Weldless Shelving Single Tier Brew Stand + Fermentation Rack build

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Zamial

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Well, I am back with a whole new twist on the same old concept. Actually, I did not do this 1st, I saw 1 other person did this but I only saw the pic 1 time and have been unable to locate it since. That one, the shelving was orange and I have no idea if there was a fermentation rack attached with the build.

I had some of the parts left over from a variety of other DIY projects so it will be VERY hard for me to estimate total costs but if I had to guess, I would say I have about $250 in the brew cart (not including keggles or burners) and $120 on the fermentation rack, so this is VERY budget oriented. If someone wants specific info I will be more than happy to supply, from memory, what info I can.


I was wed a few weeks ago and the wife got me this as my wedding gift. (FYI, I asked for it) It came from Home Depot for $169.00. BTW it is MADE IN THE USA!!!

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I cut the top 2 feet off of the shelves and used that for the brew cart. The rest is my fermentation rack. One day when my pockets are deeper, I plan on enclosing it and using some mini fridges to chill the inside but for now, I have all my fermenters in 1 place and I can start to take my home back. (We rent in a tiny house with no basement. There is 2 tiny closets in the whole place so space is at a premium.) I will rez this tread for the enclosure build but am happy with how it is for now! It will hold 4 - 1/2 bbl sized vessels per shelf with no problem.

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On to the brew cart! I used 1 sheet of thin plywood to sturdy it up on the sides. The wheels came from Harbor Freight on sale for $3.99 and will hold 300lbs ea. It holds all the weight just fine. I tested it with all the keggles filled and pushed down on it, with all my weight and I am not a small fella. I may add a few metal braces in the future but it will hold for now. I will burn right through the steel shelving grate.

It took me about 4 solid days to build and the wife did help me with some of it. She is also going to do some custom graphics on it for me I will post those pics here when she is done but my pipeline is dry as tumble weed, short of 1 batch of skeeter pee, when I float my IIPA I am gonna be hating life... I need to get to brewing.

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:tank:
 
Awesome rig man...i like the portability. did you think about using locking wheels or are you going to use some sort of chock block?
-Jeff-
 
Thanks!

I will use a chock but I do not brew on an sort of incline. The wheels are nice that I can push it to where I want, even the lawn if need be.

The real accomplishment is the lack of welding and tools. I also think I did very well for the money invested. I built the entire thing with hand tools and for power tools a jig saw, drill and 4 1/2" angle grinder...

I have a dentist appointment tomorrow but if it is not raining I will clean it all up the rest of the way and be brewing ASAP!
 
I was paroosing the Harbor Freight mailer and saw a coupon for the umbrella. It was 6.99 normally 10.99. Either way I now look like a street vendor, I get extra protection from the sun and would be wort bombing particles.


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:mug:
 
Hey Zambial,

Realize it's been a year since you posted this, but I am really intrigued by this setup and am thinking it might be the way to go. I was just wondering if you could let me know how it's held up with firing through the steel mesh after multiple brewing sessions? Thanks, and cool rig.

Mike
 
The reality is the top wire mesh does have a bit of sag in it under the keggles. I am thinking about seeing if EDSEL will sell me a few cross member parts. If not I can always use a new screen from the ferm rack and replace the ferm rack with a hunk of plywood, when this one fails and I really do not think it will anytime soon... So at this rate I will run out of grates in 8-10 years... ;)

Please also remember I am not some master wizard carpentry engineer expert. I believe anything I can build an average joe can replicate.

I love my rig and will be brewing on it tomorrow for most of the day...I hope.
 
i'm thinking of doing a simliar build. I already bought the shelving unit. I am considering whether to burn through the steel grate or put the burner on top of the grate. Right now, it's way too wobbly with my kettle on top of my blichmann burner and my 25g kettle is empty.

What kind of burner are you using? do you have any more pictures with the burner? Is the steel grate showing any signs up fatigue.

With my 25g kettles full i'm at about 250lb a piece so if you're already showing some sagging, i don't think it's going to cut it for my setup.

Thanks for your writeup
 
I am not really going to be able to get a pic but I am using the BG-14 cup style burners. I cut a small hole for the flame to get through. You can also use a brace on either side of the burner that catches the edges of the pot.

I also get a LOT of stability from the wood on the front and sides. IDK if it would work for a 25 gallon kettle...
 
FWIW the grate is showing some signs of wear but I still have not burned through or it has not warped out of shape beyond reasonable expectations.
 
thanks for your reply.

now i'm considering just putting the kettles on the burners and putting both on the shelf. The shelf was really unstable so i put a piece of 18x24 slate on the wire mesh and then put the blichmann floor burner on top of that.

It might work, but the blichmann burners are only rated at 175lbs and i could have upwards of 240lbs if the kettles are full.

I've also found that another hbt member cut holes in the wire shelf and dropped some bayou classic burners through it, but they were much smaller kettles.
 
i checked out the Menards shelves and even know the weight rating seemed the same, they looked a lot cheaper. I noticed rivets where the home depot one used welds and the metal itself seemed like a lower quality.

I attached a picture of my slate on top of the wire shelf idea. I think it would hold the 240 lbs of weight, i'm just not sure how it will handle the heat of the burner sitting on top of it. I also don't really want to buy two more blichmann burners at $160 each but at least i can use them in other configurations down the road.

If this design works, i think i will raise the main shelf one more notch and drill the feet out for some casters.

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Long time listener, first time caller :tank:

I know this thread is old but i thought i would give it a shot.

For the guys who used the Edsel stand for the frame, how is it holding up around the burner areas?
 
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