Yuri's Brew Yurt (Hut)

[Fingers]

I get the $50 budget, but this project screams 'hydraulics' to me. Are there auction sales where you are? I bought a pump for $15 to replace a failed unit and I see cylinders going for a song when they're used and dirty. Maybe weld together a frame that can be lifted by one or two cylinders with a small pump with an electric motor attached.

Unless you lever the hell out of that winch it's going to be a lot of work and mechanical stress to lift the brew. Are you attaching it to the roof or building a frame? You don't have a spine connecting your rafters so you'll have to beef it up a bit. Your floor is likely a lot stronger. Push a button, up goes the fermenter.

 

[Yuri_Rage]

Nope...hydraulics are way too complicated. I want 30" of travel at a minimum, meaning either a really big cylinder, or a really big lever. The winch and a single pulley should work just fine. I can easily do pullups on any single rafter (tested), and my weight is roughly equivalent to a full fermenter. So far, this project screams $15 hand winch...

EDIT:
Fingers...ever use a "come along?" You can move a surprising amount of weight using only the mechanical advantage supplied by the gears in a hand winch. I've moved thousands of pounds of car/boat/tractor/etc onto trailers that way. A single fermenter will be child's play in comparison.

 

[ClaudiusB]

Can you find me a solution that costs less than $50?

No, but close

$59.99 12 VDC
- Harbor Freight Tools - Quality Tools at the Lowest Prices

$79.99 110 VAC
- Harbor Freight Tools - Quality Tools at the Lowest Prices


Cheers,
ClaudiusB

 

[springer]

Have you thought about a chain hoist cheap & reliable 39.99

 

[diatonic]

No, but close

$59.99 12 VDC
- Harbor Freight Tools - Quality Tools at the Lowest Prices

$79.99 110 VAC
- Harbor Freight Tools - Quality Tools at the Lowest Prices


Cheers,
ClaudiusB

There are many things I will trust Harbor Freight tools with. Supporting 12 gallons of fermenting beer in a 15 gallon stainless conical fermenter is not one of them.

 

[Aleforge]

There are many things I will trust Harbor Freight tools with. Supporting 12 gallons of fermenting beer in a 15 gallon stainless conical fermenter is not one of them.

I think that's being a little extreme, We have one of the 2,000lb rated harbor freight winches here and it works great. I have no doubt a 2000lb rated cable / winch system would have little trouble with a carboy full of brew. The price is awesome on it as well, and hell if anyone has taken a look around at some of the rig jobs people have pulled off on their setups I don't think you can be "too proud" to use one of these.

Beats cranking a boat winch!

 

[leboeuf]

A hand winch will be fine for moving something that weighs less than a few hundred pounds and only moves 30". I personally prefer to use my own power when I can.

 

[diatonic]

I think that's being a little extreme, We have one of the 2,000lb rated harbor freight winches here and it works great. I have no doubt a 2000lb rated cable / winch system would have little trouble with a carboy full of brew. The price is awesome on it as well, and hell if anyone has taken a look around at some of the rig jobs people have pulled off on their setups I don't think you can be "too proud" to use one of these.

Beats cranking a boat winch!

It's not that I am "too proud" to use Harbor Freight tools... it's just that my aggravation when cheap stuff breaks, or doesn't perform as well as it should negates any cost savings (for me). If the motor on the $50 winch burned up, I would be kicking myself for not spending the extra $50-$100 to save me the frustration. Just a personal preference. It's the same reason that rather than building a $20 stir plate with a fan and hard drive magnets, I picked up an actual lab stir plate/hot plate off eBay for $82, with no moving parts. The $60 I would have saved is a much less significant (to me) than my frustration when it doesn't work the way it should.

 

[pen25]

those HF hoists are fine. i have one and have picked up an international 304 which weigh in at 700 lbs

 

[Fingers]

EDIT:
Fingers...ever use a "come along?" You can move a surprising amount of weight using only the mechanical advantage supplied by the gears in a hand winch. I've moved thousands of pounds of car/boat/tractor/etc onto trailers that way. A single fermenter will be child's play in comparison.

Oh sure. I've gone through a couple. In fact I had something like that in mind when I said you'll have to lever it. The winch that you showed doesn't have any pulley system on it. I've got a cheap little rope block and tackle that is limited only by the tensile strength of the rope itself.

I guess I overestimated the weight of your fermenter. The winch will be fine for a couple of hundred pounds, but just for the record you wouldn't need a 30" throw on your hydraulics. You could lever that too since the cylinder is so powerful. It would be in line with your middle name, though.

 

[IrregularPulse]

I vote Hand Winch. As much sa we all expect to see cool gadgets in this Brewhut, the simplicity of the task at hand requires nothing more.

 

[sigmund]

I have a 3 tier system and attached a 650 lb winch to raise my boil keggle for increased head height when draining. It does the job easily. As for a safety, you can do it but those winches are a pretty basic design and if they fail, you almost always have indications that it's coming and they are not catastrophic.

 

[fifelee]

Warner Screw Drive Linear Actuator Thomson AC Motor - eBay (item 180341065629 end time Apr-03-09 18:24:00 PDT)

This is a bit too short, but maybe you can find a longer one.

 

[Joe C]

This is sweet!

 

[Yuri_Rage]

The trim is started, the siding is caulked, and it's painted. Tomorrow I hope to get the rest of the trim done and a good portion of the roof finished. The remaining trim will be white.

 

[illin8]

I vote on an automatic ATV winch

 

[MoRoToRiUm]

KISS. (Keep It Simple Stupid, or Stupid Simple- take your pick). Looking good Yuri! Wish I lived near you, I would have the roof done for you so you could focus on the inside goodies

 

[Yuri_Rage]

The roof has been the biggest pain in the ass! Actually, it's not the roof, it's the wind. Every time I think I'm going to get some work done, the wind picks up to 30+ MPH. Today might be better...but I'm not counting on it.

 

[Yuri_Rage]

F*** THIS WIND!!! I'm never going to get the roof done at this rate! No way to wrestle tar paper onto the damn thing today.

ARGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

 

[pompeiisneaks]

I feel your pain, I was trying to brew yesterday (it worked) but it started raining right in the middle, so I know how weather can Fukc w/ things...

 

[Malticulous]

30+ is a pain. The trick is to roll into the wind.

 

[Yuri_Rage]

I think the trick is...next weekend. No need for that level of frustration on a Sunday afternoon. I'm just taking my time getting the trim up, and then I'll be done for the day.

 

[pompeiisneaks]

there ya go! btw I'm doing a shed/brewhut this summer too, once it gets a bit warmer... I hope mine looks as good as yours ; )

 

[Malticulous]

I think the trick is...next weekend. No need for that level of frustration on a Sunday afternoon. I'm just taking my time getting the trim up, and then I'll be done for the day.

I wished that was a option for me many times. It's detrimental to the pay check.

 

[Yuri_Rage]

Well, at least I got something done...

 

[eriktlupus]

so..yuri, come up with a cost analysis yet?

 

[Yuri_Rage]

$1750 and counting. That includes the entire frame, siding, trim, paint, and shingles. It does not include any cost for concrete...the slab came with the house.

 

[eriktlupus]

not bad, are you leaving the floor bare concrete or going to get fancy and tile or something?

 

[Yuri_Rage]

I plan on getting some bargain tile to finish it off. It shouldn't cost much more than $150 for the flooring.

 

[Yuri_Rage]

I wished that was a option for me many times. It's detrimental to the pay check.

Oddly enough, it's detrimental to my paycheck to do MORE work on this thing...