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Genie Lifts???

Started by kantuckid, June 10, 2022, 02:38:26 PM

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kantuckid

Anyone here have experience using a Genie lift to lift logs or beams? The one I'm looking at goes up 16' and has a 650# limit, so well within my "D" log weights.
My larger questions are stability on level ground and means to stabilize and how long to crank it up? Thanks!
Kan=Kansas;tuck=Kentucky;kid=what I'm not

beenthere

There are a lot of different Genie lifts. Do you have one in mind that fits your question, with pics or link?
south central Wisconsin
It may be that my sole purpose in life is simply to serve as a warning to others

kantuckid

It's as stated above but I had the wrong lift height. It's a used, Genie SL-16 with 650# capacity. The ones I see listed now are SLC's or SLA's but looks very similar to an SLC. The newer SLC models have two support arms that swing out in addition to the main support arms. 
 
"Genie SL-16 Material lift" gets several google listings with pics. 
Kan=Kansas;tuck=Kentucky;kid=what I'm not

Ljohnsaw

At first I was thinking the hydraulic man lifts...

I got this for a bargain price, like 10¢ on the dollar, IIRC. (I would have never paid full price).  It's called a Roust-a-bout.  It has a 1,500# capacity.  Mostly used it for lifting/test fitting posts before the big lifts with the SkyTrak.


 

 

 It came with just the upright and a set of wheels. (Amazon return)  The base frame I welded up.  It starts out around 6½ or 7' tall and extends to 15'.  They do have a version that goes up to 20 or 25'.  You have to extend up before you put significant weight on it.  The lift winch is a two speed.  You put the handle on different shafts.  It's pretty quick but the ratchet is noisy!  The books shows that you can reverse the boom over the short wheel base side by adding a significant counter balance weight to the long legs.
John Sawicky

Just North-East of Sacramento...

SkyTrak 9038, Ford 545D FEL, Davis Little Monster backhoe, Case 16+4 Trencher, Home Built 42" capacity/36" cut Bandmill up to 54' long - using it all to build a timber frame cabin.

kantuckid

I'm looking toward $400 not the $5k a Roust-about costs new on Amazon.
 My tractor FEL goes up really high- 104" plus I have 6' fork extensions. foundations above grade 30" on one side and cabin has a loft so not far above regular ceiling heights. 
Kan=Kansas;tuck=Kentucky;kid=what I'm not

Don P


kantuckid

My home is 2 stories and I raised the logs from top of 1st floor windows to include log gables using a local guy who ran a salvage yard/used mobile home business. (Below that I used "me, myself and I", as they say :D.)
He had a boom pole fabricated from small gas line pipe that fit onto his ford tractor forks. It's regular use was piling junk car bodies.
 Ralph's no longer with us.
Stability is my concern with the Genie lifts. The guy who has this one is a contractor who does specialty jobs raising equipment that weighs ~ 500lbs. 
His typical lift is a pallet thats normal depth and 8' long which they strap to the Genie.  He suggested I could pinch the base to the ground firmly with my tractor (bucket of forks) when raising a log to help things. He also said you could fold the lift arms back against the log using a ratchet strap. 
Kan=Kansas;tuck=Kentucky;kid=what I'm not

logman

I use mine on every raising.  I have definitely exceeded it's load rating.  I use it to put in connecting girts while the next bent is held with a crane or forklift.  I have used it on the ground but mainly on a deck or slab.  They are pretty stable on ground if you keep it somewhat level.  On decks a lot of times I have to put the legs out over the side with a 2x under them near the edge and it is still pretty stable.  I keep saying I need to get fork extensions but forget about them until the next raising.  I was on one raising and a guy put a drill on the crank handle and raised and lowered it with that.  My late wife usually operated it and liked doing it since she just considered it a workout.  
LT40HD, 12' ext, 5105 JD tractor, Genie GTH5519 telehandler
M&K Timber Works

kantuckid

Thanks, logman!

 My build site is hard clay, definitely not soft even after a rain. But as you'd expect not perfectly flat nor are there any decks or slabs to use.
 Did the lift you used have the extra base arms (SLC models vs. SL models) that swing out or was it the older SL model as I'm considering with two base support arms, not four?

