Bridge Crane

[woodzy]

I have installed a bridge crane in my shop and I have a question on electrical. The main beam is 17'6" and the beams it runs on are about 16' long. I have a cable suspended the length of of both beams and looking for ideas on how to install the electrical cord. I added some pulleys to the cable and then zip tied the wire to the pulleys but the twist in the wire really wants to bunch up. Is there a key to start out correctly? I had a very flexible 100' 12-3 extension cord that I was going to use for the wiring since I really hate 100' extension cords. It has been on an wire wheel for years.

I know they make festoon wires for this but the cost of this wire is high and they have very expensive trolleys. Crane requires 14amps so I really need to stick to 12 gauge wire.

 

[BillK]

Take a look at the one in the picture. I would think you could make most of this yourself other than the coiled cord itself. The second link is for the cord alone.

I have been looking at a 12' x 12' system myself. The ones I have been looking at use a conducting track instead of wires.

Vestil Gantry Crane Festoon System 22 Ft Wire: Hoists: Amazon.com: Industrial & Scientific

Vestil Gantry Crane Festoon System 22 Ft Wire: Hoists: Amazon.com: Industrial & Scientific

www.amazon.com

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00BHGY4T4/?tag=atomicindus08-20

 

[nadogail]

Look into hanging weights from the festooned cord, I would use nothing less than SJO Cord.

 

[shopnut]

I had parts for a festoon system on hand for my jib crane initially, but ended up using a cable carrier on top of the beam to house a standard extension cord instead to give a much cleaner look.

Maybe something similar could work for your bridge crane as well, if you are open to changing design direction at this point.

This will drop you into my thread where I talk about it: Reply #2653

Jump to about 1/3 of the way through this video to see the hoist trolley rolling on the beam: Jib Crane Demonstration

 

[Earp69]

I think if you hang some weight on the loops for a little while it'll re train the so cord so it'll loop nice and not bunch up

Sent from my SM-N970U using Tapatalk

 

[Mr. T]

I’m all for MacGyvering things but if I went through all of the trouble to install a bridge crane that large (pretty cool btw), I’d bite the bullet and invest in a festoon or busbar system. You’re going to get what you pay for with this one.

 

[grounded-b]

Using a flat ( looks like 14/2 Romex ) extension cord will eliminate the twists.

This is basically what "festoon" cabling is - a flat cord.

Steve

 

[woodzy]

Thanks for all the tips, but after a few attempts of using pulleys and then 3D printed trucks to run on the wire, I talked to an old farmer friend. He showed my his setup he has used for the past 30 years and no issues.

Cheap old school shower curtain hooks on the cable. I ended using a different cable as the original one was rubber coated and that caused some drag. So, $30 later it works.