what hoist for hauling shopping and fire wood

When I was 12 I designed a forklift for my dad that operated off of a boat winch. A simple pulley, a basket, and an electric winch (the kind you use to pull your boat onto your trailer) and you're all set.

Of course, what I'd really like to see is a trebuchet.

LOL!!! Actually there are people below us for whom a missile launcher would be useful!! OK so a simple boat winch with sufficient cable could be adapted. Sounds good as not too expensive. In fact we have a steep drive so something to pull the caravan up there might be worth considering I suppose. Have to be careful with a fixing point though. Don't want to end up trashing the crazy paving drive as we are in Spain!!! Any more ideas?

"Of course, what I'd really like to see is a trebuchet."

Don't send the eggs this way!

What you should look into is something similar to a "shingle elevator" (used by roofers to get shingle bundles on a roof easily), perhaps something used, because I think they can be around the $1000 mark.

Or see this site for inspiration, what can be made:

http://www.maceindustriesusa.com/

There are small electric winches that are fitted to trucks etc. They are small, well built, very powerful and not overly expensive. They operate on a car battery, i.e 12 volt DC. You can have either a car battery with a small charger or a 12 V DC power supply, putting out enough current to run this machine. For the electrical control system with the lower-upper limit stops, consult someone knowledgeable. The lifting cage you will surely design yourself. Hope this helps

I'd go with Bhankii and Mr. Berlin's suggestions in broad concept.

The shingle elevator is not bad, and is workable, but typically they do run off gas engines.

Even a simple boom arm and block and tackle would probably work fine.

We are talking about around 45 feet of lift, so I can see why you might want the electric option design.

A big wind wheel or drum set with a cable guide might be nice.

And then to power the rig you might go with an AC to DC converter, (rectifier?) if you don't want to have to run the rig motor off a battery.

As far as elevators, on the CR4 Forum, Doorman is a good one to check with.

I would just do a online search for electric winches. That alone will give you hundreds of different sizes and types to pick from.

Being its going to be used on your home I would suggest getting a standard line voltage powered unit. It will have much higher run times and lifting rates than a battery powered one will. Plus then there is no added expenses in the battery and charger either.

Figure out what your heaviest loads will be and factor in a reasonable overload capacity above that. Having a good safety factor built in is well worth it!

GA -- An old friend of mine, Sam, a widower with Parkinson's, has a struggle getting up and down stairs without carrying anything bigger than what he could put in his pockets. The two homes he's had since I've known him both had living quarters upstairs and a basement workshop or garage at ground level. (the current home, all he could afford, is in a flood zone).

Anyhow, being a retired mechanical engineer and a pretty clever guy Sam was quick to rig a wire basket and counterweight on each end of a rope suspended from a single pulley attached to a 2x4 cantelevered out at ceiling level of the second floor porch landing. Works just fine for him for most things. When he lowers a load lighter than the counterweight he just grabs the weight and lays it on the porch railing. He has a tag line attached to the bottom of the basket to pull it down if the basket is high up and empty and the counter weight is on the ground level. Getting the counterweight off the railing from the ground means grabbing the rope above the basket and lifting the counterweight off the railing to swing free.

His arms are still pretty strong so he has the strength to manage the rig if he has to pull it up from the top with an oversized load or pull the empty basket down to the ground and thereby lift the counterweight.

The counterweight end of the rope has a loop so the counterweight can be changed for a bucket loaded with rocks to balance heavier loads in the basket.

Ed Weldon

Why not an electric winch mounted on your upper balcony? You could attach a stout basket or box to the winch cable at all four corners so it wouldn't tip. Also a switch at the bottom and up top, so, upon arriving you could just fill the box and watch it go up. Might be nice to have another guide cable alongside with a ring welded to a rod and a flat plate to the other end of the rod to fasten it to your gondola to keep the wind from blowing it about. You need an automatic cutoff at the top to turn off the winch so it won't pull it too far.

