Deuce

Recipes 

I'm kind of at a fork in the road as to which stand I should buy. I will not be building my own, as I don't have time, patience, etc. So those posts are not needed.

I am stuck between the Blichmann top tier:
http://www.rebelbrewer.com/shoppingcart/products/Top-Tier-Stand-%252d-Three-Burner.html

or

Stainless steel stand from these guys:
http://www.brewersequipment.com/New%20Brew%20Stands.html

I already have a pump, plate chiller, etc. So when I add all the mounts, for my equipment to each, they come out to right around the same price. I am leaning more towards the blichmann, that way I can gravity feed my sparge water, and use my pump strictly for re circulation during direct firing the MLT. Also, the fact that the SS one has the gas build into the frame concerns me, as I may want to drill into it to add on stuff. I just wanted to get some info from you guys, or if you know of any other stands out there. Also, is it absolutely necessary to get a SS stand, or will mild steel be fine. I don't want a stand that will be rusty, corroded and compromised (structurally) in a couple of years.

__________________
Diverse Haus Brewery

Coldies

Recipes 

Me personally I would get the single tier non SS stand for $550. The gas should only be built into that 1 bar, not the whole stand so you have other options on where to mount stuff. Then you can spend the extra $$$ on equipment or of course BEER!!!!

TopherM

Recipes 

If you have a pump, wouldn't you rather have a single tier stand where you can stand on the ground and look into your pots, instead of a Top Tier, where you have to brew on a ladder? The Top Tier is designed to be gravity fed, if you have the pump and don't need to gravity feed, just go for the single tier.

__________________
Primary #1 - Summer Hopped Hefeweizen
Primary #2 - EMPTY!
Primary #3 - EMPTY!
Secondary #1 - Downtown Flanders Brown (Due June 2013)
Secondary #2 - Pinot Noir Wine (Due December 2013)
Keg #1 - Bavarian Pilsner Ale
Keg #2 - Hard Cider (Spring SeaCider)
Keg #3 - Centennial Blonde
Bottled - NONE!

mredge73

Recipes 

Personally, I would get the 2 tier from brewers equipment as in I could do everything I needed to do with only one pump. I would need two pumps for the single tier.

I currently use a modified version of this one if you want to go cheaper:
http://www.amazon.com/King-Kooker-94-90TKD-Dual-Burner/dp/B00264G584/ref=sr_1_11?ie=UTF8&qid=1312389095&sr=8-11



A little spray paint once in a while goes a long ways on even cheap steel.

rcrabb22

Recipes 

+1

Deuce

Recipes 

how well does the mild steel hold up to high temps, wear and tear? If you paint it with high temp paint, will that burn off too?

__________________
Diverse Haus Brewery

mredge73

Recipes 

Very little of it is exposed to high temps.
On those, it doesn't look like there is any steel that is in the path of the flame.

If stored outdoors, the burners themselves will rust out before anything else and will need to be replaced in either case.
If the paint deteriorates on the frame, you can use a can of cold galvanized primer on it after brushing off the rust, then repaint. That will keep it looking new for years for about $15 and an hour worth of your time.

ACbrewer

Recipes 

I think there are some high temp enamel paints that can be used. Finding them might be a problem, but they do exists. There are high temp applications that need them (ovens for instance need a 500-600 degree paint to take the broiling temp). Although propane flame can get to what 700-800? Anyhow if you look, I think you can find a paint.

outside92129

Recipes 

Rust-Oleum BBQ paint at home depot advertises withstanding 1200F. Comes in both can and spraypaint.

Catt22

Recipes 

More like closer to 3,600*F under ideal conditions from what I've read. Our rather inefficient turkey fryer type burners probably only reach about 75-80%
of the optimum, but that would still be something on the order of 2,700*F. For comparison, a candle flame can exceed 1,000*F.