another reason not to buy cheap tool's

[the intimidator]

check it out
http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/showthread.php?t=194915

 

[kartracer55]

If you register on the board, tell this guy to persue the matter, taking it up wit ANSI or whoever certified this. Maybe they will reevaulate all this chinese **** comming into the usa

 

[wythors]

Scary! But I got a new tag line out of that thread. Thanks!

 

[SCOOTER]

I know I'm new here....But when the Pep Boys manager said "customer misuse" I would have shown him my definition of "misuse" by cramming it up his exit pipe "Big end first" ...."Hey Pep Boy'z there is a reason Jack in the Box let that fawktard go"

 

[JCByrd24]

Holy ****....I can't believe the manager would have the nerve...I guess you have to go in with "someone could have died" rather than "I want a refund" to really get them to comprehend your disatisfaction.

 

[Fast Orange]

Everything I see on that boom says "poor design"-If you look at a good quality hoist,you'll see the difference.
First issue I see is the fact that the bolts that lock the boom extension are located in the most stressed area of the main boom. On a well designed hoist,there will be only one hole in the main boom and it will be near the end of the boom at the end furthest from the pivot. There will also be a reinforcement ring at the end of the boom to keep the tube from ripping open at the end.The inner boom will be drilled for the lock bolt and marked for the capacities at various boom extensions.
Another bad design feature is as was brought up previously-the location of the upper cylinder pivot and it's mounting saddle in relation to the brace for the tension rod. The saddle should also be longer to better brace the boom.
I believe what we're looking at is probably a poor copy of a good hoist that has been modified to use a chinese hoist cylinder-the upper pivot was relocated closer to the upright so that the same maximum height could be achieved with a shorter cylinder. As for the extension holes in the main boom-who knows-mabe lower manufacturing costs?
If the rest of this hoist is engineered the same way,as it probably is,it needs to be reported to somebody before it kills somebody.I don't know if the Consumer Products Safety Commission would have the proper authority to get this recalled or not,but that would be where I would start.

George

 

[bmwpower]

I was this close to buying one from Pep Boys today. My HF unit was DOA with a bad cylinder, missing bolts, etc. I ended up buying a "better" one from Advanced Auto. I gotta go out and look at the design. Either way I was only lifting a 302 - not too much weight.

 

[bmwpower]

Just reread the original post... He said he was pushing the motor into place. I wonder if he was pushing with downward force?

 

[...dave]

Pushing with downward force? i don't think so... He was maneuvering the engine into place to lower it, as i understand... the only unusual force might come from the engine swinging at the end of the crane, but even so, that's no reason for it to fail under a weight so far below the "rated" load. i was also considering buying one of those cranes when i saw the $150 price with a $20 rebate, but forget that... i should really know better than to buy anything from Pep Boys... place looks like a damned flea market, every kind of random imported **** from toys to clothing. Really can't expect them to have tools worth the name.

...dave

 

[jstbecauz]

What is the weight of a 7.4l? about 1000lbs maybe more depending on accessories? How about the transmission? Depending on what it is could be alot as well. He should have had that set back to the largest load bearing weight setting that lift can handle, look where the fatigue took place. I would not be so quick to blame the hoist, but maybe misuse is an issue. But that being said, you know what they say...you buy cheap you get cheap. Do not skimp on equipment, if you want to buy the cheap Harbor Freight hand tools that is one thing, I personally do not purchase their tools but it is up to you, but with equipment why take the chance spend the money for quality.

 

[motorheadjohn]

That lift looks just like the folding hoist I bought at HF. I've pulled my 440 with no problems, but without transmission attached.

I'd love to buy a made-in-USA and/or other quality-engineered hoist. Can you even get such a thing any more?

 

[bmwpower]

That lift looks just like the folding hoise I bought at HF. I've pulled my 440 with no problems, but also without transmission attached. I'd love to buy a made-in-USA and/or other quality-engineered hoist. Can you even get such a thing any more?

I've been shopping and I haven't seen many. The one that sticks in my mind is OTC. Be prepared to pay more.

http://www.otctools.com/newcatalog/category.php3?cat=7

 

[logical]

What is the weight of a 7.4l? about 1000lbs maybe more depending on accessories? How about the transmission? Depending on what it is could be alot as well. He should have had that set back to the largest load bearing weight setting that lift can handle, look where the fatigue took place. I would not be so quick to blame the hoist, but maybe misuse is an issue. But that being said, you know what they say...you buy cheap you get cheap. Do not skimp on equipment, if you want to buy the cheap Harbor Freight hand tools that is one thing, I personally do not purchase their tools but it is up to you, but with equipment why take the chance spend the money for quality.

