Stainless Steel Single Tier Stand Build

I started work on my new brew rig. It's going to be a single tier, 3 pump, automated system constructed of stainless 2 inch square tubing. I'll be using 3 15 gallon Boilermakers. The MLT will be direct fired, and will run a constant recirculation. The BK will have a whirlpool return built in. I plan to add a convoluted copper CFC for chilling. Automation will come from a BCS-462 system; intermittent pilot furnace valves for the gas side, and motorized ball valves on the liquid side (inspired by JonW's build). Heat will be provided by three banjo burners, and I'll be using black pipe for gas, not a "gas bar". I plan to use BobbyM's stainless polishing method to bring the whole thing to a mirror finish after it's complete.

This is a work in progress and I expect to be chipping away at it over the next several weeks to months, as time and budget allows. I have a wooden stand that I've been using for awhile that works great, so I am going to alternate weekends between brewing and building the new stand so there is no rush to get it done.

Many thanks to all the guys on here who have so generously answered questions about welding and metal-working, and to those who's build threads have inspired this whole project.

Lets get started.

Here's the design concept. I'm not good enough with sketch up to put in all the gas plumbing and liquid plumbing. This was just to help me visualize the frame before cutting any metal.





I ordered my steel from a local supplier who had a great price on 11 gauge, 2" square stainless. I had to buy 60ft, as they only sold it in 20ft sticks. I figure I will use the leftover to make a cool stainless stand for my mill or something.



Here's everything except the small 45 degree pieces cut:

I bought a Hobart Handler 140 MIG welder, and decided that this was as good a time as any to learn to use it. I spent a good bit of time on this forum and on some other welding forums reading up and asking questions. If you're thinking about learning to weld, do it. I'm sure it's a skill that takes many years of experience to master (as evidenced by some of the awesome pro welders on this forum), but after a few days of practice I was running a bead that was good enough to hold my stand together.

Here is the top frame with the leg's tacked on:


A couple of obligatory action shots:



And here is where I finished up for the day:



I still need to cut the small pieces that will hold the kettles (shown in the 3d mockup) and get those welded in place. Thats the plan for tomorrow.

After that I am going to start working on burner and pump mounts, hopefully I can have the stand functional without any automation in a week or two.

More photos and updates to come as I progress.

Awesome! Looks great so far!

Is that going to be natural gas?

Looks Great!I like the 45 degree welds at the corners. Most of what I have seen on the Brutus clones have been butt welds. Keep up the good work and keep the pics coming. well done!

Awesome! My friend and I are doing the same sort of thing right now to cut costs, Good luck with everything!

JonW said:

Awesome! Looks great so far!

Is that going to be natural gas?

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Thank you. I'm going to be running low pressure propane so I can utilize Honeywell furnace valves in the automation process. I dont have a NG hookup in my garage where I brew and I want to be sure if I move to a house without NG I can always use my rig!

I had the day off today and made some progress on the build. I got all of the kettle supports cut and welded into place, and cleaned up all the welds on the top and outsides of the stand. The frame is essentially finished with the exception of burner and pump mounts, and the lower shelf. I am waiting for my metal order, once those pieces come in I will get them attached and start working on propane plumbing, and finish polishing.

Here's me cleaning up the edges on my supports:



All the supports cut, cleaned, and ready to go:



Tacked into place:



Test fitting a kettle:

Here's where I'm at. Everything welded up, welds ground down and ready for polishing.



Close up:





Hopefully my order will be here soon and I can continue construction. I am anxious to see how the stainless polishing method works on this, hopefully it will come out looking like it's chrome plated.

STM,
Nice Build, how are you planning on attaching the BG-14's? I am about the same place you are now. I still have not decided how to attach the banjo's yet. Are you using the back runner as the LP manifold?

just curious of what kind of mig wire you used to weld the stand together, was it 308? also what gas? Was is 98%argon 2% co2? Looks like it may have been 100% argon from the blackening around the welds. For the polishing, how do you plan on polishing it? Your going to have to sand the entire stand to get out all of the mill marks on the tubes, its a pain in the butt to polish stainless, your also going to need a high power high speed drill with LOTS of black emery rouge and a large sisal wheel, a regular drill wont have enough power or speed to do it, nor will a right angle grinder unless you put a tiny wheel on it.

Very nice build! Chop saw for all the angled cuts? Are you a welder by trade? Layout looks great. I really need to fire up the millermatic and give stainless welding a try.

ranchonodinero said:

Very nice build! Chop saw for all the angled cuts? Are you a welder by trade? Layout looks great. I really need to fire up the millermatic and give stainless welding a try.

