I am helping a friend build a pig cooker out of a propane tank (about
30" in dia. by 4'long +or-) the lid is pretty heavy and I would like to
make up a spring and cable to help lift it, I just dont know how to
arrange it. Do I have to build a "mast" that would be higher than the
height of the door in the opened position, with a cable attached to the
door and going over a pulley connected to a spring with a turnbuckle?
How big of a spring should I use? I can connect it to the frame of the
cooker. Will it work without making the "mast" sticking up in mid air?
What about a pulley mounted behind the lid, attached to the spring? Any
help would be great.
Thank you,
Craig

monkers wrote:
I am helping a friend build a pig cooker out of a propane tank (about
30" in dia. by 4'long +or-) the lid is pretty heavy and I would like to
make up a spring and cable to help lift it, I just dont know how to
arrange it. Do I have to build a "mast" that would be higher than the
height of the door in the opened position, with a cable attached to the
door and going over a pulley connected to a spring with a turnbuckle?
How big of a spring should I use? I can connect it to the frame of the
cooker. Will it work without making the "mast" sticking up in mid air?
What about a pulley mounted behind the lid, attached to the spring? Any
help would be great.
Thank you,
Craig

wouldn't a counter weight be a simpler option?
I have seen them built that way, both with a stright angle iron mounted
counter weight and also saw one with a elevator cable pully to a mast
system. It seems it would be easier to adjust the right amount of
weight to make the lid lift easy than to find a spring with the right
amount of pull.

monkers wrote:
I am helping a friend build a pig cooker out of a propane tank (about
30" in dia. by 4'long +or-) the lid is pretty heavy and I would like
to make up a spring and cable to help lift it, I just dont know how to
arrange it. Do I have to build a "mast" that would be higher than the
height of the door in the opened position, with a cable attached to
the door and going over a pulley connected to a spring with a
turnbuckle? How big of a spring should I use? I can connect it to the
frame of the cooker. Will it work without making the "mast" sticking
up in mid air? What about a pulley mounted behind the lid, attached
to the spring? Any help would be great.
Thank you,
Craig

I would be inclined to use a counter weight on a shaft sticking out to the
rear of the lid. Make it detachable so as not to present a tripping hazard
when the unit is not in use. Experiment with weights (old barbell weights,
bucket 'o' sand or whatever floats your boat.

Ken.

Use a counterweight. If you set the counter weight just right, it will
stay down and locked and up and locked. Much safer than using springs.
I'd start with a counter weight post on each end, center of mass about
even with the top and 6" in back of the unit. Taller will take less
counter weights but will stick out further in back when open.

monkers wrote:

I am helping a friend build a pig cooker out of a propane tank (about
30" in dia. by 4'long +or-) the lid is pretty heavy and I would like to
make up a spring and cable to help lift it, I just dont know how to
arrange it. Do I have to build a "mast" that would be higher than the
height of the door in the opened position, with a cable attached to the
door and going over a pulley connected to a spring with a turnbuckle?
How big of a spring should I use? I can connect it to the frame of the
cooker. Will it work without making the "mast" sticking up in mid air?
What about a pulley mounted behind the lid, attached to the spring? Any
help would be great.
Thank you,
Craig

I agree that directly-attached counterweights are preferable. Remember
to also install a "stop" for the lid to rest against. You don't want
the lid to open so far that you must go to the back side to push it
over to close it. The counterweight must be far enough behind the
hinge to assist when the lid is first opened.

On 3 May 2005 18:35:07 -0700, "monkers" wrote:

I am helping a friend build a pig cooker out of a propane tank (about
30" in dia. by 4'long +or-) the lid is pretty heavy and I would like to
make up a spring and cable to help lift it, I just dont know how to
arrange it. Do I have to build a "mast" that would be higher than the
height of the door in the opened position, with a cable attached to the
door and going over a pulley connected to a spring with a turnbuckle?
How big of a spring should I use? I can connect it to the frame of the
cooker. Will it work without making the "mast" sticking up in mid air?
What about a pulley mounted behind the lid, attached to the spring? Any
help would be great.
Thank you,
Craig

"monkers" wrote in message
ups.com...
I am helping a friend build a pig cooker out of a propane tank (about
30" in dia. by 4'long +or-) the lid is pretty heavy and I would like to
make up a spring and cable to help lift it, I just dont know how to
arrange it. Do I have to build a "mast" that would be higher than the
height of the door in the opened position, with a cable attached to the
door and going over a pulley connected to a spring with a turnbuckle?
How big of a spring should I use? I can connect it to the frame of the
cooker. Will it work without making the "mast" sticking up in mid air?
What about a pulley mounted behind the lid, attached to the spring? Any
help would be great.
Thank you,
Craig


I would use a counterweight. You can add weight until it is just right.
Springs tend to mess up at the worst moment.

Steve

Thanks guys, Im gonna try a counterweight like suggested. I planned on
putting a "stop" on it for safety. I will tack weld a rod and use some
barbells to figure out how much weight is needed. Thanks again

"monkers" wrote in message
oups.com...
| Thanks guys, Im gonna try a counterweight like suggested. I planned on
| putting a "stop" on it for safety. I will tack weld a rod and use some
| barbells to figure out how much weight is needed. Thanks again

I don't know if you're interested in this or not, but I grew up in
Texas, and there are some _really, really_ big BBQ rigs that folks are quite
proud of. Some can several pigs at once, so the lids are enormous (they
start with surplus oilfield tanks!) To counterweight a lid that big makes
for really heavy transport, so I've seen a lever of sorts that when in
transit or storage is folded next to the BBQ, and when it use is folded out.
At the end of the lever is a cable for the counterweight. Less weights
required for the longer lever. Just watch your head if you're behind the
thing!

On 4 May 2005 18:44:20 -0700, "monkers" wrote:

Thanks guys, Im gonna try a counterweight like suggested. I planned on
putting a "stop" on it for safety. I will tack weld a rod and use some
barbells to figure out how much weight is needed. Thanks again
Experiment with leverage a bit before you weld anything to the door.
Maybe clamping a bar to the door would work for testing. As the door
lifts it may get lighter. Enoug so that it slams open. You want to be
sure that it doesn't slam open or closed. If it does someone will for
sure be hurt by it.
Cheers,
Eric

A couple 5 gallon buckets of water make good counterweights.