Wife ordered a clothesline installed.
After inspection all's well except I/we figure we need a
'clotheline elevator' something like here,
http://www.canadiantire.ca/search/se...08474396672077

The idea is she hangs clothes at hip height off a
1 foot platform, then hoists them up ~ 3 - 4'.

I'm a DIYer, so I'm also happy to build the unit,
so I'm asking for suggestions and best product
recommendations.
Ken

On Fri, 10 Jul 2009 18:03:48 -0700 (PDT), "Ken S. Tucker"
wrote:

Wife ordered a clothesline installed.
After inspection all's well except I/we figure we need a
'clotheline elevator' something like here,
http://www.canadiantire.ca/search/se...08474396672077

The idea is she hangs clothes at hip height off a
1 foot platform, then hoists them up ~ 3 - 4'.

I'm a DIYer, so I'm also happy to build the unit,
so I'm asking for suggestions and best product
recommendations.
Ken

What you want to do is use the classic method, put the clothesline on
two pulleys at opposite ends. Then put the clothes on at the end that
is just off the floor and then pull the rope until they travel, one
piece of clothing at a time, to a place where they are 8 feet off the
ground so you can walk underneath them. Oh, yes, be sure to build
your house on a hill first.

On Jul 10, 8:29 pm, mm wrote:
On Fri, 10 Jul 2009 18:03:48 -0700 (PDT), "Ken S. Tucker"

wrote:
Wife ordered a clothesline installed.
After inspection all's well except I/we figure we need a
'clotheline elevator' something like here,
http://www.canadiantire.ca/search/se...essionid=KX3Qh...

The idea is she hangs clothes at hip height off a
1 foot platform, then hoists them up ~ 3 - 4'.

I'm a DIYer, so I'm also happy to build the unit,
so I'm asking for suggestions and best product
recommendations.
Ken

What you want to do is use the classic method, put the clothesline on
two pulleys at opposite ends. Then put the clothes on at the end that
is just off the floor and then pull the rope until they travel, one
piece of clothing at a time, to a place where they are 8 feet off the
ground so you can walk underneath them. Oh, yes, be sure to build
your house on a hill first.

One house I owned, the neighbours wife would come over
and use the clothes line off my patio, then after hanging,
she'd just yank a cord and tie off. The downside is she was
such a beautiful buxum gal is that I darn forget the apparatus
she used to lift the laundry.
The place was purchased with a sort of understanding she
- by the previous owner - used my clothesline and her kids
used my backyard for baseball, soccer and whatever.

Guess I'll just redesign the unit myself.
Ken

Ken S. Tucker wrote:
Wife ordered a clothesline installed.
After inspection all's well except I/we figure we need a
'clotheline elevator' something like here,
http://www.canadiantire.ca/search/se...08474396672077

The idea is she hangs clothes at hip height off a
1 foot platform, then hoists them up ~ 3 - 4'.

I'm a DIYer, so I'm also happy to build the unit,
so I'm asking for suggestions and best product
recommendations.
Ken

Maybe something like this, driven by a garage door opener?
http://www.google.com/patents?id=t1B...drawing&zoom=4

--Winston

Ken S. Tucker wrote:
Wife ordered a clothesline installed.
After inspection all's well except I/we figure we need a
'clotheline elevator' something like here,
http://www.canadiantire.ca/search/se...08474396672077

The idea is she hangs clothes at hip height off a
1 foot platform, then hoists them up ~ 3 - 4'.

I'm a DIYer, so I'm also happy to build the unit,
so I'm asking for suggestions and best product
recommendations.
Ken

I get a 'technical error' message from the web site, when I try to hit
that link. Your wife has troubles hanging things on a normal 6' off the
ground line? (not uncommon, for various reasons.) Using KISS principle,
one short pole and one tall pole, plus each line on a pair of pulleys,
seems to be the least Rube Goldberg solution. Hang an item, then tug the
rope, etc. You either need a wider-than-normal set of cross-arms and
extra ropes, or a longer distance between poles, since you lose a lot of
hanging space on the low end.

I also like the (lack of) smell on things dried outdoors, and the feel
of them. My mother dried clothes that way when I was a kid, when weather
allowed. However, back then and more recently, I have noted that if you
have a bird feeder within 50 feet or so (or an in-season cherry or
mulberry tree), hanging clothes outside doesn't work so well. They end
up with lotsa bird stains.

I have a couple line poles in the yard here, but I have never bothered
to restring them, since I have feeders and mulberry trees. Plus, idiot
previous owner put the poles in a shady, wind-sheltered part of the
yard, and it has never seemed worth the bother to uproot and move them.
And having a day job plus errands to run on weekends, I also seldom do
laundry before late in the day, so finding hanging time in daylight
would be difficult.

