I have been making wine for your and until recently never had problems
lifting 23L carboys from floor to table for bottleing etc. Now I have
put my back out twice in the last year and have 4 23l carbouys on the
floor. I either need to be able to pump to higher elevation or as I
saw purely bt perchance a Brew on Premses location that looked to have
a simple hand powered sort of fork lift that appeared to be lifting a
carboy as high as 7 feet. Does anyone know where one would be able to
purchase one of these or have Ideas for other solutions. Or do I have
to stop making wine and sell my gear.

Thanks in Advance
Peter in Nova Scotia Canada

Do a search on this group - some months back (longer?), there was a
posting with a link to a design for a lifting mechanism using a car
jack (the floor kind) and some boards. Pretty nifty.

Peter:

1) Ask the BoP if they can get you one of those lifters.

2) Find a local store that deals with ABC Cork. They list a Carboy
Lift Single Crank (#19300), and Carboy Lift Double Crank (#19301).
Sorry no pictures that I could find on the internet, and the double
crank is almost twice the (wholesale) price.

Steve

On Tue, 16 May 2006 01:21:27 GMT, Peter >
wrote:

>I have been making wine for your and until recently never had problems
>lifting 23L carboys from floor to table for bottleing etc. Now I have
>put my back out twice in the last year and have 4 23l carbouys on the
>floor. I either need to be able to pump to higher elevation or as I
>saw purely bt perchance a Brew on Premses location that looked to have
>a simple hand powered sort of fork lift that appeared to be lifting a
>carboy as high as 7 feet. Does anyone know where one would be able to
>purchase one of these or have Ideas for other solutions. Or do I have
>to stop making wine and sell my gear.
>
>Thanks in Advance
>Peter in Nova Scotia Canada

Check the March 17th entry in Jack Keller's wine blog. His site is;
http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/index.asp

Bill Frazier
Olathe, Kansas USA

"Ric" > wrote in message
oups.com...
> Do a search on this group - some months back (longer?), there was a
> posting with a link to a design for a lifting mechanism using a car
> jack (the floor kind) and some boards. Pretty nifty.
>

an easier and cheaper method, recruit someone to do the lifting for
you. You could even compensate them with wine, I would love to lift
carboys for free wine (but I'm not in canada, sorry).
-tom "a college kid making wine" w

I love it!

Ha! Are you in North Carolina? snicker.
DAve

Tom wrote:
> an easier and cheaper method, recruit someone to do the lifting for
> you. You could even compensate them with wine, I would love to lift
> carboys for free wine (but I'm not in canada, sorry).
> -tom "a college kid making wine" w
>

Peter wrote:
> I have been making wine for your and until recently never had problems
> lifting 23L carboys from floor to table for bottleing etc. Now I have
> put my back out twice in the last year and have 4 23l carbouys on the
> floor. I either need to be able to pump to higher elevation or as I
> saw purely bt perchance a Brew on Premses location that looked to have
> a simple hand powered sort of fork lift that appeared to be lifting a
> carboy as high as 7 feet. Does anyone know where one would be able to
> purchase one of these or have Ideas for other solutions. Or do I have
> to stop making wine and sell my gear.
>
> Thanks in Advance
> Peter in Nova Scotia Canada

Rather than lift the carboys , use a pump for racking. Winemaking
magazine had an article by a winemaker on a pump he was using. Part
numbers and construction details were included in the article. I
imagine the WineMaking website would have the article. It was at least
a year ago

Sal Coco
Kansas City Kansas

Could you use the same type of pump that people use to put plumbing
antifreeze in the water lines of an RV? Of course you would have to use it
only for your wine not for both!

Just a thought. I have absolutely no idea how these things works! I leave
that for the boys!!

Frances

in response to

Rather than lift the carboys , use a pump for racking. Winemaking
magazine had an article by a winemaker on a pump he was using. Part
numbers and construction details were included in the article. I
imagine the WineMaking website would have the article. It was at least
a year ago

Sal Coco
Kansas City Kansas

I racked a batch of Apple Wine yesterday using a pump from a Buon Vino
Super Jet Wine Filter.. That would be a rather expensive remedy but
it worked like a dream.