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Its easy, just get yourself a roll of sdtainless wire and a bottle of 98%argon 2% co2, dont bother with tri mixes, they are pointless. Stainless welds nicer than steel as well.

sdavis1001 said:

STM,
Nice Build, how are you planning on attaching the BG-14's? I am about the same place you are now. I still have not decided how to attach the banjo's yet. Are you using the back runner as the LP manifold?

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My plan is to get some 16 gauge plate cut to 5.75"x4in, and attach them to the 45 degree angled sections, oriented below the top frame. It will make sort of a half-windscreen for the burner. I'll drill holes in the plate and mount the burners directly to that. My plan is to run black pipe for propane as I don't trust my welding skills nearly enough to use the back tube as a gas manifold. I will probably put it on the front side along with the pumps, so I can control everything without walking around the stand.

doctorsbro said:

just curious of what kind of mig wire you used to weld the stand together, was it 308? also what gas? Was is 98%argon 2% co2? Looks like it may have been 100% argon from the blackening around the welds.

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I used 308 wire with 100% argon. This is literally my first welding project, and the guys at the welding shop recommended it as a good balance of price and functionality. The welds obviously arent even in the same ball park as some of the amazing work on here like this, (thanks for all the advice on tools dmfa200!!), but they seem like they'll hold the stand together.

strat_thru_marshall said:

My plan is to get some 16 gauge plate cut to 5.75"x4in, and attach them to the 45 degree angled sections, oriented below the top frame. It will make sort of a half-windscreen for the burner. I'll drill holes in the plate and mount the burners directly to that. My plan is to run black pipe for propane as I don't trust my welding skills nearly enough to use the back tube as a gas manifold. I will probably put it on the front side along with the pumps, so I can control everything without walking around the stand.



I used 308 wire with 100% argon. This is literally my first welding project, and the guys at the welding shop recommended it as a good balance of price and functionality. The welds obviously arent even in the same ball park as some of the amazing work on here like this, (thanks for all the advice on tools dmfa200!!), but they seem like they'll hold the stand together.

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Youd be suprised how easy it is to make aluminum welds look like that with a spoolmate gun, im sure your welds will be fine, considering that 2" tube frame could support a car on top of it, it will handle 200lbs of brew and equipment with ease....

ranchonodinero said:

Very nice build! Chop saw for all the angled cuts? Are you a welder by trade? Layout looks great. I really need to fire up the millermatic and give stainless welding a try.

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Yes, chop saw for all the cuts. I had to use a few extra clamps to secure the metal to the fence for the 45 degree cuts, it was moving around a little and the built in clamp didnt want to hold it flush at that steep of an angle. Once I got it dialed in though, the cuts were easy. Went through 2 abrasive wheels making all the cuts.

And I am not a welder by trade. This is actually the first time I've welded anything. I have the utmost respect for the pro welders on this forum and am very thankful that they are here and willing to help us beginners. Homebrewing has inspired the DIY'er within me, and I figure that for my money I'd rather invest in raw materials and tools than a ready made product. Hopefully I'll come out with experience, know-how, tools, and *hopefully* the product!!

Well it looks like you are well on your way to the finished product!

Are you going to use a sheet bender for the wind guards or go with individual plates? My local shop must be wants to lease me another bottle as they suggested trimix. I currently use Argo shield gas 25C for various projects.

ranchonodinero said:

Are you going to use a sheet bender for the wind guards or go with individual plates? My local shop must be wants to lease me another bottle as they suggested trimix. I currently use Argo shield gas 25C for various projects.

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dont use the trimix........ trimix is just a way to get more money out of you,

stainless mig-98% argon 2% co2
steel mig-c25
stainless/aluminum/steel tig-100% argon
thick aluminum tig-argon/helium mix

100% argon also works for stainless mig but the weld puddle runs a little cooler making a taller bead to grind off, and also the puddle doesnt flow as well, but it does work. and on a side note, never buy a welding shielding gas that has a percentage of oxygen in it, oxygen is an oxidizer, shielding gas is to eliminate oxidation not add to it....

ranchonodinero said:

Are you going to use a sheet bender for the wind guards or go with individual plates?

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Im going to use individual plates, like this:



Since I ususally brew in the garage (with the doors open) I dont have to worry too much about wind messing with the burners. I want to be sure that they can get enough oxygen, and have somewhere to vent hot gasses so they don't run too hot since there wont be much, if any, room to vent up the sides of the kettles.

strat_thru_marshall said:

(thanks for all the advice on tools dmfa200!!), but they seem like they'll hold the stand together.

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No problem.
Your stand is looking great.
Excellent job!

doctorsbro said:

Youd be suprised how easy it is to make aluminum welds look like that with a spoolmate gun, im sure your welds will be fine, considering that 2" tube frame could support a car on top of it, it will handle 200lbs of brew and equipment with ease....

Click to expand...

