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I need to transport many hundreds of hefty buckets to the top of a boom lift platform from ground level. A Harbor Freight wall outlet winch hauls at a glacial pace, which is far too slow. Any other type of winch I've seen needs a 12v connection, and even if I knew how to get that to work at the height of a boom lift's reach, I haven't found one yet that isn't also slow (~25f/m at most).

I'm contemplating a hand-operated pulley, but I'm still figuring a design that will work without burning out any human operators. I am open to new ideas.

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    What are you lifting up (a concrete pumper is really useful for example). Consider using a counterweight so the issue is lowering the counterweight smoothly.
    – Jon Custer
    Commented Jun 5 at 21:44
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    Isn't the point of a boom lift that it can be used to lift things? Lower the boom to the ground, load the buckets onto the platform, and raise it back up. Maybe I'm oversimplifying things. :-)
    – Doug Deden
    Commented Jun 5 at 21:58
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    I submit that this week s an X/Y question, asking about a specific solution rather than about accomplishing the actual task. NEEDS MORE DETAIL on what is actually being lifted. Buckets may not be the answer. A hoist may not be the answer. A rented solution like a small crane may be perfectly reasonable.
    – keshlam
    Commented Jun 5 at 22:40
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    I second the more information. Something like a hay/shingle elevator might work. First bucket will be slow, but after you might need two people to off load.
    – crip659
    Commented Jun 5 at 22:44
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    Apologies for the typo. <rant>i wish SE would stop claiming fixes to comments are disruptive when they already permit changes to questions and answers without the 5-minute limit...<,/rant>
    – keshlam
    Commented Jun 6 at 4:28

2 Answers 2

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There are many winches available. A query on Amazon, "120 volt winch", showed three pages of results, and you can try your local hardware sites. Change that to your local mains voltage, if not 120 VAC.

That said, consider how much power is available, and the weight of the load, to calculate lift speed. For example, the ~US$120 VIVOHOME hoist is stated to lift 220 lbs (100 kg) at 33 ft/min (10 m/min) or 440 lbs (200 kg) at 16 ft/min (5 m/min), but requires ~4 A at 120 VAC.

That should give you some basis for approximating the weight and lift speed versus power. Theoretically, an equally efficient hoist running at 12 A, 120 VAC, could lift the same loads in one third the time, i.e., ~100 ft/min (~30 m/min) for 220 lb (100 kg). Of course, the hoist's cost would also increase.

In designing the lift, safety is paramount! There are legal and ethical ramifications. Consider what would happen if a worker were to get caught in the line, or if a cable were to snap and whiplash, or if a load were to fall, or if the hoist were to be pulled off its mount.

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  • "safety is paramount!" Which is why you hire a crane, with a licensed operator. Or show up in OSHA reports.
    – Ecnerwal
    Commented Jun 6 at 1:13
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As someone who spends a small percentage of my work time on top of a lift:

Weigh buckets. Weigh person, consult boom lift manual. Lower boom lift, load correct number of buckets to be safe, raise boom lift. Repeat as needed.

Otherwise, hire a crane for bucket moving purposes. Possibly a crane with a much bigger crane-specific bucket. Otherwise the usual crane hoisting pallet-platform type rig with buckets on it.

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