Later,
A. J.

On Thu, 18 May 2006 23:52:23 GMT, "Dave and Fran"
> wrote:

>Could you use the same type of pump that people use to put plumbing
>antifreeze in the water lines of an RV? Of course you would have to use it
>only for your wine not for both!
>
>Just a thought. I have absolutely no idea how these things works! I leave
>that for the boys!!
>
>Frances
>
>in response to
>
>Rather than lift the carboys , use a pump for racking. Winemaking
>magazine had an article by a winemaker on a pump he was using. Part
>numbers and construction details were included in the article. I
>imagine the WineMaking website would have the article. It was at least
>a year ago
>
>Sal Coco
>Kansas City Kansas
>

I use a 12v pump meant for potable water in RV's. Works great. I use a
battery charger that has multiple setting from 12v - 6v and multiple
amperage. Allows for adjusting speed.

Make sure it's a diaphragm pump. Much more gentel on the wine. Also
helps getting the CO2 out.


Dave and Fran wrote:
> Could you use the same type of pump that people use to put plumbing
> antifreeze in the water lines of an RV? Of course you would have to use it
> only for your wine not for both!
>
> Just a thought. I have absolutely no idea how these things works! I leave
> that for the boys!!
>
> Frances
>
> in response to
>
> Rather than lift the carboys , use a pump for racking. Winemaking
> magazine had an article by a winemaker on a pump he was using. Part
> numbers and construction details were included in the article. I
> imagine the WineMaking website would have the article. It was at least
> a year ago
>
> Sal Coco
> Kansas City Kansas
>
>

>I have been making wine for your and until recently never had problems
> lifting 23L carboys from floor to table for bottleing etc. Now I have
> put my back out twice in the last year and have 4 23l carbouys on the
> floor. I either need to be able to pump to higher elevation or as I
> saw purely bt perchance a Brew on Premses location that looked to have
> a simple hand powered sort of fork lift that appeared to be lifting a
> carboy as high as 7 feet. Does anyone know where one would be able to
> purchase one of these or have Ideas for other solutions. Or do I have
> to stop making wine and sell my gear.

http://www.just****engoogleit.com/

There have been a lot of good ideas posted recently and in the past.
If you have space, a automotive engine hoise will be the most
economical as far as hydraulics go at around 100-150 bucks. As for
pumps, I always reccomend using a vacumn displacement system. You seal
the recieving carboy off and use a pump to evacuate that carboy, then
there is a line that runs to the transfer carboy to the recieving
carboy.
The reason I say that is it can be difficult to find an economical food
grade liquid pump. the above setup can be done with a 20 dollar venturi
device found at www.wortwizard.com. the only change is that you will
want to run the line into the recieving carboy form the transfer carboy
all the way to the bottom of the recieving carboy to prevent splashing.
I think it only costs about 20 bucks.




Peter wrote:
> I have been making wine for your and until recently never had problems
> lifting 23L carboys from floor to table for bottleing etc. Now I have
> put my back out twice in the last year and have 4 23l carbouys on the
> floor. I either need to be able to pump to higher elevation or as I
> saw purely bt perchance a Brew on Premses location that looked to have
> a simple hand powered sort of fork lift that appeared to be lifting a
> carboy as high as 7 feet. Does anyone know where one would be able to
> purchase one of these or have Ideas for other solutions. Or do I have
> to stop making wine and sell my gear.
>
> Thanks in Advance
> Peter in Nova Scotia Canada

As stated the wortwizard
Appears to be the answer. However, I am not too comfortable using a garden
hose or its equivalent to activate the out flow.
Nevertheless, I might experiment with the wortwizard.
Conversely, the mini pump driven by a 1/4 or 3/8 drill may foot the bill.
Once the pump is well sterilized before and after use, it may not
contaminate the wine of beer? Some of these pump do come with a stainless
steel shaft and normally the impeller is made of plastic. What do you
think.

