Need ideas for holding new fermenter while lifting it

[beernutz]

I just bought this 13 gallon drum container to use as a fermenter on ebay after reading enthusiastic posts and exchanging messages with HBT poster brew_ny (thanks!): http://www.ebay.com/itm/191468338978?afsrc=1&rmvSB=true and I want to find a way to lift it into and out of my fermentation chest freezer using my existing hoist set up. Brew_ny is strong enough to move his fermenter but my back says nyet to that idea since even lifting 5 gallon buckets into the freezer is why I use a hoist.

I use a small chest freezer for fermenting and have created a hoist system to lift primary buckets or better bottles in carboy carriers into and out of it by their handle or strap.

There is a 1" galvanized pipe mounted over the top of the freezer wall to wall and on it I have a heavy grooved caster (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00LEVLV3O/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20) which is normally used on the bottom of those automated door gates like the Hollywood elite all seem to have.

Hanging from the caster is a Harbor Freight lever hoist http://www.harborfreight.com/1-4-quarter-ton-lever-chain-hoist-67144.html which was cheap yet works well. The setup is a real back saver and so I want to find a way to use it with my new fermenter.

To lift that ebay container in which I'll have either 10 or 11 gallons of wort I want to have something more secure holding it and not rely on its handles. I have a couple of different nylon carboy carriers/brew haulers but those have a stated capacity of 100 pounds and 11 gallons of wort would be pushing that limit.

I have looked at bucket lifts on amazon like this one http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004MSXMRY/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20 and emailed a couple of companies about them but none I found had adjustable girth and they did not appear to be big enough to hold the new container which has a 16" diameter.

So I put it to the HBT readership to help me out.

 

[flars]

Three-quarter inch plywood disk, larger in diameter than fermentor. Four chains from disk to hoist. Spreader, for the chains, above fermentor to keep pressure off the sides. Single strap/rope through chains to keep the fermentor from tipping over and out during lift.

 

[beernutz]

This is what I ended up with to hold my fermenter. I considered flars's idea but I found these blue Thule bicycle rack straps I wasn't using and used them instead which worked fine. It takes about a minute to hoist the fermenter high enough to get it into the chest freezer.

 

[Bellybuster]

brilliant idea with the caster and pipe.

 

[beernutz]

brilliant idea with the caster and pipe.

Thanks, it was one of my better ones. It would have been optimal to use v-grove steel like that castor is made to roll on as you'd use for an electric car gate but it was too pricey. The pipe was $20 with tax and Lowes even cut it for me at the exact length I needed.

The total out of pocket to me for the hoist system was $75 but I already had some of the parts:
7'11" of 1" galvanized pipe - paid $20 at Lowes
1/4 ton manual hoist - $40 at Harbor Freight but I used a 20% off coupon so paid $36 after tax
4" v-groove roller caster - paid $19 on Amazon

Stuff I used but already had:
4' of 2x4 - maybe $5 to buy at Lowes
white paint for 2x4s
5 nylon buckle straps - maybe $20 if you bought them
about 30 4" long screws - maybe $5 at Lowes
stainless eye bolt - maybe a couple dollars at Lowes

 

[Bellybuster]

you've certainly got me thinking. My chamber is waist height but open from the front. need to come up with a similar idea to lift my 60l speidels.

 

[beernutz]

you've certainly got me thinking. My chamber is waist height but open from the front. need to come up with a similar idea to lift my 60l speidels.

Coincidentally I was going to buy that exact Speidel (or more accurately I was going to ask my wife to buy me one for Christmas) but it is too wide for my small chest freezer. The square Vittle Vessel I ended up using is 14" across which just made it inside my 15" wide freezer. I bought and installed a spigot for it and cut a hole in the lid for an airlock and it fits perfectly.
But yeah, lifting a Speidel with at least 10 gallons of wort waist high is why orthopedic surgeons have beach houses

 

[Gavin C]

Really nice build. Thanks for the great picture. Explains things beautifully.

 

[Pappers_]

Outstanding!

 

[CGish]

beernutz,

Two questions:

How much weight will a one inch pipe hold?

Is there a lock on the hoist so the vessel will hold at a certain height?

Thank You,
Cody

 

[beernutz]

beernutz,

Two questions:

How much weight will a one inch pipe hold?

Is there a lock on the hoist so the vessel will hold at a certain height?

Thank You,
Cody

Cody I wasn't sure how much it would hold when I bought the pipe, however, I weigh 194 and did a chin up from the middle of the pipe after I'd installed it as a test. Although it flexed a little I was pretty sure after it survived that it would hold the ~100 lb combined weight of my filled fermenter, hoist, and roller caster and it did with just a slight flex. If I was lifting more weight I might consider a larger diameter pipe but I'd measured the opening under the roller caster and I think 1" pipe was all that would fit.

