Cheap Brew Sculpture

So after my 3rd AG batch I am starting to think about what I can use for a cheap brew sculpture.

Has anyone has success with either of these options?

Wire Shelving

OR

Utility Shelving

Just trying to figure out an organized, low cost fix for hauling water around and precariously balancing my mash tun on a particle board shelf in my kitchen next to my stove.

I'd be worried that these options won't hold the weight and cause a potentially dangerous situation. I built my gravity fed stand for about $30 in materials. just some 2x4's and screws. Since this picture I have spray painted it with heat resistant paint to protect the tallest stand from the heat. I also keep a few fire exstinguisers on hand

I haven't brewed with it yet, but i just put together brew stand using very similar wire shelving. You won't be anywhere near the 250 lbs weight rating, so I don't see any issues with using it.

Pat

Stanleyjw said:

I'd be worried that these options won't hold the weight and cause a potentially dangerous situation. I built my gravity fed stand for about $30 in materials. just some 2x4's and screws. Since this picture I have spray painted it with heat resistant paint to protect the tallest stand from the heat. I also keep a few fire exstinguisers on hand

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If you just cut a piece of Durock (concrete backer) board and place it in that square under your top burner, you'd be good to go.

+1 for wood, by far the cheapest/easiest way to go as far as I know. My wood set up cost me 30 bucks or so, and took me an hour to build. As opposed to the $300.00 + that I've spent building a unistrut system and I'd rather not mention the time I have invested in that one!

Wood would cost me significantly more due to the lack of power tools I have. I don't think a black and decker cordless screwdriver is going to put together a steady brewstand.

I guess I could have HD cut everything to length and then just nail the hell out of it. I have some time though as my stove works and I don't want to brew outside in 30F temperatures.

That wood will be supporting a lot of weight. For safety's sake drill some holes and through-bolt the pieces together.

VTrookie said:

Wood would cost me significantly more due to the lack of power tools I have. I don't think a black and decker cordless screwdriver is going to put together a steady brewstand.

I guess I could have HD cut everything to length and then just nail the hell out of it. I have some time though as my stove works and I don't want to brew outside in 30F temperatures.

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While you are at Home Depot, pick up a combo power tool kit. You can get a drill/circular saw kit for $99. http://www.homedepot.com/Tools-Hard...Id=10053&langId=-1&storeId=10051#.URlIj2djNnE Everyone should have a good drill, and why not add a decent cordless saw.

I have heard taking the cordless option can become a real headache.

I use shelving similar to your first option and it has worked flawlessly for me. My HLT and burner sit on the shelf next to the mash tun. The BK sits on its burner on the floor and gravity feeds everything.

I have the wire shelving in the garage and would not trust it as a brew stand without modifying the shelf supports. I made the stand in palmers book for 100 bucks and love it.

VTrookie said:

I have heard taking the cordless option can become a real headache.

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Has never been a headache for me. I have a combo kit (with more tools) and I use them pretty regularly. The drill doubles as my grain mill motor. I have used the saw a few times (including in making tap handles over the weekend), and it is really handy to not have to deal with a cord. Now, if you plan to do major construction projects, that might be a different story.

Here's my little setup and I love it, this is kinda a poser pic but I just wanted to show everything hooked up and working to get the full effect

https://www.sevilleclassics.com/18_by_18_chrome_wire_shelf?gclid=CIuQv838r7UCFfBDMgodaxAAXQ

Super cheap, super easy, very strong, easy to clean. Cut a tile down to have a stable surface, works awesome.

Love it!

Thanks for the pic, ellerbrew! I like how the heights of the shelves are adjustable and I figured I could throw something down if I needed to put a burner on it, tile or something.

Appreciate the feedback. I am still brewing in my kitchen but when the weather gets nicer I will be investing in something like this and a couple burners.

You're welcome, I try to be very thrifty, a lot of the stuff I use, is repurposed. We had the shelving in the garage, so I used it. Like you said, it's adjustable, so it makes it easy to dial in the height that you need for each level.

Someone posted a pic of their brew stand using the Seville shelving.. but darned if I can find it.. saw it last week and tried to find it again.. should have bookmarked it. Anyone else see that one? Used the same URL as above. I tried that in a search but no luck..

I really like this idea.. but, what I'd like to explore is putting the burner BELOW the shelf so things aren't so high off the ground.. . but, I've not been able to figure how to do that. I may go with wood after all.. that way I can build a shelf to put the burner on.. and, I can put some plywood around that part to shield the burner(s) from the wind..I think I'm trying to reinvent the world here.. so many choices/options.. and I can't settle on any one.