Hello everyone, I have spent the past hour reading old threads on garage lifts without finding a great answer to what I was looking for.
I am in the midst of researching 4-post garage lifts for my home. Safety is my number one concern. Are there any lifts that are able to be locked out? I want to be sure that I am the only one who can operate the lift, and that my two children can not accidentally (or intentionally) operate it. Do any lifts have a master key switch (or similar idea)?
Also, I have read where Bend-Pak has special locks integrated into their lifts as an added measure of safety in the event of a cable break. Are there any other "above and beyond" safety features I should be looking for?
In terms of quality and reliability, is Bend-Pak generally considered the benchmark?
Just to reiterate, safety is my top priority. I need to feel 100% comfortable with whichever lift I choose to install at my home so that I can rest easy when my children are out in the garage.
Thank you in advance!

 

they all have the safety locks if a cable brakes, in facts, you should not leave the weight on the cable, you should lower it on the stoppers, exactly the same as a 2 posts lift.

I have not seen a lift that has the master switch you are talking about. You can unplug it but that won't prevent it from going down if they hit the lever. You would have to come up with a solution to lock the lever in place to be sure, that will need a little bit of custom work.

 

If you have the lift sitting on the locks, the lift will need electricity for it to be lifted off of the locks and then brought down. So if you run the chord with an extension chord and into a panel with a switch, then in theory, the lift won't be operational. You can have the switch inside a panel with a lock, so that only you, or whomever has access to the key, can work it. That is what I have seen done in a lift and it works pretty good.

 

Thank you very much for your replies. I truly appreciate it.

 

For my mid rise lift, I added an electrical disconnect as an emergency stop. I'm anticipating that these could also be locked out. One other option would be a lockout over the plug - you unplug it and then lock it out.
https://www.zoro.com/zing-plug-locko...iABEgIg0_D_BwE