I’m looking to install a pulley system to lift my carboys to drop into my chest freezer. I was even thinking about something that is motorized if I can find something for the right price. Any advice or recommendations?
garage door opener comes to mind.
This is not an answer to your question but, if the issue is lifting the full carboy into the freezer, why not put the empty carboy into the freezer and then pump the wort in?
My word! That’s just crazy enough to work.
How about a hand winch? http://www.harborfreight.com/manual-strap-winch-95541.html
I don’t have one myself but after seeing this I may buy one. The winch appears to be on a ratchet, so you wouldn’t need overhead space.
That could work. And it would also be flexible enough that you could move it around the brewery as well. Thanks!
How are you going to attach the carboy?
While I plan on using mine for my kegs, for a carboy I would use a plastic milk crate (like the ones that say “Thou Shalt Not Steal” on them, although Wally World probably sells them). With one hand steadying the carboy the other would be ratcheting the winch.
I can’t tell if it’s reversible - it might be difficult lowering a full carboy (or keg) down into the freezer.
I bought a chest freezer about a year ago when they were on-sale and fits 2 carboys nicely. About 2 months ago I finally had a reason to use it to do a double batch of a lager that a buddy wanted to try. About an hour before the end of the boil we set the temp on the Johnson Controller that was going to control the freezer, then put the sanitized carboys in the freezer. After wort finished chilling down in the boil kettle wheeled the brew station over to the freezer and transferred right into the two carboys sitting in the freezer. Worked great.
That solves the problem of getting them in, but with a progressive back issue, I want to get them out just as easily. I started thinking about this after reading the current issue of BYO and saw John Blichmann’s home brewery and noticed a pulley system hanging from the ceiling. It wasn’t mentioned in the article, but man would I like one of those!
You could use CO2 to push the beer out of the carboy into a keg that’s outside the chest freezer.
The strap winch in the link doesn’t have a controller release. When you trigger the release it just lets go.
You might be able to use something like this to control both the lift and the release. http://www.harborfreight.com/2000-lb-capacity-geared-winch-5798.html
Paul
@ MACBREW - "That solves the problem of getting them in, but with a progressive back issue, I want to get them out just as easily. " Definitely agree with on that. At some point I hope to be able to incorporate something like what your talking about. Maybe something like
http://www.harborfreight.com/110-volt-440-lb-capacity-electric-hoist-with-remote-control-40765.html …
That is what I was thinking. Something like a come-a-long does not release in a controlled fashion. If the Electric hoist moves on a track, that allows you to get over the chest freezer without having to puch pull on the carboy.
One way to hold the carboy would a brew hauler with some extension on the straps.
I have a hand winch on my brew stand to lift a 10 gallon mash tun. You can see pictures here.
https://picasaweb.google.com/Jimmy.Kroon/BrewensteinABrewingMonster
The winch is similar to this one - http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200395356_200395356
It has a low capacity and the lowest (weakest) gear ratio available (3.1:1) so it lifts faster. Even with 10 gallons of water winching it up is no problem. It has no reverse, but it is also not a problem to release the lock and lower it down manually. Sure - if I let go of the handle it would slam down, but there just isn’t much pressure on the crank to be worried.
I’m not sure I would want to steady a carboy with one hand and winch with the other though. I’d attach the rope to the handles of a Brew Hauler or attach to the milk crate at three points for stability. If the winch goes to a pulley that is high up, pushing it over to lower it into the freezer shouldn’t be a problem.
I thought about recommending that one but thought the hand crank version was more affordable. In my house, if I had the room for this type of thing, I would put in the electric one. But I tend to over build everything. :
Paul
Do those hand winches release slowly? The racheting system I’m envisioning for those (having not actually used one, so I’m picturing something related to those ratcheting tie-downs) would work well for lifting but wouldn’t lower in a gentle and controlled manner. Also, I personally wouldn’t mess with garage door opener springs. So honestly, if anything I’d probably stay low-tech and do a simple pulley or a small block and tackle attached to the milk crate or whatever you use to cradle your carboy.
i used to have hand winches on the boat trailers that were no problem releasing slowly. i would probably still put in a pulley system to modify the angle and reduce the rope tension some. i would also switch to better bottles over glass just in case.
My thinking is that boats aren’t being lowered straight downward, and aren’t made of glass. Though they are much heavier… I’d be all for using the winch if I were using better bottles.