"Droopy" > wrote in message
ups.com...
> There have been a lot of good ideas posted recently and in the past.
> If you have space, a automotive engine hoise will be the most
> economical as far as hydraulics go at around 100-150 bucks. As for
> pumps, I always reccomend using a vacumn displacement system. You seal
> the recieving carboy off and use a pump to evacuate that carboy, then
> there is a line that runs to the transfer carboy to the recieving
> carboy.
> The reason I say that is it can be difficult to find an economical food
> grade liquid pump. the above setup can be done with a 20 dollar venturi
> device found at www.wortwizard.com. the only change is that you will
> want to run the line into the recieving carboy form the transfer carboy
> all the way to the bottom of the recieving carboy to prevent splashing.
> I think it only costs about 20 bucks.
>
>
>
>
> Peter wrote:
>> I have been making wine for your and until recently never had problems
>> lifting 23L carboys from floor to table for bottleing etc. Now I have
>> put my back out twice in the last year and have 4 23l carbouys on the
>> floor. I either need to be able to pump to higher elevation or as I
>> saw purely bt perchance a Brew on Premses location that looked to have
>> a simple hand powered sort of fork lift that appeared to be lifting a
>> carboy as high as 7 feet. Does anyone know where one would be able to
>> purchase one of these or have Ideas for other solutions. Or do I have
>> to stop making wine and sell my gear.
>>
>> Thanks in Advance
>> Peter in Nova Scotia Canada
>

Peter > wrote:

> I have been making wine for your and until recently never had problems
> lifting 23L carboys from floor to table for bottleing etc. Now I have
> put my back out twice in the last year and have 4 23l carbouys on the
> floor. I either need to be able to pump to higher elevation or as I
> saw purely bt perchance a Brew on Premses location that looked to have
> a simple hand powered sort of fork lift that appeared to be lifting a
> carboy as high as 7 feet. Does anyone know where one would be able to
> purchase one of these or have Ideas for other solutions. Or do I have
> to stop making wine and sell my gear.

http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/wineblognew.asp is the URL
for Jack Keller's Wine Blog. Search down for March 17th, 2005.
There he discusses the Carboy Lifter Martin Benke invented for
Jack. There are pictures and the pictures are accurate. I can
say this because I purchased one. I have two slugs of plaster
in my back holding up two compressed vertebrae and am still
recovering from shoulder surgery to repair a torn labrum. I
paid Martin $230 for it and I wouldn't go without it for one
day. It is an awesome device and is a steel at the price!

Martin is not in mass production. I ordered mine in February
and Martin says I have #7.

I have found only one problem using it. It's legs must be able
to slide under whatever surface onto which you want to load the
carboy. Otherwise you have to move the carboy from the lifter
to the surface. This means I need to raise my fermentation
fridge off the floor.

As Jack notes in his blog, Martin Benke can be reached at
L & M General Store, 7800 FM 471 South, Castroville, Texas 78009,
(210) 854-2178 or at home at (830) 538-6492. And I add that
Martin's e-mail address is .

An extremely happy customer,

Dick

Generally the issue of food grade materials is concerned with plastics.
If the plastic is food grade it will tell you.

I am not a big fan of impeller pumps for transfering wine. Since the
wine is in contact with the working parts of the pump and those parts
are not closed to the atmosphere you run a risk of whipping air into
the wine and enhancing oxidation. I much prefer peristalic pumps to
transfer liquids.

