My New Lift ...

Just wondering how most of you deal with your cables after you've secured the lift's security arms ... do you leave any slack on the cables or do you keep them tight?

As far as "lift noises" go, I cannot hear anything out of the ordinary. That said, until I saw the lift in action, I really didn't understand how the pully system worked.

It is IMPERITIVE that you ensure your pulleys are all properly threaded and snug before lifting to the required height. As well, it also seems prudent to ensure that each of the four safety latches is completely at rest before walking away. I agree with the previous posts that call for concentration and caution while operating a lift. A lot could go wrong on the way up or down.

Lastly, I am not sure I would own a lift in a earthquake zone unless I bolted it down. I am currently exploring whether or not my garage floor can handle the bolts. If not, I will not be crushed as I am able to move it around with the castor kit.

What brand and/or model did you buy? How long did it take you to set it up? Looks good, fits that area great - like it was made for it. Did you have to mod. your garage door?

Brad

quote:

Originally posted by EA #3528:
It is IMPERITIVE that you ensure your pulleys are all properly threaded and snug before lifting to the required height. As well, it also seems prudent to ensure that each of the four safety latches is completely at rest before walking away. I agree with the previous posts that call for concentration and caution while operating a lift. A lot could go wrong on the way up or down.

I leave a little tension on the pressure cylinder/cables (in both up locked position and down on the ground (at rest)) to ensure the cable stays engaged properly with the pullies AND as additional safety (if an uplock fails.

quote:

Originally posted by ShotgunGrooms:
What brand and/or model did you buy? How long did it take you to set it up? Looks good, fits that area great - like it was made for it. Did you have to mod. your garage door?

After looking at close to a dozen lift manufacturers, it became clear that most companies (here in Canada, at least) design their own lift and have them manufactured in China. This makes for some VERY different specs and level of quality.

I eventually went with the Pro King 8 lift from Liftking.ca ...

http://www.liftking.ca/

Not only did they have the best specs, but they are located here in Calgary and I ran into several people who had already made the purchase. They are a nice bunch of guys and they were willing to bargain to close the deal.

I did not have to do any mods or adjustments to get the lift installed, which took about 2.5 hours. I am going to add a 2 foot door extension for when I put my sedan on top. The Pantera fits great with the door as-is, but the trunk of my Maxima sticks out too much to close the door all the way.

If you have concerns about how close the door is to your car, I adjusted the door so I can enter the garage without bumping my head when it is up and it provided me with extra car space. JD

Erik,

I had my new garage door tracks modified with a $75 "high-lift" kit which essentially is a larger curved track and it allows the door(s) to rise higher than standard. You will get an extra foot of height which will make your head (and back) a lot happier.

Looks great. I wish my garage was that clean and tidy!

Also, I was told NOT to bolt the lift down as it allows the posts to move if they need to in case something isn't quite straight. Plus, as you observe, it can be moved when you need to.

quote:

I had my new garage door tracks modified with a $75 "high-lift" kit which essentially is a larger curved track and it allows the door(s) to rise higher than standard.

This is exactly what I need, where did you get it? I'm going to get an 'idrive' opener (a gear drive opener that sits above the door on the torsion bar, as opposed to the standard chain/belt drive systems) that allows me to raise the door up almost 6" closer to the ceiling when open, but I need that extra track to raise it.

Julian. Don't waste the $$ on the iDrive. It doesn't really buy much room (and I was told they are not as robust by one vendor). My conventional opener hangs BELOW the door (as does yours, likely) and thus has no impact on clearance to the ceiling. All you need is the track and a modified bar that attaches to the door to pull. They are not uncommon. Check the maker of your door for the correct track, or call a local Garage Door install/repair company to have one fitted.

Mark,

Thanks for the comment on the idrive, a neighbor has one and swears by it, in fact he gave me one of his conventional openes for my single (third) garage door. I was getting the idrive to be able do away with my conventional chain opener (on the double door) which is ABOVE the door as it connects back to the front wall, thus restricing raising the door. I can't say I've seen one that is actually hung below?

I call around a few of the local garage door guys and see what is recommended for closing the door to ceiling gap when open.

Julian, I have the iDrive and it works pretty good. However, Mark's feedback re: extending your door runners is bang on. The closer you can get the door to the ceiling, the better.

