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How to Hoist Heavy Objects Safely

How to Hoist Heavy Objects SafelyFor centuries people have been using the block and tackle as a way to lift a heavy load without straining muscles or causing damage to themselves or their bodies. This has been re-imagined in today’s busy warehouse and factory as the hoist. Using chains for greater load capacity can help lift extreme loads, and allows for more uses as they can lock in place easier than tying off a rope. Here is a bit of information on what we have available at Douglas Equipment to help you lift these extreme loads.

Hoists and Trolleys for Heavy Lifting

For heavy loads the block and tackle of the hoist will raise and lower the load, but the trolley system allows you to move along a track to position a load where it needs to be moved. Wesco has both hoist and trolley systems to suit your needs from the lightest to the heaviest loads.

Wesco Chain Hoists

These high quality economical hoists come in load capacities form 1,000 pounds to 10,000 pounds. They have low headroom for easy installation, a hardened chain for long life and come in 10 and 20 foot lifts. The hoists have a lubrication free load brake for positive load control, swivel hooks with latches on all models for safety in a wide range of applications. Chin pulls vary from 50 pounds to 90 pounds over the load capacity range.

Wesco Trolleys

The heavy-duty trolleys are designed for flexibility of installation, can be used on a straight or curved track and adjust for a wide variety of beam widths by simply removing the end nut. For added simplicity these trolleys can be added or removed from any point in the track. To match the chain hoists these units come in load capacities of 1,000 pounds to 10,000 pounds.

Drum Lifters and Drum Slings for Moving Drums

One of the trickiest items in a warehouse to hold and hoist is a drum because the circular surface is difficult to grip. This is where a specially designed drum lifter or sling will be ideal to help you move a drum into the right place for working. Douglas Equipment has these available from two different suppliers, Wesco Industrial Products and Morse Drum Equipment, which allows us to find the equipment that meets your needs exactly.

Morse Lifter for Drum Overpack, Model 91

This model has a simple long design with broad grippers to provide fast overpacking when you are placing your drum into a secondary drum container. The narrow profile allows complete lowering into the overpack drum so that dropping does not disturb the contents. The unit can handle 55-gallon steel drums with a load capacity of 1,000 pounds.

Wesco Universal Drum Lifter

Two models give an option for carbon steel or 304 stainless steel. The design allows for the loading of drums into overpacks or into working position, and works on open and closed head drums. The lifting arms are adjustable to work with 55-gallon or 30-gallon drums, and can be used with standard steel or poly drums with at least a 3/16” chime. Three points of contact for the lifting arms minimize deformation of the drum and provide more secure lifting.

Morse Heavy-Duty Drum Lifters

You can lift and move your heaviest drums with this below hook lifter, allowing you to upend or downend the drum using the off-vertical mode. Alloy chain links and lifting rings with a heavy-duty steel rod and welded eyes provide amazing safety. Available for both 55 gallon and 85 gallon drums with load capacity of 2000 pounds.

Below-Hook Carriers for Drum Hoisting and Pouring

If you need to do more than just lift and place a drum you will want to consider some of these options. Below-hook carriers come in manual and power tilt options, and fit on any overhead crane unit that you may have. Designed to lift and pour a drum using an existing crane lift these units are ideal for this application. Manual tilt units utilize chains and pulleys to control the tilt of the drum and are available for drum weights from 800 pounds to 2500 pounds. Power tilt lifts are also available.

Morse Model 185A-HD Heavy-Duty Kontrol-Karrier

The Morse Kontrol-Karrier can lift, move and control pouring of heavy drums when attached to your crane hoist. The MORcinch TM drum handling system includes options for handling steel drums, plastic drums, fiber drums or various smaller sizes than the standard 55-gallon drum. This unit can handle drums up to 1,500 pounds and provides a fine tilt control with a 60:1 ratio gear and sprocket drive. Safety options include spark resistant parts for drums containing flammable materials and the MORStop tilt-brake to add an automatic hold of the drum at the tilt angle for easy pouring.

Morse Power-Tilt Kontrol-Karrier

This item from Morse adds the ease of power controlled drum rotation to your crane mounted drum carrier. The power tilt unit can rotate a drum 360 degrees in either direction and allows for you to fully invert a drum in 15 seconds. The unit is operated with a 2-button control pendant of hand-held control valve as desired. The basic model can handle 55-gallon steel drums up to 1500 pounds and has optional attachments for plastic drums, fiber drums and diameter adaptors for smaller sized drums.

Where Can You Find Information on Hoist Systems?

For advise from an experienced professional, look no further than Douglas Equipment. We’ve been matching business needs with the proper equipment since 1955. Contact us today and we’ll do the same for you.