've got 220 30A outlets (NEMA 14-30R) in my garage but they are configured for my welder. I'll need to change the outlet on one of the boxes to be compatible with the lift motor or I guess I could just install the the matching NEMA 14-30R plug on a cable for the existing outlet and wire the other end to the motor as per the manual instructions. Since the plug is located on a wall and not the ceiling I'll have to run a power cord across the floor and plug it in when I need to use the lift. Other times I'll just coil up the cord and hang it on the post. Might have a plug installed in the ceiling at some point.

Also, the motor (yes it says 220V lol & 2 HP) wiring diagram calls for connections to the 'L', 'N' and Ground Terminals. The wiring for the outlets is 10-3 which gives me Black, Red, White and Ground. If I wire the lift according to the diagram I'll be left with the red conductor not being connected as it calls for White, Black and Ground. Do I connect the red Wire as well or do I cap the white and use the Red and Black?

 

[jptbay]

So after reading through the specs on all the units I was considering I've settled on the Peak Lift Model 209X --> https://www.babco.ca/Peak-209X.

It just went off sale. I couldn't leave a deposit as they couldn't hold it for me in the warehouse due to lack of space. I'll wait till it goes back on sale.

Does anyone know what type electrical plug these 220V Lift pumps use (I've searched but found no definitive answer)? I've got 220 30A outlets in my garage but they are configured for my welder which uses a different plug. I'll need to change the outlet on one of the boxes to be compatible with the lift motor. Since the plug is located on a wall and not the ceiling I'll have to run a power cord across the floor and plug it in when I need to use the lift. Other times I'll just coil up the cord and hang it on the post. Might have a plug installed in the ceiling at some point.

9,000 lb 2-Post Vehicle Lift

Princess Auto Torin base plate 2-post lift on sale now for $3799.

 

[Homewrecker]

9,000 lb 2-Post Vehicle Lift

Princess Auto Torin base plate 2-post lift on sale now for $3799.

Saw that last month but wasn't really interested. I recognize that QJY240C model # from other Chinese branded lifts. Don't think Princess Auto does liftgate delivery or installs. It's not mentioned on their site anyway. The Peak Lift is $3595 regular price so it's cheaper than the Princess Auto Lift anyway. It was on sale before for $3199.

 

[Homewrecker]

Well after alot of back and forth and changing my mind I went with a Peak Lift BP-10000X. I wanted the 209X but they were sold out here and wanted to charge me shipping to have one sent from their warehouse out west. No way I was going to pay a "transfer fee". That's just ridiculous IMO.

Anyway, the lift is 1000lbs higher in capacity which is more than I need but it was on sale for $1000 off and ended up actually being $50 cheaper than the 9000lb version so common sense would dictate to get more for less lol.

It's supposed to be delivered at the end of April. I still have to relocate a 240V outlet to the ceiling which I'll get to at some point. Also got the garage door finally converted to a high lift after procrastinating for 10 years lol.

I was tossing around the idea of having the ceiling raised or boxed out as there is about 4 feet of dead space between the drywall and the bedroom floor above but decided against it. I've been rolling around on the floor for years and bench pressing transmissions and clutches into place on my back so this would be far better than the alternative.

 

[Beattie]

I have an Atlas 9KOH that's 10 years old and the hydraulic cylinder seals are leaking. I found a company that sells the seal kits, got one of the cylinders out and got the ram out of the bore. Unfortunately the piston does not have a nut to attach it to the ram like I was expecting. It's clearly a separate piece from the ram as it spins freely on the end of the ram, but I cannot figure out how the piston is attached to the ram. Since the chain roller carrier is welded to the other end of the ram, the only way I can replace the seals in the cap is to remove it from the ram, but to do so I need to get the piston off. Has anyone encountered one of these before?

 

[Homewrecker]

I have an Atlas 9KOH that's 10 years old and the hydraulic cylinder seals are leaking. I found a company that sells the seal kits, got one of the cylinders out and got the ram out of the bore. Unfortunately the piston does not have a nut to attach it to the ram like I was expecting. It's clearly a separate piece from the ram as it spins freely on the end of the ram, but I cannot figure out how the piston is attached to the ram. Since the chain roller carrier is welded to the other end of the ram, the only way I can replace the seals in the cap is to remove it from the ram, but to do so I need to get the piston off. Has anyone encountered one of these before?

Start a new thread for this.......