Outdoor Wood Furnace Info
All-Purpose OWF Discussions => General Outdoor Furnace Discussion => Topic started by: Pinehouse4 on March 08, 2014, 11:36:04 AM
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I am wondering which if any OWB are capable of being lifted with a forklift. I need to slide my new boiler into an existing woodshed.
I have access to a Gehl RS 519 forklift that can extend into this shed and onto a pad I will pour in advance in the right hand section of the shed, where that lumber is piled up and the canoe.
I was looking at the P+M Ultimizer 34/44 but it can't be lifted from below, only from the hook on top. That would mean removing 5 sheets of steel, 8 rafters and cross braces in order to drop it in. I hate doing the same job twice.
I am going to extend this wood shed so I can have all the wood to the left of the boiler and always be under cover of the roof.
Thanks,
Bob
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Why don't you set it on the right and build over the boiler if you are extending anyway. I wouldn't buy a certain boiler just because you can lift it from below.
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I would get about 4 pieces of 4 - 6 inch pipe (steel, pvc etc) and roll in under the shelter. Set it down on all 4 pipes, roll it until 1 becomes free, place that in front and continue this process until you get to your destination.
Work smarter, not harder!! :thumbup:
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You can still lift it from the top so you could at least somewhat get it in the shed and then use pipe like jerkach mentioned.. You'll be able to roll it to where you want it..
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Thanks for the replies.
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I cannot extend the shed to the right and build over it because there is a shop to that side.
The Ultimizer has 4 large legs that it sits on so I did not think rolling with pipes would work.If I had a stable platform it would seem possible.
If you need to rip the roof off to get it in then you also have to rip the roof off to get it out.
Bob
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Central Boilers E classsics have a top hook to chain to. Then rolled it on pipes to pad. worked fine
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In no way shape or idea should handling determine which unit you buy. You always build around or to the boiler and its needs / requirements. If you must use a forklift, then a garn or indoor model are your approved options.
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Pipe works nice but so does 2 automotive floor jacks and a piece of 2 by 8 on each end of the boiler, Sprinter is right about choosing a unit because of the way it is moved would be my last concern.
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Nature's Comfort boilers are designed to be lifted with forklifts.
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Also, a lot of brands can be lifted through the door. You just need spacers on the end of the forks to the top of the firebox to support the back end.
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Where there is a will there is a way! I think the consensus here is that most people her would agree that choosing on that feature is just not right.
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Thanks RSI, I will have a look at them.
Slimjim, yes I thought about having the forks of the lift ( which are adjustable left and right ) put under the pairs of legs on the unit but you still have to get it on and off the legs/ 2 x 8's etc.
Yes I recognize adapting the surroundings to a boiler is ideal but the work to do it here is going to be done by me and myself. The boiler will arrive on a flat bed and from that moment on I have no one except my young son to assist. I have no dealer in my area.
I talked to P+M about having some brackets welded on the legs at the factory for me which would accept forks but that is still up in the air as far as being possible and at what cost.
Thanks for the input, I appreciate it.
Bob
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Either weld or bolt a heavy piece of angle iron under the feet and use the forklift to move it. I still don't understand why most owb's are built to be lifted from the top.
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MUCH easier to handle!
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MUCH easier to handle!
I would have to question that Slimjim.
One of the people at P+M said they were looking into it because they had had requests before but another person there did not have an answer for me.
We are not talking about using a conventional forklift, but one designed for construction sites, with 4 wheel drive and lifting and extending ability of 19 feet. I have had lots of loads swinging beneath the loader of my tractor with someone on a rope trying to stabilize it.
Bob
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Either weld or bolt a heavy piece of angle iron under the feet and use the forklift to move it. I still don't understand why most owb's are built to be lifted from the top.
Thanks for your suggestion. I agree about welding something onto those big legs but I would have to have a welder and his equipment here when the truck arrives, and the truck wait around for the work to be done. That is why I inquired about something like this being done at the factory, I offered to pay.
I think a hook is common because they always have been there on OWB's. Therefore people have no alternative.
For my installation this forklift is idea, it would snatch the boiler off the flatbed, carry it 2 feet off the ground across the rough ground and then slip it into my shed like my foot into an old slipper.
Thanks again,
Bob
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Why couldn't you put the forks between the legs? The boiler gotta hold its own weight..Oh by the way..Your pole shed is very similar to mine..You get the idea from me? ha lol..