--
aem sends....

Ken S. Tucker wrote:
Wife ordered a clothesline installed.
After inspection all's well except I/we figure we need a
'clotheline elevator' something like here,
http://www.canadiantire.ca/search/se...08474396672077

The idea is she hangs clothes at hip height off a
1 foot platform, then hoists them up ~ 3 - 4'.

I'm a DIYer, so I'm also happy to build the unit,
so I'm asking for suggestions and best product
recommendations.

Solve a different problem: Don't raise the line, raise the linee.

That is, mount the line at the appropriate height and provide a step-up for
the person hanging the clothes. (assuming the line is on a pulley so the
washer-woman doesn't have to move.

On Jul 10, 8:03*pm, "Ken S. Tucker" wrote:
Wife ordered a clothesline installed.
After inspection all's well except I/we figure we need a
'clotheline elevator' something like here,http://www.canadiantire.ca/search/se...essionid=KX3Qh...

The idea is she hangs clothes at hip height off a
1 foot platform, then hoists them up ~ 3 - 4'.

I'm a DIYer, so I'm also happy to build the unit,
so I'm asking for suggestions and best product
recommendations.
Ken

What you do is to take an 8 foot 2 x 4, cut a 'V' in one end, hook the
center of the line in the 'V' and position the bottom of the 2 x 4
post so as to elevate the line.

Works for me.

Lewis.

*****

on 7/11/2009 12:58 AM (ET) Winston wrote the following:
Ken S. Tucker wrote:
Wife ordered a clothesline installed.
After inspection all's well except I/we figure we need a
'clotheline elevator' something like here,
http://www.canadiantire.ca/search/se...08474396672077


The idea is she hangs clothes at hip height off a
1 foot platform, then hoists them up ~ 3 - 4'.

I'm a DIYer, so I'm also happy to build the unit,
so I'm asking for suggestions and best product
recommendations.
Ken

Maybe something like this, driven by a garage door opener?
http://www.google.com/patents?id=t1B...drawing&zoom=4

--Winston

Patent filed in 1949? How come I've never seen one? I guess there was
no one around like Billy Mays then, I guess. :-)
This appears to be hand operated. Line #18 is pulled through pulley #17
to raise the clothes line pulley (#14) and then tied off at #20.
It must have been hard to raise that heavily loaded #14 pulley. It might
have needed some extra pulleys between #17 and #20 to ease the raising.
I'll get on that right away. :-)

--

Bill
In Hamptonburgh, NY
In the original Orange County. Est. 1683
To email, remove the double zeroes after @

Thanks Gents for all your replies to me.

On Jul 11, 10:06 am, willshak wrote:
on 7/11/2009 12:58 AM (ET) Winston wrote the following:



Ken S. Tucker wrote:
Wife ordered a clothesline installed.
After inspection all's well except I/we figure we need a
'clotheline elevator' something like here,
http://www.canadiantire.ca/search/se...essionid=KX3Qh...

The idea is she hangs clothes at hip height off a
1 foot platform, then hoists them up ~ 3 - 4'.

I'm a DIYer, so I'm also happy to build the unit,
so I'm asking for suggestions and best product
recommendations.
Ken

Maybe something like this, driven by a garage door opener?
http://www.google.com/patents?id=t1B...drawing&zoom=4

--Winston

Patent filed in 1949? How come I've never seen one? I guess there was
no one around like Billy Mays then, I guess. :-)
This appears to be hand operated. Line #18 is pulled through pulley #17
to raise the clothes line pulley (#14) and then tied off at #20.
It must have been hard to raise that heavily loaded #14 pulley. It might
have needed some extra pulleys between #17 and #20 to ease the raising.
I'll get on that right away. :-)

That looks like the unit.
The location of the clothesline is to be on the South side
just under the big kitchen vent, you can see it here.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/dynamics/
to be run North to a tree.

As I watched the gal raise the laundry line she had no
problem using a single pulley. Laundry is fairly light,
as it is spun 1st, tho I suppose hangin' a big old wet
quilt could be done by putting it at the far end.

Repetitive lifting wears out the back, so I want the line
at wifes tits level, (necessitating making it lower every
year or buying her a brazier and/or elevator shoes).

I just checked the CanTire link and it's now busted.

One important thing about an outdoor clotheline is airing
bedding frequently (we like it done every few days),
perferably in a breeze and sun, for a freshening a dryer
really cannot do so well.

We currently have a rope strung between a couple of
trees that works - aaahhh -ok, but be careful about wasps
after airing because I got stung on my foot that I think
came in after airing.

