My favorite handyperson company has some time for us in a few days and I’m thinking of asking them to install a winch or pulley for lifting the malt pipe out of my Mash & Boil. I can barely lift it myself when it’s full of wet grain, even though the M&B is fairly low to the ground, and I worry that I’ll lose my balance and fall. (I am short, and though I am fit in other ways I do not have good upper body strength.) I use my M&B just outside the garage under a pavilion – great protection from the elements, plus light & power.
If you have some sort of simple lift assist I’d love to see pictures to show them.
I bought this one for 3 gallon batches. This makes lifting the bag for a 3 gallon batch super light. I really bought it to hold the bag over a bucket to drain. I have mine hung on a nail into the door jam. It seems secure enough for my batches.
I bought the 3/8" pulley months back and on Friday decided to complete this job myself. Got it done in a few minutes for a grand total of $25 (pulley, 5/16" hook, and drill bit). It was an absolute game-changer for yesterday’s brew–and it felt far safer to be hoisting the malt pipe from a pulley while standing on the ground than struggling to lift it by hand while standing on a step stool. I did have to get on a step stool to attach the pulley to the hook and then later to release the pulley, but that didn’t feel unsafe. After the malt pipe had mostly drained, I realized I could hitch it up a little higher while starting the boil and get the last few drips out.
Several times over the years some brewing process or idea I found on the Internet hasn’t panned out… this was not one of those times.
I bought a pulley a few months ago. It’s great. I primarily use it to hang a BIAB bag over a kettle to collect drips. My batches are 3 gallons so I can lift the bag, but using the pulley feels more controlled and steady and I can obviously leave it hanging on the pulley a lot longer than I can hold it on my own.