That remark is a bit misleading to give the average person the idea that they can make mig welds look as good as tig welds done by someone with many years of experience. It may be for someone like yourself.
For the record, the welds strat_thru_marshall linked to were tig welded.
The characteristics of mig vs. tig welds are very different.
Mig can look like tig if you use a backstepping(whipping) method.

dmfa200 said:

No problem.
Your stand is looking great.
Excellent job!



That remark is a bit misleading to give the average person the idea that they can make mig welds look as good as tig welds done by someone with many years of experience. It may be for someone like yourself.
For the record, the welds strat_thru_marshall linked to were tig welded.
The characteristics of mig vs. tig welds are very different.
Mig can look like tig if you use a backstepping(whipping) method.

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sorry if i confused you but nowhere did i say you can make mig welds look like tig welds in general, i was talking about welding aluminum with a spoolmate gun which is easy to make a nice looking weld like the one pictured with very little practice, now steel is a whole different ball game, ive been walking the cup around tubes and pipes for years, and many people i know can make a tig weld where you cant tell if it was done by hand or done with an orbital rig, perfect every stroke, which takes many years of training and practice to accomplish, using a spool gun on aluminum and just dragging it will make a weld visually comarable to a tig weld since the puddle cools so fast and resemble the stack of dimes look

doctorsbro,

It's good to see another pipe hand lurking about in this forum.
Wasn't sure about your credentials to be making claims like that.
I gave up welding in circles for a job that is a bit more interesting.
Climbing through pipe racks, pulling leads, dealing with Health and Safety, filling out hot work permits, and welding outside all year long was wearing on me.
Plus the new job pays better.
I know what you mean on the Aluminum mig, but I think joe-shmoe whose not a welder would have a tough time.
I think carbon steel is easier to get the hang of for a beginner.

dmfa200 said:

doctorsbro,

It's good to see another pipe hand lurking about in this forum.
Wasn't sure about your credentials to be making claims like that.
I gave up welding in circles for a job that is a bit more interesting.
Climbing through pipe racks, pulling leads, dealing with Health and Safety, filling out hot work permits, and welding outside all year long was wearing on me.
Plus the new job pays better.
I know what you mean on the Aluminum mig, but I think joe-shmoe whose not a welder would have a tough time.
I think carbon steel is easier to get the hang of for a beginner.

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Yeah, no fun running hundreds of feet of 4/0 leads through jumbled up messes of other leads in power plants etc... no more rouny rounds for me, i switched over to the operators union 7 years ago, i can actually breathe and smell now that i dont breath in burning weld blankets and smoke from welding rods all day, only roundy rounds i will be doing is when they tell me to swing left or right.....

Just ordered my MLT Boilermaker with false bottom, and am about to order the third pump and some other goodies.

What do you guys think of the burner mount/windscreen design shown here in the middle:



It'd use the same tubing as the frame for the vertical mounts, with 1/16th in stainless sheet for the windscreens.

for the windscreens, i would take them all the way to the bottom of the frame and get rid of the gap so all of the air for the burner is fed from underneath, the gap could allow wind to blow across the top of the burner, other than that it looks like a solid windscreen

Got my burners in today. Two new ones, and I have one more banjo on my current wood stand that I'll be using. I am hoping I will be able to get the burner mounts and windscreens done this weekend. If it wasn't for my job, and drinking beer after work...I'd be able to make much quicker progress!!!!! I have chosen to play it safe and not operate a welder or chop saw in the evening after having several beers.

Where did you get your burners? They look great!

ranchonodinero said:

Where did you get your burners? They look great!

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I ordered them from Northern Brewer. With shipping rolled in, it was only $6 more expensive then Agri Supply (which seems to be the current cheapest place to get them). NB's commercials on the Brewing Network crack me up, so I don't mind paying a little more to support them.

I had a few hours to mess around in the garage today, so I got my burner mounts cut, drilled, and tacked into place. I used a cobalt 1/4" bit to drill the stainless, and used canola oil to keep things lubricated. It cut through no problem.







The screws that came with my burners were just a hair too short, so I need to make a trip to the hardware store to obtain some slightly longer mounting screws. I'm going out of town for a week tomorrow morning, so I hope to get the burners mounted next weekend.

Ok, burners are all mounted up. The stand should be fully functional, minus automation, for the next brew day.

As a note for anyone looking to custom build mounting brackets for banjo burners..... they are not square. The SHOULD be square...they look like they'd be square...but they're not. I measured out exactly where each hole should have lined up, and they were way off. I ended up screwing the brackets to the banjo burners and then welding them to the stand, rather than welding the brackets to the stand, then mounting the burners. This was the only way I could make the burners fit...since they don't line up to perfectly measured, cut, and drilled square mounting holes...

