electric winch as hoist

[indep99]

Sorry, if I am reposting this but i wasn't sure if the other thread was dead

I just bought a 1500lbs electric winch from ct and all i want to use it for is to hoist a tire up and down, would that work if i attached it to the ceiling... i figured its not a heavy load and the tire would be around 80lbs and all i need to do is hoist it up to a shelf above the garage door and in the spring hoist it down... it seems that the winch has an automated braking system but not sure how reliable and if a small load would matter

thanks for the help!

 

[54FordPanel]

I wanted an electric winch to pull my roller truck in & out of the garage. I bought a HF $100 unit, then I was figuring out how to mount it.
I posted in this thread about installing pulling pots....
http://garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=60255

I ended up returning it and buying a regular hoist, and paid about $140 I think. I will mount it to my I-beam in my garage, and I can use it 2 ways. As a hoist, and I can also use it as a winch to pull my truck in & out of the garage, by rigging up some intermediate pulleys to change the motion from vertical to horizontal.

I think the hoist is superior to the winch for lifting in that it has a better drum brake, but somebody else probably knows more.

 

[trbomax]

Is the winch 110vac or 12vdc? If its 110,use it,but I dont think its worth all the BS to use a 12v unit. If its 12vdc,take it back and get a real 110v hoist.Then do what 54ford did.

 

[indep99]

it's a 12vdc but I have a portable battery booster and it works with the winch

 

[spongerich]

Don't know if the winch is a good idea or not, but you might want to keep an eye out for a chain fall. I picked up a 1-1/2 ton for $25 from CL.

 

[Jack Olsen]

There are differences between the two devices, and the capacity for using the device to lift will not be the same if it's used to pull.

(From the Greg Smith site: )

A hoist is for lifting and a winch is for pulling.

A Winch is geared for pulling a load on a relatively level surface. A winch uses a dynamic brake that must slide.

A Hoist is geared to lift (dead weight) and has a locking brake that can support a “hanging” load.

If a Hoist can lift (dead weight) 250 lbs., then it may be capable of pulling 1000 lbs rolling weight across a hard packed surface. If a Winch can pull 1000 lbs. across a hard packed surface, it may only have the capacity to support 100 lbs. (dead weight) because the winch employs a different braking system than that of a hoist.

A Hoist is used for lifting and supporting “dead weight”.

A Winch is used for pulling (moving rolling weight).

Put another way, I can easily push my race car, but I could never lift it.

 

[54FordPanel]

So a hoist used as a winch is better than a winch used as a hoist, right? That was my twisted thinking.....

 

[indep99]

lol sounds like i started a deep and meaningful discussion

but that's the whole thing, if it's only going to be one tire at a time (around 80lbs max) then it doesn't really matter right? I wont be lifting an atv or anything like that

 

[54FordPanel]

Like Jack said, I would not use a winch for lifting.

I'm going to use my hoist for lifting, and then rig it so it will pull a load horizontally across the floor also. I'll post pictures of my set up when I do.

 

[tonydanzah]

I wish I could the picture I'm looking for. The sidewinder winch, best of both lifting and pulling. The advertisment used to be a picture of a older fullsize blazer being pulled vertically up a tree.

 

[tonydanzah]

hickney sidewinder

http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/album.php?albumid=1020&pictureid=8277

 

[rsanter]

winches I have seen will spec a rolling pull and a dead pull weight

if the capacity is ther and what you are lifting is light then you are ok
otherwise get the right item

bob

 

[evildky]

the warn PullzAll is rated for 100 lbs pulling or lifting, I've been considdering one fo these, unfortunatelu they have a trigger ont he body instead of a remote like a traditional winch or electric lifting motor, I think they really messed up by not at least making this an option

 

[LEVE]

I just bought a 1500lbs electric winch from ct and all i want to use it for is to hoist a tire up and down, would that work if i attached it to the ceiling...

I have a 5000# Warn winch that I could use for such stuff... but I elected to let it be either on my Jeep or on my Ranger Pickup. I elected to use a small HF 110VAC winch. They're often on sale for <$50.

This works fine for me. I can lift/lower and place a set of tires/wheels onto the overhead tire rack in about 5 minutes with no fuss, no muss, and little effort. I'll be doing that next week as I take off the Astro's studded tires and remount the non-studded set.

I even used the winch to lift up a NIB spare 20hp B&S lawn tractor engine. It's in the storage box that you see to the right of the rack. As for the most weight I've lifted... I guess it would have to be my 5/24 Craftsman tracked snowblower. I use to set up the snowblower on a 38" high wooden cart for maintenance. It weighs a few hundred pounds. I also take it over to the other side of the garage and use it to lift 40lbs bags of wood pellets to my overhead pellet storage pallet.

It's one of the best investments I've made in the garage.

 

[kbs2244]

As said, to different rating systems.
Pull vs. lift.
But if have the self discipline to use it for nothing but your 80 pounds you should get by.
Although those little HF unit’s are real handy to have for the sale price.

(Someone is going to have a real nice little garage business supplying replacement gears for those things in a few years. I have seen them under at least 5 different brand names. The only difference is the label. There has to over a million sold in the US alone.)

 

[indep99]

thanks for the replies... i would only use it for the tires but now with all those discussions, it gave me an idea about the snowblower hehe... sorry about the newbiness, but what's an hf winch and where can i find one in canada?

 

[jam0o0]

factor of safety in ratings for pulling - 20% or less
factor of safety in ratings for lifting - 300-600%

the brakes on 12v winches are NOT reliable. especially in the small and cheap models. store something lighter up high and keep the tires lower. or get the right equipment. imo

 

[csp]

Harbor Freight is about the equivalent of Princess Auto or Canadian Tire. Since you said it was purchased at CT it's probably the same thing.