Brew kettle cart and "grain crane"

[HopSing]

I upgraded my brew kettle to the 60L version of the DigiBoil / Brewzilla to do double sized BIAB batches. Lifting the basket after mash out by myself with 50+ pounds of wet grain became a bit tricky due to the height and weight. I thought about using a ratchet pulley mounted to the ceiling, but I wanted something that was portable. So I built a cart and a "grain crane" using stuff I had laying around and a few parts available from Amazon. It works really well so I wanted to share a few pictures.

With the fold-down shelf down it doesn't take up much space and the storage under the platform is perfect for hoses. The rubber wheels also lock so it moves when it needs to and also stays put when locked.

With the fold-down shelf up. The hinges will hold 130 pounds. Perfect for holding the sparge water pot.

The handle of the cart comes off and fits on top of the kettle. The trailer winch is rated for 600 pounds and comes with steel cable. I replaced the steel cable with paracord rated for 500 pounds since it is more flexible and easier to work with in this application.

Most of the weight is transferred to the rim of the kettle, not the handles. Once there is some weight on it, it becomes extremely stable.

After it is lifted out, I secure the basket with 3 stainless S hooks so I can remove the grain crane to make sparging much easier.

If you build one or have something similar, please post picts, especially if you figure out how to make the crane fit multiple size kettles.

~HopSing.

 

[jambop]

Good idea but I would have to say that a couple of pieces of timber across from the uprights to the crossbar and screwed through would make the rig a whole lot safer because if there was to be a slippage there is no way those two screws through the crossbar to the uprights would hold the weight five minutes work and much safer IMO

 

[HopSing]

Good idea but I would have to say that a couple of pieces of timber across from the uprights to the crossbar and screwed through would make the rig a whole lot safer because if there was to be a slippage there is no way those two screws through the crossbar to the uprights would hold the weight five minutes work and much safer IMO

Ah. Are you saying to put in corner braces between the uprights and crossbar to prevent it from racking?

 

[Jim R]

Anything to save your back is a good idea. It is hard to tell from the pictures how sturdy it is. It does make the whole kettle more top heavy. I would have probably just gone all the way to the floor with the upright boards and made a sturdy floor bracket so it isn't supported by the kettle, maybe even with wheels so you could roll it away. Of course, this would also allow it to be used on any kettle. Good idea though. I like using my brain more than my back.

 

[mscroggi]

I like the engineering! Projects like this are fun to try to solve. I too built a self-contained portable rig with a crane. The idea was to have a completely portable rig that is reduced in size enough to be rolled against the wall in my shop and not be in the way.. I used some chain-link fencing top rail for pipes and a couple of gate corner fittings to build a rig that can be installed when needed and removed to stay out of the way.. The two vertical pipes fit through some keepers, and the top section is removable and just sits on top. The pipe sections are just slipped into holder rings and the vertical pipes fit inside themselves. Each vertical pole has a pin in it that holds the pipe off the floor so the cart can be rolled easily. You can pull out the pins to let them drop all the way to the floor, but I haven't felt the need yet. (I haven't done a 10 gal batch yet) It has worked beautifully. I have made a few tweaks to it after starting to use it (I added a retractable shelf to hold the controller, the pins in the vertical bars etc) I haven't even bothered removing the crane since it was built. It just hasn't been an imposition. In fact I use the vertical posts it to hold a clip on light to better see in my kettle.

 

[HopSing]

I like the engineering! Projects like this are fun to try to solve. I too built a self-contained portable rig with a crane. The idea was to have a completely portable rig that is reduced in size enough to be rolled against the wall in my shop and not be in the way.. I used some chain-link fencing top rail for pipes and a couple of gate corner fittings to build a rig that can be installed when needed and removed to stay out of the way.. The two vertical pipes fit through some keepers, and the top section is removable and just sits on top. The pipe sections are just slipped into holder rings and the vertical pipes fit inside themselves. Each vertical pole has a pin in it that holds the pipe off the floor so the cart can be rolled easily. You can pull out the pins to let them drop all the way to the floor, but I haven't felt the need yet. (I haven't done a 10 gal batch yet) It has worked beautifully. I have made a few tweaks to it after starting to use it (I added a retractable shelf to hold the controller, the pins in the vertical bars etc) I haven't even bothered removing the crane since it was built. It just hasn't been an imposition. In fact I use the vertical posts it to hold a clip on light to better see in my kettle.

@mscroggi Well done! That was my original design idea too (although I had not thought about using chain link top rail). I was going to build a gantry type crane with a horizontal sliding hoist so after the steamer basket is lifted above the kettle it could be slid over and lowered. It would be attached to the rolling wire rack shelving just like you did. I put those plans on hold since there are a lot more moving parts to build that. Literally.

Thanks for sharing your picts.

~HopSing.

 

[mscroggi]

@mscroggi Well done! That was my original design idea too (although I had not thought about using chain link top rail). I was going to build a gantry type crane with a horizontal sliding hoist so after the steamer basket is lifted above the kettle it could be slid over and lowered. It would be attached to the rolling wire rack shelving just like you did. I put those plans on hold since there are a lot more moving parts to build that. Literally.

Thanks for sharing your picts.

~HopSing.

I have seen some very nice crane setups that allow for sliding the grain laterally to be lowered into a bucket or something.. That's awesome if you can do it. I did find that lowering the grain bag down while pulling it to one side to be lowered beside the cart wasn't very difficult. I did have to put longer rope in place from the original setup because I didn't allow enough for the grain bag to be lowered all the way to the ground.

 

[HopSing]

Good idea but I would have to say that a couple of pieces of timber across from the uprights to the crossbar and screwed through would make the rig a whole lot safer because if there was to be a slippage there is no way those two screws through the crossbar to the uprights would hold the weight five minutes work and much safer IMO

@jambop

Brackets added. Thanks for the suggestion.

~HopSing.

 

[TwogunRocky]

Simplicity is the mother of invention

 

[jambop]

@jambop

Brackets added. Thanks for the suggestion.

View attachment 808642

~HopSing.

Perfect... me being a skinflint would have use a couple of bits of wood screwed on the across the outside of the corners

 

[wetmk]

Here's what I use.