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Message |
    
Airplane1
Advanced Member
Username: Airplane1
Post Number: 798
Registered: 5-2004
| | Posted on Thursday, June 15, 2006 - 1:04 pm: | 
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I am trying to figure out what size winch I need to be able to lower my tower. I plan on mounting it inside my garage and feed it throu the wall to the tower at about 14ft hight and my tower will be around 40ft with no bigger than a 4 element quad on it, a PDL-2 is what will be on it to begin with. I see that Tractor Supply has winches for 100.00 and they are 3000lb capacity.
will this be ok?
Thanks,
AP |
Chad
Advanced Member
Username: Chad
Post Number: 926
Registered: 11-2004
| | Posted on Thursday, June 15, 2006 - 10:23 pm: |
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Winch ratings can be deceiving, you need to know how much line is on the spool when the rating was taken. As line goes on the spool the torque goes down due to it becoming larger in diameter.
The hardest pull will be at the bottom and the top, this pull depends on the line angle. If the angle is acute of 45 degrees more energy will be used to pull IN not UP, conversly if it is obtuse of 45 degrees the it will pull up not in at the top. Regardless you will have to help it up and at least into the upper position.
I'm trying to figure it out too but I'm too lazy now... I'm on the air. You will probably need to weld up a plate inside to evenly distribute the pull to all 3 legs too.
You know what... Ask kid V! He works in rigging and would know the math, he may have a down and dirty formula for you. We are off for a bit due to school not being in session or I'd ask my riggers 
Chad |
Road_warrior
Senior Member
Username: Road_warrior
Post Number: 1628
Registered: 7-2004
| | Posted on Friday, June 16, 2006 - 1:04 pm: |
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I've winched my 40ft tower up and down many,
many times using a 3000 Lb winch.
But, you must get the right angles for ease
of bringing it up or down. |
Airplane1
Advanced Member
Username: Airplane1
Post Number: 800
Registered: 5-2004
| | Posted on Friday, June 16, 2006 - 5:28 pm: |
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I was planning on mounting it at 14ft high on garage, the cable will be connected on the tower at the same hight. I dont know how to figure out the angle or how much line I will need to lower the tower.
guess I can just try it and see if it works.
AP |
Road_warrior
Senior Member
Username: Road_warrior
Post Number: 1630
Registered: 7-2004
| | Posted on Saturday, June 17, 2006 - 9:46 am: |
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Make sure whatever that winch is supported
to is very, very strong. There is alot more force
when lifting than you think. |
Road_warrior
Senior Member
Username: Road_warrior
Post Number: 1631
Registered: 7-2004
| | Posted on Saturday, June 17, 2006 - 3:06 pm: |
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Also if using a Pulley, make sure pulley is
strong enough for the job. Where pulley
gets supported to needs to also be very
strong.
My friend has his tower, then 6ft behind tower
he has a 17ft telephone pole. 8ft under ground
and 17ft above ground. He has a pulley mounted
to top of pole. He has winch mounted 11ft below pulley on same pole. I DO NOT like his set-up as instead of pushing down on pole while winching, it pulls pole sideways. First time we winched up and down his tower, it moved the
pole 4ft towards tower. Instead of mounting winch on same pole as pulley, he should of mounted winch behind pole at a different location.
ROGER- are you planning to mount winch on garage
14ft high??? Or you mounting a pulley 14ft high
and mounting winch somewhere else???
Just make sure whatever you support winch/pulley to is strong enough to withstand the lift. |
Airplane1
Advanced Member
Username: Airplane1
Post Number: 801
Registered: 5-2004
| | Posted on Saturday, June 17, 2006 - 9:59 pm: |
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The winch will be at the top of attic space in garage at 14 ft on the inside and will be attached to the inner wall and reinforced very well.the cable will go throu a small hole in wall straight to a pully on tower and then back to garage and attached just below where it came out the hole and reinforced from behind the wall in the inside also.I am thinking the pully will make the winch work less hard. the control will be wired to a weather proof panel outside the garage beside the tower. I hope I explained it that it is understood. I can post a drawing if forum master allows it |
Road_warrior
Senior Member
Username: Road_warrior
Post Number: 1639
Registered: 7-2004
| | Posted on Sunday, June 18, 2006 - 4:30 pm: |
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Sounds good to me. Try to have tower lifted as
high as you can before winching.
