Torque spec for lift base plate anchors?

[Josh Kinzey]

I'm working on installing a 2 post lift. I'm curious what you guys would use for a torque spec on the 3/4 inch concrete anchors that hold the base plates to the floor.

Lift is a 9000 lb. Atlas, model number OH9000.

 

[Crazy Car Guy]

i went 85 on the 10,000 atlas i installed last week

 

[wnstwolf]

Ditto on the 85# that was Bendpack as well as anchor spec. Careful you don't over do it or you will rip the anchor out of the concrete...

 

[AndyL]

The specs will be on the anchor's box - were they supplied with the lift or sourced yourself?

 

[David in VA]

fyi the ones on my lift said to torque to 120 ft lbs.

 

[rlme36]

Its definitely by the anchor supplier. my challenger has wej it's and torqued to 110 ft lbs. Make sure to re torque after the lift has run a couple of cycles, they will loosen up a wee bit

 

[Josh Kinzey]

Anchors were supplied by Atlas, just in a clear plastic bag. No name brand or anything on them, so I'm not sure who made them.

I went to 90 on all of them.

 

[pattenp]

The install instructions with my Challenger 9000# two post said to set the anchors at 150 ft lbs and re-torque to 80 ft lbs.

 

[GeorgiaHybrid]

The installer used 3/4" Wej It anchors on my 10,000# Challenger. The specs were to tighten to 150 ft lbs. I was there and he had to borrow my torque wrench (someone "borrowed" his on the job before mine) so I know they were torqued that high without any ill effects on the concrete.

 

[jimp]

The Atlas installation manual for the OH9000 has 100 to 150 ft-lbs. It's hidden at the end.

 

[pattenp]

You should check on the install requirements again. I don't think you should leave the torque at 150 ft lbs. There was some confusion on the torque when my lift was installed so I called Challenger to verify and I was told to set the anchors using 150 ft lbs but then to back them off to 80 ft lbs. The tech I talked to said not to leave it at 150 ft lbs of torque.

The installer used 3/4" Wej It anchors on my 10,000# Challenger. The specs were to tighten to 150 ft lbs. I was there and he had to borrow my torque wrench (someone "borrowed" his on the job before mine) so I know they were torqued that high without any ill effects on the concrete.

 

[GeorgiaHybrid]

You should check on the install requirements again. I don't think you should leave the torque at 150 ft lbs. There was some confusion on the torque when my lift was installed so I called Challenger to verify and I was told to set the anchors using 150 ft lbs but then to back them off to 80 ft lbs. The tech I talked to said not to leave it at 150 ft lbs of torque.

Don't know about Challenger but the guy that put mine up worked for Rotary installing lifts for 20 years before starting his company and for 10 years since then. I have been doing structural steel for over 30 years and have used just about every type of epoxy and wedge anchor on the market during that time.

If you look at Wejit's catalog (page 15) you will see that a 3/4" bolt should be torqued to a maximum of 170 ft lbs. The installation instructions don't say anything about "backing off" to a lower torque setting and I have NEVER seen that done on the few hundred thousand we have set in the field in the past 30 years. I trust Challenger on the lift but I trust the bolt company that makes the bolt.

 

[pattenp]

I don't disagree that a 3/4 Weejit can't take 150# torque. The instructions for the installation of the Challenger lift says 150# to set the anchors and 80# to maintain the torque in the maintenance section of the instructions.

See pg.5 & pg.11 for the CL10 or pg 13 # 19 of the pdf.
http://www.aescosc.com/challenger/2-Post_.pdf

 

[jclem40c]

My 9000 lb Rotary specs say torque to 150 ft lbs.

John

 

[pattenp]

The torque listed in the Weejit catalog is the recommended torque for setting the anchor. The torque to set the anchor vs. to hold the lift securely in place are two different things.

 

[GeorgiaHybrid]

The lower torque setting is a check after use of the lift. You should not "back off" a wedge anchor. The bolts can loosen up over time and you need to check them by re-torquing them if they are loose. Since they are set, you only need to make sure they are good and tight, hence the lower torque value. Call tech support at Hilti, Wejit, Kwik bolt or Redi bolt and ask them if you need to set the bolt, back it off and then re-torque to a lower value during the install.

I will be very surprised if ANY of them agree to that as a recommended procedure.

 

[pattenp]

What you are saying makes sense. I hope the Challenger people didn't give me bad instructions. You'd think the maintenance section would say to maintain the torque at 150#. I think I may re-crank them to at least 100# and see what they do.

The lower torque setting is a check after use of the lift. You should not "back off" a wedge anchor. The bolts can loosen up over time and you need to check them by re-torquing them if they are loose. Since they are set, you only need to make sure they are good and tight, hence the lower torque value. Call tech support at Hilti, Wejit, Kwik bolt or Redi bolt and ask them if you need to set the bolt, back it off and then re-torque to a lower value during the install.

I will be very surprised if ANY of them agree to that as a recommended procedure.

 

[GeorgiaHybrid]

pattenp, The instructions in Challengers manual tell you to re check the bolts during your routine maintenance. All it has you do is to check and see if the bolts still have 80 ft lbs on them. If they do, the bolts have not stretched, the nuts have not backed off nor has the concrete given way and you are good to go. I think that is what their tech was trying to explain.

 

[pattenp]

If that was what the tech was trying to explain then he missed it by a mile, because he said to re-torque to 80#. I know, I'm

pattenp, The instructions in Challengers manual tell you to re check the bolts during your routine maintenance. All it has you do is to check and see if the bolts still have 80 ft lbs on them. If they do, the bolts have not stretched, the nuts have not backed off nor has the concrete given way and you are good to go. I think that is what their tech was trying to explain.

 

[admranger]

100 ft. lbs on my lift (Forward brand, 9000#), iirc. They haven't budged in 11+ years of service.

 

[Josh Kinzey]

Wobbling the truck must have pulled the anchors up a small amount. I was able to get another 1/4 turn or so almost all the bolts before hitting 90 ft. lbs.

I haven't had time to lift the truck again, but I am pretty confident that was my issue.

Also, in my brain, tightening to 150 then loosening the nut makes sense. That would expand the bell and really seat the anchor in place. Once the anchor is set, you can tighten the clamp load on the base plate to what ever spec you are looking for.

I found the spec in the manual, it's under the maintenance section in the back, not in the installation area. The spec they list is as jimp describes, 100-150 ft. lbs.

 

[carpenter383]

I just installed a used 10k forward lift in my garage. I had no instruction manual to go by but I've used wedge anchors in constuction quite a bit. I torqued the anchors to 150 ft lbs and the top of all the bolts are 1/4" or less above the nut. I drove the anchors down to where I could only start the nut by a few threads without the washer because I knew they would pull up aprox 3/4" from being tightened. I wanted as much of the bolt in the concrete as possible. I would be careful about going from 90 ft lbs to 150 if you already have alot of the bolt sticking up above the nut because the bolt will pull up more from the extra torque which means less concrete is holding the anchor.