Working on a second-hand TV-Lift mechanism

[CoogarXR]

We had a TV lift mechanism come through the recycler I work for. I tested it out and it was working, so we sold it. It was damaged in the mail, and came back. I tested it again, and it wouldn't do anything. I ended up buying it off my boss for a little project, thinking I could fix it. I thought it would be sweet to have a plasma in my garage, that would lift up fro behind my workbench, then retreat when I am done. That way when I put the garage door up, nobody will see the TV , but I digress...

What a joke this thing is! First off, all that was wrong with the motor was an interlock jumper (for an optional external safety switch) had been knocked loose. I fixed that, so now it runs, but it just chatters up and down. Sometimes it will climb about 6" and drop like a guillotine. WHAM!

So I take it apart, to find that some of the track rollers are bent in, making the pressure on the climber gear insufficient. So I bend them back into their proper orientation, and it will climb now, but if I put much weight on it, it slips. I can't seem to figure out why it slips. But I decided I don't want to use it anyway.

My main beef is, this thing has a plastic track! The main climber gears are metal, and the motor seems very strong. But the gear track that it climbs is plastic. It's supposedly rated at 250lbs. I can probably put 20lbs of pressure on it before it slips.

Now, I know it's used. And I know it's been smashed around in the mail system. But I just wanted to express my disappointment in finding the plastic gears. I could never trust this thing to lift a 150lb plasma tv. The force of this thing dropping from full extension would crack a plasma for sure.

I guess my main point is, a lift seemed like a nifty idea. But the more I think about it, even a new one will wear out. It will get sloppy, and probably slip, crash to the bottom and break the TV.