Working With Portable Drum Dumpers

BeaconTechnology.com Tip: It is what it sounds like. Stationary and portable drum dumpers lift, move and dump the contents of 55- and 30-gallon steel, plastic or fiber drums, taking care of up to 1,500 pounds of pourable material in a single operation. The button-controlled dumpers are adjustable to standard heights, cycling rapidly to dispose of huge cargos within hours.

These are big items, and safety first: The obvious tip is don’t stand beneath a drum, especially if it’s moving. But when you’re working with them day in and day out there are steps you can take to minimize the risk to you and your crew. Work with drum positioners to let equipment take care of angling the heavy drums for forklift pick-up (some rotate the drums, as well), while drum carriers to load or offload the drums horizontally. Forklift drum grippers hold drums firmly in place – especially important with drums that have been opened – and drum hand carts are specially fitted to hold the drum in place as it’s lowered and its contents poured out. For the trickiest angles and tightest spaces, drum lifters can hoist the containers vertically – a back-breaking, tight job if attempted by a human crew.