130 lb Storm pit door lift assist ideas....

[zayne2427]

I built a 4'x10' cement storm pit in the ground under my stairs. The door/lid to open it will weigh around 135-145 lbs . I need some ideas on some struts of some sort to help with lifting the door

 

[mna0121]

Use a counter weighted pulley system anchored to the underside stair treads. Block and tackle to make it easy open

 

[John Galbreath Jr.]

Use a counter weighted pulley system anchored to the underside stair treads. Block and tackle to make it easy open

Yep, counter weight.

 

[zukimaster]

Eat more spinach

 

[ecoast]

you can find struts that will handle it; think boat engine cover/marine application


under the stairs, eh?

...not trolling here

 

[patooyee]

McMaster sells air struts that can handle that load.

 

[John Galbreath Jr.]

My idea of a counter weight over a gas strut is safety. I'm sure this thing will not be checked frequently. What about, in several years, the gas struts start to weaken. You could trap a child or female in your shelter. With a manual counter weight, you control what the door weighs.

 

[patooyee]

You could trap a child or female in your shelter.

Isn't that the entire point of a hidden dungeon?

Good point though.

 

[fordcontraption01]

Get a couple shitty air shocks with bent shafts or gouges in the chrome part and use those

 

[zayne2427]

Counter weight may work just don't have much room but will rig one up for safety reasons for sure. I designed the house for a pre built storm pit that was to get sat straight in the ground 100% complete and the door on it slid open but then decided to save about 3500 bucks and do it with poured walls and a metal top. Figured someome knew a good strut that would work well and last a while

 

[RustyC]

Storm shelter doors should always open to the inside in my opinion, with a Katie bar or something on the side to keep it from getting knocked or blow open.
Something to think about if it can work in your situation.

On a door that opens to the outside I agree with a counter weight with a hand winch on the inside with cable routed outside to a pulley then back to the door. That way if there is debris on the door hopefully the winch is strong enough to lift it.

 

[85toyo]

Get a couple shitty air shocks with bent shafts or gouges in the chrome part and use those

My buddy ordered the wrong shocks and couldn't return them for some reason so his moms horse trailer has a new set of 16" fox air shocks on the gate.

 

[RustyC]

What about staying with the sliding door and having it fabbed separate and bolt down using anchors.

 

[zayne2427]

I was planning on mounting a bottle Jack and extension behind the ladder inside for help with opening in case of debris being on the lid and a latch on the inside to keep it from. Flying open if the rest of the home blew away

 

[jeeptj99]

If you do a counter weight and say a storm hits and the house goes then you are trapped in there. When a tornado hits they level everything so having something on the exterior like that probably wouldnt be a good idea.

 

[Cracksrubi]

At my old house I had a fiberglass door so I kept a hatchet in there in case we got trapped. If your door is metal how will you get out if you get stuck. Only reason I ask is be cause we didn't have cell service in ours while we were down there

 

[kmcminn]

At my old house I had a fiberglass door so I kept a hatchet in there in case we got trapped. If your door is metal how will you get out if you get stuck. Only reason I ask is be cause we didn't have cell service in ours while we were down there

When we did our storm shelter we were recommended a fiberglass door. It opens to the inside also. Unlike Zayne ours is in the crawl space. Zayne you may want to think about wiring in lights and an outlet while you are there.

 

[zayne2427]

Yeah i am going to wire in lights, outlet, fan with fresh air, cable and storage for snacks and drinks under the bench seat. I am going to mount a bottle Jack to raise the lid if the house falls on top of me. My thinking is if the house falls on top of the lid its not really going to matter if the door opens out or in. Either way I'm going to have to wait until someone comes to cut me out. My family and I will be safe until they get there.

My biggest concern is some sort of strut lift assist where my wife and kids will be able to open it if I am not home

 

[Cracksrubi]

I had always thought about some sort of flag I could raise out the fresh air vent that hopefully would tell someone hey we're stuck in here

 

[zayne2427]

My brother's house and then my dad's house are both within .5 mile from my new house, I should be able to have help fairly quickly if I am not able to escape