Prop tower up with something: barrel ect. |
Wildrat
Advanced Member
Username: Wildrat
Post Number: 912
Registered: 12-2003
| | Posted on Wednesday, June 21, 2006 - 3:48 pm: |
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I used my Mile Marker 8000lb. wench on my Jeep to raise and lower my 60 foot tower. I mounted pulleys at the peak of my house very securely with 3 inch lag bolts thru 1/4 inch angle iron. I found some heavy duty pulleys at Ace Hardware, Lowes/Home Depot did not have anything strong enough. I had no problems. I have 100 feet of 5/16 cable on the wench. I used two pulleys at the peak. I have a couple of pictures I think in the members picture section. The wench had no problems at all, it was pretty fun actually because after 60 feet of tower, I had another 15 feet more or less pole sticking out then the Imax 2K. It was all the way across the street and into the neighbors yard. I hit the retract button and she started going up, looked like a crane. If you ever mount something at your peak make sure you get into some good wood, not just the little 1x4, if you don't your antenna will come back down about half way up or a bit more. |
Airplane1
Advanced Member
Username: Airplane1
Post Number: 802
Registered: 5-2004
| | Posted on Thursday, June 22, 2006 - 8:49 am: |
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Thanks wildrat, how high on the tower is your cable connected? is it higher than 14ft. ?
AP |
Chad
Advanced Member
Username: Chad
Post Number: 938
Registered: 11-2004
| | Posted on Thursday, June 22, 2006 - 9:17 am: |
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I would hope a 4 ton winch would do it! If you are not acreful it would yank it out of the ground!
But this......
"if you don't your antenna will come back down about half way up or a bit more"
.....Cracked me up.... Is this a voice of expierience? Just the mental image if it landing BACK in the neighbors yard had me chuckling!
Chad |
Road_warrior
Senior Member
Username: Road_warrior
Post Number: 1654
Registered: 7-2004
| | Posted on Thursday, June 22, 2006 - 12:34 pm: |
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Roger, if you have your winch mounted at
14ft, it's best to mount it on tower at
14ft-17ft
The tower should be already off ground as high as you can before winching. With you mounting a PDL-2 on tower,you will have no choice,but, to have it off ground because of the size of the beam.
Actually with just 3 10ft sections of tower and
my I-10K, 2 people pushed mine up by walking it up and 1 guy pulling on a rope from the other side. But, adding that 4th section made it a bit to much...LOL...WINCHING TIME! |
Airplane1
Advanced Member
Username: Airplane1
Post Number: 804
Registered: 5-2004
| | Posted on Friday, June 23, 2006 - 7:54 am: |
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That would be cool if I and some friens could walk it up. Mine is three 10ft sections and a 8ft section + mast and antenna.
On my way home from work yesterday I seen a new tower instalation with what looks like a maco M104-HV about 36 ft high. I am stopping this weekend to see if he will let me look at his instalation for ideas. I hope he is freinly.
AP |
Road_warrior
Senior Member
Username: Road_warrior
Post Number: 1660
Registered: 7-2004
| | Posted on Friday, June 23, 2006 - 10:31 am: |
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Yeah, that's a bit to much tower, pipe,rotor,
antenna for pushing up.
Hopefully he's friendly...LOL
I'm sure if he's not busy he will be glad to
help you. |
Wildrat
Advanced Member
Username: Wildrat
Post Number: 924
Registered: 12-2003
| | Posted on Monday, June 26, 2006 - 11:55 am: |
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No, the tower did not come down. I just recognized the symptoms and put it back down before the bad stuff happened and that was when I tried using the chain fall.
I had tied a very strong rope to the tower at 25 feet . The rope hung down to about the 20 foot level. Then I hooked the winch to that point. The I hit the button and up she came all 79+ feet of it. I just left the rope on for future maintenance, like the M104 that needs to go up there now now. A fella round here called Lumberjack gave me the antenna because he was not using it anymore. The lower you have the winch cable on the tower the more strain on the winch there will be, but if you get it too much past halfway there is the possibility of the tower folding, and you don't want that! If you go look at my tower pic you can see the rope attached to the tower. If you some different pics say of my pulley setup or anything else let me know because I can take them and have them online in o time at all. You can't walk mine up, not unless you had a bunch of fellas, healthy ones too. Oh Well see Y'all! Let me know if ya need something!
WR |
