My elevator is a work in progress that has been put on hold till spring. Just needs the bugs worked out. Started using hydraulic motor. To keep repairs down on chain etc. I put a 3/16 hex head through the pulley to act as shear pin. Seems to work OK. Easy to replace and quick. Will have to put hinges on chain guards for easy access.
Like the idea of using return line to power elevator. Do you guys think this will work? I used the hydraulics on my 350B crawler (over kill) to test it all out. Have an old Toro mower that has separate gear box that might work, but that would be another motor to mess with. Just thinking out loud.......