Anyone build an overhead bridge crane in their brew area?

[akthor]

I really need to be able to lift full kegs right into the kegerator (chest freezer) stuff on wheels may work for alot if it but not for that.

I had a similar challenge when building my brewery and considered a bridge crane. From a cost and simplicity standpoint what worked for me was a hoist hanging from a truss and putting everything that was too heavy to lift by hand on rollers so I could move it to the hoist location. This also had the side benefit of making floor cleanup much easier.

 

[akthor]

Lol well i just sold an exact system you are talking about. 15 gallon keggles, SS single tier stand, 2 pumps. Bottom line is I got to do 3 brews to make 1bbl's worth of beer. A brew day on my rig doing 3 batches is a long day and a lot of work. At least 7 or 8 hrs if all goes well. I know cuz I have done it.

If I do a 1bbl BIAB with an overhead crane to do the heavy lifting, a pump to move liquids around I'm looking at between 2 and 3 hrs and done. I could make 90 gallons of beer in the time it took me on my single tier to make 30.

But way less cleaning involved in the new system as well.

I am OK with sacrificing efficiency (grain utilization) and adding to my grain bill to make up the difference in going to a BIAB system. 400 micron SS basket, not a bag tho.

I know it doesn't make sense but for me going bigger = less work not more. Especially if I don't have to lug anything around.

As I said I can't go smaller since I can't keep enough beer around as is.

But in for a penny in for a pound the guy is picking up my old system tomorrow. I have already ordered my 40 gal brew kettle and I am hopefully picking up my 3 - 42 gallon SS fermenters tomorrow.

All this talk of KISS, but what about a conventional 3 vessel, pump setup? I don't think BIAB scales to large batches particularly well for this reason.

Cost-wise, I'm not sure what engine hoists cost but you'll be in at least a few hundred....you can probably make a good dent in some pumps and keggles.

I'll now step aside with my contrarian views....

 

[JONNYROTTEN]

I made this.HF ATV hoist and castors,a little wood and done.Super easy and cheap.I could hang off it.https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=508766

 

[obie]

just steal one from the usgs,
http://nevada.usgs.gov/water/lakes_rivers/images/bridge.jpg

 

[Konadog]

The uni strut stuff works pretty well. I have a mechanic that built one inside of his service van, that also pulls out about 18 inches. He loads 50 Hp motors using this and they weigh a few hundred pounds.

 

[aces-n-eights]

But there are ATV winches with wireless remotes for under $100 that will work as well.

Be careful using ATV winches… most only power retrieve and freewheel out. You'll want to have power in and power out, such as the one you linked to at Harbor Freight.

Cool idea and i have added this to my list of stuff to add to my brew space when that happens.

 

[ImNoExpert]

I guess you'll have to change the name of your brewery to "31 Gallon Ales".

 

[akthor]

True, been a lot of changes in a year.

Probably be Lake Marion Brewery

 

[Zuljin]

I made this.HF ATV hoist and castors,a little wood and done.Super easy and cheap.I could hang off it.https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=508766

Added bonus, you can hang the condemned for a little side money.

 

[FoxPaw]

Just FYI, all winch manufacturers all warn agents using their winches for vertical lifting as they are not designed for it , hence; "5. Do not use for vertical lifting.
Do not lift people or lift loads over people.
Falling loads can injure or kill people", that is from the manual of the winch you listed. You might be better off as a safety concern to use something like this from HF 440 lb. Electric Hoist with Remote Control , or with a higher load limit. We all need to stay safe in our hobbies, just a thought.

This is the great thing about brewing I like, Someone has a need to do it differently and the solutions are always great to see, I really hope this works out for you and you can keep brewing for a good long. Keep us updated, Brew on.

David.

 

[max384]

Harbor Freight has a one ton push beam trolley for $60. http://www.harborfreight.com/1-ton-push-trolley-97392.html

Mount on i-beam on your basement ceiling

and add a this harbor freight pulley for $13 http://www.harborfreight.com/gambrel-and-pulley-hoist-99758.html

and you're good to go for under $75 plus the cost of an i-beam, which I'd try to source locally for scrap prices.

 

[ebstauffer]

Just checking in on the progress of your build. I too am switching from a traditional 3V system to a BIABFB. Im approaching the half-century mark and just dont have the time for an 8-hour brew day.

