Atypical wood brew stand

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kerschup

Active Member
Joined
Dec 11, 2011
Messages
26
Reaction score
10
Location
Kingwood
I posted some pictures of my brew stand in the "show me your wood sculpture thread" and had a number of people request some more pictures and details. I don't have any pictures of the actual build because I did not have a camera during that time so these are only pictures of the finished stand. I tried to get pictures of anything I thought may be of interest to the readers of this post.

Here are just some exterior views

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Here are some pics of the control panel

The green button upper left is main power to the panel
The blue buttons power the respective components directly above them (from left to right - PID for RIMS, temperature for cooled wort going thru CFC, timer)
The red buttons are the spark ignitors for the burners
The white button is the pump

Still need to get some stickers to label buttons and maybe a logo. Don't have a name yet though.

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Where did you get those push buttons? I ordered similar ones from auber but haven't hooked them up yet. Are they the same ones?
 
Where did you get those push buttons? I ordered similar ones from auber but haven't hooked them up yet. Are they the same ones?

I got them off ebay from a place in china. Almost of of my electronics came from china because they are so much cheaper. We'll see how long they last, but so far so good
 
Here is my gas hook ups

1st picture is just gas line from tank to hard piping

2nd & 3rd pictures are a view of the back side of the valves. They are the same kind you would find in a chem lab to use on a bunsen burner

4th picture is my burner. I used the cut out from the top of the keg as a heat shield and it works great. As you can see the propane tank is underneath the burner and it does't even get warm to the touch

The last picture is of my keg supports. I welded them out of old bed frames and made little tabs that support it of the wood frame. The heat transfer is minimal and the wood barely gets warm. Also, the wood surrounding the burner does get a little warm but not above what is comfortable to touch. I was concerned a little before I first used it, but it has worked out well. Plus I don't leave it alone when I am brewing.

By the way, I can't figure out how to write captions between the pictures so I have to list everything in the beginning. Any help?

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That thing is awesome.

But let me guess you have no kids or your wife makes you sleep in the garage.

jk that must have taken a lot of time.
 
That thing is awesome.

But let me guess you have no kids or your wife makes you sleep in the garage.

jk that must have taken a lot of time.

Actually I have 4 kids and my wife prefers me to sleep in bed. She can't sleep if I'm not home. It took me a year but that is because 1) I was in school full time for most of the build and part time the rest 2) my family likes when I interact with them 3) I had been working out of town a lot and was only home for maybe a day or two at a time. I would guess if I had to put a actual build time it would be 2-3 weeks
 
Here is how my CFC is hooked up. By the way, it is 25' long with 3/8" OD copper inside and works really well

1st picture CFC is mounted underneath burner on right side. I ran a piece of 3" pvc through the middle and on the top is a grate that I screw to the wooden frame and on the bottom is a toilet flange to keep it from sliding off

2nd picture shows all the connections going through the side to the exterior

3rd picture is how they look on outside of stand. Left connector is where the cooled wort comes out. Middle connector is where the cold water goes in. Left connector is where the warmed water comes out. All the connectors are quick connects from Lowes in the garden hose section. They have not leaked at all so far so I am happy.

4th picture is of my temperature probe that displays the temp on my control panel. I just drill a hole in the brass elbow, cut a rubber grommet in half and stuck the probe through that. The fit was really tight and doesn't leak at all

Last picture is the inside of the elbow and the little silver dot is the end of the probe. It sticks into the elbow about 3/4" so it registers the temp really accurately

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This is the mash tun which is a bottom drain. I just cut the real bottom out of the keg and turned it upside down. I use a RIMS tube so I didn't have to worry about firing the mash tun.

2nd picture is the false bottom. I made it of a pizza pan that already had the holes in it. I cut it down in diameter and then in half and put the hinge on it so I could fold it enough to get it through the opening in the keg.

3rd picture shows the little stand offs I put on the false bottom to help support the weight of the grain.

4th pictures is just the false bottom in the mash tun

Last picture is the bottom of the mash tun and the connection to my plumbing. I believe it is a 2" tri-clover to 1/2" male

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Here is the pump. I use a single pump and can transfer from any vessel to the other with the exception of going back into the HLT. I just a made a manifold with 3 inlets, one from each vessel, and 2 outlets. One outlet goes to the CFC and the other goes through the RIMS tube then to a 3 way valve, which you will see in the next post, that can be switched from the MLT to the BK

2nd picture is the back of the pump. Kind of looks like tangled mess but it can all be undone fairly easily with the unions and shark bite fittings I used

3rd picture shows the RIMS tube. I made it 12" long out of 1 1/4" copper. The heating element is 1500W and is about 6" long the temp probe is the pt100

Last picture just kinda shows the layout underneath the MLT. You can see the RIMS tube, the drain plumbing for the MLT, the tube that goes to the CFC, and the pipe that goes up to the 3 way valve.

