Moving large water heaters

Wayco Wayne_2

Last year I consulted a county parks agency on providing hor water for their Zamboni at an ice rink. Apparently Zamboni's use a LOT of hot water. They had to move out 3 large commercial water heaters down a long flight of stairs from the second floor looking over the hockey rink. The replaced these water heaters with a Phoenix Evolution and a large storage tank BTW. Working very well. When I asked them if they had done a maintenance on the HX of new unit yet they looked startled. Huh? But I digress. The head of the park plumbing department hired a guy who moves safes for a living to carry the large appliances up and down the long straight stairs. He had a stair climbing robot that he uses to move large commercial safes. It had treads like a tank and worked by remote control. Just strap in the heavy stuff and stand back and work the joystick Amazing. The safe moving company only charged him 500 to move everything up and down the stairs. Very clever, thought I. I've always wanted one of those devices like they used in the movie Alien 2 or 3 or 15. I don't remember. Sigourney Weaver Strapped it on move heavy boxes in the cargo bay of the space ship and to to fight the Alien in the end. I could use that to move boilers I thought. Still looking for it in catalogs, but this safe mover sounds like it might do in the present.

icesailor

Stair Mover

My wholesaler has such a machine that they use for getting boilers and water heaters up and down stairs. It works very well. I think they have them at all their stores for making deliveries in cellars and up stairs for boilers and heavy water heaters. They just removed a 80 Gal Vaughan stone lined indirect that was in a cellar. 4 guys might have been hurt doing the removal. One operator did the whole thing. Even up to getting it in their truck.

Wayco Wayne_2

I have

a stair climbing hand truck, but you still have to balance and manage it. The idea of an independent remote control run machine is ver appealing to me. Esp. the older I get.

icesailor

Stair Dollys

Balance didn't seem to be that much of a problem with the one I have seen. The guys I have seen operating it haven't been all that big.

Three years ago, I had a 80 stone lined Vaughan indirect removed from a cellar that was a straight shot up and out. Four guys almost hurt themselves removing it. Last month, I had the same water heater removed using the stair climbing dolly. One guy did it without batting an eye or breaking a sweat. I just stood back and watched.

I'll bet the one used by the safe company is mucho, mucho dinero.

TonyS

I own a Lectra truck

and another style(forget the name) The electra truck will just slide to the next step if a stair breaks or slips. It works ok but it in itself is very heavy. The second type I have is an aluminum unit with motorized crawlers that have hooks on them, That unit I use for water heaters only, if a step breaks or the unit gets away its going to take you with it. But for a single guy with a 50 gallon water heater it works ok because it is light and fast.

The unit your looking at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sW_OeXDngMo&feature=related Track-O lift would lift the unit to high to clear most basement doors so it would have very limited use. Anyway if you talk to a local rental company maybe they would be willing to bring one in.

TonyS

Heres the price

http://handtrucks2go.com/Track-O-Stair-Climber-Truck.html