Garage elevator man lift build ideas needed

[8n Bruce]

Hi I was just on KIJIJI & there's a fork lift mechanism for sale in Ontario ,GTA ,maybe Peterborough , can't remember just now. Possibly do a search for forklift in Ontario.

 

[cointoss]

I had a homemade elevator in a house I own and it was handy for moving quite a bit up stairs and down. Basically, it had an electric wench attached to a 4'x4' steel framed box. Everything was guided in the elev shaft by nylon strips screwed to steel channel. The controls were at each floor and in the elevator with deadman switches to trip if you left anything outside the shaft or in the shaft. After using it for a few years I started to get concerned with the wench and switches acting up and finally replaced it with a spiral staircase.
Also, I started to "chicken out" since this was the first one the guy had built and he later put one in a new house he built with the "worm style" that you are proposeing and it fell with him in it and broke his back. Just be careful and consider kids making it their new play toy.

 

[ttriff]

Mine goes from the basement to a closet on the first floor. It uses a pair of 16' boxed barn door tracks. The tracks are mounted to the wall studs on the 1st floor and to a metal Unistrut frame bolted to the basement floor.

The metal frame "L" shaped lifting carriage is supported and slides along the tracks held in place with the bolts from 4 barn door track trollies. To avoid metal to metal contact, 1/2" thick, 2" dia 'pucks' cut from HDPE (aka white cutting board material) are placed on the bolt shafts, these provide lubrication between the metal surfaces. The trolly bolts have double nuts and are safety wired.

HF largest hoist provides the lift, these have a build-in braking system to prevent a run-away situation.

It's been in use 2 yrs. Recently the cable started showing the beginning signs of wear so it will be replaced with one twice as thick.

At some point I like to replace the HF winch with an elec chain hoist, problem is they're so heavy....

Next time I'm up at the property I can get pics if anyone is interested.

 

[Frank Surber]

I would like to build a man lift/elevator with a 1000lbs capacity. I have been looking for a used palette lift but haven't seen one locally for over a year. Shipping is cost prohibitive. The attic opening is 4x6' and the total lift height needs to be 9' The platform should also fold to save space when not in use. I was thinking of hydraulic or worm gear type or even a winch with pulleys. Open to suggestions! What size/type and thickness of steel should I use? Thanks Eric

I design freight elevators for a living. From what you are describing you are looking for a small cantilevered platform type of lift. not sure why you feel you would need the platform to fold to save space. lifts come in every configuration under the sun and I've probably worked on more than that at one time or another
A single column supporting from one corner has the highest stress loading moments of any design next would be a single wide column located on one end. A scissors type would require excavating a pit and for stability a single or pair of vertical guide rails are advised. There are many safety codes that must be followed some are more stringent than others especially if this is going to be used for human transport along with the lifting of freight.
For VRC vertical reciprocating conveyors the code that most low height freight only lifts fall under is ANSI/ASME B20-1 For elevators used for human transport the code is ASME A17. Those are the 2 main ones but there is also standard for conveyors and related equipment / JORDAINAN LIFT SPECIFICATIONS /EUROPEAN STANDARD (EN 81-1: 1998) / BRITISH STANDARD (BS 5655) just to name a few
For private home use like in your barn you will not have to meet every aspect of each of these however if you were to install a lift of any type without at least meeting the minimum standards of safety in regards to fire or personal property damage or human injury. should anyone be injured as result of failer you can be held liable.
That being said here are a few tips.
#1 worm screw drive as someone said the brass nut will wear and can allow the platform to fall to prevent this use a follow nut under the support nut the follow nut never carries a load and should the drive nut slip it will be there to prevent damage this is acceptable in the codes and to ANSI standard B153.1
#2 Hydraulic; there are 4 main accepted ways to do this one is using a ram under the platform requiring a hole to be drilled and an environmental sleeve installed to prevent soil contamination in event of rupture. the 2nd hyd use is called hole-less this has the cylinder mounted in or between the support columns one method is 1 to 2 ratio push the cylinderis secured and had a pulley or sprocket over the rod end usually one end of a chain or wire rope is anchored to the platform the other at the base of the cylinder a minimum of 2 should be used per cylinder 1 to carry the load the other as a safety for many lifts there are as many as 2 to 4 cylinders with 2 chains and 2 safety cables and sometimes more than that for heavy lifts.
The 3rd method is direct acting hole less this requires the cylinder to be as long as the rise height either pulling or pushing. In any push type method the rod diameter must be large enough to prevent buckling
The 4th method is using the cylinder to pull on a pulley again sometimes several are incorporated this method can be used to achieve 2 to 1 3 to 1 4 to 1 even 10 to 1 pull just like using a block & tackle each ratio up grade causes the platform to move faster while requiring a larger diameter cylinders or higher pressures or both
The method I use almost exclusively is the last one at 2 to 1 ratios most of the time for lifts with less than 40 ft rise over 40 ft rise 3 or more to 1 ratios I also incorporate many redundant safeties since my lifts are commercial and must meet all codes with a human operator
Let me know if you require a preliminary design Due to legal reasons I can not and will not post or publish a complete design however I can and will send you some specific guidelines and how to's so that you may extrapolate on these and design your own I will (GIVE) you any advice that I am legally allowed

