To ease the burden of lifting heavy 55 gallon drums, Douglas Equipment carries a full line of drum lifting equipment made by the Morse Manufacturing Company.
Morse makes many types of drum lifting equipment. Mobile drum handlers on wheels are freestanding units you can use to lift drums and move them around in your facility. Forklift attachments are units made to work with your forklift, allowing you to lift and move drums while seated on your forklift. Below hook drum handlers attach to your hoist or crane, allowing you to lift drums and move them anywhere your hoist or crane can go.
Within each of these categories, products differ from each other in how high the drum can be lifted and how much weight can be lifted. In the sections below, we’ll describe Morse’s mobile drum lifting equipment and their forklift attachments for lifting drums.
Mobile Drum Lifting Equipment
Morse’s mobile equipment can lift drums and pour them at different heights. Examine the following descriptions to see which piece of equipment will lift your drum to the height you require.
- PILOT Power-Propelled Drum Pourer – this is a walk behind drum lifter and pourer that is power propelled. It can lift and pour a drum up to 10 1/2 feet high. The drum can weigh as much as 1,500 pounds.
- Vertical-Lift Drum Pourer – this manually propelled drum lifter has a compact base, for easy maneuvering. You can choose electric, air or battery power to lift and pour a drum as high as 106 inches (a 60 inch option is also available). For pouring, you can control the drum tilt through a full 360°. Drums can weigh as much as 800 pounds. The Vertical-Lift Drum Pourer can be equipped with an optional scale, giving you the ability to dispense exactly as much product as you need, by being able to weigh the drum while the contents are being poured.
- Hydra-Lift Drum Karriers – this manually propelled drum lifter can be equipped with air, electric or battery power for the lift and tilt mechanism; it’s also available with manual lift and tilt operation. It can lift and pour drums as high as 8 feet (a 6 foot height option is also available). Drums can weigh up to 800 pounds. The Hydra-Lift Drum Carrier is available in a stainless steel version, which is ideal for the pharmaceutical and food service industries. There is also a Heavy-Duty Hydra-Lift Karrier available; it can lift drums as heavy as 1,200 pounds, up to a height of 6 feet.
- Drum Palletizer/Pourer – this drum lifter has a V-base, which enables you to lift or place a drum at the corner of a pallet. It can lift and pour drums up to a maximum height of 26 inches. Drums can weigh as much as 800 pounds.
- Mobile-Karrier – this small piece of equipment can lift a drum up to a height of 17 inches and tilt it to pour. It’s an excellent choice if you want to pour a drum into a 5 gallon pail. The drum can weigh up to 800 pounds.
The models of drum lifting equipment described above are designed to work with 55 gallon steel drums. To handle plastic or fiber drums, or drums smaller than 55 gallons, many of the models above will accept the MORcinch Options line of products from Morse Manufacturing.
Forklift Attachments for Lifting Drums
You can use Morse’s line of forklift attachments, along with your forklift, to lift and move drums. These forklift attachments are rated to lift drums of varying weights; use the descriptions below to identify which one to use in your situation.
- 800 Pound Capacity – Morse’s Model 285A and 285AM Lift Truck Attachments can lift and tilt drums that weigh as much as 800 pounds when full, or 500 pounds when half full. (NOTE: because the load in an unbalanced, bottom heavy drum will shift when the drum is tilted for pouring, the weight capacity on a half-full drum is less than that of a full drum.)
- 1,500 Pound Capacity – you can lift and pour drums that weigh as much as 1,500 pounds (800 pounds half-full), by using your forklift and Morse’s Heavy-Duty Forklift-Karriers, models 285A-HD and 285AM-HD. These forklift accessories are equipped with gears that allow you to tilt the drum 360° in either direction. Models are also available (Model 285A-BP Forklift-Karrier) with battery power for the tilt mechanism, which decreases the effort required to tilt the drum.
- 2,000 Pound Capacity – choose Morse’s Model 285A-GR Forklift-Karrier to lift 55 gallon steel drums that weigh as much as 2,000 pounds when full, or 1,,000 pounds when half full. This is an extra heavy-duty forklift carrier designed to handle greater payloads. To secure the drum in the drum holder, it uses two web strap and ratchet mechanisms.
- 2,500 Pound Capacity – to use your forklift to lift drums that weigh as much as 2,500 pounds when full, or 1,250 pounds when half-full, you can use Morse’s Forklift-Karrier Model 285XGR. It has a reinforced three-piece drum holder to handle the heavy weight of the drums. Model 285XMGR has spark resistant parts, which reduces the chance of fire or explosion hazards.
Other Morse Equipment for Lifting Drums
If you have a hoist or crane in your facility, Morse makes below-hook drum handling equipment you can use to lift drums. These models securely grip the drum in a number of different ways, and attach to the hook on your hoist or crane.
Morse also makes drum trucks. 2-wheel models allow you to lift a drum off the floor, and move it. Morse’s 4-wheel drum trucks support the weight of the drum as you move it across the floor.
Make Lifting Drums Easy – Call Douglas Equipment Today!
In this article, we have described just a few of the items that the Morse Manufacturing Company makes for lifting drums. There are many more! Call the experts in our customer service department and we will be happy to help you with every piece of equipment you need to lift drums efficiently and safely. Simply contact us today!
