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Guys, just thought I'd mention some experiences of late associated with the attempted installation of a Dannmar/Bendpak MaxJax lift - that may well also be similar to an issue in their other lifts. It's safety related so I thought I'd at least mention it.
I have only 8' ceilings in my shop, so a regular lift is out of the question. Plus, it's a multi-purpose shop so a 4 post lift would be too intrusive. But I always wanted at least a mid-rise lift. The advantages of the MaxJax lift really seemed to fit the bill. After a long period of consideration, I ordered a set from Portage Lift in Ohio (good people). After receipt of the lifts, I started assembly. No big deal, but I noticed that the installation and operations manual seemed to be out of date, with some unaddressed changes to the design. Since the failure mode of this product would be fatal, I reached out to Dannmar - who acknowledged that they needed to update the manual. No big deal - the issues were not significant IMHO.
However when I started the process of actually installing the concrete anchors and setting the lift posts was underway, I began to experience issues getting the anchors set. My concrete is about 25yrs old, in great condition, above 3000psi, and at least 4" thick. I followed Dannmars instructions to the T. A number of the anchors just would not set. This issue has been reported on other sites, such as "The Garage Journal Board".
So, I then did some research on the Wej-It PD-58 "Power Drop" anchors and discovered a completely different instruction directly from Wej-It. I contacted Wej-It directly, and they were incredibly helpful. I provided them the instructions direction from Dannmar (sent them the actual document and the link) and they indicated that Dannmar was using an incorrect procedure that could result in the anchor not properly setting.
I called Dannmar, and informed them. They said they'd call back later that day. When I did not hear from them I called them the next day. They acknowledged at that time that they had made and error, and started trying to figure out how to fix this. A new recommendation was to use a standard Wej-It 7/8" wedge anchor as a temporary solution, and that they'd "work out something" to fix my concrete and get correct anchors in this spring. Later, after again researching through Wej-It I discover that the 7/8" wedge anchor required at least twice the diameter of concrete remains under the anchor - the concrete cannot be drilled "through" (which Dannmar knew it had been). Also, the 7/8" "studs" on those wedge anchors would not fit through the mounting baseplate on the lift columns (which are designed for 5/8" bolts). Not a solution. I emailed this information to Gabe at Dannmar.
Later last night I get a phone call from Gabe, telling me that Wej-It is "wrong" and that the MaxJax "doesn't need the full capability" of the PD-58 anchor - so the instructions Dannmar provided are fine. They say that if you ask Wej-It, "all lifts are not installed properly". I tell them that this is not acceptable to me - that when a failure would result in death, "guessing" at setting an anchor is ridiculous, and when the actual anchor manufacturer is strongly disagreeing about setting the anchor - we should pay attention. Gabe says they've "tested" and point to a specification on their site - which is a REQUIREMENTS spec that mathematically calculates the REQUIRED shear and stress factors of each bolt. It does not TEST to show ACTUAL stress of shear ratings of bolts installed as per their discussions. In fact, it uses the same factors PROVIDED BY WEJ-IT ASSUMING YOU ARE INSTALLING THEM AS PER WEJ-IT instructions. I get nothing but BS back. I believe at this point they are covering their behind, and are denying any issues because if they admit to it and there is a failure, they will have already accepted culpability legally. In other words - they're placing their financial situation far ahead of your life.
Wej-It on the other hand has been extremely helpful and honest. They have discussed "practical" impacts and measures - and not just theoretical.
So at this point I'm at a crossroad. The lift itself seems OK. I could just ignore all the Dannmar crap, and install anchors "correctly". Or, I could just have them pick the lift up.
Which would you do?
And BTW - If any of you have installed a Dannmar lift, I'd think about taking a hard look at anchor setting. If you want specific details about where Dannmar went wrong, let me know.
I have only 8' ceilings in my shop, so a regular lift is out of the question. Plus, it's a multi-purpose shop so a 4 post lift would be too intrusive. But I always wanted at least a mid-rise lift. The advantages of the MaxJax lift really seemed to fit the bill. After a long period of consideration, I ordered a set from Portage Lift in Ohio (good people). After receipt of the lifts, I started assembly. No big deal, but I noticed that the installation and operations manual seemed to be out of date, with some unaddressed changes to the design. Since the failure mode of this product would be fatal, I reached out to Dannmar - who acknowledged that they needed to update the manual. No big deal - the issues were not significant IMHO.
However when I started the process of actually installing the concrete anchors and setting the lift posts was underway, I began to experience issues getting the anchors set. My concrete is about 25yrs old, in great condition, above 3000psi, and at least 4" thick. I followed Dannmars instructions to the T. A number of the anchors just would not set. This issue has been reported on other sites, such as "The Garage Journal Board".
So, I then did some research on the Wej-It PD-58 "Power Drop" anchors and discovered a completely different instruction directly from Wej-It. I contacted Wej-It directly, and they were incredibly helpful. I provided them the instructions direction from Dannmar (sent them the actual document and the link) and they indicated that Dannmar was using an incorrect procedure that could result in the anchor not properly setting.
I called Dannmar, and informed them. They said they'd call back later that day. When I did not hear from them I called them the next day. They acknowledged at that time that they had made and error, and started trying to figure out how to fix this. A new recommendation was to use a standard Wej-It 7/8" wedge anchor as a temporary solution, and that they'd "work out something" to fix my concrete and get correct anchors in this spring. Later, after again researching through Wej-It I discover that the 7/8" wedge anchor required at least twice the diameter of concrete remains under the anchor - the concrete cannot be drilled "through" (which Dannmar knew it had been). Also, the 7/8" "studs" on those wedge anchors would not fit through the mounting baseplate on the lift columns (which are designed for 5/8" bolts). Not a solution. I emailed this information to Gabe at Dannmar.
Later last night I get a phone call from Gabe, telling me that Wej-It is "wrong" and that the MaxJax "doesn't need the full capability" of the PD-58 anchor - so the instructions Dannmar provided are fine. They say that if you ask Wej-It, "all lifts are not installed properly". I tell them that this is not acceptable to me - that when a failure would result in death, "guessing" at setting an anchor is ridiculous, and when the actual anchor manufacturer is strongly disagreeing about setting the anchor - we should pay attention. Gabe says they've "tested" and point to a specification on their site - which is a REQUIREMENTS spec that mathematically calculates the REQUIRED shear and stress factors of each bolt. It does not TEST to show ACTUAL stress of shear ratings of bolts installed as per their discussions. In fact, it uses the same factors PROVIDED BY WEJ-IT ASSUMING YOU ARE INSTALLING THEM AS PER WEJ-IT instructions. I get nothing but BS back. I believe at this point they are covering their behind, and are denying any issues because if they admit to it and there is a failure, they will have already accepted culpability legally. In other words - they're placing their financial situation far ahead of your life.
Wej-It on the other hand has been extremely helpful and honest. They have discussed "practical" impacts and measures - and not just theoretical.
So at this point I'm at a crossroad. The lift itself seems OK. I could just ignore all the Dannmar crap, and install anchors "correctly". Or, I could just have them pick the lift up.
Which would you do?
And BTW - If any of you have installed a Dannmar lift, I'd think about taking a hard look at anchor setting. If you want specific details about where Dannmar went wrong, let me know.
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