i am in the process of setting up my new two post lift. i would like pros and cons on chemical (epoxy or other) vs. mechanical anchors. i would also like to know how you guys have done it, and would you do it the same way again if given the chance? my slab is 6 inch and the lift is a rotary 9000 lb. asymmetrical. thanks in advance.
blt2go , you have a 6" thick slab , What strength concrete & what reinforcing do you have? I'd recommend Chemical/epoxy anchors as they don't 'stress' the surrounding concrete . Here we use 'Ramset CHEMSET 101' brand epoxy. Hilti make a similar product. Not sure what you have over in the U.S.but will be something similar. The mechanical (wedge) anchors have already 'stressed' the concrete before the load is applied. Just my 2 cents worth , (been in concrete business for 20 yr's,+ have Eng Qual's). Cheers , Bob. (from Brisbane Aussie , which may explain if the Ramest & Hilti brands don't make sense)
thanks so much. that makes sense about the mechanical anchors stressing the concrete by expanding. i will be looking into the epoxy kits. i'm not sure on slab strength or reinforcment, i know it has rebar and i have 20 anchor pots that were in the form when poured. this shop was designed and built as a body shop with frame repair provisions. thanks again, i knew i could count on the hamb.
The slab, reinforcement, and most of all depth of embedment are most important. A 6" thick slab is a bit thin. I would say you should have a thickened footing in your slab at a minimum depth of 1' for any type of structural beam which these posts are ( or does the design have a large foot pattern?). Epoxy, is your best bet. Hilti RE500 is a good product, depending on the size of anchor your embed depth can be 5 1/4" plus, so a 6" won't work. I guess it all depends on the engineers design. It should list a minimum on concrete PSI, my guess would be 4000. As you can guess there are a lot of factors. Just my $.02, I'm a structural steel, concrete, and mechanical inspector by trade. Wedge anchors aren't used around here much.
really? You better get the word out then.. they call for a 4 1/4" slab. And that's straight from Rotary. Though you do need to test the slab as well. If you have to cut it out to replace the section where the lift goes they recommend putting 4 X 4 X 6 thick 3,000psi in.
Damn...epoxy to hold up a lift. That's going to take a while for me to trust. How do I take it apart when I decide to move my shop?
The epoxy is used in the hole to bond the threaded rod to the cement. If your not familiar with this it does sound screwy. ZMAN, is that for a 9000 lb lift? Just curious.
Most of my work is industrial app. That being said, Your a real smart ***, I'll get the word out as soon as I can. Most wood patio covers require 24"x24"x12" thickened sections in the slab. I guess my comment about consulting the design of the lift has no bearing. Nevermind, to get back on topic, epoxy would be my recommendation. But, what do I know. Some people's kids...........
I got lazy the last time and paid the local guys to move it to the new shop. Yep, Rotary Asymmetrical. I did consult the design of the lift when I moved my shop the last time, still had the sheet saved on the computer. Yeah it was a smart *** comment, but at least it was an informed comment and not a guess. And the funny thing is all this information is easily obtained from the manufactures website.
You should be ok in Georgia, save for the hurricanes. My stuff is all held down with the Hilti epoxy system, and I am in earthquake country. It is approved here, and since it is, it should be ok everywhere. Not only am in in earthquake country, but I am within 2 miles of three earthquake faults, on a coastal fracture plate. When you move, you cut the threaded rod off flush with the floor, and re-do it a the new place.
Epoxy...in the hole...for the threads... It's quarter to two now, and I am awake. This makes so much more sense. DOH!!
Don't count us out. I think the Brevard fault line runs right down through GA. And we have quakes in the western part of NC. Nothing on your scale, yet. LOL. But I'm waiting.....
i dont have a lift, but i was at a guys shop who had a 9000lb lift that wasent bolted down at all, he had it mounted to two 12ft lenghts of 1/2" by 6" angle iron, his reason was there were times he didnt want it in his shop and would move it outside, yes the angle iron would be something to work around but it had worked for this guy for many years.
Whew! I could not imagine "gluing down" a 2 post lift. I paid a couple of hundred dollars to have my 3 Rotary lifts moved and remounted in my new shop many years ago. 12- 3/4" expansion bolts for each one. He had a preset labor charge to dis***emble load, transport and erect each one but he charged me for each anchor. I don't see the advantage. You still have to drill the holes and come up with some studs. Then you have to wait for the epoxy to set up. I'm just too old fashioned. I have a lot of faith in expansion bolts or Red Heads. I've hung some awfully big pipe from them and then they were filled with water.
Worked on mounting some upright liquid tanks on the coast that had to be storm proof. Both the tanks, and the support cables used epoxy on the threaded rod. And we are talking 75+ tons... This was in W. Australia, which had a heap of engineering approvals prior to implementing (vs. U.S. which is much more lax in the permitting). Epoxy is great in my opinion.
4 1/2 in slab is all that is required for my 10,000 lb. BendPack, I used a combination of the expanding bolts and the epoxy, filled the hole in the slab about 2/3rds full of epoxy and shoved in the expansion bolt and turned it until it was locked in the hole - best of both worlds. Been in place for over a year, lifting a full sized pick-up on aregular basis with no problems. Mine is a non-commercial application Bob Vuinton - BigSkyBob
hambers are a great bunch. i have the companies requirements and suggestions, i wanted the opinions of hot rodders. you know the guys that say "the factory did ok, but i can do much better". i've always preferred much better especially when i'll be relying on this thing to keep a few tons off my head. thanks again.
The Jalopy Journal
