jobs555 Posted June 21, 2012 Share Posted June 21, 2012 Hello there, in our village hall we have 2 over stage lighting bars of about 10m long, we change the lights round quite a bit which is difficult as they are about 10ft high so I was hoping for a solution, I found these This is just an idea but I wondered whether it would be safe (if install correctly) to use 2 of these to raise and lower a bar. There just something I spotted a builder using and got me thinking. Cheers for and help :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Posted June 21, 2012 Share Posted June 21, 2012 ...which is difficult as they are about 10ft high and what with h&s and ladders its getting rather difficult...Really? 10' is not that high and with a decent set of steps access is quite possible in a safe manner. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smalljoshua Posted June 21, 2012 Share Posted June 21, 2012 There are a few issues with using motors like those. Firstly, they're not rated to suspend a load, just lift it. Secondly, the second you put any form of motor on your bars, you have to have them inspected and tested periodically and this will cost money. To be frank, 10ft is not very high at all! Get a decent step latter, site it on a flat and level surface and use rope to lift the lights from the ground to the bar so you don't have to carry up the lights in one arm whilst climbing. Josh Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the kid Posted June 21, 2012 Share Posted June 21, 2012 If I remember powercraft is a odd brand from Aldi. I would hazard a guess it is a 2nd run with surface faults (bad paint job etc). Having said that I have bought several tools and they have been good, and some tools that have broken after 1 use. But 10ft is nothing cheaper and easier to use steps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jobs555 Posted June 21, 2012 Author Share Posted June 21, 2012 Okay, I get the idea, thanks for the ideas :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
david.elsbury Posted June 21, 2012 Share Posted June 21, 2012 Maybe I'm missing something but I can't see the link?Did a mod delete it? Adam, once your post has been replied to it's bad form to edit it and particularly remove links. Bad nettiquite etc :)David Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kerry davies Posted June 21, 2012 Share Posted June 21, 2012 I thought there was something weird going on since nobody mentioned it, second thoughts it was my computer then decided it was that standard technical glitch in entertainment technology, an SEP (somebody else problem). The older I get the more these SEP fields impinge on all areas of life, just like SPAG it ain't my problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuart91 Posted June 21, 2012 Share Posted June 21, 2012 The other thing to bear in mind with these winches is that getting them both to run at the same time could be tricky. And if you end up lifting the bar unevenly, there will be a far greater force on the winch at the higher end. We used them for a while for lifting equipment up and down from a mezzanine floor, and whilst they do an OK job, it is easy to tangle the cable. We typically went through one per year. In the end we got fed up replacing them and went for a far heavier duty chain hoist which handles the task much better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Posted June 22, 2012 Share Posted June 22, 2012 Odd, the link and picture were there. It was of a £59 type electric hoist as seen in DIY sheds. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the kid Posted June 22, 2012 Share Posted June 22, 2012 This is the same product http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Electric-Cable-Hoist-Winch-Pulley-250kg-540w-Power-Craft-New-/261047544234?pt=UK_Lifting_Moving_Equipment&hash=item3cc7a569aa Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
david.elsbury Posted June 22, 2012 Share Posted June 22, 2012 Thanks both. I'd assumed something similar but good to know :)David Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ramdram Posted June 22, 2012 Share Posted June 22, 2012 If I understand the issue correctly the OP is proposing to lift stuff? The OP might like to consider researching LOLER. Further to lifting then said stuff is to hang over people? Then PUWER might be applicable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Junior8 Posted June 22, 2012 Share Posted June 22, 2012 Take my word for it - they will break down when most inconvenient! In multi-purpose community halls keep it simple. If 10' access conventional steps are considered too risky/wobbly what about something like these? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gareth Posted June 22, 2012 Share Posted June 22, 2012 We've just bought four of those little hoists (from Lidl, I believe, although it may have been Aldi) to use for getting kit to/from our FOH bridges, fly floors, studio grid, etc. They're pretty good little units for the money - we bought one at first to have a fiddle with to see if it was any good, and it lifted a flightcase full of Meyer UPA1Cs off the ground with very little complaint (although I'm not sure I'd like to trust it to take a weight like that all the way to a 7m-high grid!). That said, though, they're really not the right thing to be using to raise and lower a lighting bar. It sounds to me like you need to be looking at one of those pile-wind hoists that are driven by an electric drill - last year we had three of them installed to suspend three lighting bars (250kg SWL) underneath a gallery in our studio space, and they're nice pieces of kit. Can't remember what make they are, but if you're interested I'll find out next week. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonathanhill Posted June 22, 2012 Share Posted June 22, 2012 1340384906[/url]' post='444177']Take my word for it - they will break down when most inconvenient! In multi-purpose community halls keep it simple. If 10' access conventional steps are considered too risky/wobbly what about something like these? For that money you would be better off with a set of six rung onions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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