advice for a wimp

[MikeM]

my storage room is the darkest, coolest place in the house, unfortunately it is in the basement. originally when i got back into homebrewing i would carry a 6.5 gallon glass carboy full of wort down a flight of stairs into the basement.
after doing this a few times i realized that i am eventually going to hurt myself or drop the thing if i keep doing this.
now i split the wort in half and make 2 trips then combining them in the storage room
it's still pretty heavy and dangerous though.
i'm going to continue to split the wort for transfer down the stairs but am thinking about getting a dolly to transfer the things
has anyone done anything like this or does anyone have any suggestions for a type of dolly to buy
thanks,
mike

 

[Mike M]

I too ferment in my basement, but don't use glass as a primary any more. Ale pails are much easier to handle.

M^2 x 2

 

[Bopper]

If your concern is glass breakage as opposed to hurting yourself from carrying the weight of the carboy, I would go with either buckets or better bottles. Both will lower the total weight a bit as well. Much safer, IMHO.

Buckets are definitely easiest to carry. You could also get a milk crate to put the glass carboy or better bottle in which will give you handles to grab onto.

 

[shek]

Any chance of siphoning all the way from the kettle to a carboy in your basement?

 

[david_42]

Ale pails. Why take the chance, even with half loads? And 1/10th the cost of a dolly, which can easily tip over or run away going down stairs.

 

[Orangevango]

I say hand truck + nylon strap.

I dont know, how frail are you.


This is a great excuse to go all electric and brew in the basement, but that will warm up the room, so you'll need a fermentation chamber too ;-)

 

[whalenutz]

eat your wheaties!!! and steaks rare!!!

 

[SavageSteve]

I'm done with carrying 6.5 gallon glass carboys full of wort down a flight of stairs, too. I have Better Bottles now, which are much lighter and far less dangerous than glass. The thing I really like is that with the Better Bottle blue handle, you can carry them at your side very easily, up or down stairs. Same principle as a bucket, actually.

-Steve

 

[SeamusMac]

I find a Better Bottle in a milk crate is the easiest way to carry 23L of liquid up, down or anywhere around a set of stairs. Keeping the weight close to your chest is key, that way you have the most control over it. Just take your time and side step it down the stairs.

 

[homebrewer_99]

I've been using milk crates since 1994...never lost a brew or a carboy.

I get my dolly's from Walmart in the garden section for $5.97...they'll hold more than twice the weight of a carboy.

 

[lebshiff21]

Milk crates work great.

 

[stevea1210]

That was one of (several) reasons i switched to better bottles. Altough now I am tired of carying them down the steps, so I want to build a fermentation cabinet

 

[benko]

Invest in 30 feet of 3/8" tubing and gravity feed that shiznit down the stairs.

 

[Doog_Si_Reeb]

On the flip side, you are probably getting a little more aeration by splitting the batch and remixing it when you get downstairs.

 

[cyberbackpacker]

Ferment in cornies! Stainless steel, can be pressurized, nice easy carry handles...!

 

[Clayton]

I've been using milk crates since 1994...never lost a brew or a carboy.

I get my dolly's from Walmart in the garden section for $5.97...they'll hold more than twice the weight of a carboy.

yeah milk crates are ok.... but you know thay make carboy crates!! and thay are the same height and have a snuff fit
we have carboys because water companys in the past deliver bottled water in them
in trucks and you can get the crates used to haul them.
i got all 10 of my carboys filled with spring water and a crate for 20 bucks each , damn i miss the days when love bottleing carryed there drinking water in glass!


but any way build a dumb watter.
get you a basket and a block & tackel load and host down and then back up easy peaze , same way they loaded cargo holds in ships and large cellers

 

[dunnright00]

Elevator!

but any way build a dumb watter.
get you a basket and a block & tackel load and host down and then back up easy peaze , same way they loaded cargo holds in ships and large cellers

Or a dumb waiter...whatever.

 

[leboeuf]

Winpak® Tight Head Pail - US Plastic Corporation

These even have a handle and a gasketed screw cap..... you could through it down the stairs...

 

[Domminigan]

Dumb Watter!

 

[Lefty]

If you have a corny, that is the easiest/safest way to move 5 gallons of brew. Built in handles and they do not tend to break and severe tendons.

 

[Beernik]

I have to make the same trip. For the first 3 or 4 beers, it killed my back. But eventually I got used to it.

I'd go with a plastic pail or a brew hauler.

Amazon.com: Beer or Wine Carboy Hauler: Everything Else

 

[MikeM]

thanks for all the awesome info:
-splitting up the batch definitely helps with aeration. I rocked each carboy for 5 min. it was easier to rock a carboy with 2.5 g of wort compared to a carboy w 5 gallons.
-i think i'll try the better bottle and maybe invest in the handtruck and nylon strap, i'll have to make sure it is secure and that the carboy cap doesn't pop off during transfer
-the 30 foot siphon tube sounds like a ***** to clean and sanitize . do they make a 30 foot brush
-i'm not a total girly man-just the usual crap you get as you age (bad back, arthritic knees, rotator cuff injury, tendonitits)

thanks again for the info
mike

 

[MikeM]

is this the dolly you were talking about?

Walmart.com - The Essential Dolly Parton (2CD) (Remaster)