Consider all of the operations that might be involved with handling 55 gallon drums. A drum arrives at the shipping dock on a truck. It must be lifted and moved into the facility, and set down until it’s needed. It might be stored on a rack high in the air, in a horizontal position. When it’s removed from the rack, it might be rolled and tumbled to mix the contents, lifted and tilted to pour out some of the contents, and then set on a pallet for storage.

If you use 55 gallon drums, Douglas Equipment can provide you with everything you need to perform these operations, and more. We distribute 55 gallon drum handlers from the Morse Manufacturing Company, widely known as “The Specialist in Drum Handling Equipment.”

Morse makes an extremely broad line of equipment for every aspect of work involved with drums. For industrial mixing of drum contents, Morse makes equipment that will roll a drum, tumble a drum, or both. They have machines that palletize drums and numerous accessories that make handling and transporting them easy.

In the next sections, we will focus on Drum Handlers from Morse – products you can use to lift, pour, rack, stack and even weigh your drums as you’re pouring contents from them.

Mobile Drum Handlers

Morse makes a complete line of mobile drum handlers on wheels. You can use these to lift and pour your drums.

• Pilot – This model of power propelled drum handler can lift drums that weigh as much as 1,500 pounds. It can lift a drum up to a height of 10 1/2 feet. Different options for this drum handler allow you to pour a drum; lift, move and rack drums in the horizontal position; or transport and lift vertical drums (up to a height of 9 1/2 feet). The Pilot has numerous ergonomic and safety features, and will plug into a standard 110 V AC outlet to recharge its internal 24 V battery. It can be equipped with a scale that allows you to weigh the drum as it is being poured, so that you can dispense the exact amount of contents needed.
• Vertical-Lift Drum Pourers – These are drum lifters that allow you to lift a drum up to a height of 106 inches and pour its contents into another recepticle. They can be equipped with scales for weighing. Power options for the lift and tilt controls range from manual to AC, battery or air power.
• Hydra-Lift Drum Karrier – This is a hydraulic drum dumper on wheels. It can lift a drum as high as 8 feet off the ground and pour the contents of the drum with great control. Drums weighing up to 800 pounds can be rotated 360° in either direction.

Mobile drum handlers from Morse are also available in stainless steel for the pharmaceutical and chemical industries and with spark resistant parts for use in classified hazardous locations.

Forklift Drum Handling Attachments

You can also use a forklift to handle drums in your facility if you use a special attachment made by Morse to lift and pour drums, or lift and move upright drums.

For lifting and pouring, Morse makes attachments for your forklift that will allow you to raise, move and pour drums that weigh as much as 2,500 pounds. These attachments allow you to convert your forklift into a drum handler.

For moving, stacking and racking, Morse makes MORSpeed Forklift Attachments. These are fork mounted drum handlers that attach easily to the forks of a forklift; the operator can grab and lift one or two drums at a time, without having to leave the seat of the vehicle. Drums can be tightly stacked, on pallets or without pallets.

For racking drums, you can use your forklift equipped with the MORStak Forklift Mounted Drum Racker to move drums onto and off of racks and pallets. This attachment allows you to lift a drum that is upright, rotate it to the horizontal position and slide it onto a rack. Almost no clearance is needed between adjacent drums. It can even handle a drum that has a drum faucet attached – this allows you to dispense from the drum while it’s in the rack.

Below-Hook Drum Handlers

You can use the hoist or crane in your facility to handle drums. Morse makes one set of below hook drum handlers for lifting and pouring; and another set for lifting and moving drums.

For lifting and pouring, Morse makes powered motor driven tilt equipment that gives you control over 360° of motion, enabling you to dispense the contents of a drum weighing up to 1,500 pounds with ease. Other options, including manual drum handlers, allow you to lift and pour drums weighing as much as 2,500 pounds.

For lifting and moving (no pouring involved), Morse makes a variety of below hook lifters, carriers and hooks, made to work with steel, plastic or fiber drums.

Drum Racking Equipment

Drum racks enable efficient storage of drums in the horizontal position. Racks can hold drums several rows high, as much as 9 1/2 feet off the ground. It can be a real challenge for one person to take a drum sitting on the floor in the vertical position, lift it and rotate it to the horizontal position, and slide it onto a rack high in the air.

Morse makes several models of drum handlers that accomplish exactly this task. Some are power propelled, and others are moved across the floor manually, and have powered lift and tilt options. There are also forklift attachments you can use to convert a forklift into a drum racker.

For More About Morse – Call Douglas Equipment Today!

We’ve outlined just a few of the products Morse makes for drum handling. There are many more. For example, most of the products we described are available in stainless steel or spark resistant materials. If you call our Customer Service Department, we will be happy to help you identify the Morse drum handling product for your unique situation. We can even work with Morse’s engineering department to make a custom product to meet your requirements. Douglas Equipment has been in business for almost 60 years, specializing in material handling equipment and casters. Contact us today for help selecting the drum handler that best meets your needs!