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Two post lift anchor issue.

Mountainman

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Jun 23, 2020
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georgia
I am installing my 10k BendPak two post lift. Everything was going good until installing the last four anchor bolts. The last four 3/4” x 6” bolts tightened up but there is only about 3” embedded in the concrete. The other bolts are embedded almost all the way. I am not sure why this happened and what needs to be done about it. Has anyone else had this problem? Thank you!
 

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Ign

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Butte Peak ND
Wedge anchors are fickle IME

Honestly not sure if anything can be done now? Even if you could drive it back down to get the "wings" off the taper, it seems if you tried to pull it up it'll be like a Chinese finger trap and return to the same spot?

Curious what others say

edit: I should say I was thinking get it out, shoot Hilti epoxy in there and start over
 

infinkc

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Jan 19, 2012
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862
not quite following what the issue it, picture?

you had to drill all the way down correct, so the anchor is all the way in the hole, so is it when you are tightening the nut, you have like 3" of thread coming up past the base plate?
 

k2steve

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Apr 3, 2020
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ANTIOCH, CALIFORNIA
When I mounted mine I used red-heads. Big Bo Bo.
Use epoxy made for the job and follow the directions for the stuff you use.
The red-heads broke the cement on the first lift I made. Had to move and remount.
 

matt_i

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SE Michigan
Imo best long term fix is to epoxy in B7 threaded rods after thoroughly cleaning (blow with metal pipette, brush, blow with metal pipette, brush) the hole.

However getting from here to there isn't easy. Potentially there's a number of 3/4" steel rods in the way. Turning them into chips via handheld tools (twist drill) is possible but is going to take awhile. Based on that I would loosen them up and try to hammer the stud back down in hopes the collar will travel with it and tighten up deeper.
 

infinkc

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862
Just added photos.

How high up are the bolts past the plate? They look how mine do, none of mine look like the one that is low. All mine are about 2.5” up.
 

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theegovernor

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Jan 19, 2020
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Denver
Assuming the anchors have only 3 inches of embedment like you said, I would think it was due to bad concrete/ concrete not thick enough. How confident are you of the thickness?

Assuming the thickness and concrete is fine, fix this with grade 8 all thread and epoxy.
 

Kaizen

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New England
So the good ones are 3/4” deeper?
Does the directions have any requirements?
Did you drill all the way through the slab and how thick is it?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
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wssix99

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Mar 2, 2011
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5,156
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Chicago, IL
Has anyone else had this problem?

Sure. It's really common. As I've gone along, I've learned to use a new bit every time I do this and also use a proper rebar cutting bit for going through rebar. This has helped me get the holes perfect. If they are even a little bit oversized, the bolts won't bite as consistently.


The last four 3/4” x 6” bolts tightened up but there is only about 3” embedded in the concrete.

Are these the ones that came with the lift? If your slab is thicker than 4" and you drilled all the way through the slab, you could pound these all the way through and go with a longer bolt to help you grab deeper in the hole. Usually the bottom of the hole is going to be tighter. (The bit shank hasn't had the time to ream it out wider.)

JeepJohn62's suggestion about the tap-and-turn has also worked for me some times.


there is only about 3” embedded in the concrete. The other bolts are embedded almost all the way.

This may not be the case. These bolts stretch as we torque them. If you look at all the threads that moved up over the nut as you torqued them, that will give you an idea of the stretch. Subtract the amount from your deeper bolts from your shallower bolts, and that will give you the true delta that you are off.

Your situation may be OK as-is. If you call Bend-Pak, they may ask you for those measurements and the number of threads that you can see and should be able to tell you if you are deep enough.

If Bend-Pak confirms you are good, you are better off like this than trying to do something "inventive". Epoxy bolts are not an optimal solution and can be dangerously inadequate if not installed perfectly. (If epoxy or some other material is needed, Bend-Pak will instruct you on the type and proper material to use.) Wedge anchors are the most reliable anchor for this application, which is why they ship with the lift.
 

matt_i

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Epoxy bolts are not an optimal solution and can be dangerously inadequate if not installed perfectly. (If epoxy or some other material is needed, Bend-Pak will instruct you on the type and proper material to use.) Wedge anchors are the most reliable anchor for this application, which is why they ship with the lift.

The strange thing to me is that the "proof tester" for an epoxy installation is right there.

Its just the nut & washer.

You tighten it up to some high torque value before you load the hoist (just straight axial tension without any life or limb in the balance). If it retains that torque over time without creeping and losing clampload, then you have confidence its good. So then you loosen them up, tighten the group back down to whatever you need to keep the baseplate in contact with the floor and then sleep soundly at night.

If the installation was poor then the stud will pull out and you can start over again with hopefully a better prep.
 

wssix99

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You tighten it up to some high torque value before you load the hoist (just straight axial tension without any life or limb in the balance). If it retains that torque over time without creeping and losing clampload, then you have confidence its good.

But you have no idea if you have achieved the factor of safety. When an anchor bolt bites at the bottom of the hole, one knows that the full pull-out strength will be achieved. If the epoxy anchor doesn't bond to the bottom of the hole, the strength will be less and one might not know.
 

cj7jeep81

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Jul 11, 2006
Messages
463
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S.E. Indiana
Does your lift instructions tell you? I have an older 10k lift, and this is what it says.

"The foundation has to be long enough for the vehicles to be supported, wide enough to provide support for the lift, and the concrete shall have compression strength of at least 3,000 PSI and a minimum thickness of 4 in. in order to achieve a minimum anchor embedment of 3-¼ in. When using the standard supplied ¾ in. x 5-½ in. long anchors, if the top of the anchor exceeds 2-¼ in. above the floor grade you DO NOT have enough embedment."
 
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