Hauling a pinball machine up a tight stairway? winches?

quses

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Hauling a pinball machine up a tight stairway? winches?

I have a pretty tight/steep staircase that I'm trying to move some pinball machines up. The stairway turns 90 degrees midway up and is very steep at that point, so some sort of stair-climbing hand truck probably won't do.

What I've done is run a 2x6 in the attic above the ceiling over the turn in the staircase, across the rafter joists, screwed it down, then drilled and attached a 1/2" galvanized eye bolt that sticks out on the top of the ceiling. The eye-bolt is rated for 2200 pounds. I assume a 4+ foot long 2x6 in the attic laying across 3-4 joists will hold the weight of a pinball machine. Correct me if I'm wrong...

So now I'm thinking if I can get some sort of winch or hoist, and then some kind of 4-point harness I should be able to lift the pinball machine up and around the steep stairs. Anyone ever done anything like this? Does my plan sound practical? Any recommendations on sources for the right equipment?
 
Try a farm supply store maybe? Pulleys can also be had at 4x4 stores.

Personally, I would take the backbox off the game. Mark all the connectors before removal to make reassembly nice and quick.. This will make it much smaller and lighter.
 
For modern, fold-down games, I don't know if it's worth taking the backbox off.. if I get the right winch or hoist, it shouldn't be a problem. Older EMs, I'd definitely separate the head from the main cabinet. I'm hoping someone has done this before and can share their experience?
 
I have the same issue. I just pull the legs off and stand it up on end to make the turn.

Normally takes 2-3 of us to move one.
 
I tried with two people and my staircase is too tight and steep for 2. Maybe 3 people could do it but I set up something on the ceiling now to try and winch it up... just need to figure out what kind of winch to try and get.
 
I tried with two people and my staircase is too tight and steep for 2. Maybe 3 people could do it but I set up something on the ceiling now to try and winch it up... just need to figure out what kind of winch to try and get.

Manual chain hoist would be best, but those are still kinda spenny. Cheapest is going to be good ol' block and tackle. You'll just have to have someone stay on the rope.

http://www.grainger.com/Grainger/bl...-and-rigging/material-handling/ecatalog/N-9ry
 
That is a bad, bad idea. Harbor Freight sells mostly cheap knock-off products that are poorly built in China. That is okay for some things, but I would NOT risk anything they sell in holding heavy weight above me!!

I know what you mean, but I've searched RGP and some people have used them before, and if I did use one, I would not get underneath the machine - I just want to slowly pull it up the stairs... anyone ever do anything like that?
 
For modern, fold-down games, I don't know if it's worth taking the backbox off.. if I get the right winch or hoist, it shouldn't be a problem. Older EMs, I'd definitely separate the head from the main cabinet. I'm hoping someone has done this before and can share their experience?

Its worth taking the backbox off because it removes 6 to 10 inches of depth and a lot of weight. With the backbox and legs off, the body is very compact.
 
By now, I would've disconnected the harness, pulled the playfield, removed the head....carried it upstairs and would've been done in an hour.

I fall into this same trap too, so it's not a criticism, but it's amazing how much work we will do sometimes to avoid a little work.

And Quses, I know you said "some" machines, so I'm just kind of jacking you. If I was facing this for 3-4 machines, I'd probably be looking at other options too. I doubt my wife would let me sink an eye hook in the ceiling though....
 
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I fall into this same trap too, so it's not a criticism, but it's amazing how much work we will do sometimes to avoid a little work.

+1. With the backbox removed, a pinball machine is actually quite compact and not really all _that_ heavy. You should have no problem bringing it up stairs with a handcart.

-Ian
 
Its hard to tell what will / will not work without being able to look at some photos of the area in which you plan on hoisting the pinball machine up through.
 
+1. With the backbox removed, a pinball machine is actually quite compact and not really all _that_ heavy. You should have no problem bringing it up stairs with a handcart.

-Ian

Unless you're dealing with STTNG, Twilight Zone or something like that. Then you're going to have a problem. Just getting the backbox off is going to be a huge pain and you're still going to have huge, heavy pieces to deal with.

If you're going to be moving a machine once in a while then it will be less painful to just take them apart and get a friend to help. If you're going to be moving machines in and out all the time by yourself then definitely build something mechanical.

I use a 12V winch and ramps but I don't have a 90 degree turn in my stairs. A lot of the time it's still less work to pull the playfield, etc... and just carry them. It really depends on what I'm doing but it's really nice when I need it. I'm sure you can come up with something but without seeing the stairs I can't be much more help. My only advice would be to never put yourself in a position where the game can fall on you or roll over you and you'll be fine.
 
All good advice. I was hoping the hoist solution might be the easiest. I'm always afraid of completely disconnecting everything. At least 20% of the time when I've done this, something has gone wrong with the machine and it's taken even more time to scope out the problem - those trifucon connectors are a bitch sometimes.

Hmmm, so now I'm torn.
 
I'm always afraid of completely disconnecting everything. At least 20% of the time when I've done this, something has gone wrong

I'm with you on that. There's always that one second of holding your breath when you flip the switch for the first time.

Versus the anxiety of winching a 200+# machine 10 feet up into the air, maintaining its balance while hanging from an eye hook on my ceiling, praying the whole time it doesn't swing into a wall, fall and smash my stairs, bannister, or machine.....

Good luck whatever you decide. I struggle with the same crap. I really envy people with ground level game rooms.
 
I know what you mean, but I've searched RGP and some people have used them before, and if I did use one, I would not get underneath the machine - I just want to slowly pull it up the stairs... anyone ever do anything like that?

You can't really go based on that. One issue with stuff like that coming out of China is CONSISTENCY. Just because a couple other people did it and the winch didn't fail, doesn't mean it won't happen to you!

It's also easy to say that you'll never be under it, but when you're actually in the process of trying to hoist, swing, and move the game you'll end up doing a lot of stuff in the moment you never thought or planned on needing to do.

I've been around and dealt with rigging systems my entire career (concert/theatrical lighting). You never know when one is going to fail until it does. I've also dealth first hand with a lot of the crap that comes from China and the safety issues they pose. Hell, they even copy and manufacture their own UL labels to put on the products to make you think they are properly rated and safe.....
 
By now, I would've disconnected the harness, pulled the playfield, removed the head....carried it upstairs and would've been done in an hour.

I fall into this same trap too, so it's not a criticism, but it's amazing how much work we will do sometimes to avoid a little work.

And Quses, I know you said "some" machines, so I'm just kind of jacking you. If I was facing this for 3-4 machines, I'd probably be looking at other options too. I doubt my wife would let me sink an eye hook in the ceiling though....

Maybe true for a system 11 game, but for WPC games (no interconnect) it is a much bigger hassle. Maybe if you have done it a lot it wouldn't seem so bad. I tried to talk myself into removing the head on my STTNG, but ultimately chickened out and hired some movers that were in the neighborhood. Maybe the best idea is to team up with local pinball enthusiasts and host a moving party, if you're willing to reciprocate.

Shawn
 
I went to Harbor Freight today and looked through all their offerings... I know that "you get what you pay for" there... sometimes stuff is good, sometimes it's crap.. so I picked up both a manual hoist as well as a 12VDC 2000 pound ATV winch... The more I look at things, the more I like this DC winch... I know it's not designed to lift vertically, but I think it may work out - I will just have to be careful with it and figure out how to mount it. It's trial-and-error. If this works out I'll post pictures of how I did it. If it doesn't, I'll post pictures of my hospital room. ; /
 
Wow....this is starting to sound more like a Noice adventure. Pics should prove to be very interesting of this.
 
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