Attic hoist / elevator design

[Molynoox]

This is way over capacity and probably more than you want to spend
View attachment 186447
very good machine I have used a lot, quite easy to move on a good surface. The cost goes up significantly when you go over about 2.5 meters lift. If using something like this I would make a small docking point on the wall to receive the front wheels that lined up with the hatch and make a box permanently secured to the forks which pushed open a twin leaved hatch strong enough to walk on when closed.

Come down in capacity and lift height and you get

View attachment 186448

The attached box now needs to provide some extra height, if your original figure of 2.7m is enough that's only 200mm so no stability issues but the capacity is getting lower and you would have to be careful of any additional weight pushing open the hatch, might want to provide another way to open.

I have only made a brief search you will probably be able to find better with a bit more effort.


Top mounting is significantly cheaper but you need to be very sure of the loading capacity of the structure you are fixing to and personally I would do a load test and issue a certificate to show what you have done, very easy to do, never run a test you believe could fail, always test as if it's going to fail ie. the weight will drop about 20mm load to 200 kg certify for 100kg, photo of structure pre-test, under test and post test showing no permanent deformation, all the law requires is that a test be carried out by a competent person, not defined. Record everything (so any user modification will be obvious). When you make a certificate imagine standing in court presenting it to show any accident was not your fault, if it's not good enough for that don't build the machine.

Most common mistake I have seen with top mounting is a good machine bolted to a wall that will not support the turning moment, some very big companies who should know better have made this mistake and done a lot of damage in the process. Top mounting you usually need to open the hatch first with the obvious fall hazard, if you can avoid this by opening with the load (in a box or cage) I would but then you loose the advantage of everything being self storing as you have the box below to deal with unless it can stay in or be the ceiling when not in use, you still need to guide it on the way up, your rail design would do that well and with a top hoist not need to support significant loads. Lots of good hoists available, how you mount them and to what is the most critical consideration. Do the maths and keep a copy.

Hope my ramblings may be of use - good luck.

That's super useful, thanks for taking the time to explain.
The one you posted first is ok on budget I would guess.

I basically have to decide between bottom mount 'off the shelf' lift or top mount using off the shelf hoist but with bespoke design for the connections and such like.

 

[stuart little]

Back when I was still doing solar panel installs on a daily basis, we had a panel lift that was basically a pair of 'u channels' with an electric winch (it could go up to 6 stories high with ease in sections that joined together) and had a SWL of 250kg- it looked VERY similar to an aluminium ladder (almost identical in fact) and they use single pairs of wheels per side inside a u channel with no issues...

In fact this is it... this exact unit...
View attachment 186420
https://www.esw.net.au/our-products/geda-solarlift

Forklift masts also use wheels inside u channels so the concept is quite valid...

In fact old forklift masts are quite cheap secondhand at forklift wreckers- and the smaller ones are still rated at 1500kg... (probably still massively oversized for it though and a lift system would need to be put in place (mains hydraulic pumps are readily available though, thats what garage hoists use), but still a look at how the mast works on a forklift may give some ideas)
View attachment 186419
A mate bought a 2 stage mast (thats a three stage above) to put on the back of his tractor recently to use on his farm as a home made forklift, picked it up from a forklift wrecker for $150!!!

I wonder what they sell, or do at 'POKIES', next door? (see vid)

 

[peter-harrison]

I had a similar problem- my last workshop had the machine shop on the ground floor and the hand shop on a mezzanine. I thought about hoists etc but eventually bought an old forklift truck. It was perfect- didn't cost a lot, and was much more useful than a fixed hoist. With a fixed hoist, if you're lifting heavy stuff, you will need some kind of sliding floor to let you unload at the top. The fork can just drop it on the floor.

 

[Dabop]

I wonder what they sell, or do at 'POKIES', next door? (see vid)

Its a club or bistro- and they have poker machines...

 

[Inspector]

My friends father in law wanted a dumbwaiter in his new house so they made it. Garage door tracks and rollers guided it and an electric winch did the lifting. They had microswitches set up so that both doors had to be closed to operate for safety. It's been running for at least 20 years taking groceries from the garage to the kitchen and the trash back down.

Have you considered one of the lift packages made in China? They could be a more economical solution compared to the cost of your time running around sourcing parts and then making it.

https://wemet8.en.made-in-china.com...or.html?pv_id=1i5qndiv1eb&faw_id=1i5qnes6a2f8

https://fuyangzhugao.en.made-in-chi...ft.html?pv_id=1i5qndiv1eb&faw_id=1i5qnf0ho427

Pete