Barn winch lift Design question

[BukitCase]

The one Al posted looks pretty stable, I agree I probably wouldn't RIDE it - but man, it's SLOOOW - I'm not sure I'd LIVE long enough to make more than a trip or two - that stair I built takes about 6 seconds either way to travel 8 feet.

Pluses - That one doesn't take much floor space, more stable than a loose-swinging cable, looks pretty solid. Some nesting square tube, a few caster rollers to minimise drag (think "fork lift mast") and it'd probably work well... Add one of the 1100 lb. HF hoists for quicker travel, maybe double-line the DOWN half of the lift cable, and you'd have a winner... Steve

 

[Threepoint]

Ok, sounds like if I知 going to use it I should really lift only. Those hoists are fairly cheap so I might swap out my setup to be safe. How about the platform stability?

Blakester, strongly recommend you go with one of the HF hoists. It would really simplify your project and introduce a lot more safety. Also, the line speed will be much faster than on your winch. They are very reliable. I have one mounted in the loft of my barn and have used it for about 13 yrs to lower and raise a hay elevator through the hay door to load square bales.

 

[aczlan]

Can I suggest a different option? Buy a forklift for the mast and scrap/sell the rest:
Old forklift for sale - heavy equipment - by owner
Remove the mast, bolt it to the wall and use an electric motor/pump such as: HYDRAULIC PUMP ELECTRICAL MOTOR 115 VOLTS 3/4 HP 1725 RPM | eBay
It will need a tank such as 5 Gallon Log Splitter Hydraulic Reservoir/Tank | Hydraulic Reservoirs | Hydraulic Reservoirs | Hydraulics | www.surpluscenter.com a check valve such as SAE 6 1 GPM Check Valve 5 PSI Cracking | Dynamic | Brands | www.surpluscenter.com and a valve such as Hydra Force 115 Volt AC NC Solenoid Valve | Hydraforce | Brands | www.surpluscenter.com
The plumbing to lift would be: Pump>Check Valve>Tee>Cylinder.
To lower, the plumbing would be: Cylinder>Tee (the same one as above)>Solenoid Valve>Tank.
The scrap price for the rest of the forklift should pay for most of the rest of the parts.

Aaron Z

 

[blakester]

So much good information in this community. I love the idea of making some metal straps that bolt through the 2x8 roof joist. That feels a Jillion times safer. Ill trust the 2x's before ill trust those lags. I will definitely incorporate that. As for the bolts maybe needing some lock washers i was planning on putting some lock tight on there. There is not a lot of space to get the nuts on there so i wanted to keep it low profile, and I have had good experience with locktight in the past. i do like the idea of having some guides on the wall but i think that might be something to include later. Everything still needs to be fully tightened down at this point before i put it to any real use. All this has spiraled into me looking at bridge hoists..... maybe later. For now ill try to decide on a hoist for this setup, and how to do the cage. I saw a nice galvanized fittings and steel black pipe frame someone built online, same stuff used for gas, seems like a nice low BS way to go. That forklift add is intriguing, the hydraulics alone are worth the 400$ price tag. Still, a lot more than i need to sped for my use. I know a guy who actually did that with a big hole underneath his house he used for a wine cave. Very neat setup.

 

[aczlan]

That forklift add is intriguing, the hydraulics alone are worth the 400$ price tag. Still, a lot more than i need to sped for my use.

I would bet that you could get more than that out of it, figure a minimum of $100 for the engine, $100 for valvebank, $50 for the tilt cylinders (or use them for your bin tipper if you are still thinking of building one), $100 for the front axle, $50 for the ROPS structure and at least $300 in scrap for the shell and counterweight (assuming it weighs 3000#, its probably twice that).
You could reuse the tank and perhaps the pump (depending on how its mounted to the engine and what kind of shape it is in).

Aaron Z

 

[blakester]

Yeah the bin tipper is still on the docket, probably a spring project.. I dont really need it until the fall so its not too high on the list. I reckon you are right, there is probably a lot of usable stuff in there.