Stout Tanks and Kettles brew rig (photos)

I wasn't sure if this post should go in this forum or the company reviews forum. I wanted to post my experience with Stout Tanks and Kettles (www.conical-fermenter.com/) and show how the final project turned out.

I ordered the kettles (HLT, Mash tun, Boil Kettle) in mid December with a projected delivery date of June 2011. In late May John from Stout tanks advised that the kettles would be delayed until late July. They finally arrived yesterday (8/13) after 10 days in shipping from Oregon to Indiana. The delay was beyond John's control and his communication was good so I don't hold this against them.

It was well worth the wait. The quality of the kettles is very good. Here is everything after unpacking.



I spent a couple hours cleaning and assembling everything. The quality of the materials used is excellent. I would call the weld quality very good. Over all I would rate the kettles as very good and I think they are well worth the money and the wait.

Likes:
-heavy gauge stainless
-tri clamp connections
-price

Dislikes:
-Long Wait
-some of the tri clamp gaskets are hard white plastic style. I replaced these with BUNA and/or Silicone gaskets that I already had. The provided gaskets probably work but I prefer rubber or silicone.
-difficulty dissembling 3/4 inch valves (see below)
-Mash tun thermometer placement (see below)

Stout Tanks recommends dis-assembling all the valves to clean them prior to the first use. The 1 inch valves cam apart and went back together easily but the 3/4 valves were not as cooperative. I was able to get one of them apart but the threads where pretty gnarled up with slivers of stainless coming off. The other 3/4 inch valve I couldn't even get apart. To be fair, I didn't communicate this issue back to John at stout tanks because I can live with it and it's a relatively minor issue. I'm sure he would work to make it right if I asked him to.

The Mash tun thermometer is right in the center of the tank (see pics). Since these tanks were custom made I'm sure I could have specified where to put it but I did not. It's too high to be submerged for some batches. I brewed a 10 gallon cream ale as the first batch on this system and with 18lbs of grain and 5 gal of water the top of the mash just touched the thermowell. This resulted in an inaccurate reading. If I had to do it over I would have requested that the thermometer on the mash tun be placed about 3 inches lower. This is my fault and I don't hold it against Stout Tanks and Kettles. Just something to consider if you buy a mash tun from them. I can still maintain mash temp by referencing the HLT thermometer since this is a HERMS system.

Overall I am pleased and would recommend these tanks to anyone. Just be ready to wait for them if it's a custom order.



HLT


HLT Inside with HERMS Coil


Mash Tun Inside with False Bottom


BK


Pump Power Switches


Filtration

Very nice!

Sweet looking setup, dude!

I'm glad to hear you are happy with the quality and workmanship. My tanks are due in late Sept or early Oct. I ordered a mash tun and a BK with two extra TC ports for electric elements.

I had the same problem with a valve on a small conical I bought from them.

bowhuntah said:

I'm glad to hear you are happy with the quality and workmanship. My tanks are due in late Sept or early Oct. I ordered a mash tun and a BK with two extra TC ports for electric elements.

I had the same problem with a valve on a small conical I bought from them.

Click to expand...

Did you specify where to put the thermowell on the mash tun? I really wish I had asked them to place it lower.

Did you get your valve apart or did you give up?

Sarrsipius said:

Did you specify where to put the thermowell on the mash tun? I really wish I had asked them to place it lower.

Did you get your valve apart or did you give up?

Click to expand...

I never gave a thought to thermowell placement but out of curiosity, I just checked out their site. The diagram of the mash tun shows the thermowell placement about 1/3 up from the bottom.

I gave up om the valve.

Those are sweet!

bowhuntah said:

I never gave a thought to thermowell placement but out of curiosity, I just checked out their site. The diagram of the mash tun shows the thermowell placement about 1/3 up from the bottom.

I gave up om the valve.

Click to expand...

I hadn't thought about it either. As you can see in the pics, it is actually about half way from the bottom. It's fine for mashes with >24lbs (approx) of grain. Less than than and it isn't submerged.

Your setup is awesome. I have been putting together my plans for building my brewing stand and automated setup. I am going to go with Stout Tanks as well.

Your setup is exactly what I am going for. If you do not mind me asking, what was your cost for everything??

Did you build your stand??

Do you have any sort of plans for your connections and stand?? If so it would be a GREAT help.

Also, where did you find your heat exchanger?? I have not seen that plate product before.

Thanks - Shane -

Shansta said:

Your setup is awesome. I have been putting together my plans for building my brewing stand and automated setup. I am going to go with Stout Tanks as well.

Your setup is exactly what I am going for. If you do not mind me asking, what was your cost for everything??

Did you build your stand??

Do you have any sort of plans for your connections and stand?? If so it would be a GREAT help.

Also, where did you find your heat exchanger?? I have not seen that plate product before.

Thanks - Shane -

Click to expand...

