Drum Handling Solutions

Handle Drums & Barrels with Specialist Equipment from Lifting Gear Direct

Buy drum handling equipment from UK supplier.

If you lift and move drums or barrels on a regular basis then you may benefit from some of our drum handling equipment. We have drum lifting equipment to lift all types of drums in different ways, some drum lifters can lift the drums by the rim, some will grab them around the main body, we also have wheeled devices like dolly’s, drum trolley and drum trucks, drum trolleys and drum dollies for wheeling drums around. Forklift attachments to handle drums can also be found here. We can supply drum handling equipment from the top manufacturers including Contact and Raptor. 

Drum Lifting & Barrel Lifting Solutions

Our drum lifting and barrel lifter solutions include many types of equipment to assist with the handling of different types of drums and barrels. We supply products for handling the main types of drums, i.e. steel with rolling loops; mauser/egg shaped plastic; 'L' ring and fibre.

Some drum manipulating models fit directly to the forks of a forklift truck, and others can hang from a crane or both. You will also find drum tongs, drum lifters, slings, grabs & grippers; drum trucks, rotators or forklift mounted drum handling, we can supply them all. So if you need to manoeuvre your drum vertically or horizontally, move it around from place to place or tip it over to empty it or simply load, stack and store you can find the solution here at Lifting Gear Direct.

What Types of Drum Handling Equipment are there?

There is a wide range of drum accessories which enable the handling of drums in different ways. Each product will have a set of different specifications with the working load limit, size and type of drum varying between them so check out the specific product specs to ensure your preferred product can handle your drums in the way that you want.

Most products will greatly aid in either the loading, unloading, stacking, lifting, turning, transportation or a combination in any workplace. Here is a quick breakdown of the common types available at Lifting Gear Direct;

• For Drum Lifting

Drum tongs, drum sling, fork lift truck attachments, crane slung drum lifters

• For Drum Moving

Drum Trolley, Drum Truck, Drum Dolly, forklift truck attachments, Crane Slung Attachments

• For Drum Turning & Emptying

drum rotators, drum turner, forklift drum rotators, crane slung drum turners.

As you can see there are many products for handling drums. There is one type which incorporates products for all drum manipulating scenarios, this is the forklift truck mounted drum lifting equipment collection. So if you own a fork lift truck you could lift, turn and move your drums with one product. Some products can be slung under a crane too. Of course the question will be how do you wish to handle your drums?

How Drums are Handled with different equipment.

Here we look at the different types of drum handlers and how they may be used to help you choose the right equipment. There is much more information on each type on the relevant category and product pages you can find at the top of this page.

Drum Lifters, Drum Tongs, Drum Grabs & Drum Slings

Drums can be lifted vertically or horizontally depending on your chosen product. Drum tongs typically attach to a crane or hoist hook and grip drums by the top rim or top and bottom rims.

It is also possible to utilise this type of equipment with a fork lift truck, all you need is a forklift hook attachment.

Drum lifting tongs don't actually clamp the drum rim. They simply seat under it and the forces applied when lifted ensure the tongs close up and grab the drum securely.

A drum sling is a little different. Although still crane slung, each chain leg possesses a special type of clamp or drum grab which grips onto the rim.

Drum tongs and lifters are probably the simplest of our range of drum equipment and therefore the most cost effective option. Many of these drum lifter products are also much smaller than perhaps fork lift truck mounted handling products and so will be much easier to transport and store, taking up much less valuable space.

Drum Trucks, Drum Trolleys & Drum Dollies

Drum trucks are similar to pallet trucks in that they enable easy movement of drums and barrels around the workplace, there are many different models to choose from which allow carrying the drums in a variety of ways, some even enable tipping the drum for emptying.

We also have a range of higher hydraulic drum trucks to aid in loading the drums onto a truck/lorry; there are also some drum trucks which raise the drum so it can be placed on a pallet with ease, with the legs able to straddle the pallet. Included in this range are a couple of drum stands as well as trucks for drum stacking applications.

A drum dolly is the simplest drum handler. It is simply a platform on castors on which a drum is placed to enable it to be wheeled around to where required.

Forklift Mounted Drum Handling Equipment

This excellent range of drum manipulators can make an existing forklift truck extremely versatile; simply slip them onto the forks and drum handling and emptying just got so much quicker and easier. The range includes models for simple lifting, both horizontally and vertically with varying drum connection types.

We have models which can rotate the drum from vertical to horizontal to aid stacking or emptying and some can rotate the drum to any angle you wish. There are double drum handlers available in our forklift mounted drum handling solutions range too.

So if you have a forklift truck and regularly need to handle drums in any way then check out this range of great drum handling equipment you are sure to find the solution you need.

Drum Rotators & Drum Turners

It is often the case that the drums you are handling will need to be tilted, turned and rotated. Drum turners are ideal if you wish to dispense the contents into another container for example. We have a great range of drum rotators or drum turners to facilitate this action.

There are a number of drum trolleys which can rotate drums as well as a collection of forklift mounted drum rotators and crane slung versions. The most versatile are dual purpose and can be forklift mounted or crane slung, for example the DTR ot the DTRU ranges.

Many drum rotators can turn the drum completely through 360 degrees whilst a few have a more limited tilt action, therefore browse the full collection to find the perfect drum turner for your needs.

Drum Handling Safety

Drums and barrels are commonly used to store and transport hazardous materials. These could be flammable or toxic and even if they are not a spill of any kind can cause a hazard. There is quite a lot of information available on handling drums withhazardous substances; it is essential to familiarise yourself with these procedures to help to prevent unnecessary accidents.

Using drum handling equipment can also reduce risks of injury caused by miss-handled drums. An average 55 gallon drum could weigh up to 600 lbs, imagine that dropping on your foot! Manually trying to move a drum can cause serious back, shoulder and neck injuries too, but if you use the right piece of handling equipment these risks can be minimised.

There are a number of common safety hazards which come with the territory of drum handling which is why a risk assessment is a wise move prior to the operation.

Hazards include the following scenarios;

• Drums to heavy to manually move

• Handling drums in restricted/confined spaces

• Drum size and/or shape could make even empty drums awkward to handle.

• Poor floor conditions such as slipperiness, debris and other obstacles.

• Hazardous materials

• Drum storage in awkward spaces

• Light or half filled drums moving around during transport.

• Handling high volumes leading to personal strain.

  
  

Get in touch today

Browse our selection of drum handling equipment  for full technical details and call our team on 01384 76961.