Hoist point for bag lift, advice needed please

[beernutz]

That's looking good! So what do you got up there, a wood board with an eyebolt in it? Or is that metal, I can't tell.
In any case, it's a big spend "just for a hoist". Sure, we can prob figure out a use for the ladder in other applications but not often. I've got a huge straight ladder too that's a pain to move with one adult.

Starting to look like borrowing the 8' from neighbor will be the short-term solution.

Yes exactly that. I understand the cost concern as I bought my ladder well before starting to use it to BIAB so it wasn't an extra brewing expense. They do come in handy though.

If buying one to BIAB you could probably get a shorter cheaper ladder. I don't have to use the top steps on mine for the hoist support board and could probably drop the board down one or even two steps and it would still work.

 

[Mac MacFarlane]

I currently use the kids swing set.

 

[ILMSTMF]

I currently use the kids swing set.

Outstanding!
I've already figured out the best spot on my property to brew and...near the swing set isn't it. That is great idea though!

 

[odie]

I just brew on the back patio. I have a hook in the patio roof as my hoist point.

 

[ILMSTMF]

I just brew on the back patio. I have a hook in the patio roof as my hoist point.

@LittleRiver and I were trying to figure this out. Where I plan to move the brew to is the front porch, under the roof awning. It's covered by... aluminum? Tin? I don't know. Anyway, the natives will become restless if I attempt to install a hook there.
Even though it's a good solution, it's just not going to be worth the drama it will create. haha

 

[Redpappy]

With all these ideas that have been tossed at you, is there any way that you can take pics of where your future brew area is going to be? Explain on how you are thinking of setting it up... such as building a brew stand, brewing on the floor, If you are going to be setting up and breaking down every brew day, how far will you be traveling if you do, types of surfaces you will be encountering. I completely understand the idea of wanting to get away from lifting as much as possible.
I think with how much creativity that is on here, we would be able to though more ideas at you that would fit your scenario.

 

[ILMSTMF]

I think with how much creativity that is on here, we would be able to though more ideas at you that would fit your scenario.

The responses here have been invaluable. If there's some ideas that don't work for me, I'm sure other folks in my position could benefit.

That said, I've arrived at borrowing the neighbor's 8' ladder as my best short-term solution. I still need to test my old tripod too. Essentially, using what I have on-hand first. If neither work well enough, I will plan to build something that resembles a pull up bar. Cheers!

 

[IslandLizard]

@LittleRiver and I were trying to figure this out. Where I plan to move the brew to is the front porch, under the roof awning. It's covered by... aluminum? Tin? I don't know. Anyway, the natives will become restless if I attempt to install a hook there.
Even though it's a good solution, it's just not going to be worth the drama it will create. haha

I thought you were off the hook already. Draining is in your future...

 

[ILMSTMF]

I thought you were off the hook already. Draining is in your future...

It's an option, indeed. If I can hoist, I will! So, let's see if I can get that figured out first. Cheers!

 

[camonick]

Maybe your "people" could build something like this (not mine):

That is very similar to how I built mine. I think it only took about 3- 8’ 2X4s, a 3/8 eye bolt and a hand full of deck screws. I’m guessing it was around $30 to build.
I brew in my machinery shop so I had to hang my moving blanket behind it so you can see it better. If you’re brewing outside, you might be able to use treated lumber and just store it outside.

 

[ILMSTMF]

SOLVED!

The goal was to figure out a simple, sturdy, easy-to-store, lightweight, and inexpensive solution. That's a lot of marks to hit, right?! Well, I hit them all.

• Borrowing an aluminum 8' A-frame ladder from my neighbor. (NEVER take a great neighbor for granted)
• Thought it would make sense to install an eye bolt in a plank. Had both of them laying around. The idea being to lay it across the top 2 rungs of the ladder. Figuring it'd be enough height for the lift. My neighbor wanted to make this extra secure in the plank which had a crack in it. So he added a plate and a washer. (NEVER take a great neighbor for granted)



• But, it didn't give as much height as I wanted. So, we made this even further simple. Neighbor loaned a length of chain and a carabiner which we used to create a loop around the top "step" of the ladder. The carabiner allowed us to shorten the length of the chain loop thereby creating a higher point to hoist from! (NEVER take a great neighbor for granted!!!!!)



After draining and squeezing, I was able to easily remove the bag up and over the arms of the ladder. No mess on the journey out. Pulled ladder out of the way, collapsed it, brought it back to neighbor. Brew day went on from there, kettle in place and 2 of 4 lifts eliminated. Yes, indeed, the other 2 lifts were eliminated too.
Remarkably light, pretty damn easy to store, sturdy, gets the job done with minimal effort. Nothing was even necessary to build! I love the ingenuity of my friends here who have built something for this purpose but, if you're doing it outdoors (or can fit an 8' A-frame indoors), just use the ladder. Dear God was that easy!! If you've got the space to store your homemade hoist apparatus, go for it.
Thanks friends!

PS - this is the same neighbor who, within a week of mentioning it in casual conversation, found a full size refrigerator left at curb "first come gets it otherwise it's garbage". Picked it up himself and brought it home. Changed out my old mini fridge with the full size as a new FC to accommodate a larger FV. He even built a wood shelf at the bottom with legs for extra stability / surface. CO2 tank going on there next.
You, like me, don't want to spend several hundred on a new refrigerator. Maybe you don't want to spend a few hundred on the Craigs List special (that takes months to show up). Imagine getting a functional unit for free...



NEVER take a great neighbor for granted!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Konadog]

Sounds like someone is going to be invited over for a few beers in a few weeks!

 

[ILMSTMF]

Sounds like someone is going to be invited over for a few beers in a few weeks!

Prepare for depression. He doesn't (can't) drink alcohol. :-/
Prepare for uplift. My wife sends dinner practically every night. And she's not microwaving FKN bullsh1t Chef Boyardee! That girl can cook!

 

[LittleRiver]

Nice. A further improvement would be to change how you attach your hoist to the bag.

Attaching your hoist to the bag drawstring will work, as you have shown, but there is a better way.

Use a small loop of cord to make a prusik hitch around the bag just above the grains. This will put your attachment point much lower, giving you more vertical clearance.

 

[IBRUTOO]

I previously used a ladder but have since moved to a nail in a beam in my garage (boil with doors open). I centered my burner and traced the legs on the concrete to make setup quick/easy/repeatable. Could just screw in a hook into the joist above where you brew...

 

[ILMSTMF]

Yo friends, remember when I said...

(NEVER take a great neighbor for granted)

(NEVER take a great neighbor for granted!!!!!)

NEVER take a great neighbor for granted!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yeah, the dude built this amazing monstrosity for me. All from scrap metal. The dude won't take money!



Was the ladder great? Absolutely! It's hard to say which I prefer. The ladder - arms get in the way. But it's light. Folds to a pretty reasonable footprint. The hangman's hoist (lol) - comes in 4 pieces which requires assembly when taking out of storage. But. That also means that it breaks down to be stored pretty easily. Another pro is that the thing doesn't get in the way. @LittleRiver - sorry, even though I could have left the bag hanging for the duration of boil, I didn't. 1) I squeezed bag as usual. 2) As soon as that was done, I got the burner going again. I decided to move the hangman's hoist out of the equation and I'm glad I did. That metal being as close to burner got it hot pretty quick. What possible hazard that could have caused... I won't know because I won't leave it there long enough to find out. 3) My favorite reason - I was able to get the bag out, dump the grains to garbage, fully disassemble and put the hoist away. Time saved!

Bonus - I added a goofy little table to the process. Practice makes perfect, continuing to look for ways to improve inefficient workflows. Yeah!