Many people report using impeller pumps with wine and beer with no
problem though. Not having tasted their wine I do not know what effect
if any their use has on their wine.


wrote:
> As stated the wortwizard
> Appears to be the answer. However, I am not too comfortable using a garden
> hose or its equivalent to activate the out flow.
> Nevertheless, I might experiment with the wortwizard.
> Conversely, the mini pump driven by a 1/4 or 3/8 drill may foot the bill.
> Once the pump is well sterilized before and after use, it may not
> contaminate the wine of beer? Some of these pump do come with a stainless
> steel shaft and normally the impeller is made of plastic. What do you
> think.
>
> "Droopy" > wrote in message
> ups.com...
> > There have been a lot of good ideas posted recently and in the past.
> > If you have space, a automotive engine hoise will be the most
> > economical as far as hydraulics go at around 100-150 bucks. As for
> > pumps, I always reccomend using a vacumn displacement system. You seal
> > the recieving carboy off and use a pump to evacuate that carboy, then
> > there is a line that runs to the transfer carboy to the recieving
> > carboy.
> > The reason I say that is it can be difficult to find an economical food
> > grade liquid pump. the above setup can be done with a 20 dollar venturi
> > device found at www.wortwizard.com. the only change is that you will
> > want to run the line into the recieving carboy form the transfer carboy
> > all the way to the bottom of the recieving carboy to prevent splashing.
> > I think it only costs about 20 bucks.
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > Peter wrote:
> >> I have been making wine for your and until recently never had problems
> >> lifting 23L carboys from floor to table for bottleing etc. Now I have
> >> put my back out twice in the last year and have 4 23l carbouys on the
> >> floor. I either need to be able to pump to higher elevation or as I
> >> saw purely bt perchance a Brew on Premses location that looked to have
> >> a simple hand powered sort of fork lift that appeared to be lifting a
> >> carboy as high as 7 feet. Does anyone know where one would be able to
> >> purchase one of these or have Ideas for other solutions. Or do I have
> >> to stop making wine and sell my gear.
> >>
> >> Thanks in Advance
> >> Peter in Nova Scotia Canada
> >

I thought about building one of those out of an old ford bumper jack
and some angle iron

If I ever do i will post results.


Dick Adams wrote:
> Peter > wrote:
> hj56 m,
> > I have been making wine for your and until recently never had problems
> > lifting 23L carboys from floor to table for bottleing etc. Now I have
> > put my back out twice in the last year and have 4 23l carbouys on the
> > floor. I either need to be able to pump to higher elevation or as I
> > saw purely bt perchance a Brew on Premses location that looked to have
> > a simple hand powered sort of fork lift that appeared to be lifting a
> > carboy as high as 7 feet. Does anyone know where one would be able to
> > purchase one of these or have Ideas for other solutions. Or do I have
> > to stop making wine and sell my gear.
>
> http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/wineblognew.asp is the URL
> for Jack Keller's Wine Blog. Search down for March 17th, 2005.
> There he discusses the Carboy Lifter Martin Benke invented for
> Jack. There are pictures and the pictures are accurate. I can
> say this because I purchased one. I have two slugs of plaster
> in my back holding up two compressed vertebrae and am still
> recovering from shoulder surgery to repair a torn labrum. I
> paid Martin $230 for it and I wouldn't go without it for one
> day. It is an awesome device and is a steel at the price!
>
> Martin is not in mass production. I ordered mine in February
> and Martin says I have #7.
>
> I have found only one problem using it. It's legs must be able
> to slide under whatever surface onto which you want to load the
> carboy. Otherwise you have to move the carboy from the lifter
> to the surface. This means I need to raise my fermentation
> fridge off the floor.
>
> As Jack notes in his blog, Martin Benke can be reached at
> L & M General Store, 7800 FM 471 South, Castroville, Texas 78009,
> (210) 854-2178 or at home at (830) 538-6492. And I add that
> Martin's e-mail address is .
>
> An extremely happy customer,
>
> Dick

Droopy > wrote:
> Dick Adams wrote:

>> http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/wineblognew.asp is the URL
>> for Jack Keller's Wine Blog. Search down for March 17th, 2005.
>> There he discusses the Carboy Lifter Martin Benke invented for
>> Jack. There are pictures and the pictures are accurate. I can
>> say this because I purchased one. I have two slugs of plaster
>> in my back holding up two compressed vertebrae and am still
>> recovering from shoulder surgery to repair a torn labrum. I
>> paid Martin $230 for it and I wouldn't go without it for one
>> day. It is an awesome device and is a steel at the price!
>> ......
>> As Jack notes in his blog, Martin Benke can be reached at
>> L & M General Store, 7800 FM 471 South, Castroville, Texas 78009,
>> (210) 854-2178 or at home at (830) 538-6492. And I add that
>> Martin's e-mail address is .

