Yet another 3 tier rig--dialup warning large pix

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MajorWoody

Well-Known Member
Joined
Dec 8, 2008
Messages
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Location
Portland, OR
Hello all. First of all I'd like to thank the users of this forum for taking the time to share the details of their creations. My three tier, tree-style brewstand is really an integration of everything I have seen and like from several months of lurking and asking questions.

So here it is!

brewstand.jpg


Basically it's 2" thinwall square tube steel, welded in the typical way but with caps welded on the ends of all the open tubes. I also rigged up a circular bracket and clamp to hold the propane tank, just as it would be mounted on a barbecue grill. There is a small shelf made of expanded metal which comes in very handy for holding my hydrometer, sparge manifold, pyrex measuring cup for recirculating, hose nozzle, sanitizer and other chemicals etc. Footprint is 26X40; height to top of HLT is about 6'.

I found an electronic ignitor for cheap on ebay, and mounted it under the middle shelf. It is connected to a little square pushbutton at the top of the central vertical tube, and this ignites the burners. All the wiring is concealed inside the frame's tubing.

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Fabbed a bracket to mount 25' CFC directly beneath the MLT shelf with a dedicated water faucet. It is capable of chilling a five gallon batch to room temperature in just a few minutes using very little water. I actually have to throttle it way back or the wort would come out very very cold. CFC has its own dedicated valve (bottom hose bib in picture). Thanks to those who showed me how to make this CFC...it does have the length of copper wire soldered concentrically down its entire length and I think perhaps this plays a part in why it is so effective. Our water is very cold year round so I think this could have been made shorter--15' instead of 25' would still do the job but there is no reason to change it now.

Stand also has its own dedicated wash/fill hose and valve which I find very handy (top valve in picture). Easy to rinse things off, fill things up, etc. If I were to do this again, I would use a slightly more expensive quarter-turn ball valve instead of the sillcock valve. Small annoyance.

Found a $5 steel hose hanger at Wal-Mart, cut the wall bracket off and welded it to the back side for storage of the fill hose, CFC drain, and supply hose when not in use.

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Used mega-cheap casters from Harbor Freight, welded on.

Burners are connected via flare fittings (had to learn how to do a double flare joint) which both connect to separate needle valves on a tee. A couple HVAC duct reducers are riveted on to serve as wind deflectors for the burners. Spacing 4" to bottom of put. Work perfectly.

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BK is a 12 gallon light duty SS pot which I found for $30 on CList. Some guy bought it to cook crabs in originally. I added a Bazooka Screen which works okay but I find it difficult to get all the wort out of the pot because of the height of the screen. I think these screens would be fine in a MLT but in a boil kettle they are a pain in the ass. I intend to replace the screen with a false bottom in the future, or just install an unscreened siphon and use a big hop bag.

HLT is an 8 gallon aluminum pot that was part of a used turkey cooker that I also scored off C-List. Along with the turkey cooker kit came the propane tank (full!), regulator/hose and one of the burners. Added a weldless bulkhead fitting and a sightglass that I made out of a short piece of polycarbonate tubing. After this picture was taken, I also added a bulkhead thermometer.

At flame-out, I do have to move the BK up to the middle shelf to use the CFC, but it is an easy lift and the simplicity/economy of a gravity setup makes it well worth it. If I was doing larger than 5 gallon batches, I would use a pump but then that defeats the purpose of a "tree" design where gravity works for you.

Sparge ring is removable, bent to fit snugly into one of the cooler handles and to be out of the way when not in use. I like that it is easy to quickly hose off and put away when done being used. I get a very gentle sprinkle from the 24 holes drilled in its bottom. Love the ring and its simplicity.

Update 12/09: I have used this thing now for about two dozen batches.
My likes:
1. small footprint. Fully self contained. No hauling stuff out to get set up. Just roll out of the corner, uncoil/hook up the garden hose, run CFC drain hose out to the driveway, turn on gas, hit ignitor and go. Setup takes one minute. Cleanup takes two minutes.
2. onboard wash/fill hose. Could not live without it.
3. Super easy cleanup. No pumps, hoses, fittings, connectors etc. Just push-on barbed tubing that can be tossed in the sanitizer bucket. Rinsing BK and MLT is simple, just pull off tube, dump in trash, spray out on lawn, put back. No tools and no monkeying around with fancy-pants fittings.
4. Plenty of power for heating up HLT/BK.
5. Large, wide BK makes boil-overs a thing of the past.
6. Storage shelf.
7. Fly sparging is bonehead-easy, can be done mostly unattended.
8. Huge diameter, 24" long SS braid in the MLT works wonderfully. What is a stuck mash? Cannot imagine it with this setup. Very good extraction.
9. Head deflector/wind shields allow for use of very little gas to maintain a boil. Cheap too.