 

[Frank Surber]

Here is a photo of one of my lifts being tested it is an 8 ton lift with 20 ft of rise note we have more than 20 tons loaded on the platform

This is metric tons by the way

Some of my lifts are very special purpose
This one has dock levelers on both ends and is over 40 feet long


but some are tiny only capable of 2 tons

 

[Frank Surber]

Mine goes from the basement to a closet on the first floor. It uses a pair of 16' boxed barn door tracks. The tracks are mounted to the wall studs on the 1st floor and to a metal Unistrut frame bolted to the basement floor.

The metal frame "L" shaped lifting carriage is supported and slides along the tracks held in place with the bolts from 4 barn door track trollies. To avoid metal to metal contact, 1/2" thick, 2" dia 'pucks' cut from HDPE (aka white cutting board material) are placed on the bolt shafts, these provide lubrication between the metal surfaces. The trolly bolts have double nuts and are safety wired.

HF largest hoist provides the lift, these have a build-in braking system to prevent a run-away situation.

It's been in use 2 yrs. Recently the cable started showing the beginning signs of wear so it will be replaced with one twice as thick.

At some point I like to replace the HF winch with an elec chain hoist, problem is they're so heavy....

Next time I'm up at the property I can get pics if anyone is interested.

ttRiff the problem with a winch using a cable is there is only 1 suspension rope.
And remember cables have a minimum bend radius going to a larger diameter cable will not make it last longer most cases it it will shorten the service life. Using a highly flexible cable can extend the service life Think of a mobile crane, you will never see 6x19 class cables on one of them 7x37 is almost twice as flexible as 6x19. In the case of a winch the larger the drum diameter the longer the cable will last however the gear reduction may have to be changed
Does your platform have an automatic breaking or locking system that engages if the cable were to break? if not it need one.

 

[Grumpy Old Man]