I'll still collect data and post further if I find anything
interesting.
Cheers
Ken

willshak wrote:
on 7/11/2009 12:58 AM (ET) Winston wrote the following:


(...)

Maybe something like this, driven by a garage door opener?
http://www.google.com/patents?id=t1B...drawing&zoom=4

--Winston

Patent filed in 1949? How come I've never seen one?

Type a random number and see if you can find it at Wally World:
http://www.google.com/patents

I guess there was no one around like Billy Mays then, I guess. :-)

I don't think the 'clothesline hoist' has the necessary 'WOW' factor.
http://www.strategicprofits.com/blog...rketing-magic/

This appears to be hand operated. Line #18 is pulled through pulley #17
to raise the clothes line pulley (#14) and then tied off at #20.
It must have been hard to raise that heavily loaded #14 pulley. It might
have needed some extra pulleys between #17 and #20 to ease the raising.
I'll get on that right away. :-)

I think I would make pulley #17 much larger in diameter
to decrease the stress riser in the line.
I would parallel the lifting line with a counterweight
inside support #1. (Think 'sash weight')

The counterweight would tend to lift the loaded
clothesline by itself. The user might only need to
provide half the 'lift' necessary. A second line
attached to #8 would allow the user to lower the line
for use.

Report back with links to pictures of your prototype!



--Winston

clipped

As I watched the gal raise the laundry line she had no
problem using a single pulley. Laundry is fairly light,
as it is spun 1st, tho I suppose hangin' a big old wet
quilt could be done by putting it at the far end.

No, no, no! Don't hang a quilt on a clothesline. Easy way to dry -
after washing by hand or on gentle cycle in washer, cool water - is to
spread it on tall grass (just when the lawn needs mowing) with clean
sheet under it, right side down. Box hedges work nicely, too )

On Jul 11, 11:59 am, Winston wrote:
willshak wrote:
on 7/11/2009 12:58 AM (ET) Winston wrote the following:

(...)

Maybe something like this, driven by a garage door opener?
http://www.google.com/patents?id=t1B...drawing&zoom=4

--Winston

Patent filed in 1949? How come I've never seen one?

Type a random number and see if you can find it at Wally World:http://www.google.com/patents

I guess there was no one around like Billy Mays then, I guess. :-)

I don't think the 'clothesline hoist' has the necessary 'WOW' factor.http://www.strategicprofits.com/blog...rketing-magic/

This appears to be hand operated. Line #18 is pulled through pulley #17
to raise the clothes line pulley (#14) and then tied off at #20.
It must have been hard to raise that heavily loaded #14 pulley. It might
have needed some extra pulleys between #17 and #20 to ease the raising.
I'll get on that right away. :-)

I think I would make pulley #17 much larger in diameter
to decrease the stress riser in the line.
I would parallel the lifting line with a counterweight
inside support #1. (Think 'sash weight')

The counterweight would tend to lift the loaded
clothesline by itself. The user might only need to
provide half the 'lift' necessary. A second line
attached to #8 would allow the user to lower the line
for use.

Report back with links to pictures of your prototype!



--Winston

I think I have a new design, the boss (aka wife) likes.
I'll attach two pulleys to the wall High (HO) and Low
(LO) as per figure, (pulleys are the "O", there are 4),

HO
|| ....clothesline A is HO to LO
|| clothesline B is O to Otree
O==================Otree
||
||
LO Fig.

Between HO and LO is a clothesline A, to which I securely
attach O and clothesline B, that is raised from LO, when the
hanging occurs to HO, when the hanging is finished.
Looks simple and ergonomic.

If wify likes it, I get anchovies on my pizza.
Ken

Ken S. Tucker wrote:
(...)

I think I have a new design, the boss (aka wife) likes.
I'll attach two pulleys to the wall High (HO) and Low
(LO) as per figure, (pulleys are the "O", there are 4),

HO
|| ....clothesline A is HO to LO
|| clothesline B is O to Otree
O==================Otree
||
||
LO Fig.

Between HO and LO is a clothesline A, to which I securely
attach O and clothesline B, that is raised from LO, when the
hanging occurs to HO, when the hanging is finished.
Looks simple and ergonomic.

If wify likes it, I get anchovies on my pizza.
Ken

Cool! I am a little concerned that clothesline A will
'triangle' on you, reducing the amount of tension that
can be transferred to clothesline B. The 'pulley
carriage' solves that problem nicely.

Didja notice how this inventor angled his mechanism
so that the clothesline is tightened as it is raised?
http://www.google.com/patents?id=t1B...drawing&zoom=4

Nifty.