Hoisting a Keg using Garage Ceiling

You MUST use an old tennis ball and a long shoelace. Anything else defies convention, mocks historical precedent, and is an insult to the combined wisdom of the generations.

Well, damn.. And I spel cheked that one two.

-rev

Storm> Hmm. Solvent is what dissolves. Salute is what a military man does. >

I use an old 2x6 laid on the floor. This works fine and I did not need to build anything. I marked around it with chalk if it ever moved, but it stays in place well. Tomes

Richard,

How do I attach the SuperStrut to the joists or are you suggesting just letting it lay there?

Thanks for your suggestion!

Chris

Richard J K>

Let it lay there. If you get enough lateral force to make it slide, you WANT it to slide, instead of yanking the truss(s) out sideways.

An engine hoist wouldn't attach to the frame of the house. It's a seperate stand. Something like this:

John.

Interesting discussion. I like the idea of not stabbing things into the rafters.

Superstrute makes a lot of stuff though... Is it their channel that you used?

If this is a permanant installation, you want it anchored to the top of the wall-plates.

That looks like it: 1-5/8 x 1-5/8 C-channel with rolled edges and 1/2" oblong perforations. Zinc chromate surface treatment, or if you can find it, the hot-dipped zinc.

I used the "A series" metal framing channels from this catalog that are sold at Home Depot. But any of the series seem like they should handle loads of this type.

This stuff is the thing to remember when you have a hardware requirement of this type. Forget the hardware aisle, and go to the electrical aisle for Superstrut. The long threaded rods there are multiples cheaper than the hardware aisle, too.

I actually had the 10' lengths Superstrut left over from scaffolding I improvised for a stoneworking project. I had used it to hang an accurate and straight ledge off a cantilever slab that was the coping of my swimming pool. The ledge supported heavy slabs of marble while they were set into mortar on a vertical face:

Lay it crosswise with the C opening up. No attachment needed unless you expect a lot of sideways forces. The 1/2" threaded rod goes vertically down through the gypsum board ceiling, and lightly secures the assembly in place. Run a nut and washer up to the bottom of the ceiling from below, and in the attic you have a washer and nut on top, so the pair of nuts on the rod are acting as a weakly tightened (a little more than finger-tight) clamp that holds the strut down in the attic.

You weakly tighten so as to avoid cracking the gypsum board. Under load the clamp loosens so you don't crack the gypsum board. If you start to see a gap between the washer and ceiling, you know you have a load that's starting to bend the joists. But in my applications I've lifted 500 to 800 lbs without even loosening the hand-tight clamping.

My mother just used something little and light, the size of a thimble iirc, heavy enough to hold the cotton string straight, and big enough to be seen and for her to tell when it touched the window, (because it stops getting closer), but not annoying if you walk into it when there is no car in the garage.

A lot of the other devices, including the fancy expensive ones, can't be seen until you're supposed to stop, or not at all. This one can see from several feet away. Unfortunately I have no garage.

Geez, everyone sure is making it complicated to lift that 160 lb keg! It's not like it's a 600 lb engine or something.

My suggestion: Tap the keg while it's still in the pickup, you're not going to be drinking and driving anyway, are you?

:)

This is a very good point. I hung an 80 lb kick bag by bolting a piece of 4x4 between two joists and suspending from a heavy duty hook. It took almost daily abuse for 9 years so much abuse that the bag had to be replaced twice.

My only problem is that beer will get warm unless you're holding a party.

Dick

I use an old metal garbage can about 3 feet from the wall. It still slams the wall every few weeks. I think my wife is trying to give me a stroke!

Bill

I have one in the garage and used it several times. Does a great job of snatching heavy stuff out of the back of my P/U. Got it at Sam's for $40 less and that's one heavy package by it's self, you'd pay a bunch for shipping. Mine also came with a leveling bar that isn't in the Summit description or pictures.

Mark R

That's why I stand behind the front door and jump out at her when she comes home from work. ;-)

Mark R

Yeah, I just grabbed the example from Summit because the link was handy. I've seen them cheaper elsewhere. You can usually get them from Sears or local autoparts stores (probably a special order), so should be able to just go pick one up rather than pay for shipping.

John.