I design freight elevators for a living. From what you are describing you are looking for a small cantilevered platform type of lift. not sure why you feel you would need the platform to fold to save space. lifts come in every configuration under the sun and I've probably worked on more than that at one time or another
A single column supporting from one corner has the highest stress loading moments of any design next would be a single wide column located on one end. A scissors type would require excavating a pit and for stability a single or pair of vertical guide rails are advised. There are many safety codes that must be followed some are more stringent than others especially if this is going to be used for human transport along with the lifting of freight.
For VRC vertical reciprocating conveyors the code that most low height freight only lifts fall under is ANSI/ASME B20-1 For elevators used for human transport the code is ASME A17. Those are the 2 main ones but there is also standard for conveyors and related equipment / JORDAINAN LIFT SPECIFICATIONS /EUROPEAN STANDARD (EN 81-1: 1998) / BRITISH STANDARD (BS 5655) just to name a few
For private home use like in your barn you will not have to meet every aspect of each of these however if you were to install a lift of any type without at least meeting the minimum standards of safety in regards to fire or personal property damage or human injury. should anyone be injured as result of failer you can be held liable.
That being said here are a few tips.
#1 worm screw drive as someone said the brass nut will wear and can allow the platform to fall to prevent this use a follow nut under the support nut the follow nut never carries a load and should the drive nut slip it will be there to prevent damage this is acceptable in the codes and to ANSI standard B153.1
#2 Hydraulic; there are 4 main accepted ways to do this one is using a ram under the platform requiring a hole to be drilled and an environmental sleeve installed to prevent soil contamination in event of rupture. the 2nd hyd use is called hole-less this has the cylinder mounted in or between the support columns one method is 1 to 2 ratio push the cylinderis secured and had a pulley or sprocket over the rod end usually one end of a chain or wire rope is anchored to the platform the other at the base of the cylinder a minimum of 2 should be used per cylinder 1 to carry the load the other as a safety for many lifts there are as many as 2 to 4 cylinders with 2 chains and 2 safety cables and sometimes more than that for heavy lifts.
The 3rd method is direct acting hole less this requires the cylinder to be as long as the rise height either pulling or pushing. In any push type method the rod diameter must be large enough to prevent buckling
The 4th method is using the cylinder to pull on a pulley again sometimes several are incorporated this method can be used to achieve 2 to 1 3 to 1 4 to 1 even 10 to 1 pull just like using a block & tackle each ratio up grade causes the platform to move faster while requiring a larger diameter cylinders or higher pressures or both
The method I use almost exclusively is the last one at 2 to 1 ratios most of the time for lifts with less than 40 ft rise over 40 ft rise 3 or more to 1 ratios I also incorporate many redundant safeties since my lifts are commercial and must meet all codes with a human operator
Let me know if you require a preliminary design Due to legal reasons I can not and will not post or publish a complete design however I can and will send you some specific guidelines and how to's so that you may extrapolate on these and design your own I will (GIVE) you any advice that I am legally allowed

Frank ,If you would send me any info as these are projects I want in my new place and its always easier to install while building rather than trying to make them fit later .Thanks

 

[smiley]

View attachment 297669

This is like the lift I described above.

Dean,
We have an old blacksmith shop near me that uses one of those, but the platform is big enough to put an entire carriage on to move it to the second floor for storage. I think it had knots in the rope, but wouldn't swear to it as I haven't been in there in over 40 years.

 

[jimgerken]

Interesting thread! As we are designing a new home (and we are in our mid-50's), we are looking to make the house as accessible as possible. And we noticed that a stairway takes up a lot of space on both floors! We will have a basement because the cost of this space is cheap, because the taxes on this space are low, and because we have a walk-out sloped lot. But it would be great to have a personell elevator instead of a stairway. Is there a reasonably priced residential elevator? It should be big enough for a wheelchair I suppose, and it would be only a 10 foot lift. Do you know of options I could consider? thanks!!!

 

[Frank Surber]

Interesting thread! As we are designing a new home (and we are in our mid-50's), we are looking to make the house as accessible as possible. And we noticed that a stairway takes up a lot of space on both floors! We will have a basement because the cost of this space is cheap, because the taxes on this space are low, and because we have a walk-out sloped lot. But it would be great to have a personell elevator instead of a stairway. Is there a reasonably priced residential elevator? It should be big enough for a wheelchair I suppose, and it would be only a 10 foot lift. Do you know of options I could consider? thanks!!!

I don't know of anywhere in the world where an elevator only as a means of traversing from one level to another is accepted. On low structures having 3 floors or less an elevator may be used in conjunction with a tight wound spiral stair case on rare occasions
I tight wound spiral stairway is considered 6 ft diameter or less.
There are residential elevator manufactures who offer elevators as small as 24 inch by 30 inch interior cabin dimensions
These are usually only hidden in a closet.
When designing home for an elevator a couple of options could be to design the stairway around the elevator shaft-way. Even better is to design for a vintage look like the old open meshed cabins with concertina doors. There are even the vintage looking controls with modern electronics
I someone likes the look of a circular stair they may consider using a round elevator car .
I am not a licensed or registered passenger elevator designer, so I refrain from making very specific recommendations, also I would chose not to recommend one manufacture over another. I often purchase propitiatory and patented controls and safeties from several for my freight lifts since at times it is more economical than making these myself. But All passenger elevator manufactures do this as well.