Thread: Water lift

Your first port of call is are you allowed to build one...I could very well imagine something like that will fall under cranes and lifts and that sort of thing.. Meaning licencing, inspections etc.. And to build one yourself would require engineer approval of the plans, you would probably have to be an approved welder to do any welding on it...etc... And the regulations will vary from state to state...

Do your homework first....

RC, thanks for your very prompt reply. Unfortunately,"Do your homework first" was not the sort of answer I was looking for. All that you have suggested has already been taken care of. I was actually more interested in theory of design and/or plans and anyone who had any helpful answers would be most gratefully accepted.rmm1.

Originally Posted by rmm1

RC, thanks for your very prompt reply. Unfortunately,"Do your homework first" was not the sort of answer I was looking for. All that you have suggested has already been taken care of. I was actually more interested in theory of design and/or plans and anyone who had any helpful answers would be most gratefully accepted.rmm1.

Sorry but I'm with RC on this one. If you've done your homework then you've got permission to build/install one, which means you have engineer approved plans submitted to council with their stamp on them.

Alternative is that you're going to build/install an unapproved bit of kit. Good luck to you, I do things like that all the time but I don't ask other people to tell me how on a public forum. 3m lift height is quite enough to cause serious problems.

If a google search doesn't lead you to a design you're comfortable building yourself then sorry but it's time to pay an engineer.

PDW

Hi rmm1,

Homework, would of course include a check on ebay...

PUMP DRIVEN WATER LIFT - DISABILITY ELEVATOR | eBay

It's local to Brisbane as well..

Regards
Ray

There was some discussion on these forums some time ago along these lines, although from memory more about a dumb-waiter than a man hoist. One of the forum members is in the design business for this sort of plant, so this link may be useful. I have no affiliation with anyone in the thread, other than as a fellow forum member. I hope that you get something useful out of the link, and it wouldn't hurt to do a search of the forum for other threads with relevant content, you never know what you may find. Good luck,
Rob.

https://www.woodworkforums.com/f65/du...-track-104221/

First of all,I would like to thank RayG for your reply. I had noted that advertisement, but it is quite premature at the moment, and is not yet necessary. I find myself quite amazed at the other replies. First of all,"Do your homework first"and a vague idea that I may not have adequate welding skills, then next I see PDW is with RC on this one. Quite frankly, I don't care if they want to sit in the corner together and hold hands on this one, and then I am told to go and pay an engineer. Quite odd!

People often ask for advice on these forums. Someone for example who asks for advice on a table saw isn't told to go and do your homework first, and maybe you might have to present yourself before a board of moderators to see whether you are able to use the equipment or not, and I do not see anyone being questioned on whether they have the requisite skill before buying plans for a 20 foot boat. I have Googled quite a bit on the subject and I have yet to see any theory or plans that could help me and that is what I asked for in my original question. As the lift may not be necessary for at least five years, if at all, I thought it might be an interesting project to see if I could build a scale model in the shed, purely from an interest point of view. But apart from the kind answer from RayG , all I get is do your homework first with a question about my welding skills from someone who chases cows, and then be told to go and pay an engineer by someone who is a novice. I am not trying to prove anything to anyone on this forum as far as my skills, nor do I feel I should have to ask their permission. (Incidentally, I have been welding using all types of equipment including forge welding for the last 38 years). Once again, thanks very much to RayG, but it is more a theory of how these lifts work and possible plans which interest me. For anyone else following this thread that has any of that information, I would be very grateful.So without belabouring the point I am interested in any websites etc where either theory or details of plans may be found.Thank you, rmm1.

Thanks Rob, that at least gives me a start in one direction. I will also do a search on these forums as well. As far as I can tell by inspecting one of these lifts, is that they operate by turning on a water tap and this is what causes the platform to rise. It is not a lift with an electric motor as you might expect, although it is possible there may be a pump to increase water pressure They actually appear to be quite simple in design and operation . I will probably follow your suggestions tomorrow, as I am just about to crash (it has been a lo-o-ng day). Thanks once again, Peter.