Next weekend I'll be cutting and mounting the windscreens and pump mounts, and running propane plumbing. Hopefully the following week will see the first brew on the new rig.

Anyway, on to some pics:

Burner mounts tacked into place:


Pardon my ugly welds:

Looking good. Will you be taking the heat shields all the way up to close the gap as suggested above? Also how will you be mounting it and will it be a single circular piece or a series of flat stock welded at angles? Also what will be the depth of the screens?

Also what did you pay per 20' piece for the SS stock? Just curious compared to Denver prices.

Sorry for all the questions but I am basically doing the identical SS stand as you but using the BG-12 6" ring burners and will be doing heat shields from a cutup corney keg which is 8.375" in diameter. I am trying to determine how I will mount them to the underside of the top of the stand. I am actually considering bringing the angle braces further out so the diagonal distance between them is 8" instead of 12.5" like yours and spot welding the heat shields from underneath. But I am wondering if that will look like crap.

ghart999 said:

Looking good. Will you be taking the heat shields all the way up to close the gap as suggested above? Also how will you be mounting it and will it be a single circular piece or a series of flat stock welded at angles? Also what will be the depth of the screens?

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I am planning on using a series of flat stock welded on the angles, and plan to take the shields all the way to the top frame. I am a little concerned about the burners getting enough oxygen being fully enclosed, with nowhere for hot gasses to vent upward. Any advice anyone?

ghart999 said:

Also what did you pay per 20' piece for the SS stock? Just curious compared to Denver prices.

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I paid just over $500 for 60 ft of 11ga 2" stainless tube. I think it was $7.90/ft. I shopped it around a few local places and they had the best price by far.

ghart999 said:

Sorry for all the questions but I am basically doing the identical SS stand as you but using the BG-12 6" ring burners and will be doing heat shields from a cutup corney keg which is 8.375" in diameter. I am trying to determine how I will mount them to the underside of the top of the stand. I am actually considering bringing the angle braces further out so the diagonal distance between them is 8" instead of 12.5" like yours and spot welding the heat shields from underneath. But I am wondering if that will look like crap.

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I think you'd be ok to move the braces either direction. I set mine the way they are because I was originally planning on mounting the burners at an angle, but I condensed the overall size of the stand and they wouldnt fit anymore.

Thanks for the answers. Yeah the 11ga is so much more expensive. I am doing 1.5" 16ga and it's $4.80/foot or under $300 for 60 feet. I just can't afford the better stuff.

Great build! Im starting my own soon and you're design is right on what I want! Hope you post some updates soon!

strat_thru_marshall said:

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i think you missed your marks a little bit lol just kidding

doctorsbro said:

i think you missed your marks a little bit lol just kidding

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Center drills work great for a pilot. It looks like a short double ended drill bit.

They don't walk like drill bits do.

It pretty much spots a hole exactly where you place the center drill.

doctorsbro said:

i think you missed your marks a little bit lol just kidding

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yeah yeah...like I said...not an experienced metal worker here. This is actually my first metal-working project ever, so I'm learning as I go. Even if I HAD hit all the marks perfectly, the f****** banjo burner mounting holes aren't perfectly square (or even close for that matter), and I still would have ended up having to go back and re-drill like I did.

I finally had time to get my pump mounts, windscreen panels, caster inserts, casters, and bottom shelf measured and ordered last night, and I'll be assembling my propane manifold this evening. Should have some more progress pics up this weekend, and I should be finished with construction (minus polish and the automation) by next weekend barring any un-forseen real-life/job stuff.

got my propane manifold put together for the most part tonight. I have a bottom shelf for the stand on the way, should be here on Monday. I am planning on mounting the manifold on the underside of the shelf, and drilling holes in the shelf for the vertical posts that the ball valves will attach to, so all you see above the shelf is the valve itself and the flex line to the burner. More photos to follow on Monday after my metal order gets here.

Why not build a gas bar right into the brew stand itself. In other words make a piece of the frame air tight and weld NPT nipples into it. You seem to know what you're doing well enough to pull this off.

I FINALLY made some progress this weekend!!

At this point, the stand is 90% complete in "manual mode". I got my lower shelf/splash shield mounted, pump mounts cut, drilled and mounted, gas manifold and shutoff valves mounted...

I rigged my pump switch box to the left side of the frame to give me some control until I get the BCS controller...that isn't permanent.

All I have left to do is polish the frame, and mount the burner wind screens (you can see them sitting on the bottom shelf in the photos).

Once that is done, I will begin collecting parts to begin the automation process. Thats going to be a lot of $$, so it may take awhile...but at this point I am ready to rock in full manual mode. I will still be using a cooler mash tun until I have computer control of the burners and pumps (which is why the center burner isnt connected yet), but I thought I would put my shiny new Blichmann mash tun on the stand just for the photos.