Dislikes:
No automation. Mash temp control requires experimentation and experience using the rig. Cannot raise mash temp, but easy to lower it using a quick blast of cold water so I usually shoot a few degrees high, wait 5 min to see where it looks like it is going to stabilize, and then dropping the temp a bit with cold water if necessary. Also requires preheating the MLT which to me seems like a waste of propane.

I used a couple gate valves on the water supply to save money. They suck. Ball valves are better. Maybe I will change them someday.




Softballandfirstuseofbrewstand016.jpg
 
Very nice! I like that you opted for needle valves...that's what I've got on my HLT burner, and it really helps dial the flame in just right to maintain a temperature. The shelf and hose-hanger are nice touches as well.

Personally, I'd add a March pump and eliminate the "lifting the scalding hot BK" step. My back is so much happier with me since I got a pump!

Beautiful work! :mug:
 
Looks great. You've made me re-evaluate the idea of this style of three tiered stand. I had been set on a one level stand in the past, but given my space constraints I don't know where I'd store it. But something like this is much more feasible. I like it.

Can you tell me how big the foot print of the stand is?

Brian
 
ha, that is a sweet looking bus.

and stellar 3 tier, color me jealous, nice work!
 
Looks great. You've made me re-evaluate the idea of this style of three tiered stand. I had been set on a one level stand in the past, but given my space constraints I don't know where I'd store it. But something like this is much more feasible. I like it.

Can you tell me how big the foot print of the stand is?

Brian

Thanks for the compliments.

Footprint is 26X48

I tried to make it as short as possible. I did not want to be standing on a stool or a ladder to do anything, and did not want the middle shelf to be any higher than it had to be. If there was a better place for the CFC, then the MLT shelf could have been even lower--but there is not. I can use gravity straight from the BK to the CFC to the bucket on he ground where I whirlpool it and let the hot break settle out before draining into the primary.

A lot of the three tier designs I have seen are tall simply because keggles were used for everything. I make five gallon batches so I don't need keggles.

Blindlemonlars, I thought about a pump but honestly I don't need it. It's only about six gallons and I'm only lifting to waist level. When I get old and feeble or mess up my back, or if I become interested in a HERMS/RIMS setup because of difficulties in maintaining mash temps, then I would add the pump and all the plumbing that goes along with it and still keep the small footprint.
 
Nice work! The only part that scares me is your use of copper water pipes for your gas run. I would've used black pipe, but that's me.
 
Ruh-roh! Why? It hits maybe 20 PSI and is leak tested. Domestic water is 50-80 psi. There is no copper upstream of the shutoff. What is the risk? Is there some chemical interaction between copper and propane that I didn't know about?

Thanks! :)
 
I can't think of any problems with using copper pipe for low pressure lp. I'd use steel if it were unregulated, straight off the tank...

Nice rig!
 
Bus in background is a 67 walk-thru Westfalia SO-42. I am the second owner. Bus is complete with dealer invoice, poptop, child cot, wood slat roof rack, and factory side tent. And concealed 1000 watt old school Rockford Fosgate sound system. :rockin: Long term project, almost done. Sound system goes very well with beer.

Not in photo is 56 ragtop beetle, stock, completely apart. The metal work is mostly done.

Have pics of your bug online?
 
Ruh-roh! Why? It hits maybe 20 PSI and is leak tested. Domestic water is 50-80 psi. There is no copper upstream of the shutoff. What is the risk? Is there some chemical interaction between copper and propane that I didn't know about?

Thanks! :)


Well, I'm not a plumber, so I can't give you a reason why except to say that every time I've seen a gas installation it's been with black pipe. I'm sure they have their reasons.
 
Updated first post with feedback from almost a year of use.
Fixed broken photo links.
Thanks to the users who sent me a note about the photos and who drew my attention to my profile which identified me as a single female! :drunk:
 
Well, I'm not a plumber, so I can't give you a reason why except to say that every time I've seen a gas installation it's been with black pipe. I'm sure they have their reasons.

Gas breaks down copper over the long term. On a stand I wouldn't see a problem, but in a house I would say it's a problem. Even though I used soft copper to run my NG line to my exterior grill 10 years ago with no problems. :D
 
Nice setup. Can you give some details about how you got the electic thermometer into the MLT? I've got the same cooler and the same thermometer, so it looks like I may be a little fiddling away from a through-wall thermometer!
 
Nice setup. Can you give some details about how you got the electic thermometer into the MLT? I've got the same cooler and the same thermometer, so it looks like I may be a little fiddling away from a through-wall thermometer!

