Sound Deadening a Lift

[dnwong]

I have a newly installed Bendpak XPR-10A-LP. My garage is new and uncluttered. The noise from the locks engaging when the car is being lifted is loud. Each time a lock is hit, it sounds like a hammer hitting a 55 gal drum.

I was thinking of putting some dynamat or other sound deadening material inside the columns to minimize the vibrations and hollow sound.

Has anyone tried something similar?

 

[Gerald O]

Not trying to be a wise-guy, but I'd recommend ear muffs if the loud sounds bother you that much. Too many loud tools in a shop to put sound deadening on everything. After you get the car up on the lift then you get the impact driver out to remove a wheel...

 

[jhelrey]

Hold the release as you are raising it.

 

[dnwong]

Not trying to be a wise-guy, but I'd recommend ear muffs if the loud sounds bother you that much. Too many loud tools in a shop to put sound deadening on everything. After you get the car up on the lift then you get the impact driver out to remove a wheel...

Its more because there is living space above the garage and I am trying to be mindful to those in the house... The impact and other tools are not nearly as loud as the lift for some reason.

 

[Cairo94507]

Hi Dudley - I had the same lift and remember well the "clanks" as the lift went up and the locks kicked in. I think adding some type of sound insulation material, DynaMat or similar would help a lot. Remember, when you do it, a little goes a long way. It is not necessary to line the entire column. Do one post as a trial run and see what it does. Post some pics too. Good luck. (I sold the house I had the 4-post in and will put a scissor-lift in the floor of my present, and hopefully final, house as I no longer have a 12' ceiling. Now it is 9' so a scissor will work better.)

 

[APEowner]

Hold the release as you are raising it.

This is what I do.

 

[Rocker4x4]

This is what I do.

X2 almost a habit now

 

[Ironcrow]

I put a thin rubber pad on the "clank" surface.

 

[CGT80]

I put a thin rubber pad on the "clank" surface.

x2

If metal is hammering on metal, you are not going to stop or dramatically reduce the noise. Put a cushion of rubber or felt between them and it will no longer be metal direct to metal. Would the bumpers for cupboard doors do the trick? They are small, sometimes thin, and self adhesive. Cork may be another material to try. Even a dab of silicone might help (obviously, make sure the parts don't touch until after the silicone has dried), as long as the locks still function properly with that material between them.

x2 on the ear muffs while using the impact or other noisy tools. Hearing loss *****!

 

[dragonballz]

x2 on the ear muffs while using the impact or other noisy tools. Hearing loss *****!

Stop screaming at me!

 

[lakeroadster]

Each time a lock is hit, it sounds like a hammer hitting a 55 gal drum.

And that is a good thing... it tells you the mechanism is working. If you modify it so it is quiet.. how will you know if a spring in the mechanism has failed?

And modifying a factory installed and tested locking mechanism, in any way, is bad practice... IMHO.

You've been given some good advice... right here..

Hold the release as you are raising it.

 

[Radix2]

And that is a good thing... it tells you the mechanism is working. If you modify it so it is quiet.. how will you know if a spring in the mechanism has failed?

And modifying a factory installed and tested locking mechanism, in any way, is bad practice... IMHO.

You've been given some good advice... right here .

Is it good advice?

If something is going to break, it is probably going to happen during use.

If the release is pressed, instead of possibly a fall of a single tooth or a out of level condition of a single tooth, now you depend on human reaction times and potentially catastrophic momentum. As with all such failures, a remote possibility, but it may be a significant defeat of a safety process for a noise issue?

 

[lakeroadster]

Is it good advice?

If something is going to break, it is probably going to happen during use.

If the release is pressed, instead of possibly a fall of a single tooth or a out of level condition of a single tooth, now you depend on human reaction times and potentially catastrophic momentum. As with all such failures, a remote possibility, but it may be a significant defeat of a safety process for a noise issue?

Curious? Do you own a lift? Have you ever used a lift? You engage it and have to continually engage the release... you don't press it. When you let go of it, the lock engages.

So if the worse case scenario happens... you'll let go.

 

[NitroShark]

On my 2 post BendPak I just hold the lock in lightly with my hand, You can feel the "clicks" as it goes up. No real click noise. On my 4post I just hold the pneumatic button in the whole time.

I'm not sure you have a problem, It's more of a training issue IMO.

 

[Radix2]

Curious? Do you own a lift? Have you ever used a lift? You engage it and have to continually engage the release... you don't press it. When you let go of it, the lock engages.

So if the worse case scenario happens... you'll let go.

Yes to both.

I also have a bunch of experience in control systems and by wire design. When the worse case scenario happens you have no idea what you will do. The brain is a marvelous machine, in confusion or surprise it will decide and your logical thinking brain will be a bystander. For things evolution has perfected - like dropping a hot coal, no problem. For releasing a thingabob, hitting the **** button or letting go of the control -- aces are wild. I have seen and experienced many times well trained and experienced operators absolutely doing the wrong thing and they knew it - yet there it is. YYMV.

 

[lakeroadster]

Yes to both.

I also have a bunch of experience in control systems and by wire design. When the worse case scenario happens you have no idea what you will do. The brain is a marvelous machine, in confusion or surprise it will decide and your logical thinking brain will be a bystander. For things evolution has perfected - like dropping a hot coal, no problem. For releasing a thingabob, hitting the **** button or letting go of the control -- aces are wild. I have seen and experienced many times well trained and experienced operators absolutely doing the wrong thing and they knew it - yet there it is. YYMV.

So, your advice to the OP is?

 

[Dakota00]

X2 almost a habit now

X3, I couldn't stand the banging sound.

 

[Gerald O]

Is it good advice?

If something is going to break, it is probably going to happen during use.

If the release is pressed, instead of possibly a fall of a single tooth or a out of level condition of a single tooth, now you depend on human reaction times and potentially catastrophic momentum. As with all such failures, a remote possibility, but it may be a significant defeat of a safety process for a noise issue?

This is an illogical worry.
Holding the release button is an unavoidable, normal operating procedure part of using a lift.
Every time you lower the lift the release button must be held.

 

[dnwong]

Good Point. I guess holding the release will be a good solution for now...

 

[Warrenator]

At my work we had a similar situation, whenever a certain mechanism was engaged there was a LOUD sudden clunk and 50 people would leap out of their skins. It took years before the mechanics fixed it, as advised above, with a thin layer of rubber right where the clank would happen. Really nice improvement.

If you are worried about jamming the mechanism with a big piece of rubber I think you could just paint a few layers of rubber cement or plasti-dip on the point of contact, it wouldn't take much to dull the impact. Just make sure anything that did come loose would be too small to interfere with the locks.

 

[brownbagg]

i like the noise mine make, tells me it engage, but is the noise loud because you shop is echo the noise. some people like tin on the wall but some material just ampfied noise.

mine pops but it no where near a hammer on a 55 gallon drum, it more like a hammer on a concrete slab