Moving heavy equipment

This post is inspired by the discussion of "huge milling machines for sale".

I find it that owning, minimally repairing or reselling various moderately heavy machinery is fun and profitable. By heavy I mean stuff under a ton, obviously not a lot by many people's standards, but quite a bit for a homeowner like myself. Things such as generators and compressors, that sort of thing.

So far, I used a chain hoist depicted here:

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and various wooden platforms on casters. I have a nice concrete garage, and a concrete walkway to the concrete patio in the yard. So, this equipment can be moved. There is about 2" "step" at the garage entrance. I am looking for practical, preferably non-powered, suggestions and experiences how you people move heavy things about.

Thanks

i
Reply to
Ignoramus29457
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You would be surprised what can be moved by an engine hoist.

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Reply to
Clif Holland

My wife worked for a transport company that specialised in relocating heavy equipment - 1 tonne machinery upto a 375 tonne turbine for a power station. The common method of moving the "light stuff" was a "pallet jack" which fitted under the machine, jacked up and then the machine was wheeled into a position where a truck mounted crane could lift it.

Reply to
Roger & Lorraine Martin

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Thanks, that's interesting indeed. It looks like it could complement my fixed hoist and casters setup.

i
Reply to
Ignoramus29457

My collection of rigging related equipment in no particular order:

4,000# Engine hoist 3,000# Yale stand-up riding electric forklift 5,000# Pallet jack 7,000# Hi-Lift 48" mechanical jack 4t Porta-power hydraulic kit 4,000# 20' lift manual chain hoist Assorted lifting slings (proper rated ones) A pile of 5/16 "System 7" chains with grab hooks, 5,400# SWL Assorted 2x and 4x cribbing material A quality rubber padded moving dolly ~800# cap.

Oh yea, and a Deere 500C back hoe, 5,000# on the loader bucket and

2,000# on the back hoe boom.

This list may sound expensive, but with the exception of the back hoe each item was $300 or less.

The big safety rules are (all equally important):

- Don't lift the load any higher than necessary

- Don't get between the load and the ground OR anything it could shift or tip against

- If something starts to slip RUN THE OTHER WAY! Do not ever attempt to catch it

- Watch the CG of the load

- Be sure of your lift points

- Use quality chains and/or slings for lifting (cargo straps are good for stabilizing, not lifting)

- Inspect all equipment before use, particularly web slings which are prone to cuts

So far I haven't found anything I couldn't move and I'm also still alive :)

Pete C.

Reply to
Pete C.

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I'm on my 3rd 2-ton import engine hoist. My current one is just like the one you reference. It works great and has a small footprint but it is suboptimal in one way -- there isn't very much clearance between the legs. My old one could easily straddle a Bridgeport base but my new one can barely work. I'm going to make my own pretty soon but then I've been saying that for years :-)

GWE

Reply to
Grant Erwin

Can anyone recommend a hoist of this type that will straddle a Bridgeport or similar machine? Thanks!

-J>

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Reply to
Jonathan Curley

For final tweaking the location of something heavy, an assortment of steel lever bars is nice if you need to shift something just an inch or so, or even a few feet for lack of a better method. Blocks of wood in various sizes come in handy for fulcrums, as do bits and pieces of dense rubber padding.

I like the "three pipe method" for rolling something heavy along a flat floor, if the base allows it.

If you will be hauling on the road much, chain binders are a must.

You drive your vehicle into the garage over a 2" step?

Ken Grunke

Reply to
Ken Grunke

Reply to
Pete C.

Thanks for the tips. Congratulations on being still alive, and presumably having all fingers, toes etc.

i
Reply to
Ignoramus29457

thanks.

strictly speaking, there is two 1" steps. yes.

i
Reply to
Ignoramus29457

Question. Are these 2 ton engine hoists from Harbor Freight really able to lift two tons, no kidding?

i
Reply to
Ignoramus29457

Yep, all still there. Amazingly enough I haven't broken anything yet either. Plenty of bumps and bruised (and scrapes, cuts, etc), but nothing broken.

Pete C.

Reply to
Pete C.

Mine is from Pep Boys (Arcan) and yes it will lift that much. You will find that it certainly doesn't "glide" when you roll it with that much weight but it will do it. I've used it to lift the 1,571# battery for the forklift into the back of my truck.

The booms on these usually have boom positions with ratings of 1,000#,

2,000#, 3,000# and 4,000# so you won't be lifting 2t at full extension.

Pete C.

Ignoramus29457 wrote:

Reply to
Pete C.

Yes, no kidding. With a huge caveat. You must have all the legs fully extended and bolted tightly, you must have the hook centered over the load, you must have the overhead jib in the 2ton position. Then it will lift, yes. Roll, not really. Those hoists will lift 2 tons but will only roll about 2000 pounds without really hurting the casters. On my last hoist I finally wondered why the damn thing didn't roll like it used to, took it apart and discovered 4 bent axles. No *way* were those casters rated for 1000 pounds. I redid them and it worked much better.

When I make my own shop crane it will have most serious wheels. The older I get the more I spend on casters.

Grant

Reply to
Grant Erwin

Thanks.

Where do you buy heavy duty casters?

i
Reply to
Ignoramus31279

On 22 Dec 2004 11:50:45 GMT, Ignoramus31279 calmly ranted:

Grok that. Grant goes with more money, I go with larger wheel diameter. But I have lighter-weight needs and the 5" Chiwanese rubber-wrapped cast iron jobbers work well for me. HF gets $3.99 for the swivel-style on sale. I wouldn't even THINK of using them for anything heavy.

My buddy Terry gets his at Darnell-Rose:

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've seen their stuff at shows and it's very well made.

-------------------------------------------------------- Murphy was an Optimist ----------------------------

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Comprehensive Website Development

Reply to
Larry Jaques

The last cheap casters I bought were the 6" steel-wheel ones from

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-- beware, the grease nipples that come in these (otherwise really OK) casters are lousy and have to be replaced with 6mm straight nipples from McM.

But for my shop crane I'm going to make 'em. Don't know how yet. - GWE

Reply to
Grant Erwin

Thanks, Grant and Larry.

i
Reply to
Ignoramus31279

Grant Erwin wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@corp.supernews.com:

On the engine hoists I have used the load was not centered between the pairs of wheels, so some of them see more than 1/4 of the load (plus their share of the weight of the hoist itself). If I built one I'd be inclined to assume the wheels have to take 1/2 the rated load. If it has to roll over anything rougher than a smooth concrete shop floor make some allowance for impact loading as it goes over the bumps... not that I want to haul a Bridgeport over an uneven surface if I can avoid it.

Rob

Reply to
Rob McDonald

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