I just removed the little clip from the MLT and there were two holes there. Dug away some of the outer plastic and a bit of insulation. Drilled a small hole and then pressed the thermometer straight in. It is a tight fit.

Wiped interior around the probe with a bit of alcohol and smeared a tiny dab of silicone for extra insurance.

I do not hit the probe when stirring.
 
Woody, I'm popping around my own brewstand ideas, and at the moment am having an internal (and external, with SWMBO!) fight over whether to build it from carbon steel and paint, or just spend the extra cash and go with stainless... what finish did you use on yours?
 
Sorry for the huge delay in responding.
The paint is just black enamel, sprayed with a gun. It holds up well except on the burner guards.
 
Where did you get your steel from? I have been looking for a while and can't find anything I like. How thick and what dimensions did you use?
 
Local steel yard, very thin gauge 2" square tube but I don't recall what wall thickness.

You want dimensions for the vertical piece, for the shelves, or????
 
Question on the CFC: do you run sanitizer through it each time you use it? Sweet rig too!
 
Bringing a thread back from 2009... nice!

I just recirculate some hot wort during the boil through my CFC to sanitize it. You could push some sanitizer through it also. You would need to do it every time though since you never know what's been growing in there between brews.
 
I do sanitize before each use. I know the wort is going in there boiling hot, but by the time it exits, it is room temperature so whatever nasties might lurk there aren't going to be affected by temperature. I don't want them in my beer.

Whenever I brew, I always make up a couple gallons of starsan in a five gallon bucket with a spigot on it. At some point during the boil, I blast water through the CFC using the garden hose nozzle and then run some Starsan through. I leave the starsan in there until I am ready to chill the wort.

After chilling I again blast water through the CFC. It is amazing what comes out.
 
Thanks for your reply to an old thread. I was recently introduced to a CFC like the one you have and had to wonder what guys do about the inside. The immersion chiller is obvious and easy, but not nearly as efficient as this setup.

I'm looking for ideas on vertical stands and yours is exactly what I'm after. They say the greatest compliment is imitation. Thanks!
 
I definitely agree that the immersion chiller brings with it less risk of contamination. I also think that as it drops the temp of the wort, more of the hot break gets a chance to settle out and gets left behind in the bottom of the BK. With the CFC, most of my hot break ends up in the bottom of my fermenter and I can't get rid of it until I rack to secondary. Whether this makes any difference, I have no idea.
 
very nice, i may steal some of these ideas for my brew rig seems to be the perfect size for the garage area i am looking for
 
I recently thought more about the years of accumulation of who-knows-what inside the CFC. Just for kicks I ran a gallon of hot water mixed with Oxy Clean through the CFC. I let it sit in there for a few hours, then flushed it out. Disgusting. Oxy Clean is amazing. I think I will do that a couple times a year, going forward.
I probably have seventy batches of beer through this thing now. Still happy with everything but the cheapo upper water valve, which is a little irritating but not irritating enough to replace it.
The inside liner of the mashtun is also all puckered and warped up. Someday it will crack and leak, I'm sure. I will try a different brand of beverage cooler next time.
I need to get one of those thermometers that you stick on the side of your propane tank that tells you how much is inside as you start to use it. Not cool to run out of propane halfway through the boil.
 
If you don't mind spending a little money, you should look into cutting out the cooler liner and putting a SS pot inside. Its been done a few times on here, and you get the benefit of both SS and the cooler that way.

Awesome brewstand. Maybe once I've got the money to build one I'll copy this. For now I'm just getting my first burner and getting ready to convert a sanke to a BK. I'll be doing BIAB to start, and since i have a pump already, I'll probably try fly-sparge BIAB after a few batches.
 
If you don't mind spending a little money, you should look into cutting out the cooler liner and putting a SS pot inside. Its been done a few times on here, and you get the benefit of both SS and the cooler that way.

I would second this opinion. I rebuilt my cooler mash tun this spring and love the way the rebuilt mash tun works. Here is the thread on how Ben completed the task.
 
I like everything about this, so much so I went out an bought a 24' length of 2" sq 14ga tube. One question how is the heat transfer between the HLT, BK and the MT? The reason I ask is I'm thinking about an inline (plastic) water filter on the back side of the vertical tube. Nice work!
 
That tube doesn't even get mildly warm. There is a plastic switch mounted in the top of the vertical tube which is not affected by the HLT burner.
 
Major,

I've been needing to say thanks, your post inspired me to buy a HF welder, learn the basics, and build an three tier that should look familiar.

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Probably should have closed the garage door before I took the picture. Overall it makes brewday much easier.
 
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