Motorized “Shelf Cart” Stores Canned Goods

Motorized “Shelf Cart” Stores Canned Goods FARM HOME Food Storing canned goods is an easy job for Martha Martin since her husband Bill built a motorized “shelf cart” It rides on a track installed inside a small storage room in their basement The cart is 12 ft long and 3 ft wide which is about the same size as the storage room It can hold up to 300 quart jars and when fully loaded weighs about 700 lbs “The cart automatically moves in or out of the storage room and serves as a mobile root cellar It makes maximum use of the space that’s available in our basement to store canned food ” says Bill “Martha does a lot of canning in the basement making up to 150 quarts of beans corn and tomatoes every year The basement has its own kitchen along with an adjoining storage room that’s too small for shelves At first I built a cart that she rolled in and out of the room by hand However once she had shoulder surgery the cart became too difficult for her to use ” The cart is built from 2-in steel tubing and has a series of built-in shelves that extend up to 4 ft high A 1/4 hp electric gear drive motor is bolted onto the floor at the back of the storage room and a continuous loop bicycle chain extends from the motor up to a sprocket mounted under the front of the cart The motor is wired to a pair of limit switches that determine which direction the cart goes says Bill “The operator flips one switch to push the cart out of the room and another one to pull it back into the room ” The track is made from lengths of angle iron placed on edge The cart rides on 4 V-shaped nylon wheels but only the rear wheels follow the track “I used nylon wheels because they run quiet ” says Bill Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Bill Martin 6928 State Rt 734 Jamestown Ohio 45335 ph 937 620-7542; billgatorjr@att net

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