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This is the 3 way valve I mentioned in the last post. First 3 way valve I got was an l-type and would not work the way I needed it to for this setup. I then got the T-type which is what you see here. In its current position it transfers liquid straight up into the MLT but if I turn it 90 clockwise, it transfers to the BK. This tube is the tube coming from the RIMs tube in the last post. (wow, that was a lot of uses of the word tube in one sentence)

The last picture is the tip of my sparge arm. It works pretty well although I will probably make the holes 1 or 2 drill bit sizes bigger. Once in a while when I first start sparging it will clog. I just use the end of a small screwdriver to push through the holes and that takes care of it. More of a nuisance than a problem.

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And finally just some pictures of the valves, thermometer and sight glass.

I had a lot of fun building it and could not have done it with out all of the great builds on this forum. I can't say anything I did was original but rather a copy or modification of something I saw here. Also, my wife was fine with me building and spending the money to make this project.

I have a fermentation chamber I am working on right now but hit a stand still due to the business of life and shortage of money. I do have build pics of that and will post them when I get further along. It will match the look of the brew stand

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Aren't you worried about the wood being that close to a burner?

Like I said in one of my posts, I was a little worried at first, but after using it I am no longer worried. The wood does get slightly warm, but I can comfortably touch it and I never leave it unattended. I know there are some who would never think of using wood next to fire and that is fine, but it works for me. If down the road it becomes an issue. I will put some kind of heat shield over the wood
 
Like I said in one of my posts, I was a little worried at first, but after using it I am no longer worried. The wood does get slightly warm, but I can comfortably touch it and I never leave it unattended. I know there are some who would never think of using wood next to fire and that is fine, but it works for me. If down the road it becomes an issue. I will put some kind of heat shield over the wood

Cool, glad to see it works.
 
Very nice looking build. Are you using standard household current? I would like to automate my propane but have no interest in running a 240v panel to my garage.
 
Wow, sweet rig! I've been thinking about a wood rig because I don't have a welder at the moment. Glad to know it works! Kyle
 
Very nice looking build. Are you using standard household current? I would like to automate my propane but have no interest in running a 240v panel to my garage.

Yea its all 110V. I wouldn't say its automated though. I just have the spark ignitor, similar to a gas grill. I turn the gas knob on and push the ignitor button. No standing pilot or anything fancy like that
 
First, I really like the product, it's obvious that you took a lot of time and love to build that baby. I know this is going to sound geeky, but have you considered labels? It just seems that something that involved would look even more polished with labels.
 
Again, I really like your setup. Is it on wheels/ casters?
Also to add captions or type between photos, simply use the 'Insert Image' tool as normal, then type after the second . For example:
[IMG]NOT REALLY TO AN IMAGE
then we type here.

And so on.

What is it that you do? Your layout and the general neatness of the plumbing/ wiring looks experienced. Kyle
 
Again, I really like your setup. Is it on wheels/ casters?

What is it that you do? Your layout and the general neatness of the plumbing/ wiring looks experienced. Kyle

Yes it is on casters. I let the trim hang past the bottom a little to make it look like it wasn't on casters.

I have done construction/remodeling most of my life and most recently was in business building spec/custom homes. I did everything from excavation to finish work minus flat cement work (ie, garage/basement floors) and drywall. So I have a fair amount of plumbing and electrical experience
 
Hey Kerschup, would you mind sharing the dimensions? I've been pondering a wood build myself, same reason, I can't weld but can build with wood pretty well. I really like how you built all the wiring and pipes into the channel in the front, it makes it look really clean. As I've told you before, excellent build!
 
Wow! Kerschup. Very well done. I have started drafting plans for my own Kerschup single tier. And while there is no way I can hope to come close to your work of art here, I do want to give it try. BUT, I can't find a source for those awesome needle valves you got there. Any chance you could point me in the direction of where to get them? I assume they give you good flame control?? I don't have the means/skills to rig a RIMS tube, so for now I'm doing the direct fire recirc thing. Thanks!
 
Old pasture brew

Thanks, I got my gas valves off ebay and yes, I get very good flame control with them though they are a bit touchy. What I mean is that you can go from a very small flame to all out blast furnace without a lot of rotation of the knob.

Here is a link for the valves

http://www.ebay.com/itm/American-St...530?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item337e4a2d22

Let me know if you need a source for any other parts
 
Hahaha ORDERED! Thanks Kerschup! Stealing your design and tapping out your suppliers. Guess I owe you a couple rounds next time you're in Boston. Until then, thanks and great job on that build.

:mug:

Now, about that fermentation chamber you mentioned.......
 
The green button upper left is main power to the panel
The blue buttons power the respective components directly above them (from left to right - PID for RIMS, temperature for cooled wort going thru CFC, timer)
The red buttons are the spark ignitors for the burners
The white button is the pump.

I love these. Seems like most of those I see on eBay are rated to 3 amps, and it looks like you are running a lot more power than that with your RIMS. Are yours rated to a higher amperage or is that just not a concern?

EDIT: after learning a little more I'm guessing you ran this through a relay. Makes sense now!
 
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