Winch & me

[raykos]

Supposing the building where we keep & work on our tractors has high ceilings and high lofts where stuff is stored. And supposing further we have a winch to help us with our work.

Has anyone ever used the winch as a mini elevator? Maybe make a small platform, attach it to the winch, then stand on the platform and winch ourself upward to the stuff stored above? Or would balance & swinging wildly about become to big of an issue?

Just curious, been thinking about getting a winch,(the older I get, the stronger gravity becomes), and this crazy thought passed through my head.

 

[KennyV]

,(the older I get, the stronger gravity becomes), and this crazy thought passed through my head.

You think gravity is strong now... just wait till the elevator fails with you on it. You will not believe how fast things fall...

 

[Iplayfarmer]

I know some winches are rated for overhead lifting and some are not. I'd imagine that there are additional parameters and precautions for actually lifting a person.

That doesn't stop many, though. I'd build a track of some sort if I were doing it. That way all the winch is providing is lift... Not stability. Some kind of upright rails and then wheels that ride on the tracks to keep the elevator stable would probably work.

 

[mjncad]

I'd figure out some sort of fail-safe braking mechanism. How high up are you talking about? How much weight? Is the winch a worm gear drive, planetary...?

I think Warn makes an AC powered hoist that is comparable in price to their winches.

Be careful.

 

[raykos]

DARN!!

Not only does gravity get stronger, the brain gets weaker; used the wrong word. Was thinking about Harbor Freight's 1300lb hoist, and typed "winch" instead. Whoops, sorry.

 

[MikeD74T]

I'd figure out some sort of fail-safe braking mechanism. Be careful.

I was picked for jury duty in a civil case where a homemade "elevator" broke a mans back. It was built using a heavy duty electric chainfall but had no car brakes. Based on the business owners frequent use to transport people, especially handicapped in wheelchairs, the case was an easy win for the injured party despite his own stupidity (I use this term to adress his lack of understanding - he was not uneducated, but his field of expertise was not mechanical)) & action being predominant factors in his injury.
Having worked as a welder for a "hoist" manufacturer I know it's easy to build an auto braking system that is held off by hoist cable tension -loss of tension = brakes locked. A simple spring loaded pawl will do the trick. PM me if you want more detail.

Most interesting part of the trial was the explanation by the injured's much younger wife of the value of loss of consortium caused by the husband's injury.

You can build something that is both simple and safe. MikeD74T

 

[JoelD]

I'm with the others, I would think the braking system to be the key element. Without which you are risking some serious problems.

I think the point on worm gear is it is self braking.

good luck and let us know how this all turns out.

Joel

 

[jd2305cd]

Mike D Nailed it... Sounds like he knows how to get ya setup too... Brake and some sort of stability guide are keys.. good luck..

 

[biggerten]

I'm with the others, I would think the braking system to be the key element. Without which you are risking some serious problems.

I think the point on worm gear is it is self braking.

good luck and let us know how this all turns out.

Joel

Of course, the cable system will be inspected regularly, the self braking system tested on a yearly basis.

Plus the ability to lower one's self manually should a breaker pop or the electricity go out when you're halfway up/down. Which it never will, since I never hear of people getting stuck in an elevator.

This just seems like a bad idea to me. Trusting one's life to a Harbor Freight winch, that's not for me.

Now, if it was for hoisting only materials, that's another thing.

 

[KubotaSam]

I have a friend that has a great winch setup in his barn for raising a platform to the upper floor. It is for materials only!!! I think anyone that thinks a person would ride in such a lift should talk to someone that has had a spinal cord injury.
Riding in one would be foolish and downright dangerous. The lift my friend has pulls up beyond second floor then large planks are pushed across the hole in the floor. Then the winch is lowered down to rest on the thick planks. No one would ever ride to the second floor on the lift.