> I thought about building one of those out of an old ford bumper jack
> and some angle iron
>
> If I ever do i will post results.

LoL - Take photos - I haven't seen a true Rube Goldberg in years.

Dick

I look at the lifting design. A trailer boat winch is used. The gears of
this winch looks like it made with stamped sheet metal. The problem with
those winches is that you have to make sure that it has a positive latch for
when you are at the idle position. We had one of these winches installed on
our mast stepper at our yacht club.
Every year we have one member, when not careful, dropping the mast on his
sailboat because the locking device get worn out and fails to hold (its
load) the mast over the boat. To correct the problem we went to a more
sturdy winch made in the US with machined gears at a cost of more than
$200.00.

"Droopy" > wrote in message
ups.com...
>I thought about building one of those out of an old ford bumper jack
> and some angle iron
>
> If I ever do i will post results.
>
>
> Dick Adams wrote:
>> Peter > wrote:
>> hj56 m,
>> > I have been making wine for your and until recently never had problems
>> > lifting 23L carboys from floor to table for bottleing etc. Now I have
>> > put my back out twice in the last year and have 4 23l carbouys on the
>> > floor. I either need to be able to pump to higher elevation or as I
>> > saw purely bt perchance a Brew on Premses location that looked to have
>> > a simple hand powered sort of fork lift that appeared to be lifting a
>> > carboy as high as 7 feet. Does anyone know where one would be able to
>> > purchase one of these or have Ideas for other solutions. Or do I have
>> > to stop making wine and sell my gear.
>>
>> http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/wineblognew.asp is the URL
>> for Jack Keller's Wine Blog. Search down for March 17th, 2005.
>> There he discusses the Carboy Lifter Martin Benke invented for
>> Jack. There are pictures and the pictures are accurate. I can
>> say this because I purchased one. I have two slugs of plaster
>> in my back holding up two compressed vertebrae and am still
>> recovering from shoulder surgery to repair a torn labrum. I
>> paid Martin $230 for it and I wouldn't go without it for one
>> day. It is an awesome device and is a steel at the price!
>>
>> Martin is not in mass production. I ordered mine in February
>> and Martin says I have #7.
>>
>> I have found only one problem using it. It's legs must be able
>> to slide under whatever surface onto which you want to load the
>> carboy. Otherwise you have to move the carboy from the lifter
>> to the surface. This means I need to raise my fermentation
>> fridge off the floor.
>>
>> As Jack notes in his blog, Martin Benke can be reached at
>> L & M General Store, 7800 FM 471 South, Castroville, Texas 78009,
>> (210) 854-2178 or at home at (830) 538-6492. And I add that
>> Martin's e-mail address is .
>>
>> An extremely happy customer,
>>
>> Dick
>

Two Bob,

The easiest and cheapest solution I've found is the automatic siphon, which
allows you to siphon off half of your 23 l carboy on the floor, so that the
maximum you have to lift is half a 23 l carboy.

You can find this device at
http://www.ebrew.com/racking_equipme...ic_siphons.htm

Regards,

Gary

http://home.carolina.rr.com/winemaking/



"two bob" > wrote in message
...
> >I have been making wine for your and until recently never had problems
>> lifting 23L carboys from floor to table for bottleing etc. Now I have
>> put my back out twice in the last year and have 4 23l carbouys on the
>> floor. I either need to be able to pump to higher elevation or as I
>> saw purely bt perchance a Brew on Premses location that looked to have
>> a simple hand powered sort of fork lift that appeared to be lifting a
>> carboy as high as 7 feet. Does anyone know where one would be able to
>> purchase one of these or have Ideas for other solutions. Or do I have
>> to stop making wine and sell my gear.
>
> http://www.just****engoogleit.com/
>

