Line pulleys 2

[Harry Bloomfield]

The previous post on this subject has got me thinking.

What we have at the moment, which is not very satisfactory, is a hook from one corner of the single story utility, out to a fixed pole, then back to the second corner - like a large V, but with a hut in part of the V. The pole is a nuisance and despite being set 6' into the ground, still pulls over with the tension.

The idea I'm working on for the actual line for the washing bit, is two pulleys with a continuous loop around them, so that she can stay in one place to hang and retrieve the washing - just pull on the rope to move the line along. That is the easy bit, the rest is more complex.

As already said, our utility is single storey, so we lack a single vertical surface at the same distance from the far end of the line from which a pair of raise and lower pulleys could be fixed and our garden is extremely long - much longer that we would need a line to be.

I thinking a fixed line from high up on the house wall, all the way down to a high point on the fence at the rear.

Like this:-

. `. r `\ o `\ e o |-__ f| ''--__ | a o ''--__ house | | ''--__ | | ''--_ | | ''--__ |-------|| ''--_ | ||---o-------------------------o ''--__ | util || c d ''--__ f | b |o ''| | | | | |K | | | | | | | |

a and b are the raise and lower pulleys, c and d the actual washing line, e to f the main fixed line, k a cleat to hold the weight when the line is raised. Both a to b and c to d are continuous loops around the pulleys.

[spamlet]

Don't see why you need a-b to be a continuous loop unless you're putting up a flag too. You just need the line through a to tie off in the eye of pulley c.

Now you have to arrange for your double line c-d to get longer as it is pulled up (the opposite of raising a sail, where the line would have to get shorter - pulleys closer together - as the sail was raised). Which, if I'm getting my brain around it properly means you have to have c as a side by side double pulley, and d as a single. The looped or double line over the c pulleys gives you the extra length needed when the line is raised, and the means to pull the washing in and out. It has to be long enough to tie to the wall cleat when the line is up. But you will also need an extra line to pull pulley c towards you so that you can reach the washing. It is starting to look like a sailing ship after all!

A couple of points though: If your current pole is set 6 feet into the ground and still pulls over, I don't hold much hope for the fence you are going to fix this to, and, unless your fence is v high and strong, your long garden is going to dangle the washing on the ground unless the line is v tight... You might want someone to get some shove holers and concrete you a nice long scaffolding pole well into the ground at the fence end - putting pulley mounting on first unless you are into shinning ( and presumably the hut is going to get in the way too).

Also, if you currently have a V formation, is your new line going to be as long as the two sides you have currently, and presumably use? And one continuous loop wouldn't work with the v because the washing would not go through the pulley: you'd have to make something like a cable car or ski lift instead!

Gosh, aren't we all having fun!

S

[spamlet]

Ah, that may be why you wanted a-b to be a continuous loop - perhaps with a knot to lift the c pulley, and pull it toward you.

It is starting to

[Harry Bloomfield]

It happens that spamlet formulated :

The usable line length can be greater than our present V, the new pulley line can go far beyond where our original pole is. The reason I have gone for the two pulleys at a and b is so that the line can be kept reasonable taught and reasonably straight, whether it is in the raised or lowered position. Using just one pulley at 'a' would mean the low point would be on the ground in the lowered position.

I fancy the e to f main line might need to be a galv steel wire for strength and to make it less visible. e to f is 30m BTW.

[spamlet]

Only if you let go of the other end. But keeping it taught does make it easier for you to reach the washing if you are going to be hauling it in from one end only.

Now youv'e lost me.

I don't see what you need a fixed e-f line for and thought this was just the rough position the c-d line would take when in the raised position and with the 'd' pulley moved over to the fence instead of the post. Seems like you are intent on naval designs after all! (Of course, with 30m to play with the pulley could still be say 5-10m on a fixed line from the fence post. so there would be no need to haul a full 60m plus end adjustments of washing line loop.)

And if e-f *is* the raised double line after all, pulling galvanised wire round two pulleys - one of them a double so that the extra length when raised can be allowed for as I said - sounds like hard work (and rusty washing).

On the other hand if you *are* intending this to be a fixed, taught line along which you haul the washing like pulling the curtains - or raising a flag It would be better to have it sloping the other way, unless you are loading it from the fence end, which was what I thought you were trying to avoid.

S