Car Lift

[adigra]

My father in law has the same one as Alex, and my Elan is currently on it with the wheels off. The two of us built it ourselves, but we did need quite a bit of guidance from Alex as the directions supplied were shocking. It is an amazing piece of kit and has made our lives much easier.

Adi

[GrUmPyBoDgEr]

Hi Guys, John,
Good to hear from you all...

The Garage in question was built as an extension to my house some 15 or so years ago and fitting a lift therein was never ever considered until a couple of years ago when I spotted the lift I bought at the NEC show. It was the price and value for money that I noticed at 1st thinking that it was a super bit of kit for the price. Later on that evening my friend and I were having a beer and discussing things various when the ramp came up in conversation again and it occurred to me that it might just fit into the space I have.That started the ball rolling! and after measuring about 10 times I decided it would fit and ordered one.. A year later at the next nec show.. It is tight for space with just an inch or so either side of the column base plates and I had to re-locate the hydraulic pump assy on the adjacent wall. Easy to do though and it has been a godsend. There is no way I would be doing what I am doing to the little car lying on my back. Just out of the question. Its a cool bit of equipment..

Do you need me to measure anything for you? Please advise.. Photos etc are available and I can easily take some more if you need them.

OK?

Alex.......

Alex,

I have another couple of questions please.
Does the Lift have an adjustable Max. Lift limiter Switch fitted?
I'd like to think that I could send my Elan Skywards each time without having to keep an eye on the Car & a finger on the "up Button" & with no fear of the Garage Roof demolishing my Car.
Is there some form of locking system (e.g. Ratchet) for when the Lift is in the "up position" so that the load can be taken off the lifting System when kept in the "up position" for long periods?

Cheers
John

[alexblack13]

There is an up limit sw John. Adjustable ish. I stop my one 1 stop from the top and its perfect. To raise it you must keep finger on the up button. Down button raises the lift a little, enough to lift it off the stops and draws in the auto locks clear enough to be able to lower away. You keep the down pressed and also then press the hyd release button and the lift drops. Once its on the way down the hyd (center) button only then drops it to where you want. All the way down sounds a buzzer / warning about a foot from the floor, and sounds until the lift stops and the button is released.

Cool tool..

Hi Adi... Hows you?

[alexblack13]

Hi Again John,

The lift has automatic locking in about 20 -30 positions all the way up.They start at a convenient height to allow locking at a good level for starting work About 12 - 18'' from floor. It clicks/ ratchets away as it raises. (all four posts have the locking points) When you get it to where you want it pressing the center hydraulic release button drops the lift onto the next stop position down, the weight is then taken by the stops / locks which release automatically when lowering. As previous post! All load is then off the ropes and hydraulics.

Its foolproof, and will lift way more than the Elan weight. I have left the ramp off the stops and sitting under hy'd load for weeks at a time to see if it drops. Mine doesn't but there is a safety hyd' parachute valve which will not allow the hy'd cy'l to empty. In the event of burst hose for E.G.

It is to full CE spec' So no faults / worries.

I fitted an umbilical control to allow use anywhere around the ramp. Easy to do, but I suspect if falls foul of the CE regs. I don't care as its mine with only me using it..

I do not think you will come up with any real issues as thing is very strongly built. Roughish round the edges but strong. Some of the smaller trim fasteners are chocolate like but I have replaced most of them with bigger stainless items.

The only thing you need to be careful with is the wiring loom ass'y and the hyd hose routing.. I caught the cable feeding the electromagnetic lock remover coils and yanked the bugger out twice. I had to re route and take steps to prevent this happening again...

Apart from the little learning curve its been A1..

Have you had a look at it on the website?

Alex...

[adigra]

Hi Alex, very good thank you! Tim hasn't fitted the diff yet, but seems very happy to have it.

Back to the lift... I managed to rip out the hydraulic hose by not having it positioned correctly, so it got caught when raising the lift and breaking at the lift end. The lift, with a car on it, dropped about 4-5 inches, shot some fluid across the garage, but then safely stopped and stayed there for days until the replacement hose was fitted. Worked perfectly ever since.

I am quite respectful of it as the weight of the lift alone would be enough to easily kill you, so every time before use I double check that everything is clear, all wires are out of the way and hoses free. Once up, I make sure that all of the locks have closed as, if the cables aren't properly adjusted, the lift can stop at a slight angle and prevent them locking.

It's incredibly easy to use, I am just very cautious of all of that weight.

Adi

[GrUmPyBoDgEr]

Hi Again John,

Have you had a look at it on the website?

Alex...

Hi Alex,

I've given the Website a double take & now realise that the answers to my questions are there so thank you for taking the time to answer my questions regardless of my laziness.
The Switching for a self defined upper limit will need some thinking about but hey its early days; who knows if I'll get the necessary permission to alter my Garage, let alone the cost of the whole job.

Thanks a lot
John

[JohnMac]

Just an update on having a three phase supply installed. Just have had to have this done to my terraced house (only 3M away from the supply under the pavement) 16 weeks and ?2,200 (thanks EDF).

[alexblack13]

Have you considered a phase converter? 3 phase from 240 single phase supply? That way you don't bury a load of dosh and if you move? It goes with you. V V little downsides..

Alex B....