I'm at about $2700 for everything (see parts list below)

The stand is from brewersequipment.com. I'm happy with the stand but the transaction was painful. Search the forum for reviews of this site. He has HORRIBLE customer service and terrible communication with customers.

The Chiller is from www.homebrewstuff.com

Hose clamp Menards x 6 $0.60
NPT to pipe fitting (pump fittings) Menards x 3 ? ?
T fittings Menards x 3 $3.00
Copper pipe (10ft piece) Menards x 1 $11.99
Brew Stand/Burners www.Brewersequipment.com$650.00
Pumps www.Brewersequipment.com x 2 $210.00
1.5" tri clamp hose barbwww.brewershardware.comx 5 $119.75
1/2 FPT to tri clamp for pump out to chiller www.brewershardware.com x 2 $30.00
1.5" Tri Clover gasketwww.brewershardware.comx 12$9.00
Boil Kettlewww.conical-fermenter.com $389.00 $50.00s/h $439.00
MLT www.conical-fermenter.com $379.00$50.00s/h $429.00
HLT www.conical-fermenter.com $479.00$50.00s/h $529.00
1/2" FPT to tri clamp fittings for chiller (wort in) www.ebay.com12.15 $5.25 $17.40
1/2 in silicon tubingwww.homebrewstuff.comx 16 $2.95 $47.20
Chillerwww.homebrewstuff.com $125.99 $7.95s/h $133.94
ball valves www.homebrewstuff.comx 2 $27.99 $7.95s/h $1.88
Chiller Thermometer www.homebrewstuff.com $59.99

Total $2,761.75

If SWMBO asks...it's about $500.00.

Sarrsipius said:

Total $2,761.75

If SWMBO asks...it's about $500.00.

Click to expand...

Dont worry, the SWMBO does the same thing with her shoes.

I ordered a 2bbl system from John last year...everything is spectacular. However the shippers somehow bent some of my lids. The lids for these things are very very heavy duty stuff and they were extremely well packaged and protected, im not sure how the shippers managed to bend them like they did but they were no where close to fitting. John was very pleasant to work with and did the right thing and sent me new lids to replace the bent ones...all on his dime. You can imagine how I felt to wait 6 months and get bent lids because of the worthless shipper. Again, John did the right thing and sent me brand new ones quickly. I cannot say enough good stuff about him. I cant wait to do business with him again. And anyone that is thinking about buying from him, I would strongly suggest it, YOU WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED with the quality of the materials or the way he does business! Thanks again John!

Hoosierbilly said:

I ordered a 2bbl system from John last year...everything is spectacular. However the shippers somehow bent some of my lids. The lids for these things are very very heavy duty stuff and they were extremely well packaged and protected, im not sure how the shippers managed to bend them like they did but they were no where close to fitting. John was very pleasant to work with and did the right thing and sent me new lids to replace the bent ones...all on his dime. You can imagine how I felt to wait 6 months and get bent lids because of the worthless shipper. Again, John did the right thing and sent me brand new ones quickly. I cannot say enough good stuff about him. I cant wait to do business with him again. And anyone that is thinking about buying from him, I would strongly suggest it, YOU WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED with the quality of the materials or the way he does business! Thanks again John!

Click to expand...

Any chance you can post pics of your 2bbl system?

2 bbl system

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f85/new-bigger-equipment-stout-tanks-282882/

I like your set up. I have 2 Stout Conicals (14.5 and 27) that are great. I had a bad valve when I ordered the 14.5 and John replaced it right away. I have a setup that I built using the heavy duty shelves from Lowes. I have also have a 40 Gallon MLT and I ordered two thermometers. One comment I would make is to order with TC type thermowells and I would add the second thermowell and specify the height. I have ordered a 45 Gallon Brew Kettle with all the options ( I cannot live with a site glass). I have also ordered a 30 gallon HLT with HERMS, TC Themowell, sight glass and a Tangental inlet so I can recyle the hot water around the HERMS coil so I will have more even heat. I found that movement around coils has a great effect when I was using an immersion coil for cooling. Love to hear how they work with gas! I hope to get mine in April may or June. He does have some smaller units in stock right now for the 5 gallon size brewery. Once you buy Stout, you will be a fan. Great Customer Service.

oakbarn said:

I found that movement around coils has a great effect when I was using an immersion coil for cooling. Love to hear how they work with gas! I hope to get mine in April may or June. He does have some smaller units in stock right now for the 5 gallon size brewery. Once you buy Stout, you will be a fan. Great Customer Service.

Click to expand...

If you are referring to the heating ability of the HERMS coil it's the same principal. Some people have rigged up a stirring device to a motor or power drill to circulate the HLT liquid while runninng the HERMS. I haven't tried it. I just know what temp I need in my HLT to achieve a desired temp in my MT.