Perhaps a half sheet of thick plywood on the ground would help?
When i asked this seller how he might "pinch it down" to the ground, he said I might use my tractor FEL forks laid on top of the base. Mine would flop some so the bucket would be best I guess but also big enough to be in the way of the life directly against a build wall. 
I asked him if takes forever to crank it up (I used my LT15 sawmill cranking in 1/8" increments as my e.g.) and he said maybe 5 minutes at the most to full height of 16'.
"Thinking out loud"-I really need to put my FEL fork extentions on and see what logical height it gives me to lay a log?
 Aside from that the reality is my build site has one wall length that will never see my tractor nearby which makes the Genie lift earn it's keep. On one end I need to fill some and can get to it OK then with tractor. 
The top logs are going up about 13'-15' above grade depending on which wall. 
Kan=Kansas;tuck=Kentucky;kid=what I'm not

Ljohnsaw

Well, just do it right.  Go out and get a SkyTrak/Lull ;) :D
John Sawicky

Just North-East of Sacramento...

SkyTrak 9038, Ford 545D FEL, Davis Little Monster backhoe, Case 16+4 Trencher, Home Built 42" capacity/36" cut Bandmill up to 54' long - using it all to build a timber frame cabin.

logman

Mine has the swing down support legs.  I think mine is a 24' lift height.
LT40HD, 12' ext, 5105 JD tractor, Genie GTH5519 telehandler
M&K Timber Works

kantuckid

I went up and studied my build site yesterday and the Genie will work, I think. I'm going to sprinkle some dense grade crushed rock and level it up a bit here and there. 
Kan=Kansas;tuck=Kentucky;kid=what I'm not

cib

Quote from: Don P on June 10, 2022, 06:37:04 PM
Creative violations




Completely safe :) and OSHA approved LOL

Don P

We were just up the hill from an engineer friend who would stop by every now and then. He noted that I had secured the wheels with a bumpre on the deck and wheel locks and was running on loose ply on the floor to distribute the load (a wheel is a healthy point load and can punch through) we had secured the tower together and counterweighted it. Set the short I beam on the scaffold and had it well secured. Look at that puny pipe I have it on at midspan where we are concentrating the hanging the load...


Another Oh Sh gin :D... gin, lifting enGINe.  You've walked by miles of this racking in big boxes. X cabled everywhere, a windlass from well casing and square tube with a motor grader blade for a stop at the far end of the aisle between racks. A pulley hanging from that same stick of I beam up top at this end. With a little more rigging you could put the gin pole where you want and lock it then hoist with another winch. I was using it to give that bent a little more vertical lift at the start of the lift. 2 of us tipped up that 25' tall ton or so, and one of us is a girl  ;D. 


 

cib

Quote from: Don P on June 13, 2022, 04:52:56 PM
We were just up the hill from an engineer friend who would stop by every now and then. He noted that I had secured the wheels with a bumpre on the deck and wheel locks and was running on loose ply on the floor to distribute the load (a wheel is a healthy point load and can punch through) we had secured the tower together and counterweighted it. Set the short I beam on the scaffold and had it well secured. Look at that puny pipe I have it on at midspan where we are concentrating the hanging the load...


Another Oh Sh gin :D... gin, lifting enGINe.  You've walked by miles of this racking in big boxes. X cabled everywhere, a windlass from well casing and square tube with a motor grader blade for a stop at the far end of the aisle between racks. A pulley hanging from that same stick of I beam up top at this end. With a little more rigging you could put the gin pole where you want and lock it then hoist with another winch. I was using it to give that bent a little more vertical lift at the start of the lift. 2 of us tipped up that 25' tall ton or so, and one of us is a girl  ;D.



You should've seen my gantry crane for part of my build LOL. I'm now at the point I wish I had a material lift like the Genie above but I'll likely build me an A frame gin pole for the rest. I need to get some more block and tackle for my next two bents.

Zoombats

I have a Genie SLC 24 and I use it everyday. I am presently building a 26x 30 log home on Georgian Bay Ontario Canada. The site is on an island. I m working entirely alone and I couldn't have done it without the lift and my B8200 Kubota with forks. The home is 8"x8" hemlock logs and my beam chords for my trusses are 26' 4"x10" douglas  fir. GTot them allmin position this weekend. My next job is to get the genie up on the floor and erect the truss chords 20'x4"x10" individually. I didn't have the *&@! to tilt them up attached. Any ideas?

kantuckid

Knowing the height you need would help others to answer. 

