Lifting a heavy outdoor pizza oven (1,300 lbs), 41" high and moving it a few feet to place over a base

[gonzalobriceno]

A bit of context:

My wife, somewhat hastily, purchased a used outdoor pizza oven that has tur ned out to be a logistical nightmare to deal with. A safe (for storing impo rtant docs, etc) moving company was able to move the oven with a huge, high end electrical hand cart/truck and four guys. The issue is that they could only lift the oven a couple of inches off the ground. They could not lift it 41" to then place it on top of the base...

This is my actual question:

In the picture provided at the bottom of this post you will see the metal b ase on the left and the oven on the right. What I need to do is to lift thi s 1,300 lbs oven up 41" and place it onto the base. I'm looking for suggest ions because the following methods seem to have their own issues:

1. Engine Hoist: This was used to get the oven off a large pickup truck wit h the help of 5 guys. Anyway, the issues seem to be the following;

1a. Depending on the engine hoist, it may not be able to lift the oven high enough. 1b. The "V" design of the hoist legs leaves for two options when placing th e oven on top of the base. The first one is for both legs to fit outside of the base. The second one is for one of the legs to fit underneath the hori zontal bar in the front of the base. Since the horizontal bar is 4.5" off t he ground, that does not have much clearance for the leg of the engine hois t where each endpoint in the "V" design has a wheel. In short, I'm afraid t hat the engine hoist may not be up to the task.

1. Gantry: I've looked at the Sumner GH2T gantries and I believe they all ( the 15', 12', 10' and 8') models have a max height of 114" to the lifting e ye. When you add the heights together, 41" for the base, 36" for the oven,

11" hoist, and 26" for give, slack, etc, it looks like the gantry will work . The only problem is that the gantries are wide and even the 8' model will make it so that I will have to remove a tree.

1. compact forklift: These guys cannot go up a gradient such as the one tha t leads to the oven. This would be the easiest thing to do by far although getting the forklift to where the oven is does not sound feasible.

So, having said all of that, does anyone have any suggestion as to how else to lift up this 1,300 lbs oven and placing it on top of the base? I'm open to any ideas. Thanks a ton!

Picture of base (left) and oven (right)

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[Ed Pawlowski]

Looks like a nice setup. Engine hoist was my first though, fork lift the second. Third, and probably too late, is to position the oven, lift it in place, put the base under it and lower. You could probably do that with four jacks.

Not cheap, but you can call a rigging company. There is always a crane.

[some guy]

turned out to be a logistical nightmare to deal with. A safe (for storing important docs, etc) moving company was able to move the oven with a huge, high end electrical hand cart/truck and four guys. The issue is that they c ould only lift the oven a couple of inches off the ground. They could not l ift it 41" to then place it on top of the base...

al base on the left and the oven on the right. What I need to do is to lift this 1,300 lbs oven up 41" and place it onto the base. I'm looking for sug gestions because the following methods seem to have their own issues:

with the help of 5 guys. Anyway, the issues seem to be the following;

Ed,

I was actually already thinking about the third option and was thinking abo ut what materials I would need. Right now I'm also in the middle of buildin g a tree house for my toddler and happen to have four 10' 4x4 pressure trea ted posts. The oven is at most 42" wide so I could build a frame where I wo uld want the oven, use a hand forklift to move in in place, lift it, put th e frame below it and then lower it. Since the oven is 1,300lbs, do you thin k that the 4x4 pressure treaded wood posts can be used here? I would space two posts 43" apart and put another post on top of the two just mentioned. The vertical posts will probably be fine though I'm not sure about the hori zontal one. Do you think it could take the load? If not, would you get a st eel beam? What else? I think I'm getting close here.

[dpb]

On 8/20/2018 2:12 PM, Ed Pawlowski wrote: ...

...

I'd think something like that, too...altho isn't clear to me whether the base of the oven is what it is sitting on or whether it's propped on something to be able to get the cart forks out. The Q? is getting support outside the frame to get the frame between...if can get even small diameter pipe under it, it can be rolled to get it moved on grade...the Powermatic planar was 1600 lb and that's how I got it from the front of the barn to where needed it to go past where the utility tractor could get.