I too am very happy with my purchase from Stout Tanks!

I really wanted to get some Stout tanks but I already had 2 Sankeys free and the 3rd ain't going to cost much more so I just couldn't validate the cost to myself. Hard enough to validate spending as much money as I am already

The wait time wasn't exactly thrilling to see either but it looks like they are well worth the wait.

They finally arrived yesterday (8/13) after 10 days in shipping from Oregon to Indiana.

Where do you live in Indiana?

Noblesville. You?

On the 20 gal. kettles, the thermowell is now about at the 5 gal. mark. The false bottom is about 2" off the bottom to get it above the outlet, which means there is around 3 to 3.5 gal. of space for grain between the false bottom and the thermowell.

We also have a 20 gal. mash tun with an outlet on the bottom coming available soon. The false bottom sits flush on the bottom of the kettle. We also have this in 9, 15, 30, and 40 gal. versions. And it can be done on the bigger mash tuns, too (we already do it on our 2 bbl and up systems)

Cheers,

John
Stout Tanks and Kettles

Hey John...a lot of good that does me!!!! Just kidding. I've been very happy with my kettles. I also have a 15gal conical with the new type lid (new in 2011). I like that too except for the lid seal. I fight with that seal on every batch! Overall great products tho! I recommend stout tanks to anyone who asks.

I recently purchased a 15 gallon HLT and a 15 gallon mash tun, and I was so impressed with the quality and performance (and the reasonable price point) that I just ordered a kettle / whirlpool of the same size.

Same observation with the nylon gaskets though, sometimes you have to fiddle a bit to get a good seal (problem solved with softer silicone gaskets at $1 each; big deal), and the same observation with the placement of the MT thermowell for smaller batches, but as I'm measuring the temp digitally from the HEX out (I'm using a HERMS configuration) that's no big deal either.

Bottom line is that I'd recommend their products without any reservation. Seriously good stuff.

I have a 1bbl conical from stout and had some trouble at first with the seal. My trick is CIP Film. You can find it at morebeer. Just put a little on and it holds the seal right in place.

Sarrsipius said:

Hey John...a lot of good that does me!!!! Just kidding. I've been very happy with my kettles. I also have a 15gal conical with the new type lid (new in 2011). I like that too except for the lid seal. I fight with that seal on every batch! Overall great products tho! I recommend stout tanks to anyone who asks.

Click to expand...

Starsan has been found to be the culprit (and other "lubricious" sanitizers). It is so slippery that it makes it difficult for the gasket to stay in the groove. Iodophor works a lot better in this respect and has solved the problem some of our customers have had with this.

Cheers,

John/Stout Tanks and Kettles

Nice Rig ! I Am Building The Same Exact Thing However Eventually I Want To Usea BCS System With My 20 Gallon Stout Tank Herms System. How Did Your Turn Out ?

Any reason why you picked a MT with side instead of bottom outlet? I'm trying to decide between the two.

Have you used the system yet?

I am wondering how the bottom outlet on the boil kettle handles hops?
I am a whole leaf hop user. Wondering what screen I can put in.

yohoe said:

Any reason why you picked a MT with side instead of bottom outlet? I'm trying to decide between the two.

Click to expand...

I don't think the bottom outlet was offered at the time he ordered the kettles. I recall seeing them in the past year or so. I plan on getting a 15g MT from Stout with the bottom outlet and recirculating port up top as soon as I can. I will be going RIMS soon and want to minimize dead space with the bottom outlet feature.

homebrewdude76 said:

Have you used the system yet?

I am wondering how the bottom outlet on the boil kettle handles hops?
I am a whole leaf hop user. Wondering what screen I can put in.

Click to expand...

I think the only thing offered with the bottom outlet is the MT. I don't see why you couldn't use the false bottom to hold back whole hops. May not work well for pellets. The actual boil kettles have a dip in them to allow for trub to settle in the middle with a whirlpool. If I drain my Stout boil kettle slowly after a whirlpool I generally don't have clogging issues. I'm currently using an immersion chiller.

Maybe build a hop spider instead of a screen at the bottom?

globetrekker said:

Nice Rig ! I Am Building The Same Exact Thing However Eventually I Want To Usea BCS System With My 20 Gallon Stout Tank Herms System. How Did Your Turn Out ?

Click to expand...

I love my system. I've brewed about 40 batches with it and it works great

yohoe said:

Any reason why you picked a MT with side instead of bottom outlet? I'm trying to decide between the two.

Click to expand...

The bottom out wasnt an option back when i got this. I only have about a half gallon dead space with the side outlet and it works well for me.

I have a "tippy" setup on my MLT. I tip it slightly to get the wort out. In a 30 gal batch about 1 gallon is left unless i pour into a bucket that can not be pumped. Not sure if the bottom outlet would help but it might. I am used to doing what I do so I am happy with the setup and process.