I just completed my 5 th log layer on my cabin build and next move is to establish 4 lower windows on each side of build, plus a small bathroom window . All logs have been raised via my tractors FEL and I can go some layers higher as the FEL goes up to ~104" plus I have fork extensions I can use thereafter if I choose too. 
My helper is gone :-X after the 3rd log layer and I'm back to a solo situation. 
 After the 3rd layer was in place I had a brain fart and decided my Super Genie Lift needed to be inside the build on the subfloor before it became hard to raise and place inside. My original plan was that the Genie was for walls the tractor could go to. If the site was not so tight I might have continued with that plan. My Genie is designed to easily pass through a doorway, (it's ~31" wide) so extraction is a non-issue. It has a lift limit of 650#'s so will easily lift a 6" thick x 16' EWP D-log which comes in at maybe a bit less than half that for the larger ones. 
My plan is to load logs on FEL at a 90 deg angle to one end windows rough opening. I may install a roller in the RO base to facilitate moving bigger logs. 
The Genie will be positioned such that the logs will transfer from the FEL to window sill to Genie's lift arms. I will then roll that affair over to the wall and raise the log. Some logs may require a partial raise so as to allow rotation. That may be a challenge if the log is elevated some while working solo and to push the lift to a wall with a log into position. Time will tell that story. :D
My backup plan is two poles at an angle to allow rope pulls up a wall the Genie cannot handle. Ceiling log joists are an e.g.. 

Kan=Kansas;tuck=Kentucky;kid=what I'm not

Joe M in CT

I use my SLC 24' all the time.  Some of the smaller jobs don't justify the cost of renting/buying a telehandler, so we go with the manual contractor lift.  We use it to lift and assortment of components from girts to tie beams to completed bents.  Many of these can be found for sale used, and it definitely beats lifting by hand (especially since I'm over 50 now!).  Just use common sense and don't fully trust it when lifting heavy overhead items; never walk under any item being lifted or supported by the lift alone.  Have bracing at the ready to secure bents etc. that are lifted into position.  Good luck!

 

 

Don P

Welcome to the forum Joe and @Zoombats.
That is an interesting frame Joe.

Ljohnsaw

Just an update from my earlier post with my Roust-a-bout.
Lifting the second floor bents

 Floating over the mortise pockets

 
Set the three middle bents with it

 
Then the snow came...


Till next year.
John Sawicky

Just North-East of Sacramento...

SkyTrak 9038, Ford 545D FEL, Davis Little Monster backhoe, Case 16+4 Trencher, Home Built 42" capacity/36" cut Bandmill up to 54' long - using it all to build a timber frame cabin.

Walnut Beast

Looking fantastic! How many acres do you have around your Fortress? And is the other properties around you private parcels or government forest land. Looks like some beautiful views up there!

Ljohnsaw

I've got 10 acres.  This is at the top of my fairly steep property.  The bottom is at I80.  There is an adjacent 10 acres ~for sale but the owner wants crazy money for it.  On the other side of me two couples bought the 23 acre parcel and are starting to build.  There are a half dozen fraction acre lots with snow cabins on my "street".  The area is a checkerboard of public and private land (square miles) and a VERY large but quiet private campground of probably 1,000+ acres.
John Sawicky

Just North-East of Sacramento...

SkyTrak 9038, Ford 545D FEL, Davis Little Monster backhoe, Case 16+4 Trencher, Home Built 42" capacity/36" cut Bandmill up to 54' long - using it all to build a timber frame cabin.

Walnut Beast

Very nice! That's a pretty good spread you have. Looks to be a very cozy and beautiful place when you get it enclosed! 

SwampDonkey

Call it a church, no tax. :D

Nice rugged building, will have some nice views.

My camps are way less elaborate, rather rustic lean toos, and rather drafty with the open door concept. Ah, the whiff of burnt fir smoke. ;D :D
"No amount of belief makes something a fact." James Randi

1 Thessalonians 5:21

2020 Polaris Ranger 570 to forward firewood, Husqvarna 555 XT Pro, Stihl FS560 clearing saw and continuously thinning my ground, on the side. Grow them trees. (((o)))

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