Just have to be very careful to lift and block securely; 40" is quite a ways off the ground.

One other would be also to move into place by one way or another and construct a temporary a-frame and rent or borrow a chain hoist to do the lifting. It's got to be reasonably stout and braced well enough to not do a sideways collapse but doable...

[dpb]

On 8/20/2018 2:33 PM, some guy wrote: ...

Basically what I suggested above...as you suggest, the 4x4 will be fine for the posts; I did a quick load calc and on a 48" span would support the load if have good piece of material (assumed SYP for properties).

However, it would have 1/8" or so sag and is getting towards the upper end of comfort given the potential consequences; a 1x8 on edge firmly supported to ensure it doesn't tip would be quite enough.

Alternatively, lay two of the 4x4 across and put the lift attachment across them both if you've got an extra.

Again, cross brace the dickens out of it...

[gfretwell]

I bet a tracked Bobcat would get up the bank. Have them put forks on instead of the bucket and off you go,.

[dpb]

On 8/20/2018 2:54 PM, [e-mail] wrote: ...

My first thought, too, but it isn't clear to me can pick it up w/ forks and get it on the base and get the forks back out...but if can, that'd be far the simplest, agreed.

[dpb]

On 8/20/2018 3:32 PM, Oren wrote: ...

Don't think the pizza will know the difference, no, ... :)

A little less convenient getting in/out, though...

[Dean Hoffman]

Cut a bunch due to aioe quotation limits.

Motorcycle or pallet hoist? Ramps and rollers? Lower the stand a little in combination with another plan?

[some guy]

Technically the oven can stay there but it is much more convenient putting it on the base. Plus the base is where you can store the wood. I'm in CA an d there are steep gradients all around my back yard. Getting equipment ther e will be a pain. So I think that building the frame is the best option. Thank you for the ad vice regarding the load calc when considering the 4x4 posts 48" apart. I di d not quite get the other stuff. I was thinking of putting one of the 4x4s across the top (centered of course). Perhaps I can reinforce it with a 45 d egree support on either side plus a 2x4 at the top. Are there any designs t hat some here specifically recommend?

By the way, I came across this very technical and useful FEMA doc on all ki nds of lifting applications, etc...

[dpb]

On 8/20/2018 5:18 PM, some guy wrote: ...

I was recommending that while the one 4x4 is enough to use two and fasten the lifting mechanism such that it is supported by both, not just one.

Or, because bending moment and therefore maximum bending moment is so strongly dependent upon the moment of inertia and that is based on the fourth power of the dimension, even though it's only 1-1/2" in width, on edge a 2x8 is almost 3X the strength of the 4x4. The issue there is, of course, it has to be secured to the frame such that it cannot possibly not remain on edge or it becomes a noodle the other direction.

As far as the rest, there has to be sufficient cross bracing (read diagonals) that there's no chance of the structure giving way as you lift the load off the ground..while you'll obviously try to have the load more or less centered, you'll not have the center of gravity _precisely_ in the center so as it gets farther off the ground the moment on the legs goes up, too.

Yes, I'm familiar with that; it is a good primer indeed to make certain think of the items to consider.

The A-frame would be a somewhat simpler construction but I didn't figure you probably had anything in the area suitable to use for the anchor points. You wouldn't be using it to move a load laterally as they illustrate but as a static lift point with the pulley mounted at the apex for a vertical lift.

[gfretwell]

Is the frame moveable? If so you might be able to use the tilt and block technique. Move the frame out of the way, slide the oven roughly where it goes and tilt to get it up on some longer boards. Lift one end and block it up, lift the other end block it up repeat until it is higher than the frame, slide the frame back and remove the blocks. A floor jack will help you there. Just don't try to go too far on each "up". I was able to get my pontoon boat off the trailer, pull the trailer out, paint the hulls and get it back on by myself this way.

[Dean Hoffman]

He'd be lifting half the weight at a time. An engine hoist?

[dpb]

And, cribbing for over 40" of that weight is going to be a "significant pile of stuff"...

[gfretwell]

Floor jack or just the good old prehistoric lever.

[gfretwell]

20 concrete blocks.