beer barrel stacker

Remmie 223

A friend of mine designed this, a few years back, he has patented his design, But i don't think he marketed properly. what do ye think? any advice?

The Apprentice

Barman for Years .. complete waste of time imo

Takes way too long and doesnt stack 3 high.. Sell the patent he may get his money back out of this project.

S28382

Remmie 223 wrote: »

A friend of mine designed this, a few years back, he has patented his design, But i don't think he marketed properly. what do ye think? any advice?

In theory its a god idea but it doesnt carry enough to warrant a purchase id say if it was more like a pallet truck version of a keg carrier then people might be interested. Oh and being able to carry full kegs is a must aswell......if it can carry about 5 full kegs then i think it would work.



*yrs of experience moving full and empty kegs in a busy venue

JoeB-

It certainly has uses.

It'd be very useful if you were on your own. A single person can now stack kegs, whereas it took two before, even if it's slower. And it doesn't look too slow with the big ratchet wheel and handle.

It might need certification of some sort, .. CE marks etc.

Perfect for Dragon's Den I'd have thought. A lot depends on the numbers. The patent may be quite valuable, if there's a big market.

Does anything like it exist in large plants like Guinness etc?

The Apprentice

Hey joe..

I used to stack the kegs 3 high in the Fridges without any aids every week .. its a non runner mate no matter how you polish it !!

deuces wild

Thirty years experience of dealing with kegs,its a non runner for sure.

Frynge

If it was electric and could lift a keg three high in about 10-15 seconds there might be a market for it in some of the bigger places. It would have to have enough battery to be stacking 100+ per charge. But I reckon the cost of it then would make it pointless.

RATM

It's a neat piece of equipment but I'd agree with the sentiment that it should be electric or hydraulic for lifting.

I wouldn't agree with others about it needing to stack kegs 3 high, I'm pretty sure that is against safety rules and a publican who allows it to happen is inviting an accident and a costly court case. The practice goes on in busy city center pubs with tiny cellars and tinier keg rooms but having worked in the industry (in several parts of the country) I'd say 3 high is an exception rather than a rule, except for Christmas week when the exception can become the rule as deliveries are curtailed and a double stock week is implemented.

If modified then to lift electrically then I think it has a market (provided it is unique) but I wouldn't bother too much with the Irish one- its too small. It has potential in a market where health & safety rules are taken very seriously and for that I'd look at Australia first and then the UK.

As an aside I have a slightly bad back from years of lifting kegs. I always kept my back straight but years of doing it affected my back. I've never looked into it but as far as I know lifting 50litre kegs should be a two person job due to the weight of them. Many a publican / bar manager has staff lifting them on their own even though the exceed the recommended weight to be lifted under H&S rules. It would only take one court case where a staff member does their back in to make a product like the OP's mandatory across the industry for stacking kegs on your own.

JoeB-

I reckon that anyone who lifts full kegs on their own is allowing their boss to take advantage of them. A full keg is approx 60Kg, .. far too heavy for one person in my view. Being a superhero is all very well, until you injure yourself,.. what then? A back injury could take years to recover from.


The lifter doesn't need to be hydraulic or electric to provide a mechanical advantage,.. the ratchet handle could be geared in some way.

I think it has potential, .. mainly 'coz it's patented, and so can be sold to a company that makes these type of things.


Edit: it may have some design flaws,.. when the keg is in the upper position if the device is tilted backwards too far it could fall over backwards on the operator!

fasttalkerchat

Do you need to lift the keg to get it onto the stacker?

RATM

JoeBallantine wrote: »

I reckon that anyone who lifts full kegs on their own is allowing their boss to take advantage of them. A full keg is approx 60Kg, .. far too heavy for one person in my view. Being a superhero is all very well, until you injure yourself,.. what then? A back injury could take years to recover from.

Yeah for sure but the fact of the matter is their boss is unlikely to send two people down to the cellar to do it- this is especially true in smaller pubs where the man power just isn't available.

I lifted and stacked kegs for years and never ever had a boss (be it a publican or bar manager) ask for two people to do it, despite them being over weight for one person to lift. I'd imagine if I had of asked for help I'd be laughed at and likely wouldn't have had a job to come back to as they would just find someone else to do it.

There's probably thousands of barmen out there with bad backs because of the practice but it still goes on IMO.

munchkin_utd

Frynge wrote: »

If it was electric and could lift a keg three high in about 10-15 seconds there might be a market for it in some of the bigger places. It would have to have enough battery to be stacking 100+ per charge. But I reckon the cost of it then would make it pointless.

you mean like this lad:
http://www.easylifteqpt.com/custom_products/equipment_for_handling_beer_kegs/


they have another one that is even more fancy and you can swivel the barrel 360degrees
http://www.easylifteqpt.com/custom_products/equipment_for_handling_beer_kegs_with_360_degree_side_rotating_clamps/


Its mad the stuff you can get nowadays!

Frynge

Bigger wheels for uneven cellar floors and yes.
But as i said a serious amount of kegs need to go trough a bar to warrent it

ByronB

Very very poor design and this is one reason why.

You are going from one extreme to another. The first extreme is pure manually; you use large muscles in your body to lift the barrel quickly but this can be more dangerous or difficult. The alternative there is to use a very small muscle group on the top right of your body to slowly wind the barrel up. You need to meet in the middle between a quick but dangerous lift and a slow and tedious lift.
I would suggest a stacker with the very minimum of 2 winding handles and probably lower down so you can recruit more muscle while still remaining risk/injury free. Result would be a faster lift with equivalent safety features.