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Amherst, WI

Anyone know where to look for a spring scale kind of like the one Lobsta shows in his diary? I think this would be good to have to make sure your heaviest goes to the weighoff. I'll be just guessing next week, as some of mine are very close in size. A scale would be the ticket. I know I won't be able to get one in a week, but maybe for next year.
There have been some interesting pictures of lifting devices here lately. Pumpkinbrat, that is an awesome structure you built. How many guys do you need to move it?
Bruiser, I like that tripod you set up. Is it hard to set up? My luck, I would drop it on my pumpkin. Very good ideas, guys.

9/27/2002 10:59:42 AM

hey randoooo,that spring scale belongs to my father-in-law and i'll ask him where it came from and let you know.you probably don't need a scale that goes to 5000lbs. but you never know someday maybe..i predict 1500lbs will be broken if not this year next year,then the 1 ton pumpkin as soon as someone can learn to control the effects of gravity on these giants,maybe grow a pumpkin floating in a tank of special growth enhancing fluid..

9/27/2002 12:59:59 PM

Herndon, VA

I'd like one too. Doesn't have to be 100%, but like Randooo said it could be a handy decision maker if you had had two pumpkins of similar size. I have been looking around but most scales of this type are digital and several hundred dollars. With the tripod or some other means of hoisting them, a scale like this makes weighing a snap; you could also do it (with lesser accuracy) while it's still on the vine!

9/27/2002 7:52:57 PM

Cooks Creek, Manitoba, Canada

Randooo, I copied PumpkinBrat's design and it is awesome. It only took two of use to move it around and load a 550lb pumpkin - what a difference!

Now I am also looking for a spring scale for the exact same reasons - I think I will check around with some of the old farmers around me to see if they might have one.

9/29/2002 9:08:29 AM

Amherst, WI

I found some in a Grainger catalog (www.grainger.com)and they are a bit pricey. A dial face 5000 lb. cap. goes for around $775, and a digital goes for over $1000. I guess I can do without one for now. Gotta trust the charts.

9/30/2002 8:48:38 PM

Herndon, VA

The cheapest one I've seen is a $299 digital scale with a 1000-lb capacity (www.harborfreight.com). It's a no-name import from china, but for something that only gets used a few times each year it would probably do. Accuracy is +/- 1/2 pound for weights over 250 lbs. Still too stiff for me, I'm looking for something under $50. Been browsing ebay for a few weeks too, no luck.

9/30/2002 9:23:22 PM

Western Pa.

Randoo,

As pumpkin weight increase, I have found that the number of available lifters proportionately decreases. I was planning to build a tripod, such as Al Eaton uses, but saved some money with material I already had. I use a 2-buck scaffold with one of the bottom braces left off. I place a 4x6 wooden beam on top, hang a come-along and use a lifting ring. This enables me to be able to lift a 1000# plus pumpkin all by myself!( in about an hour!)I'll send a photo to the gallery.

kilr

10/1/2002 12:35:37 AM

i could'nt believe the prices on those spring scales..theres just not that much to them..the one i used came from Grainger too..now i know why my father-in-law tells me to be careful.its his second one the first one got retracted up into the end of the boom on the crane and broken..

10/1/2002 5:41:22 AM

Amherst, WI

kilr, checked out your photo, looks like that would work pretty good. Where do you get a lifting ring like that? How easy is that to get around/under the pumpkin? I know where you are comming from not wanting to rely on finding help to load up. It's nice to be able to do it yourself. This friday I'll get a friend to bring his tractor and lift it with his endloader. But it would be nice to not have to rely on anyone else.

10/2/2002 8:09:51 PM

Western Pa.

You can order a lifting ring (with straps) from P.G.P.G.A., I think for about $100.(Or have a welder make you one.) The 1" straps hang down around the pumpkin. You simply take 1 more strap and feed it through the holes on the strap bottoms. As you pull it, the straps will slip down under the fruit. All you have to do is pull tight, and cinch it, tie a knot, and she's ready to lift. Set it up in the patch, and lift, it requires no prior help lifting/moving of the pumpkin. Can all be done by 1 man. If you don't have scaffold, you can rent or borrow some! These "lifting rings" have been used exclusively by Ohio Valley, ever since Dave brought in his 1140#, and the lifters appeared hurt!

kilr

10/3/2002 12:36:53 AM