lower back and kegging advise

[blue]

I presently work in a small 8HL brewery were I do everything from brewing to kegging to delivery. I am experiencing lower back pain and I am looking for good alternatives to lifting kegs in the ct room. The room is small and requires stacking 2 high. This process really agrivates my cyatic nerve. If anyone has delt with this I would appreciate any advice.
Cheers
blue

[Moonlight]

Yeah, I know exactly what you mean...Roll those kegs, don't lift em. Wear a good back belt, put some good dancing music on and wiggle those vertebrae back into position. Some ibuprofin isn't bad. I made a step like structure out of a few staggered plastic pallets so that you rock a keg up halfway onto single pallet height then rock other side up, then repeat for each step up to as high as needed-especially for loading vehicles. Also try filling them when they are already stacked...Brian

[tarmadilo]

I fairly seriously wrenched my back about five years ago, lifting a keg wrong, and it hasn't been quite the same ever since. However, I've learned to deal with it.

I highly recommend chiropractic treatment (try to find one with good referrals, audition a number of them, pick one who seems to really pay attention to your condition). I also highly recommend Ibuprofen at the first sign of pain, as it'll keep the inflamation down and speed the recovery.

I really like Brian's step-up recommendations. Definitely good ideas!

Good luck!

Tim

[kdonohue10]

I have a good solution to your problem. Use a dolly to wheel the kegs in to your cold room and right up to the keg you are about to stack one on. Drop the dolly down so it is laying flat on the ground with the keg on it side ways. You will notice that the keg on the dolly is higher than the one you are going to put it on. Push the dolly right up to the keg and lift up the dolly. The lip of the keg on the dolly will catch the edge of the other keg and you just continue lifting and pushing up until it is resting safely on the other keg.
Kevin

[Trub-Man]

We built a coupler that grabs the neck of the keg, we then lift the kegs up using an electric hoist. The keg cellar has a track on the ceiling that covers the whole cellar so the hoist can move anywhere in the room.
No more bad backs.

[Ted]

"Back belts are not recognized by OSHA as effective engineering controls to prevent back injury. While they may be accepted by individual workers because they feel as if they provide additional support, the effectiveness of back belts in the prevention of low back injuries has not been proven in the work environment.

Thus, OSHA does not forbid the use of back belts and similar devices, nor does it endorse their use."

[blue]

Originally posted by kdonohue10
You will notice that the keg on the dolly is higher than the one you are going to put it on.
Kevin

im not sure I understand how the keg would be higher than the one I want to stack it on. I thought of building a dolly that had the platform welded halfway up the handle so it would be the right hight.

[rudge75]

Blue,
Back at the last brewery I worked at, we used converted hoff-stevens kegs & stacked them 2 high. Awkward buggers, & I'm glad I don't do that anymore.

We use straight sided sankey's here. They're much more brewer friendly. I'm assuming you have a "homemade" keg filler with a bit longer of a fill hose, so all you've got to do is fill one, then stack the next (empty - yay!) on top & fill it. Then just 2 wheel it around your space.

As for getting them in the van, build a ramp, or ice up a 2x6 board to slide kegs up to the back end. This is Canada - use the winter to your advantage!

Work smarter, not harder.

Happy Brewing,
Dave :)
Bushwakker Brewing Co.

[Moonlight]

Regarding back belts, I don't always agree with the government...I find the belts are imperative when I can tell I have insulted my back, and this helps prevent further injury or aggravation much like a cast is used for protecting a broken bone during healing. Everyday use seems to allow atrophy of critical back alignment muscles, leading to more easily damaged backs. I'm 46 and hump kegs for a living.

[jrdamas]

Pay college students to do the keg filling/lifting.

[blue]

Thanks for all the input, I think I should try and find a backbrace or belt to help when I lift. The room is very small so I do not think I would be able to construct anything other than a glorified dolly. Here is a picture of one side of the room. There is really only room left for some hoses and a pump for transfers.

http://kermit.iblue.ca/pictures/kegs.jpg

if anyone has info on a proper back brace maybe I will look into that. Presently I am using a simple velcro waist brace.

cheers
Blue

[tarmadilo]

...see a chiropractor on a regular basis! And probably a good massage therapist as well. You can't NOT pick up kegs, and you don't have the room to build something to help, so you're going to keep hurting your back. So, since you can't do anything about the room or the kegs, do something about taking care of your back!

Good luck!

