Back saving brewing tips

[damlamb]

I was hoping to brew this weekend but im plagued with a sore lower back which means no lifting 5+ gallons of liquid. I know somebody out there must have some ingenious solutions to this problem. Im open to changing my setup to accomodate.

Sent from my SGH-I317M using Home Brew mobile app

 

[The10mmKid]

There are tons of options.

Pumping appears quite common.

Vacuum is an option

Pressurizing is an option if you're careful.

Worst case, use open top containers throughout and transfer with a pitcher.

'da Kid

 

[Sark]

I feel your pain. I've been plagued by chronic back spasms since I was 18 and brewing hasn't helped things.

I don't have any cheap McGuyver secrets, but after throwing out my back yet again, I finally splurged on buying a second pump and a second burner so that I can have everything side by side w/o requiring any lifting.

I also bought a small stainless table, with lockable casters, that can hold up to 300 pounds, for pushing around the mash tun (you could also use it for wheeling around your carboy after transfering for fermentation):

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000GWED7I/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

It also has a nifty basket for holding ingredients or equipment so that you have whatever you need nearby.

All in, I spent a few hundred dollars, but it beat the alternative of a messed up back or splurging $1k+ on a single tier brewstand.

Best of luck and be sure to report back if you find a good solution.

Edited to add: I brew in my garage near a water source, so a long hose attached to a carbon filter is all I need to get the water into my kettles.

 

[kh54s10]

I don't know what your setup is but for me. I have a gravity fed 3 tier all grain sculpture. I have water plumbed so that I can fill the HLT by just opening a valve.

The heaviest thing I have to lift while brewing is the bucket of grain.

The only thing I can't omit is getting the 5 gallons from my brew porch to my fermentation chamber in the basement without carrying it. If you can ferment where your brew kettle is you might just drain the kettle into the fermenter, add the yeast and leave it. Right no my beer would freeze if I tried that.

 

[Transamguy77]

Ya know all those times when you tell someone you are a home brewer and they say "wow I would love to come over and see how you do that some time", well this is one of those times

I'm sorry I don't have any real world info for you, I have a 3 tier stand and the only real lifting I have to carry the 10 gallons of beer I just made to my second floor.

 

[unionrdr]

Same problem here. I have a bad L2 disc & both hips goin' south. So carrying 3-4 gallons of wort from the kitchen to the man cave/brewery is a bit much. A microwave cart the same height as my fermenter stand with swivel casters would be worlds easier. Gonna get one at tax time. That way,wort kettle & other brewing stuff can be hauled all at once. My fermenter stand is an old,large printer stand the size of a small desk that holds all my brewing stuff as well. Here's a shot of it; http://[URL=http://s563.photobucket.com/user/unionrdr/media/PICT0003_zpsd8b211ca.jpg.html] [/URL]

 

[Kirkwooder]

I don't know what your set up is, but I mounted a pulley on the ceiling of my garage and use my deer hoist to lift buckets. Works well and saves my back. I also often split the batches between 2 pots!

Here is a hoist like I use!
http://www.harborfreight.com/gambrel-and-pulley-hoist-99758.html#.Ux8cwPldXps

 

[akillys]

block and tackle

 

[Airplanedoc]

I bet with a little ingenuity someone could come up with a garage door opener turned into a beer lift.

 

[damlamb]

These are all great ideas! I appreciate the help. Im particularly interested in the vacuum method mentioned as i have several vacuum pumps i use at work. Is the principal basically you pull a vacuum on the empty fermentor and allow the beer/wort to flow due to the pressure difference?

Sent from my SGH-I317M using Home Brew mobile app

 

[Airplanedoc]

These are all great ideas! I appreciate the help. Im particularly interested in the vacuum method mentioned as i have several vacuum pumps i use at work. Is the principal basically you pull a vacuum on the empty fermentor and allow the beer/wort to flow due to the pressure difference?

Sent from my SGH-I317M using Home Brew mobile app

Vacuum is how I bottle all my wine. I have used it to rack beer as well. However, you can not vacuum rack with a better bottle, bust be into glass