Review of Delta El Greco Ceiling Hoist

Delta El Greco Ceiling Hoist
By: Delta Average Rating: 4.0 Total Reviews: 16
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Bicycle hoist works well, screws are OK!

On: 2009-10-05

I recently purchased and installed the Delta El Greco Ceiling Hoist for my mountain bike. After reading the the reviews of other hoists from Rad and Racor, I chose the Delta because it had the least negative reviews.

Most of these negative comments were related to the supplied mounting screws. The screws are typical Asian-made hardware, not the best in the world - but the screws supplied are not defective. With the proper drive tool, they can be easily used. They are Pozidrive screws, I added an image to the photo gallery to illustrate how a Pozidrive screw is identified. These can be driven by a Phillips driver, but it requires care to properly align the driver with the screw drive recess. If the driver is allow to move off center to an angle while apply drive torque, the bit will easily "cam out."

To successfully use the supplied screws, a proper screwdriver must be used. Most people, myself included, do not own Pozidrive tools. I used a #3 Phillips bit in a cordless drill/driver and had no trouble with the screws. However, if youre not comfortable with this, or dont have a #3 Phillips driver, then its easy enough to go to the local hardware store and buy some screws for under a dollar.

As to the operation of the hoist after getting it installed, it works great. The bicycle raises fairly evenly (stays level) and the rope catch holds it securely in place once the bike is up. As another reviewer mentioned, it works sort of like a venetian blind type device. Its still wise to also use the supplied rope cleat to tie-off the excess rope as an added safety measure.

I love the way this bicycle hoist works and am very happy with it.

Great Ceiling Bike Lift

On: 2009-09-07

I used a board between the joists to mount the rack. Then screwed the rack into the board. The rack works great but I agree with 3 privious reviews that the screws are that great. I used deck screws instead. Easy to put up and works great. Because Ive only had it up for 2 weeks now I dont know how durable the cord will be. Easy to operate and Im ordering a second one.
Terry in OregonRacor PBH-1R Ceiling-Mounted Bike Lift

Great for the price

On: 2009-08-28

We ordered two of these to hang kayaks. We replaced the screws after reading some of the other reviews and with that small change it worked great. It took about 1.5 hours to hang them both, but most of that time was finding studs in the ceiling. The rope feels a little cheap, so we may replace it eventually, but my kayaks are up out of the way and it didnt break the bank, so Im not complaining!

Quality Product

On: 2009-04-10

Have not mounted it yet, but the lift seems like its made with quality in mind, and the included rope is of good quality as well, something that other lifts recieved bad reviews for. Very happy with the purchase.

Great for bicycles

On: 2008-10-03

I purchased four of these to try and get the bicycles in my garage out of the way. Mounting them correctly takes a bit of time, and you do want to ensure you mount them correctly. I think they are rated for 50lbs, and I anchored mine in to the ceiling with 4-50lb anchors. Once they are up they are really easy to use. The hoist has a safety catch on it that wont let the item youre lifting fall unless you pull the cord in one direction. I would caution however(and this isnt a flaw with the ceiling hoist, but was more of an issue of my mounting), that if you quickly release the tension on the cord, and drop the bicycles(or whatever you are hanging), it has the potential to exert a lot more force on the hoist. When I quickly dropped the bicycle down, one of the hoists came out of the ceiling and pulled the anchors I put them up with with it. Once I secured it back up with stronger and additional anchors though, I had no problems. Each hoist has 2 parts which can accomodate up to 8 screws in it. If you manage to hit a stud, you can easily get away with just 4.

Overall these are a great item and I plan to buy more of them to make room in my garage.

Poor Quality

On: 2008-09-23

You get what you pay for with this lift. If you want a quality, keep shopping.

Works great.

On: 2008-08-18

Looks good and works good! Just need to replace the screws it comes with. Use 3 to 3 1/2 inch wood screws. Also make sure you have high ceilings at leat 10 feet. If not the bike will hang low. I have 10ft ceiling in my garage and the bike clears my truck fine. Good product. I will buy it again if I get another bike.

