We're all getting older and lifting heavy equipment is a ballbuster.... there has to be a better way!

What these homebrewers need is an overhead hoist system which will allow us to pick up heavy vessels, double fermenters etc and move them around the brewing area with ease.

Once again there was no print or plan just a man on a mission to cover the entire brewing area and alleviate the lifting of heavy containers.

So here it is - the new Bluedog Brewing overhead gantry system which covers an area 3m x 6.5m.

The Construction Process

 

This was to be a big job so first task was to buy some new 6.5m lengths of pipe for rails and flat stock for bracing and hanging.... We pride ourselves on recycling at Bluedog Brewing but even we didn't have that much steel laying about. The scrap heap did yield all the small bits and pieces however a new BOC Plasma Cutter was in order for cutting the sheet steel. It's as strong as the proverbial outhouse. The new steel cost about $200, the paint? Hell, we've still got a 5 litre drum of that glorious John Deere Green - if it's green it was probably built by "Budwiser".

The winch was a cheap chinese thing purchased off Ebay but we've had no trouble with it's twin which runs up and down the brewing stand so they turned out to be real value for money... and if they die, it's not an arm and a leg to replace.

The maximum weight we expect to lift is a double fermenter (around 50kg) and the pipe wouldn't have been strong enough - well it would bow - rendering the rolling hoist useless - some flat bar was needed to give it a backbone.

See the timber fixtures in the photo below, they held the flat bar on its edge, centred on top of the round pipe keeping it straight and level for the stitch welding along the full length.

Next came the carriers to run along the long rails and the carrier for the winch itself. 50mm O.D bearings made perfect wheels with minimal resistance over the galvanised pipe, sourced from the local BSC bearing shop for just under a hundred bucks.

 

Once the bits and pieces were assembled it was time make mounting plates with adjustable hangers so the whole thing could be levelled during installation.

One side was easy - it attaches to the uprights of the shed wall but what about the other side? It had to be hung from the roof - only problem was the roof line rises to 16 Feet high (that's almost 5 metres for younger readers).

Some imagination was called for, as well as long lengths of threaded rod and a rented Scissor Lift. It was a long day but finally the plates were bolted to roof trusses - the threaded rods hung down and were attached to the support rails and it was time to fit the rolling cross member.

The $115 day rental on that Scissor Lift was the best investment. It had a good size work basket and manoeuvred around the shed brilliantly making a difficult task effortless.

The cross member was rolled onto the support rails and the winch was fitted. It was time to tidy up...

Electrical cable was fitted to stainless steel rings which run effortlessly along a stainless wire rope support. It runs up and down and across without tangling the cable or impeding progress.

We lifted a full keg & double fermenter out of the freezers and moved them around the brewing area just to prove the whole thing works.

Next task is to make some hangers for the different equipment we intend to lift, but that was enough for this week... time for a nanny nap.

 

Photos of Construction & Installation

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