Tim

[Rob Creighton]

Blue,

I have to agree with Trub-man or jrdamas. Get a sacrificial student (how politically correct is that?) or a simple small electric motor hoist suspended from the ceiling on a small track that allows you to stack and slide any style of keg (email me and I can get you the details). We're talking 165 lbs (75 kg) to lift which is a long way over any maximum lift rating and the equipment is relatively dirt cheap!

Small side issue: Blue and Dave - "advise", "Yay", "agrivates", "delt" ???
We're Canadian, we're supposed to be better at this. Slow down on the keyboard or learn to spell. You're making us look bad.
-Rob-

[dick murton]

You are kidding yourself if you think a "sacrificial student" or chiroparacter will resoolve the problem. The only answer is to get a hoist of some sort (as mentioned more than once previously) and better still, some racking to hold it in a stable position. If those casks are full - they hurt a fair bit if you knock one onto your foot / leg. There are cellar handling equipment suppliers her in the UK, who can supply wheeled mini fhork lift type hoists, and racking to hold kegs / casks on their sides, possibly better than vertically stacked, especially if you have wooden shives as your photo. indicates.

Mosy important thing - find yourself someone localy who runs a safe amnual handling course. Try any big factory ar possibly union reps for details.

Cheers

[rudge75]

Rob,

"Yay" - as in - great! i.e.: Lifting empty kegs is much better than lifting full ones. Do you edit papers on the side whilst hunting for a cheap, backbreaking labour force in students? That's just plain abuse. As I said, been there, done that, which is part of the reason I'd never hire anyone & expect them to lift those casks.

I suggest we all listen to Dick...


even if his spelling is atrocious.


No offence Dick. Never known you to be wrong.

Dave

[Rob Creighton]

Dick, Dave, Blue et al,
Just thoughrt I'ld add a little spice to the topic of brewery safety which is often left as an afterthought. I have seen this problem struggled with in micro and brewpub acrooss North America and have experienced the trauma of dropping a Golden Gate keg on a knee (mine) back in the old days when I weas young enough to recover from it.

The lifting device I spoke of was created in Ontario by Creemore Brewing Company but as Dick points out, it is just a materuial handling issur and I'm sure it has existed for a while (it's just tooo logical). Trub-man also uses a similar unit. If I can get a picture, I will post it. After looking at it and the minimal cosat to put it in place, I can't believe any owner would bock at the investment based on the decreased wear and tear on staff (student or otherwise). The only potential injury lies in carpal tunnel syndrome from having to press a button over and over again.

Note: This email was written without going back and correcting my 2 finger typing errors and yes internet illiteracy is onr of those pet peeves I deal with daily along with pop-up adds and letters from Nigeria.

Cheers -Rob-

[Ted]

I rarely have similar opinions to the government, but in this case I agree. Belts give the user a false sense of security which encourages them to lift improperly.

[dick murton]

I discovered an ad in this months Brewer's Guardian. A firm calling themselves Hijack. It has a picture of a neat manual hoist system and stillage rack. I haven't looked at it yet myself but this is the sort of thing we use at work in the sample cellar.

www.hijacksystems.com

Speelling wassaat ????? It normally takes me a couple of rewrites for a 5000 word article - what do you expect from a bashed out reply !! No worries - as our Aussie friends would say

Cheers

[dick murton]

I don't know what happened to my previous response, but what the heck. Try www.hijacksystems.com I haven't tried them myself yet to know what details are immediately available , but they are advertising a neat looking manual hoist and cask racking system. OK so they appear to be based in the UK, but I am sure you can find similar systems more locally if they are too expensive to import.

We use something very similar, possibly this system in our sample cellars, admittedly sampling probably only a dozen casks a week, a mix of 40, 50 and 80 litre casks, but no damaged backs in the years the system has been in

We also use an electrical hoist system for getting all our kegs and casks in and out of the cellar, 2 metre height difference, but again, no damaged backs or containers.

Cheers

[Moonlight]

The evil Hoff-Stevens rear their vicious heads again! I used these kegs for many years and see the problem more clearly now. You are lifting them horizontally then tilting them upright. The most damaging back movement is lifting while your back is not straight-as in how you upright these kegs. Sciatic nerves issues are the dessert. This is one benefit of Sanke handle kegs. Be cautious how your back is at that critical time.
Even a local hardware store should have the standard velcro back support in s, m, l or xl. Optional straps have no real benefit.
Next, build a plywood ramp so you can roll the kegs up to the right height, then upright while keg is at top of ramp or on lower keg. Store the ramp elsewhere when door must be closed. An ounce of plywood is worth a pound of chiropractic-and cheaper.