 

[30Bones]

Engine hoist would never even be a thought personally. They never roll well and would always be in the way. OP has a bad back so he doesn't want to break it down each time to put it in the corner either.

I was thinking of a gantry system this weekend with a cheap winch for use in the garage (I work on motorcycles and cars from time to time) as well as for a future 10-15 gallon BIAB system to hoist out the basket. Haven't taken it farther than daydream mode yet.

 

[30Bones]

Just checking in on the progress of your build. I too am switching from a traditional 3V system to a BIABFB. Im approaching the half-century mark and just dont have the time for an 8-hour brew day.

8 Hours? Did I read that right?

 

[ebstauffer]

Slight hyperbole perhaps, but from the time I start heating strike water to the time I'm done cleaning it's every bit of 6.

 

[max384]

Slight hyperbole perhaps, but from the time I start heating strike water to the time I'm done cleaning it's every bit of 6.

I started with about a six hour brew day.

One of the best things I did to save time on brew day was switch from fly sparging to batch sparging. Sparging went from an hour to about fifteen minutes, with no perceptible decrease in efficiency.
45 minutes saved

I mill my grains the night before.
15 minutes saved

I use two propane burners. This way I can heat the first runnings while I'm doing my first sparge, since the second batch of sparge water is heating on the other burner. This greatly reduces the amount of time I'm heating the wort up to boiling.
At least 45 minutes saved

I use an immersion chiller. I used wider tubing and a greater length, and also stir while cooling. This greatly cut down on cooling to pitching temps.
30 minutes saved

I religiously clean as I go. I used to push all of the cleaning off until the end of the brew day.
20 minutes saved.

I'm now down to about a 3.5 hour brew day doing all grain 5 gallon batches.

 

[akthor]

My 40 gallon brew pot and SS basket are shipping this week. I have the tri clamp element adapters so this week I will be buying and wiring up the elements. That leaves the control system ( hose hound) to get. And figure out a 1 bbl fermenter solution. So I'm a couple months out before I tackle the brewing area itself and the crane.

Gotta get a pump too.

On my propane 3 vessel single tier system it was about 3 hours per 10 gallon batch. But it was extremely hands on since all temp control was done adjusting the knobs of the burners and swapping hoses from vessel to vessel. AND I had to brew 3 batches to make what I can make in one on the new system. So set it and forget it temp control, one pump, one vessel, virtually zero heavy lifting, and significantly less brew sessions to make even more beer = a lot less work for me.

I worked a day in a small 3bbl microbrewery this summer and it really was a lot like my home system just with bigger equipment. It took as much time to brew 3bbl as it did for me to brew 10 gallons. It was a cool and eye opening experience.

 

[30Bones]

Akthor, So the plan is 1bbl batches and fermenting all that the same? Why not a couple 1/2bbl conicals and splitting it?that's my biggest drawback of larger than 10 gallons is drinking the same beer for a very long time.

 

[akthor]

The plan is use 3 - 45 gallon SS brewpots as fermenters. Each will go inside its own refrigerator as a fermentation chamber. Then have a couple chest freezers that can hold 3 sankeys a piece at least for kegerators. ( local appliance place sells used working fridges for $25) we love beer and have lots of friends and neighbors who love beer so we won't have any that sits around for a very long time.

Akthor, So the plan is 1bbl batches and fermenting all that the same? Why not a couple 1/2bbl conicals and splitting it?that's my biggest drawback of larger than 10 gallons is drinking the same beer for a very long time.

 

[SpentGrains]

Just FYI, all winch manufacturers all warn agents using their winches for vertical lifting as they are not designed for it , hence; "5. Do not use for vertical lifting.

I will second this- do not use a winch for overhead lifting, it is not meant for vertical lifts.

 

[Bellybuster]

the reason they don't say for vertical lifting is because they don't have a safety. Any hoisting apparatus used for vertical lifting over a certain weight must have a safety and braking mechanism so if it fails, the load doesn't fall.

 

[akthor]

No worries I didn't I got an overhead hoist.

I just got the gambrel pulley ( don't need the pulley just the gambrel - the maker of my pit and basket wanted $50 for theirs) and I got this hoist -

http://m.harborfreight.com/440-lb-electric-hoist-with-remote-control-60346.html
like I said the heaviest thing this would lift would be a full Sanke keg which I think is around 155lbs.

I used a 20% coupon so total shipped to my house was like $107.