What NOT to do when installing Rotary 2 post.

[Tech77]

I'll be attempting to install my Rotary 12k 2 post this weekend.

The lift supplier told me I should drill completely through concrete, so I can cut the anchor and drive down through bottom of concrete if the anchor does not torque properly. Are there tricks to promote anchors biting or is it a hit and miss ordeal? Also, they told me to install top brace before drilling concrete. I do have the install manual and have studied it. I'll make sure to have it square, level, and measure everything 10 timesI just want to avoid a major screw up.


I'm pretty excited. I'll update as I go along.

 

[58Yeoman]

Good luck. I hope it all goes well.

 

[sweetk30]

drill a good clean hole with a quality bit .

use the anchor bolts in the lift kit .

torque in a pattern in steps and be good to go .

done a few install jobs at my old work places of friends shops and not one anchor bolt problem yet .

good pick on a 12k rotary

 

[Disney]

Like you said, measure 10x, drill once. Your concrete may not be totally level right at the pads. Prepare some steel shims to bring it up to level once you start tightening the studs. For the holes, I don't know that it's totally needed to drill through the slab, in some cases it might not be possible. IN those cases, just tap the anchors into place and crank em down. Always vacuum the holes out after you drilled them. You'll find as you tighten the anchors it may pull the posts out of level. Just loosen back up, put some shims at that anchor spot and tighten again. Repeat until they are all in. Mine has probably 10 shims between both posts.

 

[Lassen Forge]

I'd blow the holes out, it will come out cleaner. Especially if you're using epoxy anchors - fines left behind act like flour on a cutting board... you want a good, solid bond between the anchor and the concrete.

 

[infinkc]

How thick is your slab to drill through? I just installed my bendpak lift. I drilled about 5” on mine, thought i read that you shouldn’t go all the way through. Just take your time drilling. I did one first and tightened it then drilled the others. I used a shop vac and compressed air to clean out the holes.

 

[Tech77]

Thanks for all the great advice. The concrete is 3000 psi 5" thick with two "divots" dug into the base layer about a foot deep in the general area of posts. I don't think I'll be able to drill all the way through.

 

[coljar]

I've always drilled the holes clear through, blew the dust out thoroughly, and haven't had one that won't bite, yet. Another advantage is, if or when you decide to move and take the hoist with you, pounding the bolt down into the floor and smearing a little concrete in the hole is easier and looks better than cutting them off.

 

[Daedalus]

thought i read that you shouldn’t go all the way through

+1 Seems everyone does it, but there are good reasons not to. I would follow the anchor mfr instructions.

 

[artrem]

If your slab is reinforced with rebar, get a rebar cutter. I just finished drilling my garage slab and hit rebar in three of the holes. If you have rebar, go slow don't push it. Problem I had was the bit would torque to one side when it hit an edge of a rebar. This caused the holes to be a bit out of round in two cases. Those anchors bit, but settled much closer to the top of the slab than the others.

 

[bobj49f2]

I've always drilled the holes clear through, blew the dust out thoroughly, and haven't had one that won't bite, yet. Another advantage is, if or when you decide to move and take the hoist with you, pounding the bolt down into the floor and smearing a little concrete in the hole is easier and looks better than cutting them off.

One of my customers is a robotics place. If you think installing a lift is hard and there is concern about anchoring a lift, think about a robot that is constantly spinning around with a load at different distances from the base. That's real torque compared to a lift that is basically a static object. Lifts are designed to lift a vehicle safely without being anchored to the ground, but still have to be. Think about it, you don't want any undue stress on any mounting point. The anchors are there mainly to prevent movement, once you get a load rocking you have lost it.

Getting back to the robots, my customer installs robots that pick and place everything from a pencil to a huge six foot castings weighing a ton, add to the added inertia and distances. They always drill through floor so later if the robot, rest stands and fencing has to be removed they just have to push the anchors into the ground and fill the holes. They also vacuum majority of the dust out and blow what is remaining before squirting in epoxy to hold the anchors. As far as I know they have never had a failure.

BTW, when I installed my Manitowoc two post lift I install each post first and then the overhead beam. The Manitwoc is a beast, each upright weighs about 400 pounds so there is no way I'd assemble everything first. I marked the floor according to the installation instructions, drilled the holes for one, installed the first and then went on to the second one. I think attached the overhead beam. I installed the lift in one shop and when I sold the building I removed the lift, hammered the anchor down below the floor and reinstalled the lift in my new shop the same way.

 

[JohnnyK8]

Use a quality bit so you don't cone out the bottom of the hole

Sent from my SM-A505U using Tapatalk

 

[Tech77]

After driving 16hrs to pick up the lift, I got home and realized that I had no extensions. I was short a pallet. Contacted the distributor and they will ship them tomorrow. They promised to make it right, so I'm not too disappointed. They mentioned a tool/accessory for my inconvenience. I asked for good deal on truck adaptor extensions.

I picked up a Bosch 3/4 Bulldog concrete bit from Home Depot and hoping to find a rebar cutter locally. I checked all the supplied Hilti anchors and have to fix the threads on five anchors. They are dinged and the nuts hang up. So I'll chase them with a die.

I asked for touch up paint for the inevitable scratches and dings. I probably wipe it down after every use .