Wireless controller for electric hoist

[bigmackloud]

Hope this is the right section for this question.

Looking to add an electric hoist to get heavy items up into the attic of my garage. A wireless controller seems like the best solution.

HF offers this wireless winch controller.
http://www.harborfreight.com/wireless-winch-remote-control-69229.html

And planning to use this HF electric hoist.
http://www.harborfreight.com/1100-lb-capacity-electric-hoist-93251.html


Anyone tackled a similar project? Any problems using a wireless controller designed for a DC powered winch on an AC power hoist?

Thanks!

 

[Tscott]

I've got the hoist you are planning to get it works fine though when my shop is hot it does weep oil ever so slightly from the gear box. I assume you know that winch is not intended to be used with that remote (at least mine doesn't have an allowance for it). Modifying the remote switch to work shouldn't be a very big deal except you are going to need to find a way to power the wireless receiver. I am guessing it's gonna be 12VDC and I'd be willing to bet the winch controls are 120VAC. Get a little AC/DC inverter and add a relay controlled by the radio receiver to control the winch and it should be doable.

Tom

 

[bigmackloud]

I'm just brain storming here. Any thoughts on if it would be easier to use a garage door controller? That would be ac powered. Not sure of cost or compatibility though.

 

[rlitman]

That hoist has a pendant control. Just replace the wire with a longer one if the pendant doesn't reach where you need it to be. The pendant it comes with is around 6' long.

 

[bigmackloud]

I had thought about that but the hoist will be mounted near the peak, which is probably close to 18' high. Plus what do I do with thie controller dangling in the center of my garage? Climbing up there to disconnect it everytime kinda ruins the ease of use.

 

[fastjohnny]

I would surface mount controls in a convenient location, eg work bench, wall, etc. and if desired, build a second remote control as mentioned above. It'd **** to misplace/damage your wireless control and not be able to use the hoist at all.

 

[bigmackloud]

Fastjohnny, having redundant controls isn't a bad idea. But does complicate my already complicated project, haha.

I know just enough about electronics to get into trouble. Can any explain exactly how the hoist controls work compared to what the wireless control is doing?

I'm guessing the controller is just switching a relay. Does it matter that the controller is dcV compared to the acV the hoist uses, other than powering the controller? How much power does the controller need?

 

[Tscott]

Fastjohnny, having redundant controls isn't a bad idea. But does complicate my already complicated project, haha.

I know just enough about electronics to get into trouble. Can any explain exactly how the hoist controls work compared to what the wireless control is doing?

I'm guessing the controller is just switching a relay. Does it matter that the controller is dcV compared to the acV the hoist uses, other than powering the controller? How much power does the controller need?

Being from HF I would assume the hoist is pretty simple. The pendant switch controls the hoist double throw relay. One way for forward and the other for reverse. The radio is basically just a substitute for the pendant and switch. There will be a circuit board in the radio box that switches the relay just like the pendant switch does now. The issue you have arises with the fact that the power in to the hoist is AC and the radio control is designed for DC power. The issues I see are as follows.

1. You need to supply the radio with 12V DC. You could do this with a battery charger or even a small battery and a trickle charger. Most likely the radio has 2 power wires, a 12V DC in and a ground. Simple enough to power.

2. If the hoist is all AC then it has a relay with an AC coil. The coil switching output from the radio will be 12V DC. You will need to change the hoist relay to one with a 12V DC coil and AC rated contacts. This might be tricky depending on how the controls are designed. If it is super simple with no circuit board and just a simple relay, they it will be easy. If it uses some sort of circuit board then you will probably have to bypass that whole board and just use your relay to control the hoist motor.

3. All of the above changes if the Hoist motor is DC, which it might be. It is possible they just use 120V AC to power a big inverter board and all the parts are already 12V DC. If this is the case then it should be pretty easy to power the radio and start controlling the relay with your radio.

The first step will be to see how each of your parts works, simple knowledge of inputs and outputs is all you really need. If you buy the parts and tear into them take some photos and let us know what you find.

Tom

 

[rlitman]

I had thought about that but the hoist will be mounted near the peak, which is probably close to 18' high. Plus what do I do with thie controller dangling in the center of my garage? Climbing up there to disconnect it everytime kinda ruins the ease of use.

So extend it without a disconnect. You can replace the cord with appropriate SO cord. Put a hook on the wall, and hang it there when not in use.
I'm just not comfortable with lifting using a HF wireless remote. Too much to go wrong.

BTW, you want the pendant long enough that you won't have to worry about getting in a place where what you're lifting can fall on you, but you still want to be close enough to step in if the load starts to rotate (which it will do on that wire).

 

[bigmackloud]

This may be helpful to those who understand what they've looking at.

http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-hack-an-Electric-Hoist-AC-motor/step2/hacking/


PS: I'm also not dead set on using the HF wireless controller. If there's a better wireless controller option, I'm open to ideas.

 

[tonycastec]

WIRELESS REMOTE for 120v winch/hoist
Can I buy such a remote control ready made? The link suggest using an Arduino board for the new controller.
A little RC 3 or 4 button fob would be way more convenient than a pendant/tether control switch.
The link suggested is very useful but beyond my electronics skills.:
http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-hack-an-Electric-Hoist-AC-motor/
This video is interesting but it needs sourcing for the components- anyone know? :

 

[Ole Slewfoot]

My cheap winch control has about a 1 second delay which equals about 4' of travel with the rope mostly on the spool.

 

[tonycastec]

In my case I need to winch a car into the garage. The 120v winch is bolted to the floor of the garage and there is a slight slope up to the garage. I did extend the cord . It is awkward to try to steer the car, watch the cord and the winch.
Much better would be to use a little key fob remote. Then I could sit in the car, steer and operate the remote.
A similar issue would be winching with a 120v winch into an enclosed car trailer.

 

[matt_i]

If you look on ebay under "wireless crane control" or "wireless hoist control" there are some offerings. I can't speak to their reliability or quality but would seem like a reasonable place to start.