# CM vs Stagemaker



## mstaylor (Oct 21, 2013)

I am looking to purchase almost fifty hoists. I speced CM and one company used Stagemaker as an alternate. I have used both and can see no performance differences. Stagemaker is considerably quieter than CM but that can't be a deciding factor. I need to know if anyone has had any bad knowledge of them.


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## cbrandt (Oct 21, 2013)

Our experience with those motors is that we like the CMs better. The Stagemakers are quieter, but they have much less beefy chain guides. As a result, unless you are super careful when you're running the chains out on the ground, it is really easy to get the chain caught in the motor. The CMs do a much nicer job of keeping the chains going through correctly. We sold all our Stagemakers to installs, as they work great when there's tension on the chain.

For rental stock, I'd stick with CM.


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## mstaylor (Oct 21, 2013)

cbrandt said:


> Our experience with those motors is that we like the CMs better. The Stagemakers are quieter, but they have much less beefy chain guides. As a result, unless you are super careful when you're running the chains out on the ground, it is really easy to get the chain caught in the motor. The CMs do a much nicer job of keeping the chains going through correctly. We sold all our Stagemakers to installs, as they work great when there's tension on the chain.
> 
> For rental stock, I'd stick with CM.


Thanks for the quick response. Half will be an install, half will be inhouse hoists that will be hung on a per show basis, esentially like a rental that never leaves the building.


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## gafftapegreenia (Oct 21, 2013)

What one rigger told me is that basically, all it takes is one pin to fail on a Stagemaker and you have a major problem. He felt that CM had more security built into it.


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## FatherMurphy (Oct 21, 2013)

On the other hand, regarding chain guides, Stagemaker guides are fairly easy to replace, whereas replacing the guides in a CM involves a complete tear-down.

They do have a redesigned version that's supposed to be releasing in January you might want to look at, but that might be too far in the future for your present project.


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## FatherMurphy (Oct 21, 2013)

gafftapegreenia said:


> What one rigger told me is that basically, all it takes is one pin to fail on a Stagemaker and you have a major problem. He felt that CM had more security built into it.



I'd be curious to know which 'one pin' he had in mind.


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## gafftapegreenia (Oct 21, 2013)

FatherMurphy said:


> I'd be curious to know which 'one pin' he had in mind.



Yeah I should have pressed for more detail but it was on a gig and I was busy. Just sayin " what I heard". So if that's just a bad rumor I'd love to be corrected. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk - now Free


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## mstaylor (Oct 21, 2013)

The other thing I have experienced is if you buy them to be hung motor down, you can flip them and go motor high. However, if you buy them to be motor high it doesn't want to be flipped. A company I do a lot of work with bought some used and when you tried to run the chains out in the box it would break the chain guide. However, the new ones he bought don't have that problem.


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## FatherMurphy (Oct 21, 2013)

I've seen at least three variations on the chain guide's output grooves, the later ones seemed to be the most flexible regarding orientation.

The only 'one pin' I can think of is the one that holds the end of the chain inside the hook, but that's a hardened steel pin in double shear, so it's not very likely to fail.


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## Focus (Oct 23, 2013)

I think Stagemakers chains a just a bit lighter than the CM, also you might consider overall weight as a factor if you do many inverts.(not sure which one is heavier, you'd have to look it up) The weather sealing in stagemakers is also spotty(they may have fixed this by now), there is a foam gasket on the front cover that is often misaligned. Its an easy fix and only needed if you use them outdoors, so this probably is not a factor for you at all.

Both are good. I think you deciding factor is price.


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## Wood4321 (Oct 29, 2013)

I just had a rental with 20 nearly brand new stagemakers, and 4 failed out of the box. That being said, the rental company said that they installed the tails, so the problem may have been their fault. BUT, on 2 of the hoists the motor would run, but the brake would not dis-engage... This sounds to me like an out of the box failure, unless the rental company messed something else up while they were installing the tails.
However, I really do want to like them, as they are lighter, quieter, and have handles installed from the factory. Perhaps my experience is atypical...


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## len (Oct 29, 2013)

If you're in a market where you do a lot of cross-renting with other companies, what they have might be a consideration.


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## mstaylor (Nov 9, 2013)

Valid point len. I speced P-14, the company that would interact with most uses 7 pin soco. The second most is P-14. I found the P-14s to be more stupid proof. Obviously not completely but mostly.


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## gafftapegreenia (Nov 9, 2013)

I see a lot of dual twist in Atlanta


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## len (Nov 10, 2013)

mstaylor said:


> ... more stupid proof. Obviously not completely but mostly.



You know the old saying, just when something becomes idiot proof the world invents a better idiot.


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## mstaylor (Nov 10, 2013)

Exactly why I say mostly, nothing is idiot proof. They are just too damn persistent.


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