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Ok, you have a skytrak. That's what I used to put mine under my barn roof. We had to take the whole rig off of the end of the boom. Then chained the owb top hook around the boom. Minimal lift room but was able to boom out and get it into place.
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Why couldn't you put the forks between the legs? The boiler gotta hold its own weight..Oh by the way..Your pole shed is very similar to mine..You get the idea from me? ha lol..
Hi Matty,
No it is not designed to lift from the belly. I asked.
Great minds think alike! It's simple yet effective, I was going to board the back three side ( that's what those boards are stacked there for ) but because of the front and back overhang the wood stays dry and gets very good air.Makes it easy to handle the wood from all sides too.
Bob
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Ok, you have a skytrak. That's what I used to put mine under my barn roof. We had to take the whole rig off of the end of the boom. Then chained the owb top hook around the boom. Minimal lift room but was able to boom out and get it into place.
Hi,
yes I have access to one, which can handle 5,000 pounds and project 19 feet forward. I only need 6 feet.
You could have benefited from lifting from below too. These machines easily travel over rough ground, sand and gravel, I think some people only think of forklifts as narrow tired vehicles used on concrete floors in factories and warehouses.
Maybe in the future more OWB will have that capability, I would have thought it would make loading multiple units at a factory easier because they have more control, but who knows, I have not been there.
Thanks,
Bob
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Most all of our lifting and moving stoves inside the factory is done with bridge cranes,loading the stoves on the truck is also an issue for space, we like to maximize that space to keep the per unit cost of shipping down, doing it with a forklift would also cause more damage there.
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Why couldn't you put the forks between the legs? The boiler gotta hold its own weight..Oh by the way..Your pole shed is very similar to mine..You get the idea from me? ha lol..
Hi Matty,
No it is not designed to lift from the belly. I asked.
Great minds think alike! It's simple yet effective, I was going to board the back three side ( that's what those boards are stacked there for ) but because of the front and back overhang the wood stays dry and gets very good air.Makes it easy to handle the wood from all sides too.
Bob
Yes great minds think a like!..Yeah I my wood between the poles..Then on the inside I stack the wood the opposite way..The wood stacked between the poles holds the wood inside the shed..This yeah I put a trap on the back..Keeps the snow off the wood when it slides off the roof..Tarp will come down in the spring
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All of Heat Master furnaces can be moved with a forklift.
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Another option is to run the forks right into the firebox itself, it's plenty rugged for that option.
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just a FYI the dealer loaded my Heatmaster on my flat bed trailer with a fork lift
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Find someone with a bigger skid loader and have put the forks on upside down which should give you the clearance needed
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What if you redesign a completely new owb?
Or put a set of runners under the legs using heavy C channel? Lift it off the truck with the skyjack, lower it onto the C channel that is sitting on a couple of wooden blocks, pick the whole thing up with the forks and set wherever you want it. The last owner tried to move mine with a forklift and dented up both sides.
There really is no reason to keep building then with only lift points of the top. It would be easy and cheap to put a tube across between the legs that could be used as a lift point. Same as most types of heavy equipment like table saws, lathes etc.
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All they need is a tube between the legs like on this bench. Of course you would have to make sure you have the forks set as far apart as possible otherwise the tube would have to be really heavy/strong.
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Mind can only be moved by forklift.
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Most all of our lifting and moving stoves inside the factory is done with bridge cranes,loading the stoves on the truck is also an issue for space, we like to maximize that space to keep the per unit cost of shipping down, doing it with a forklift would also cause more damage there.
Hi Richard,
I never said having a hook on top was a negative, and for the manufacturing process it obviously works great or they would not use it. They are smart people.
All I have been saying is that a hook does not help me, the customer.
That the factory choose to load trucks that way is also fine, they know what they are doing, but to say " doing it with a forklift would cause more damage.......I cannot just accept that without comment. It implies manufacturers of all the products shipped on flatbeds and loaded with forklifts are either dumb or choose to accept the the damage willingly.
Bob
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Why couldn't you put the forks between the legs? The boiler gotta hold its own weight..Oh by the way..Your pole shed is very similar to mine..You get the idea from me? ha lol..
Hi Matty,
No it is not designed to lift from the belly. I asked.
Great minds think alike! It's simple yet effective, I was going to board the back three side ( that's what those boards are stacked there for ) but because of the front and back overhang the wood stays dry and gets very good air.Makes it easy to handle the wood from all sides too.