The hoist has a switch on the handle for up or down movement. It only moves the direction it is switched to when you crank it, otherwise it doesn't move at all. You can crank it like a car jack but it will also do a complete 360 rotation. I was able to rotate it all the way around even with that 11 gallons of Saison hanging from it which allowed me to quickly lift the fermenter. Harbor Freight can be very hit or miss with their products but this hoist got great online reviews and so far I'm very satisfied with it. It looks like the price has gone up since I bought mine a couple months ago: http://www.harborfreight.com/1-4-quarter-ton-lever-chain-hoist-67144.html but I don't think I've ever bought anything there without using a 20% off coupon.

 

[CGish]

Cody I wasn't sure how much it would hold when I bought the pipe, however, I weigh 194 and did a chin up from the middle of the pipe after I'd installed it as a test. Although it flexed a little I was pretty sure after it survived that it would hold the ~100 lb combined weight of my filled fermenter, hoist, and roller caster and it did with just a slight flex. If I was lifting more weight I might consider a larger diameter pipe but I'd measured the opening under the roller caster and I think 1" pipe was all that would fit.

The hoist has a switch on the handle for up or down movement. It only moves the direction it is switched to when you crank it, otherwise it doesn't move at all. You can crank it like a car jack but it will also do a complete 360 rotation. I was able to rotate it all the way around even with that 11 gallons of Saison hanging from it which allowed me to quickly lift the fermenter. Harbor Freight can be very hit or miss with their products but this hoist got great online reviews and so far I'm very satisfied with it.

Excellent, thank you for the idea and pictures. I need to do something like this for my chest freezer.

 

[flars]

you've certainly got me thinking. My chamber is waist height but open from the front. need to come up with a similar idea to lift my 60l speidels.

Check out Harbor Freight for hoists. Don't remember the name of it. They sell a lift that is on wheels. Has two horizontal arms to build a platform on to hold the fermentor.

 

[AnOldUR]

 

[beernutz]

This is what I ended up with to hold my fermenter. I considered flars's idea but I found these blue Thule bicycle rack straps I wasn't using and used them instead which worked fine. It takes about a minute to hoist the fermenter high enough to get it into the chest freezer.

Pfft Photobucket, I will not accept your ransom demands.

 

[IslandLizard]

Strange enough, another site I frequent has way over 100 of my PhotoBucket images linked. They are showing up fine so far. Maybe they're counting traffic and squelching it when over x calls per y days. I'm gonna test that theory...

Nice hoist!

Maybe we should be allowed to relink our images. A personalized "link" report would be useful. Imageshack started this greedy crap last year. Never liked them anyway.

 

[beernutz]

Strange enough, another site I frequent has way over 100 of my PhotoBucket images linked. They are showing up fine so far. Maybe they're counting traffic and squelching it when over x calls per y days. I'm gonna test that theory...

Nice hoist!

Maybe we should be allowed to relink our images. A personalized "link" report would be useful. Imageshack started this greedy crap last year. Never liked them anyway.

Thanks! I have changed to using a Speidel fermenter so I use two loops of nylon rope, one for each handle, to connect the fermenter to the hoist instead of those blue straps under it. It is more stable and easier to get hooked up than the straps.

I noticed that if I logged into the photobucket site with a browser and then with that same browser in another tab visited HBT my images would display. However if I visited with a different browser I got the ransom demand image.

Imageshack screwed me over as well--good riddance.

 

[IslandLizard]

Thanks! I have changed to using a Speidel fermenter so I use two loops of nylon rope, one for each handle, to connect the fermenter to the hoist instead of those blue straps under it. It is more stable and easier to get hooked up than the straps.

I noticed that if I logged into the photobucket site with a browser and then with that same browser in another tab visited HBT my images would display. However if I visited with a different browser I got the ransom demand image.

Imageshack screwed me over as well--good riddance.

Why the change to Speidel? Your fermentor "cube" seems to fit the chamber's space perfectly! Maybe enough space for 2 with that collar.

Yup, canceled Imageshack right away when they pulled that cr@p.

 

[beernutz]

Why the change to Speidel? Your fermentor "cube" seems to fit the chamber's space perfectly! Maybe enough space for 2 with that collar.

Yup, canceled Imageshack right away when they pulled that cr@p.

The cube worked fine as a fermenter but was a pain to clean. Those indented handholds at the top were exactly at the top of the wort and would get pretty caked in krausen. The silicon seal on the lid also stopped sealing completely which wasn't that worrisome but still I prefer to see my airlock bubbling. The Speidel creates a great seal and has high capacity handles for lifting.

I still use the square vittle vault to store bulk grain so nothing was made obsolete.