P. Mascarino

Hi Annem,

I have come across a "Builder's Hoist" mfd. in Spain having lifting capacities 50Kg,125Kg,250Kg. It is a winch type hoist mounted on the swing bracket fixed on the top floor wall. Load is not guided but it is freely suspended on the hoist hook. This hoist with bracket is quite cheap compared to any lifts.It runs on single phase. It can carry only goods but not passengers. Similar hoist of Chinese make are also available at much cheaper rates but quality is not reliable. If you are interested in such hoist then you can send me message I will forward you details. You can also search on Goggle by typing "Builder's Hoist".

Thank you every one for taking time to reply. Lots of ideas to follow up.

Hi Anne,

Following is the e-mail ID of Spanish mfr Elevador-Pluma.

http://www.solostocks.com.co/venta-productos/construccion/maquinaria-construccion/pluma-grua-elevador-228692#contactar.

You may contact them.

Thanks.

Depends on how much you wish to spend and the quality
of service / equipment with which you would be happy.

A continuous rope loop, around a pulley at the bottom
(which is tethered to the ground for stability) and powered
round a motorised pulley at the top would suffice.
Just hook whatever to the rope and up it goes. You could
even hang on to the rope yourself for a quick lift up?
(remember the swashbuckling movies?)

Commercially, the sky's the limit. (pun)

Safety wise, (for 45 feet!) whatever you use you might consider
including a speed grip, where, if the travel is too fast (i.e. the rope breaks)
A clamp grips the rope to stop a sudden fall. A ratchet pawl could provide
similar safety. (with perhaps an annoying "clicking".)

Enjoyable project to achieve something good at minimum cost.

jt.

Life's just full of ups and downs..

I see that you are in UK Dumb waiters residential elevators run $15,000 - $20,000 US dollars. There is some nice units made in canada. I cobled a lift at my Florida home to get my tool boxes and equipment out of the Hurricane flood zone 11' up using a construction scafolding that runs on electric drills will lift 1,000 lbs

Reechcraft www.reechcraft.com
1425 Main Av 58102
P.O. Box 2426
Fargo ND 58102

(701)232-6666
(701)280-5927
(888)600-6160

GA to you. That looks practical, and do-able.

If you use the garage door opener you also get the benefit of a remote control. When you aren't using the lift you'd just send it back to the top floor for added security. I had a friend a couple of decades ago whose wife became a victim of diabetes. After the first leg was amputated he rigged up a lift very similiar to what Pierrino describes in his comments for the purpose of getting his wife from the first floor to the second floor of their ante-bellum home. As I recall it worked pretty well.

My stepdaughter in Massachusetts wanted a dumb waiter to carry packages to the second floor of a new home. She was told that, since it would be possible to put a person in it, it had to be licensed as an elevator.

Spain may not be so restrictive, but those of you in the US might want to either check first with your local permitting office or make very sure that they never hear about your project.

Hi everyone. Many thanks for all your great ideas. Lots to think about. My late dad would have loved this project. My husband is a Cabinet Maker and great at DIY but has a lot on so I guess he won't want to do much on it. He'd prefer to buy off the shelf I reckon. The Niche lifting web site was really useful re personal elevators. It allows a ball park estimat which came out at around £15K. Too much for this task but in years to come if we get disabled we might be able to borrow funds so we can carry on living with our spectacular views. The point about licensing is interesting. I guess anything we use for logs could be used for people.Well our grandson would love it I'm sure!! We wouldn't of course but we need to bear the law in mind. Spain probably has lots of legislation courtesy the EEU but probably not enforced if visible breaches of health and safety laws are anything to go by!!! Thank you so much everyone for taking time to think of solutions to this little problem. My husband and I are thinking them through. We have a couple of DIY shops locally and I've seen winches in passing so we'll take a look there too. I'll let you know later when we get something up and running.

When I was stationed in Spain with the US Military we lived in an apartment on the 3rd floor. The movers had a neat little pulley setup that they slipped on the terrace on the floor above, then lifted everything that wouldn't fit up the steps (they were pretty narrow) that way. Beds, dressers, the dining room table, pretty much everything but boxes came up that way.

You could pretty much set up the same thing with an A frame in the corner and a swing arm on it. Lower a basket to put the shopping or firewood in it, then pull up the basket. No motors or engines, just BFI (brute force and ignorance).

Good Luck

http://www.silvercross.com/homeelevators.html

http://www.kone.com/countries/en_GB/products/elevators/residentialelevators/pages/default.aspx