Bob
Yes great minds think a like!..Yeah I my wood between the poles..Then on the inside I stack the wood the opposite way..The wood stacked between the poles holds the wood inside the shed..This yeah I put a trap on the back..Keeps the snow off the wood when it slides off the roof..Tarp will come down in the spring
Hi Matty,
I like that concept of stacking the wood on the perimeter opposite to the interior.
Thanks,
Bob
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just a FYI the dealer loaded my Heatmaster on my flat bed trailer with a fork lift
Yes I see that some of those models have what look like slots against the legs, I guess that is where they place the forks.
They also have hooks on top too. Best of both worlds.
Thanks,
Bob
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What if you redesign a completely new owb?
Or put a set of runners under the legs using heavy C channel? Lift it off the truck with the skyjack, lower it onto the C channel that is sitting on a couple of wooden blocks, pick the whole thing up with the forks and set wherever you want it. The last owner tried to move mine with a forklift and dented up both sides.
There really is no reason to keep building then with only lift points of the top. It would be easy and cheap to put a tube across between the legs that could be used as a lift point. Same as most types of heavy equipment like table saws, lathes etc.
Ok Cantoo that does look like an option.
Then over the pad I just need to get the C channel out from under the legs. I could place blocks on the pad and set the C channel on them then I would need to see if I have the room to lift via the hook with a fork to pull the channel and blocks out.
Thank you,
Bob
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Mind can only be moved by forklift.
Hi Michael,
What make is the 400 HE ?
Bob
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pinehouse, just leave the runners under it. Not going to hurt anything as long as you make them the length of legs.
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pinehouse, just leave the runners under it. Not going to hurt anything as long as you make them the length of legs.
Ok cantoo, you are one smart guy!
Bob
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Bob I'm not sure where you got that from but there are several options offered here as far as moving a boiler, I personally can move our units either way with my Cat as I also have forks, forks can and usually will damage the siding on your boiler before you get it set where using the top hook allows for very easy manuevering to feed in pipe and electrical as well as increased visibility for the operator, I prefer using the top hook for those reasons, If you choose to use forks then open the burn chamber door and run the forks into the burn chamber, it will be fine, The whole idea is choosing a boiler solely on how it gets lifted is not a good idea!
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Slimjim, depends on which way he is setting the unit in the building. I assumed he is lifting from the side and not the front. I plan on welding a set of tubes onto my feet to strengthen them up and for lifting later. I can only lift mine about 2" off the ground with my tractor, just too heavy and tall. If I put tubes on the legs then I can lift and drag it. That is if I ever get around to moving it to it's permanent location, it's pretty handy just outside my garage door now.
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Whatever needs to happen, does happen, point is if there is a will there is a way
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Yes you are right Cantoo, I need to lift it in from the side, fire door to the left so it opens into the length of the wood shed, therefore I can extend the shed so I will have a total of 420+ square feet of wood storage 6 feet high at the back and about 8 feet at the front. Saw a boiler today ( don't know the make ) about 4 years old with rust all down the side, my daughter said " Dad that looks like an old one " I like to put equipment under cover when I can.
I wouldn't leave a new car outside forever if I had a garage available. Not that I have ever owned a new car. Closest I ever came was my Ram 2500 diesel, 1996 demonstrator. Still have it today with 140,000 kilometers on it. That is 87,000 miles.
Using the C channel I think I could get it in, I need to get some measurement for total height ( 82 inches ? ) and then see if the fork could squeeze in under the roof and lift it an inch to get the channel out. I am sure that would be the least of my problems anyway.
I will call Brian tomorrow.
Bob
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Just leave the channel under it, then it will be there when you want to take it back out (hopefully a long, long time from now).
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Thanks for your comments.
Yes I can leave them there and prime/paint it later.
I asked the factory today to see what they would charge ( if anything ) to have 4 plates welded on the legs for me.
Shouldn't be too much I would think, it being a factory but I will let you know,
Bob
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My e1400 was picked up by the top hook via forklift and placed on the pad
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Yes getting off the truck with the hook is no problem with a forklift, but since I don't have the head room to lift that way in order to slide it into my wood shed a forklift is what would work very well. We are working on a solution for this now,
Thank you,
Bob
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Bob, did you get my PM, Robert tells me no problem with making the boiler forklift friendly!
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Yes Richard I have your PM, good news, I will be in touch soon,
thank you,
Bob
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Thanks Bob!