 

[LBrown59]

I have a friend that has a great winch setup in his barn for raising a platform to the upper floor. It is for materials only!!! I think anyone that thinks a person would ride in such a lift should talk to someone that has had a spinal cord injury.
Riding in one would be foolish and downright dangerous. The lift my friend has pulls up beyond second floor then large planks are pushed across the hole in the floor. Then the winch is lowered down to rest on the thick planks. No one would ever ride to the second floor on the lift.

Or a shrink.

 

[Taylortractornut]

I know an old man thats crippled from being a hellion but he works on alot of things even has a 745 AC loader that s 3 yard artic rig. His legs ar useless and he cant climb he built a lift out of and ATV winch with a lift grad cable. He has an Ibeam track the lifts him hup on a skid. He has a mecanical spring brake for a break away and then also has an old Air parking brake off a truck axle. It has an air line to it from the loders air system. When cable break asn if the mechanical system fails It will dump the air and brake will lock down. I didnt belive him and he was riding uo it with a pair of bolt cutters in his wheel chair. when he cut it it locked right there.

 

[Wis Bang]

Pre-OSHA it was common for construction workers to 'ride the hook' standing in a crane hook for a quick ride up/down on the jobsite. My father confessed to it.

After college I worked for a small company that had once been a larger construction firm. The master mechanic told the story of being a new hand, way back, and seeing a crane out after spending the winter in the shop undergoing a re-furb. It worked two days on a new job and the site foreman rode the hook down. As he was walking back to the site office a pennant line snapped and the lattice boom fell to the ground.

They stopped that practice long b/4 OSHA cause the foreman was the owner's son.

That crane was never sold until it finally went to the scrap yard, nobody would buy it!

I worked for a trucking company that had their tires stored in an interior storage room w/ three high racks w/ an elevator that could traverse the length of the room. It was purpose built and had locks similar to a auto lift. It was made by a lift manufacturer around an electric cable hoist. The room was long and narrrow w/ the hoist riding a rail on the wall opposite the racks w/ a platform spanning the walkspace. You would push it along to the area where you wanted & then you could ride up and roll the tires you wanted onto the platform leaning the first against a metal support & then ride it down to the floor. Worked great and was purpose bult for that room. Was a unique soluition fo disapearing tires. Big steel door we called it the tire vault.

 

[Bird]

How about a manual chain hoist instead of a powered hoist? Seems to me it might be safer, and quite possibly cheaper.

 

[studor]

In mining there is sometimes a platform called an ore skip that takes material up and down the shaft using the main hoist gear. In most countries it is illegal to ride on the skip(because of the danger involved) I have been in South American mines where it is not illegal-- but I have also seen the families of miners lined up to get funeral money as a result. --- all to say that I agree it woud be good for materials but not life and limb

 

[PILOON]

I know that quite a few folks use a fork lift truck mast as the elevating mechanism.
Becomes a simple enough task of attaching to the floor and suitable brackets on the upper level.
Fork lift is usually a one way cylinder and AC powered hydraulic pumps are relativly cheap. Hydraulic power for up and gravity for down!
Hydraulic check valve would provide necessary safety measures.
A 'man cage' would be made to sit on the forks.

Many if, not most fork lifts, get scrapped with the mast and lift cylinder still usable, generally engine, age and accumulated other issues render them uneconimical to repair/rebuild.

 

[JDeerekid]

There was just a show on RFDTV the other day where a farmer built a nice looking elevator to get up to his catwalk to get parts. I cant remember what show it was though. I am sure it will be on again in the next week.

 

[toivo1037]

My idea was to use a platform that ran along rails on the stairway, to get the mower and other items onto the second floor storage room. Steel rollers, running along metal rails, with a platform winched to the top. I think it will work - once the garage is built

 

[JDeerekid]

There was just a show on RFDTV the other day where a farmer built a nice looking elevator to get up to his catwalk to get parts. I cant remember what show it was though. I am sure it will be on again in the next week.

The show is called SUCCESSFUL FARMING MACHINERY SHOW and is going to be on at 10PM tonight.

 

[rdbrumfield]

The name Otis should come to mind. He is the fellow, and you see his name on most elevators, that invented the braking mechanism that allows people to ride in elevators.