It was set in the 3000 lb. rated hole...why should he have to set it for 4000 lbs. to lift a 1500 lb. unit?

"Fatigue" is weakening of a material due to repeated cycling....I assume you meant "failure".

Just because it's cheap doesn't mean it is acceptable for it to not handle the rated load without failure. A more expensive unit may look nicer , feel better and operate smoother....and may be more overdesigned, but a cheap unit should do what it's rated to do without buckling.

 

[the intimidator]

ya i agree these units need to be recalled it should not matter how cheap or expensive stuff is it should perform to it's rated capacity with out massive failure sure the cheap units may not operate as effecently and as smoothly as the top of the line american built piece but they should both lift there rated loads without failure

 

[joecaver]

OMG who would expect that to happen?

 

[evildky]

I used to have a big old heavy cherry picker, it would lift anything, I gave it to a bud with a Jeep (AMC 360) as I didn't mess with american V8's much anymore, and I gto a small china folder, which I honestly rarely use as I built a lifting frame that serves most purposes, my point beint that if your gonna play with big heavy motors, yeah you should invest in a big heavy picker, if however, you do smaller lighter 2 and 6 cylinders, then the little folding units are a bargain, don't take a knife to a gunfight

 

[jstbecauz]

It was set in the 3000 lb. rated hole...why should he have to set it for 4000 lbs. to lift a 1500 lb. unit?

"Fatigue" is weakening of a material due to repeated cycling....I assume you meant "failure".

Just because it's cheap doesn't mean it is acceptable for it to not handle the rated load without failure. A more expensive unit may look nicer , feel better and operate smoother....and may be more overdesigned, but a cheap unit should do what it's rated to do without buckling.

I would assume that the load rate would be dead lift, but I could be wrong. Was the motor and transmission being just lifted and then let go or was he pushing it along a driveway or floor and it was bouncing along the way when it began to crush. I guess there is no way to estimate the weight of a bouncing 7.4l with a transmisison so that is why I stated that.

Webster, we can argue symantics on another thread if you like, however the correct meaning for the word "fatigue"
A: is weariness or exhaustion from labor, exertion, or stress.
B: the tendency of a material to break under repeated stress

 

[Uncle Buck]

I never have been drawn to a fold up picker. For whatever reason they do not inspire a great deal of trust in me, I do like the concept of saving storage space and not having to break the picker down due to limited storage space though. I have an old 2 Ton assemble unit that looks like an old HF unit. I replaced all the bolts with grade 8 USA when I got it. I must say, it has always done everything and more that I asked of it, even when I have done stupid things! I once stuck my old Walker floor jack under the rear end of an Internation 656 farm tractor that had calcium filled tires, then at the 2 Ton boom setting hooked my picker chain to the drawbar. Between the two I was able to lift the backend of the 656 totally off the ground by about 2 inches! As I said, this was a stupid thing to do, today, I would not consider doing this again. The described lash up held about 5 minutes until the chi-com hook at the end of the boom failed, needless to say the old Walker floor jack did not hold the load alone so the tractor came back down in a hurry. I replaced the hook with a CM and have never had any other problems with the picker dispite my stupid abusive use of the picker years ago.

 

[fourspeed]

Looks like it's time to call Jackie Childs! I'm only partly joking.

I agree with those who say it's a faulty design. If you have the cylinder in a 3000# position, the hoist had better hold 3000lbs, or something is wrong. In fact, it should hold about 4500lbs, given a reasonable safety factor. Lifting equipment is ALWAYS under-rated (for obvious reasons).

Sure the lift is cheap, and may be poor quality, but that does not justify the over-rating of the lift. If you're a low-tech guy and don't have the smarts to figure out bending moments and stresses, you could still build one of these and test it to the point of failure to find out what the rating should be. No excuse in my mind. This is not like a cheap socket that fails, or a ratchet that fails. This is a safety issue.

Just my opinion.
Mark

 

[kartracer55]

Id love to build one of my own when I

A have a shop of my own and...
B can weld worth a damn

Id build the damn boom out of 1/4 thick box tubing... Id totally overkill it.

Jim

 

[scott_h]

Man, I bought that same hoist about 2 months ago!! It handled an aluminum headed SBF no problem, but I think I'll gusset the hell out of it before I try to do anything else with it. There were already 2-3 places that were bolted(upright lateral supports, main vertical post, etc.) that I'd planned on shooting a bead across for more stability. I think I'll add a full length 1/8" gusset plate to each side of the beam now!

 

[W-Cummins]

Here is a side by side comp of the cheep hf ( BTW looks way better than the pep boys one) and the shop made model
The shop built is 3"X4"X0.188" The ram attachment is 3/8 plate both ends are plated with 1/4" and the keyhole plate for the chain is 3/8" plate.