Fantastic product, but you will definitely need to buy screws

On: 2008-08-12

My husband and I recently purchased two of these pulley systems to store our bicycles with. The whole system is very easy to use and install. As many other people have mentioned, the screws that come with the kit are really low quality and I definitely recommend purchasing better screws.

We mounted both kits to the ceiling of our garage and they work beautifully. We are able to store our bikes above head level so that they are out of the way and not taking up any floor space.

I highly recommend this product as long as you remember to buy better screws.

Kayak storage

On: 2008-08-07

I purchased two units too hang my kayaks tight against my garage ceiling. I needed to do some modifications since the bike hooks didnt work for this application. I swapped out the hook pulley for another straight pully to hang clips off of it and webbing. This worked well although I could not use the cord locks since that required pulling the rope from directly underneath the pulley and the kayaks were in the way. All in all is was cost affective approach and worked well when complete.

Bike Hoist did the job

On: 2008-06-10

No problems, quick shipment. I did use my own cabinet screws to make sure it was securely fastened to the ceiling. The screws they provided were hard to turn. Excellent product otherwise.

Great idea!

On: 2008-05-30

I purchased two of these because we wanted to get our bikes up off the garage floor (actually my bike was still in the living room from Christmas because we just didnt have room in the garage). My husband installed them without complaint and so far, everything is great. This is really a good solution to storing a bike! I would recommend this to everyone!

This is a Great Device

On: 2008-04-16

I bought 2 of these for my garage and they work great!!!! I bought these after seeing a similar product for about $40.00 and checked Amazon and found these for half the price.They were easy to install but I used my own hex head screws with a large fender washer----just for my peace of mind. I have 14 ceilings in my garage which made the provided rope about 2 or 3 foot short but I will manage. The device works like a mini blind, pull the rope to the left and the bike lowers, pull it to the right and it locks. My 100lb wife has no trouble operating the hoist.

A "super" hoist

On: 2008-02-08

I bought two of these and used them to hoist my two kayaks up to the garage rafters. They went up slick and easy -- and out of the way. Great product. Id recommend them without reservation.

Mike Brand.

Great for garage

On: 2007-11-18

I have house cats with claws, so the ceiling hoist in the garage is a tire and stress saver: easy to install (I used a 1 by 6 five-foot board to secure the hoist to the beams) and easy (actually, fun) to use once it is up. The line locking device was a nice surprise. I read somewhere that the screws that come with it are no good, so I bought new wood screws for the hoist and the board and never even tried the screws that came in the box. The one thing to note here is that I have only been using the hoist to store my mountain bike for about three weeks. If the parts or the line will hold up over long wear, I dont know. If freezing temperatures or the humidity in the garage will affect the parts, I dont know. I do know that not worrying about cats leaping up to bike stands to puncture rubber and not worrying about cats slipping out of the house while I navigate the bike out the door is heavenly. I ride more because I bought this product.

Adequate for my purposes

On: 2007-10-11

Pretty good deal for the money, just be prepared to substitute your own screws. The ones they provide are cheap and wont stand up to a power driver bit. I mounted the two pieces on a 4-ft board using bolts plus heavy screws that went through to the ceiling joists. Only problem was that it was difficult to match up the spacing I needed for mounting the fixed hoist parts with the 16" spacing of the joists. Still, it was better (+cheaper, +faster) than buying the pulleys and rolling my own.

Adequate for my purposes

On: 2007-10-10

Pretty good deal for the money, just be prepared to substitute your own screws. The ones they provide are cheap and wont stand up to a power driver bit. I mounted the two pieces on a 4-ft board using bolts plus heavy screws that went through to the ceiling joists. Only problem was that it was difficult to match up the spacing I needed for mounting the fixed hoist parts with the 16" spacing of the joists. Still, it was better (+cheaper, +faster) than buying the pulleys and rolling my own.

Getting Organized

On: 2007-08-06

This product mounted great. I had to use my own screws. The screws that came with the purchased product were cheap and the heads stripped easily. Other than that I am pleased.