...what are the other major cost factors besides the stand itself??? Kettles,burners,pumps,heat exchangers, what else?
I dont think im alone on this one, but i spent the last year figuring that out for my setup. The first step is figuring out the space your going to brew in to determine what kind of stand you will need. Pumps can be 100-150 dollars, so if you want to cut costs and simplify you can do a multi-tier stand. I personally have a single tier electric herms and i wouldnt go back.
I think the CFC i am using now cost me less than 50 bucks to assemble, does the job nicely.
I used to use a propane camp burner($70), it was definitely the easier/cheaper route, cost more to operate though and your mostly stuck outside. I absolutely love my E-Keggles, wouldnt have it any other way. I think going electric cost me 350-400 dollars, hard to nail it down with all the little electrical things you need.
You will need some sort of tubing, silicon(e?) is by far the best option for home brewing, its not bad at around $2/foot.
A word on keg verse blichman or whatever, its all about availability. Kegs were a no brainer for me, i worked at a brewery and they said i could snag some dead ones. Having never used a home brew purposed kettle i cant say this with 100% certainty but i cant imagine they have any huge advantages over kegs, other than looks and being ready made.
Cant think of anything else right now