On Wed, 31 May 2006 03:09:26 GMT, "Gary Flye"
> wrote:

>Two Bob,
>
>The easiest and cheapest solution I've found is the automatic siphon, which
>allows you to siphon off half of your 23 l carboy on the floor, so that the
>maximum you have to lift is half a 23 l carboy.
>
>You can find this device at
>http://www.ebrew.com/racking_equipme...ic_siphons.htm
>
1) I really really like these Auto Syphons. However, I have not used
them in the manner indicated.

2) I am really surprised at the comments on the site suggested. Yes
3/8" id hose is too large for the smaller. However, the recommended
1/2" id hose is similarly too large for the large one. Use 5/16" id
for the small, and 7/16" id for the large. BTW, it gives this info on
the packaging.

Steve

This morning Canadian Tires advertises a 1 Ton Chain hoist for $89.99 CAD.
In USD the price is even lower.
A hoist is not suited for everyone. However if you're working in your
basement where you can install a ceiling track it can provide with greater
mobility. The other alternative I am looking at is the Premium Utility Lift
used to rise up Motor Bike and ATV at $119.99 CAD


> wrote in message
...
>I look at the lifting design. A trailer boat winch is used. The gears of
>this winch looks like it made with stamped sheet metal. The problem with
>those winches is that you have to make sure that it has a positive latch
>for when you are at the idle position. We had one of these winches
>installed on our mast stepper at our yacht club.
> Every year we have one member, when not careful, dropping the mast on his
> sailboat because the locking device get worn out and fails to hold (its
> load) the mast over the boat. To correct the problem we went to a more
> sturdy winch made in the US with machined gears at a cost of more than
> $200.00.
>
> "Droopy" > wrote in message
> ups.com...
>>I thought about building one of those out of an old ford bumper jack
>> and some angle iron
>>
>> If I ever do i will post results.
>>
>>
>> Dick Adams wrote:
>>> Peter > wrote:
>>> hj56 m,
>>> > I have been making wine for your and until recently never had problems
>>> > lifting 23L carboys from floor to table for bottleing etc. Now I have
>>> > put my back out twice in the last year and have 4 23l carbouys on the
>>> > floor. I either need to be able to pump to higher elevation or as I
>>> > saw purely bt perchance a Brew on Premses location that looked to have
>>> > a simple hand powered sort of fork lift that appeared to be lifting a
>>> > carboy as high as 7 feet. Does anyone know where one would be able to
>>> > purchase one of these or have Ideas for other solutions. Or do I have
>>> > to stop making wine and sell my gear.
>>>
>>> http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/wineblognew.asp is the URL
>>> for Jack Keller's Wine Blog. Search down for March 17th, 2005.
>>> There he discusses the Carboy Lifter Martin Benke invented for
>>> Jack. There are pictures and the pictures are accurate. I can
>>> say this because I purchased one. I have two slugs of plaster
>>> in my back holding up two compressed vertebrae and am still
>>> recovering from shoulder surgery to repair a torn labrum. I
>>> paid Martin $230 for it and I wouldn't go without it for one
>>> day. It is an awesome device and is a steel at the price!
>>>
>>> Martin is not in mass production. I ordered mine in February
>>> and Martin says I have #7.
>>>
>>> I have found only one problem using it. It's legs must be able
>>> to slide under whatever surface onto which you want to load the
>>> carboy. Otherwise you have to move the carboy from the lifter
>>> to the surface. This means I need to raise my fermentation
>>> fridge off the floor.
>>>
>>> As Jack notes in his blog, Martin Benke can be reached at
>>> L & M General Store, 7800 FM 471 South, Castroville, Texas 78009,
>>> (210) 854-2178 or at home at (830) 538-6492. And I add that
>>> Martin's e-mail address is .
>>>
>>> An extremely happy customer,
>>>
>>> Dick
>>
>
>