Homemade 3-Tier Tower

The inspiration - Blichmann's Top Tier system (Approx $700+ as pictured)


The result - A homemade 3-tier system made of scrap wood, some adjustable brackets, and casters ($32)

A little scrap wood


Built the center of the system with a left over 6x6. It was intended to be a column for the front of our house but only used the top 4 feet of it. There was a 45 degree angle on each side that was perfect for mounting the shelving brackets with some spacers behind. Also added some casters to make moving it around the garage a little easier. The style of the shelving brackets allows me to adjust if my system changes it the future.


Added some shelves made out of some leftover 3/4" MDF.


Here's the end result with the HLT, MLT and brew kettle/burner in place. Not too shabby for a couple evenings worth of work (had no blueprints/plans aside from the ones in my head or it probably would have taken half the time).


The brackets are supposed to be rated at 250lb when used in pairs...not sure if I buy that. I'll find out when I test it out tomorrow
I have some leftover wood that I could use to build some supports if need be.

If this thing works and doesn't warp to hell, I'll eventually install another tier for another burner as well as a pump to get my sparge water up to the HLT.

Looking good! It takes very little moisture to cause MDF to disinegrate, so I'd get a few coats of something on that ASAP to help waterproof it.

Hey this looks great!

How well has the wood held up considering the burner is directly on it?

Looking forward to the reading the results!

JuanMoore said:

Looking good! It takes very little moisture to cause MDF to disinegrate, so I'd get a few coats of something on that ASAP to help waterproof it.

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yeah, I'm thinking I'm going to paint or varnish it to seal the mdf. The center structure is cedar so not worried about that.

I'm going to try brewing with it today. I'll let you know how it turns out.

Mashed in and currently heating my sparge water. This was the first time I used the 10 gallon cooler and had forgotten to check the seal on the brass valve :doh:. Ended up with a fair amount of water on the shelf...started to warp ever so slightly before I could get it cleaned up. I definitely need to seal it.

So far it appears to handle the weight just fine. I'm planning on IPA tomorrow with a 16 lb grain bill so we'll see how she fairs then.

Aside from the extra 45 minutes it took to fix the valve and get the water back up to temp brew day is going well. Gorgeous outside.

Very nice! How do you get the heated water up to your HLT? Just lift the whole thing up there or is there a pump or something?

Very Kewl!

single batch sparging right now. I've got the top cooler emptying just fast enough to keep a little water above the grain bed.

hillhousesawdustco said:

Very nice! How do you get the heated water up to your HLT? Just lift the whole thing up there or is there a pump or something?

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I just hoisted it up there standing on the step stool. Since I'm currently only doing 5 gallon batches I figure I'd only ever have 4 to 5 gallons to lift which isn't that bad.

If this thing works out I'll eventually install a pump to take the water from the kettle up to HLT.

Very nice. When you are done, feel free to drive it down to Omaha to drop it off!!! LOL

That's awesome. Congrats! If I had space to store one, I'd be making one of these. Great design.

I've had a few requests lately for more details on the build. Here are some closer pics and rough measurements.

From the floor to the top shelf is 65.5". From the floor to the top of the middle shelf is 42.5" and fits my 10 gallon MLT perfectly. From the floor to the burner shelf is 13.5".

The shelf size will vary based on your equipment. My shelves are 16.5" deep by 29.5" wide. They go back at a 45 degree angle to meet the shelf brackets in the rear. The top shelf is 16.5" x 16.5". The middle shelf is supported by a standard shelf bracket (got nervous with a full IPA grainbill). The bottom shelf is supported by a piece of PVC since I couldn't fit a bracket underneath.

Not seeing any pics other than whats on the first page, BTW that is an awesome setup. Who needs Blichman?

Sorry, HBT app crashed on me when uploading...

Sweet setup, but whats the point of three tiers if you gotta heave the HLT to the top rack (I guess besides fly sparging?)? Ever think about going with a direct fire or even electric HLT? Would put the icing on the cake!

I really like how this doesnt take up much of a footprint at all, and wow for 32 bucks cant beat it. I would definitely be wary about the brackets, and also the MDF. There is almost a 100% chance that you will spill water or wort (as you proved!)

kpr121 said:

Sweet setup, but whats the point of three tiers if you gotta heave the HLT to the top rack (I guess besides fly sparging?)? Ever think about going with a direct fire or even electric HLT? Would put the icing on the cake!

I really like how this doesnt take up much of a footprint at all, and wow for 32 bucks cant beat it. I would definitely be wary about the brackets, and also the MDF. There is almost a 100% chance that you will spill water or wort (as you proved!)

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I've done about 10 brews on this over the summer. After sealing with some standard wood sealer I haven't had any troubles with warping, etc. even with the occasional boil over.

I do fly sparge so i like the 3-tier setup. If anything, I think I would maybe add a pump to move the sparge water up to HLT but haven't had any issues hoisting my 5 gallon Rubbermaid up there yet.

sub'd

I've been pondering some type of system the last little while. Do you have plans to add an electric heater to your HLT?

Liking it !!!!!

Dude don't drop it off in Omaha, Yankton is way closer.

jafo28 said:

Not seeing any pics other than whats on the first page, BTW that is an awesome setup. Who needs Blichman?

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heckels said:

I've had a few requests lately for more details on the build. Here are some closer pics and rough measurements.

From the floor to the top shelf is 65.5". From the floor to the top of the middle shelf is 42.5" and fits my 10 gallon MLT perfectly. From the floor to the burner shelf is 13.5".

The shelf size will vary based on your equipment. My shelves are 16.5" deep by 29.5" wide. They go back at a 45 degree angle to meet the shelf brackets in the rear. The top shelf is 16.5" x 16.5". The middle shelf is supported by a standard shelf bracket (got nervous with a full IPA grainbill). The bottom shelf is supported by a piece of PVC since I couldn't fit a bracket underneath.

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This is a great setup! How long are the legs?

Hey there, the legs are 37.5" in length. It was basically enough to just reach past the lower shelf depth.

Excellent build, Thanks for sharing!
How has the MDF held up over time, still holding well after wood sealer?

heckels said:

Hey there, the legs are 37.5" in length. It was basically enough to just reach past the lower shelf depth.

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Thx!

Domminigan said:

Excellent build, Thanks for sharing!
How has the MDF held up over time, still holding well after wood sealer?

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Yep, a year later I've had no issues after sealing it. Still holding up strong.

Thinking of doing something similar - just wondering how you attached the central pole to the base struts.

Nice work! MDF very durable as long as you seal it....I have a 4" thick MDF top to one of my shop work benches that I use to lay out thinks that need to be dead flat....just reseal periodically. I has lasted over ten years. For MDF a great sealer is product called WATERLOX I've used it on my own custom cherry counter top, and have had no water penetration, in the 5 years it's been up (even around the sink).