Single Person lift advice

[TheaterEd]

A few thoughts and further questions:

I guess the pneumatic tire question was wishful thinking although I'm disappointed no one figured out the volume of the tires and how much lift they would provide if filled with helium.

I recently had a chance to use an AWP 20-S and was pretty impressed but I can see how the outriggers could slow things down a bit. Several have mentioned the IWP series are a pain to move around. Is it the maneuverability that suffers? Is it just the additional weight?



Maybe I'm naive but I have no clue what this means.

The IWP is very heavy which inhibits its maneuverability. Its very nimble, but difficult to get moving and you will need several people to get it up any kind of incline.

As far as the 'advanced technique' that students shouldn't utilize, I mention the scenario in post [HASHTAG]#12[/HASHTAG].

The fact that the IWP cannot use this technique, is my favorite part about it. Too many close calls.


Also, as far as helium in the tires. Mythbusters tested the idea of a helium filled football, and found that the helium had no effect... sorry

 

[robartsd]

I guess the pneumatic tire question was wishful thinking although I'm disappointed no one figured out the volume of the tires and how much lift they would provide if filled with helium.

The ideal gas law teaches us that for a given temperature and volume, the presure is determined by the amount of gas particles pressent (typically measured in moles). Air is about 7 times as dense as helium at the same pressure(28.013 g/mol for Nitrogen vs. 4.0026 g/mol for helium). If the tires are inflated to about 7 times atmospheric pressure (about 90 psi above atmospheric pressure) then the weight of the helium would be equal to the weight of the displaced air and thus would provide no boyancy. At about 37 psi above atmospheric pressure, the helium in the tires would be about half the weight of the displaced air providing less than 1/20 of a pound of lift per cubic foot. Inflating the tires with helium would have negligable effect on the overall weight of the tire, let alone the lift.

 

[Skervald]

That's what I'm talking about!

 

[microstar]

I can see the risk of pinching when adjusting the legs. There's a bit of an art to supporting the inner leg when extending/colapsing the outer leg - not very difficult to learn, but still requires some attention. I also see the point of added time for setup and takedown. I've never tried one as an extension ladder, but once set up as an A-frame they seem quite sturdy to me.

For me, the Little Giants work well but it's wise to use two people to set up and take down the A-frame configuration. The only time I had to use one as an extension ladder was very scary; the splayed-out bottom rungs are great for stability, but make the extension configuration extremely top heavy, which is definitely not a good thing when trying to put up and take down. I would never use one as an extension ladder again.

 

[gafftaper]

My previous gig was in a Black Box with a sprung floor and it was about 19 feet from the floor to the underside of the catwalks. I went to my local Scaffolding dealer and purchased a scaffold that was 12' high plus wheels... which raises the top deck height up to 13'. Safety rails on top, a couple half deck sections for the lower levels and a top deck with a hatch so you can climb up the inside and pass gear up the inside of the scaffold. Cost was about $700 if I remember right with all new parts. Best of all it was wide and stable and designed to be safely rolled around with someone on top of it with no outriggers. Made life REALLY easy for me.

 

[len]

http://www.jlg.com/en/equipment/vertical-lifts-stock-pickers/driveable-stock-pickers

 

[TheaterEd]

http://www.jlg.com/en/equipment/vertical-lifts-stock-pickers/driveable-stock-pickers

 

[Dionysus]

View attachment 11171

You know you waaaannnnntt one!

lol the StarTech warehouse in London, Ontario has some really nice ones. I was in there working on an addition to their offices and some other stuff. Was bending some 1/2" EMT with them zipping around behind me, kept having to get my conduit out of their way. There we were using ladders, dodging the pickers.

 

[Catwalker]

We have a JLG 30AM lift, which works just fine. Small machine, and stores well. It's not heavy (relatively) and fits through the average door. That product is at least 10 years old now, though...

 

[BobHealey]

Make sure you have enough funds for the annual safety inspection and tune up.

 

[Skervald]

Good call on the annual inspection. I'm leaning toward the JLG 19AMI or the Genie IWP 20s. Anyone have any experience with the JLG?

 

[Tex]

I have the JLG 41AM. Easy to deal with until you get close to a wall, then the outriggers can be an issue.