I think you'll find that 'do your homework first' means' something like:

• Lifts that carry people are regulated by their own set of standards that are fairly vigorously enforced;
• Research these standards to see if you are able to construct a lift and get it certified, or if you need to get engineers sign off on one of the many design and construction issues
• It may be that the standards have no scope for approving bespoke designs not meeting particular (or requiring expensive testing to satisfy) design criteria.

It'd be a shame to go down the 'build your own' lift path, only to find out at a later date that 'sorry, these type of lifts are unable to be approved in Australia' or 'sure, we just need three complete production samples for destructive testing, and by the way, that'll be $60,000 each for the testing'.

Helo RMM1,
You have obviously been offended by either the tone of, or content of the replies from .RC and PDW. I am sure that neither of these forum members intended to offend, but were in fact trying to protect you from investing considerable effort into designing and building an item of plant which, at the very least, if discovered by the authorities, could result in a demand to demolish your handiwork.
In your initial posting, you gave no details of any experience or qualifications that you had to undertake this potential project, and the type of assistance you asked for, may have given the impression that you were un-aware of what you were letting yourself in for. I would imagine that any such plant would involve an engineered design, Work-safe Australia checks/licences, and if you are to construct the thing yourself, you would have to be a certified welder.
You may have the required qualifications and experience, but having not said so, many may well think that if you did, then you would already have your contacts and know where to get any additional info you needed to do the job.
As they have said, you do need to proceed carefully, because the consequences for you, if something goes wrong and there are casualties, would most likely be very severe, if the whole thing was unapproved, even if the problem was not your fault. A bit like being over 0.05% blood alcohol level, and being involved in a traffic accident. Even if you were totally in the clear as far as being to blame for the accident (lets say for the sake of this discussion, that you had stopped at a red traffic light, when a car coming toward you, went straight through the red light, lost control and had a head on collision with your car.) You would most likely lose your insurance cover, and it would not surprise me if the offending driver could successfully sue you for damages, just because you were over the limit.
There is lots of good advice to be had in these forums, and even if it sometimes appears a little blunt, it is extremely rare to find that it has not been given in good faith, and in the best interests of the person asking the question. Good luck Peter with your project, and I now see that Master Splinter has covered much of the ground that I have, with about 25% of the words that I have, as I have been composing this diatribe. Cheers,
Rob

Asking for advice on a public forum means you will have to field answers to all sorts of questions you didn't ask, along with assumptions about your abilities. Even if you specify the question and your abilities in great detail, that still happens. I've been on both sides of the equation. It's just how forums work. No point getting snotty about it.

I'm with rmm1. He asked a general question about design, maybe if someones made one, maybe somewhere they have one on show he may be able to go look at and se how it works etc. Maybe there is a member who did go thru the whole permissions thing and did build one that can give his findings. Since when do you need to preface every question with a scan of qualifications and council approvals, Insurances and a current medical report??. Do I need need to sign a waiver for the other members of all responsibility if something goes wrong.

Thank you very much Fly for your reply. At least someone in these forums understands and can actually read my original query. As I have explained previously, all I requested was in the original posting. As far as the previous post, Brian, I won't even bother dignifying that with a reply. The last ratbag who told me not to be snotty was invited to have a knuckle sandwich! There appears to be quite a few people on these forums who appear to post only because they like the sound of their own voice, or to see their name in print online. Regards and thank you Fly, and I will keep looking.rmm1.

It seems to me that asking the question on these forums is part of "doing your homework".
Sorry rmm I don't know anything about water lifts, but I don't see any problem with you asking the question.

Originally Posted by rmm1

As far as the previous post, Brian, I won't even bother dignifying that with a reply. The last ratbag who told me not to be snotty was invited to have a knuckle sandwich!

You're snotty and funny.
If you don't like the answers just move along. You're getting exactly what you paid for. I see no mention of scale models and theory in your first post.
Public forum, maybe some day someone without your long list of skills will read your post and think to themselves "Hey sounds easy I'll give it a go". So maybe a word of warning isn't such a bad thing even if in this case it doesn't apply to you. Just like most threads about electrical work will have a warning.

Before you start picking on people who "like the sound of their own voice, or to see their name in print online" you may want to look at your own post history and see how much of your skills you have added to the forum.

Ask any question you like, but be aware you will get many answers, some which you may not like.

BTW are you aware that there is a similar system that uses air?
www.airrideelevator.com

Stuart