Racor PHL-1R Pro HeavyLift 4-by-4-Foot Cable-Lifted Storage Rack
by Racor
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Tools and Hardware Reviews of Racor PHL-1R Pro HeavyLift 4-by-4-Foot Cable-Lifted Storage Rack
Customer Review: Racor HeavyLift
Summary: 4 Stars
Great design, very cheap hardware. I read several Amazon reviews before installing, so I saved myself some trouble by buying good hardware prior to installing. The lag bolts were junk, so I replaced them with 5/16" x 3 1/2" lag bolts. Had to drill out the slots on the arm assemblies to accomodate the bigger lag bolts; would have been easier to drill if they were holes, not slots.
Step 10 of the instructions says use locknuts to assemble the winding axle-- there are no locknuts in the box. In fact, there are no lock washers either. Probably would be a good idea, given the constant load and the vibrations from the garage door opener. I recommend putting lock-tite on the threads of bolts. I put lock washers on the bolts that fasten the grate to the cables.
One of my bolt heads shore clean off while assembling. Same junk hardware.
Between step 12 and 13 of assembly-- don't put the fender washer on yet... it will be impossible to put the cable ring on the gear drive end of the axle. Instead, install both ends, complete with the cable rings, then go back and install the fender washers on the ends of the axle.
Another tip when choosing the location on your ceiling: don't put the gear drive end of the assembly up close to a wall-- you won't be able to fit your body between the lift and the wall. Instead, put the gear drive on the open side.
Customer Review: True garge saver
Summary: 5 Stars
The installation of this unit is not near as hard as some of the reviewers are claiming. I did my install alone.
It might be that I am lucky having my joists 48" apart (16" spacing), but after the install I measured things and there is quite some play on the axle, certainly to accommodate odd spacings.
The lag bolts are ok, people twisting their heads off should keep in mind you don't have to torque them to 200lb! Moderate force is sufficient since it is the beam supporting the weight not how hard you torque them in! Plus you have 6 or 8 (forgot how many) there for each arm.
The only problematic thing for me personally was the length of steel cable. I was 2-3 inches short on each side and could not reach the ground. One side has sufficient excess of cable so that after reworking ties I was able to reach the floor, for the other I used some spare cable I had left over after installing dog tie out, exact same gage lucky me :)
You don't need to re-do the crank to use a drill to raise/lower it. Just don't assemble it and use the "hook" end only. The diameter of rod is just small enough to slip into the drill and keeping it and reasonably low speed will do all the work for you without excessive jiggling.
I am using my unit to hold lawnmower, power wash, and couple small items, can't be more happy with it!
Customer Review: Racor Pro Heavy Lift
Summary: 4 Stars
I installed 2 of these units. After reading all the reviews I bought enough 1/4" lag bolts to do the job. Did have to ream out the slots for the new lags but didn't take much. The units went up easily and as stated in the manual. The pulleys DO have to be removed at the ends to put the last lag in, but again, it isn't that much of a job. It
would have been nice to have 2 people and a scaffold as my garage ceiling is 13'. I was told by Racor that the units were designed for 12' ceilings.
With my ceilings the platforms come down to about chest level and it DOES make it a little awkward to load but not impossible. I plan to purchase longer cables in the future and get them to within 2 feet of the floor. Since I had 2 units and 2 cranks, I took the handles off one and straightened out the shaft. I can chuck it into a drill now, and raise and lower them with ease. I DID have to buy a 1/2" reversable corded drill as my cordless drills were REALLY working to handle the load of raising the platforms. Lowering them was no problem. I had been looking for an excuse to buy a good corded 1/2" drill anyway. Another thing I found was that if the platforms were raised too fast the cable tended to overlap on the axle.
All in all, these units are great and SO much nicer than the stationary platforms. (Especially on high ceilings)
Customer Review: Add to the "Happy Wife, Happy Life" file
Summary: 4 Stars
After 34 years of carrying christmas stuff up and downstairs I don't have to do that any more.
The ceiling joist in my garge were on 24" centers so a 48" spread on the ceiling frames were not an issue for me. It would be an additional hassle to mount these to a seperate board then that to the ceiling but if you know that going in you could prepare.
Mine took about 4 hours for the 1st unit but less than three for the second. Certianly having a second person on a ladder to help put up the ceiling frames would make a big difference. I did not have an issue with the lag screws that mount the ceiling frames to the joist, they are not the highest quality but I broke only one and I drove them with a socket on my cordless drill, no predrilling.
I would recommend a differnet method for holding the wire frame together. I think the piece of tubing is fine. I think the otherside should be a thin strap or maybe even an angle with matching holes, the j-hooks are difficult to get in on the firest edge, after one side is on you can set the mat on that edge the the second edge is easier.
Overall as I said they work well, I've got 225 pounds on one unit, no issues, and more points in towards "Happy Wife Happy Life!
Customer Review: greatest thing
Summary: 5 Stars
this is the greatest tool ever. I do have aprox 200lbs on it as we speak, been there for over 3 months. i was hesitant to use it the first couple of weeks but now i dont know how did i live without this product.
Mounting in the garage was a little difficult (only one man) but it was faily simple, the only thing i did not like is that, the base is not well thought (fixable if you want to) the hole for the hooks are near the edge, and as you start tightning them/torquing them, they tend to twist/turn the square 2x1 lip. the fix is drill new holes at the center away from the edge of the 2x1 (i think its a 2x1 square edge).
and no. 2 is that the base is not exactly 4x4 ft. and the separation of the ceiling beams in the garage was also not 4x4, therefore, the cables do not hang straight down, the cables are tensioned in an angle (which is not very recommended) due to forces applied at the pulley. however this is not a big deal, it will not break or anything worse. recommend measuring the eye-bolt to eye-bolt distance and then figure out the best location for the top braces. Racor PHL-1R Pro HeavyLift 4-by-4-Foot Cable-Lifted Storage Rack