Hey Mark, did you get a sense of where I want to paint the giant Isis logo? I'm thinking the rear wall (right behind the car) - and maybe some cool De Tomaso lettering on the side wall. It's gonna look great if I can pull it off!!!

Nice! I see you back your car in as well. I need a little more height on my door to be able to pull in forward, and was quoted about $2K from my garage door guy to raise it. Any photos of that IDrive thing to enable the garage door to be raised higher? Or I can continue to back in the wide body with assistance from Valium and martini mixture. I was told by the manufacture not to bolt it down as well, some minor movement is needed. I also keep some slight tension on the cables even after locking it in place.

Looks like my Pro Park Direct lift 7. Oooh that garage door is really close to your hood! One mistake and . . .

Mine was also close and I had the garage door lifted with is higher rail that bought me another foot and a half.

quote:

Originally posted by Joules5:
Mark,

Thanks for the comment on the idrive, a neighbor has one and swears by it, in fact he gave me one of his conventional openes for my single (third) garage door. I was getting the idrive to be able do away with my conventional chain opener (on the double door) which is ABOVE the door as it connects back to the front wall, thus restricing raising the door. I can't say I've seen one that is actually hung below?

I call around a few of the local garage door guys and see what is recommended for closing the door to ceiling gap when open.

OOOPS... My mistake. The rail/chain IS ABOVE the door as you note. It pulls from below the door. Sorry. Still, my garage door is about 1" from shearing off the lamps I installed and wouldn't want it much higher in my garage.

Sorry for the error and confusion caused.

Mark

Jan,

$2K seems a lot, all I thought I would need are some extensions in the vertical track and a bit of manual labor to raise the horizontal tracks. I understand there's a limit before you have to raise the torsion bar as well as it doesn't like to lift a door beyond it's own height. If you don't have the wall structure to do that then maybe that is where the cost lies.

The idrive is a Wayne-Dalton product and can be found here, http://www.wayne-dalton.com/idrive_torsion.asp Web prices were around $350 if I recall.

I did some homework,,, think about the IDrive??? It replaces the torsion spring, makes the opener work very hard. Word is IDrive's don't last that long, but I don't know that first hand??? The hot ticket is the Raynor / Liftmaster "Jackshaft" type opener; you keep your torsion spring. Works great so far. Then you can lift up the rails closer the the roof....within Inch's.... check it

If you boy's don't have room for your sports cars,,, maybe we'll just have to keep them at my house....

http://www.aaadooropeners.com/jackshaft.htm

hope the pics work

quote:

Originally posted by 4NFORD:
Looks like my Pro Park Direct lift 7. Oooh that garage door is really close to your hood! One mistake and . . .

Mine was also close and I had the garage door lifted with is higher rail that bought me another foot and a half.

I don't have high ceilings (only 9') but I do have enough garage "depth" to set the lift away from the door (and lifting mechanism) to make the ceiling tho only limiting height factor.

quote:

Originally posted by TomCat:
I leave a little tension on the pressure cylinder/cables (in both up locked position and down on the ground (at rest)) to ensure the cable stays engaged properly with the pullies AND as additional safety (if an uplock fails.

I totally agree. The cables act as a nice backup to a safety lock failure and, by doing so, you also ensure that your cables are properly threaded in each pully prior to decent.

EA

I don't have high ceilings (only 9') but I do have enough garage "depth" to set the lift away from the door (and lifting mechanism) to make the ceiling tho only limiting height factor.[/QUOTE]

I have the same 9'. Originally my garage door was mounted almost 2' off the ceiling, I had that raised and now it sits about 8" away. Backing my upper car in buys more room as the front hood is lower and like you I have the depth to buy me more front space away from the door.

quote:

Originally posted by ShotgunGrooms:
I did some homework,,, you don't want the IDrive. It replaces the torsion spring make the opener work very hard.

I believe the iDrive has its own torsion spring assembly. See below ...

Here is the drive ...

Brad,

Thanks for the post and info on the Jackshaft opener.

Well guys, there you have it… Between me and EA 3528 space saving openers,,,, The Pantera group will have live real time feedback on quality and operation of the new style openers. Hell,, you guy’s should send me and EA3528 cash money just for the product feedback.... please send small bills