My Brewstand: SS two tier w/ temperature controls

Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum

Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

cravej

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jan 31, 2010
Messages
224
Reaction score
6
Location
Philly
I started this about a year ago, but got delayed when my daughter was born. But it is finally picking up speed again and I wanted to share, because I have got tons of inspiration from this forum. I work in a sheetmetal/electrical shop, so I have access to a lot of neat tools.

ex0n.jpg


du7n.jpg


7v29.jpg


78yj.jpg


vwuz.jpg


0ofg.jpg


l257.jpg
 
If I could make a suggestion...
Build a cover over the smart valves..one slight opps with water and they are toast. They have circuitry inside them.

I made sum edits because i do now see the valve on the main burner... it was hiding from me.
 
If I could make a suggestion...
Build a cover over the smart valves..one slight opps with water and they are toast. They have circuitry inside them.
Thank you for the advice! I never really thought about that.

I'm getting closer to brewing on it!
lpib.jpg


468u.JPG


qwts.jpg
 
Must be nice to have a fully equipped fab shop available. I used to program machines like the Wiedematic in the background of your photo of mounting the control box. Wish that I had that type of equipment available now.
 
Tested the flame, but it was kinda lame, so I had to drill out the orifice for the low pressure regulator.
2qfx.jpg


Then while fixing leaks, I ruined this needle valve. It wasn't meant to be mounted this way, so I'll have to come up with something different.
fe5f.jpg


But this part was pretty exciting :ban:
Testing the burner!
 
Cool. Was that the highest output for the burner?

Cheers!
That was the highest output. I'm using a low pressure (10.5" WC) regulator, and I drilled out the orifice with a #48 drill bit. I'm afraid to drill it out anymore, so I'm going to brew on it like this to see how it goes.
 
really beautiful system man. Very clean.
I'm planning my own system now and trying to make sense of this Low/High pressure deal. I'm looking forward to hearing how it goes with the drilled out orifice. I've spent the better part of the day trying to make sense out of this plumbing stuff and it's making me go cross-eyed. Looks like you've made sense of this so tell me if I get it; you're running at Low pressure so you can use those valves and pilots, but the burners are high pressure burners (right?) so you modified them by drilling out the orifice to get better performance. So are low pressure burners actually any different from high pressure burners, or is it just the orifice, and if so, can't you just buy the "stock" orifice?
Again, congrats on a beautiful system!
 
really beautiful system man. Very clean.
I'm planning my own system now and trying to make sense of this Low/High pressure deal. I'm looking forward to hearing how it goes with the drilled out orifice. I've spent the better part of the day trying to make sense out of this plumbing stuff and it's making me go cross-eyed. Looks like you've made sense of this so tell me if I get it; you're running at Low pressure so you can use those valves and pilots, but the burners are high pressure burners (right?) so you modified them by drilling out the orifice to get better performance. So are low pressure burners actually any different from high pressure burners, or is it just the orifice, and if so, can't you just buy the "stock" orifice?
Again, congrats on a beautiful system!
Thanks! It took me a long time to understand and plan out the propane manifold. You have a good understanding, I am running low pressure (0.5 psi or 11.5" WC) for the automatic valves. The burners can be run at either high or low pressure with the proper size orifice. Mine came with an orifice for high pressure, so I drilled them out, but some vendors have the proper orifice for 11.5" WC.
 
9bk3.jpg


So I brewed on it yesterday, but it didn't go very smoothly. This was my first attempt at fly sparging and I also attempted a step mash, and it ended up getting stuck. Since it wasn't flowing very well, it was tough to raise the temperature. I ended up around 55% efficiency. Next time, I'm going to simplify my process and just make sure it flows well.

I also made a mistake, turning off the pump, but leaving the valve on auto. I walked away for a couple minutes... without the water flowing over the sensor, it just kept heating up, so my strike water got up to 180°. I just added some cold water to bring it back down, but I learned a bunch and can't wait to brew again.
 
What's your dimensions on your stand this is exactly how I want to build my two tier stand just with regular old steel and all the parallel pieces will be 3x3 and horizontal will be 2x2 don't ask I get bored when I'm running cnc's and there was a pile of scrap and I sorta made it in my head and now I want to make it in reality lol over kill is better then under lol. And your stand is fantastic glad I'm no the only one that like the two tier style stand lol
 
Here is an older drawing of it. I sized it to accept a 25 or 30 gallon pot. I'm 6'4" tall, so the upper tier is no problem for me, but I could see that being a problem for others.
24n5.png
 
Sweet thanks man, yea I plan on making a folding ledge to help with my shortness lol
 
I replaced the valve, that I stripped out. I like this one better anyway.

80hg.jpg


x4e2.jpg
 
I brewed a Saison today and it went pretty smoothly. I think my one burner is running too rich, I might of drilled out the orifice a little too much. The air vent is wide open, but it continues to get these flare ups: [ame="http://youtu.be/2TEnPkmytug"]Youtube video[/ame]
 
Great stuff! I was wondering what you're using to regulate the LP pressure from the tank. It seems that there aren't a lot of choices to get down to the .5 PSI required for the Smart Valves. Speaking of the valves do you mind sharing what model they are? Are you still having challenges getting the BTU's you need with only .5 PSI?
 
Great stuff! I was wondering what you're using to regulate the LP pressure from the tank. It seems that there aren't a lot of choices to get down to the .5 PSI required for the Smart Valves. Speaking of the valves do you mind sharing what model they are? Are you still having challenges getting the BTU's you need with only .5 PSI?
I got the regulator from Tejas Smokers.

The valves are honeywell SV9501M2528

The output of the burners isn't extreme, but it isn't that bad. They don't seem to heat the water up quite as quickly as my old Bayou SQ14, but they are much quieter and hopefully more efficient. I have no problem running all three burners at the same time. I've brewed three batches on it so far and doing another one this weekend.
 
Back
Top