Brutus/More Beer 1100 Hybrid Stand Complete

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cdburg

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It's been a 4-month process, but I'm finally 99% done with my brew stand. I showed my step dad the Brutus plans in BYO last year, and he decided that we should do it.

The stand is a hybrid between a Brutus 10 and More Beer's 1100. We used Lonnie's design as a base, but we also borrowed several More Beer design features. We also added a tippy dump and grain chute that aren't included on either stand.

Features:

  • We designed the stand to be longer and a bit wider to accept the 15 gallon More Beer heavy duty kettles. We also designed it to be able to accept the 26 gallon kettles as well, in case I ever want to scale up.
  • The middle kettle is held in a tippy dump. The kettle and burner are raised to allow it to swing.
  • The grain chute is removable. It clips over the frame in the back when needed. When not used, it clips on the side of the frame near the boil kettle, acting as a wind shield.
  • We used the More Beer set up for the automated HLT and SMART. Both use Ranco controllers.
  • We used the Brutus gas beam, but moved it to the front to allow for easier access to the ball valves controlling the burners.
  • The control panel design and mounting is also from the More Beer structure.
  • The liquid returns in the mash tun and boil kettle are a cross between the Brutus and More Beer stands. I've also incorporated Jamil's whirpool chiller as the boil kettle return.
  • We also ran conduit from the control panel to protect the pump, temp probe and other wires.
Here are a few pictures of the stand. I've documented the whole build in 16 Picasa albums. If anyone is interested in that detail, I can post links.

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I still need to drill out the "crosshairs" on the plastic disconnects. They got stopped up with hops during my first brew in the system today. I think that I'll also put in some more work on the sanding the top. That should help to make it easier to clean if I get a boil over. I'd rather not spend an hour scrubbing with BKF like I did today. I think a smoother polish will work. I still need to order the last few name plates for the control panel also.

I've seen many stands on homebrewtalk that gave me ideas and pointers. Thank you to everyone. I want to give a big thank you to kladue for the help with the wiring of the ignition module,. That one was driving us nuts. Thanks also to Lonnie for the inspiration with the Brutus plans in BYO. This probably wouldn't have happened without them.
 
I still need to drill out the "crosshairs" on the plastic disconnects. They got stopped up with hops during my first brew in the system today. I think that I'll also put in some more work on the sanding the top. That should help to make it easier to clean if I get a boil over. I'd rather not spend an hour scrubbing with BKF like I did today. I think a smoother polish will work. I still need to order the last few name plates for the control panel also.

I think he brewed on it...
 
Would love to see the details of the build. If not too much trouble, could you please post the links or PM?

Thanks.
 
Yup. I brewed on it yesterday. Everything works as expected. The plastic disconnect on the boil kettle clogged during recirculation. That's why I need to remove the plastic crosshairs on the inside of each of the disconnects. That should fix it for future batches.

Other than that, it worked great. I need to get used to a new system. The brew day took 9 hours, including cleaning it first. I hope to cut that down to 4-5 hours in the future.

Thanks for the compliments. My step dad did all the welding. He also did a lot of the design work, after I told him what I wanted. He's a contractor, so he takes quality very seriously. He also comes up with some unique solutions to problems. I couldn't be more pleased with how it turned out.
 
Man, I just went through all your pics of the build. I need to learn to weld! I'm bookmarking this thread, someday when I have the funds and the welding skills I will be replicating this. How wide are your kettles? My 100 qt kettles are 20" in diameter, I'd have to allow for that but otherwise I think I'll more or less 'borrow' your ideas. ;)
 
Any particular reason you are using two types of burners?

Where did you order them from?
 
Really nice stand, cdburg. I'm going through your pics in detail. I'm on week 11. I wished I'd seen these pics before I started welding my own Brutus stand. It was my first welding project, and I didn't really know how to proceed. I could have used some of the insight and techniques I've learned from your pics.

What were the considerations in choosing to use high pressure burners for the BK and MLT, and low pressure for the HLT?
 
Have you considered having it powdercoated? After some serious sanding and powdercoating, it should be super easy to wipe boilover mess from the stand with a damp cloth.
 
The main reason for the low pressure burner on the HLT and the high pressure burners on the mash tun and boil kettle is the pilot burner used on the HLT. It's easier to mount the pilot burner in the middle of the "ring" in the low pressure burner. Since the other two burners aren't automated in any way, I went with the standard Bayou Classic cast iron, high pressure burners. I like those better anyway. They seem to be have a more concentrated flame that doesn't heat the frame as much. I've also read that they use less gas, though I'm not sure on that one. The set up is the same one used by B3 on their automated HLT models, so I also figured they know what they're doing.

Powder coating would be a great option, but then I wouldn't get to see the stainless. :rockin:

When everything is all added up, I I spent close what it would have cost me to buy a pretty nice B3 1100. That includes the price of the welder though. I got features that B3 doesn't offer though (e.g. tippy dump, gas beam, grain chute). My step dad also got a welder out of the deal, which I'm sure he will enjoy.

I could have probably gone cheaper in a few areas (e.g. no stainless for the frame), but I hope to use this for years to come, so it was worth it. My kids had better brew too! This thing should outlast me pretty easily. :D
 
Yes. The propane runs through the lower stainless beam. I first saw the concept on Lonnie's Brutus 10, except he placed his in the back of the stand.

It works just like a normal gas pipe, but it makes it look a little slicker. However, it's also a bit more complicated than using normal pipe.

The beam works as follows:

  • We have a fitting on the bottom that accepts the propane regulator hose fitting. Propane enters here and fills the beam.
  • We welded 1/2" stainless full couplers to the beam. Getting those to seal with a gas tight fit was difficult, and took a few days of chasing pin-sized holes. We got it all sealed though, and it definitely holds pressure.
  • We then hard plumbed each burner line with iron pipe and ball valves.
 
Awesome set up. I sent you a PM asking some questions, but figured it made sense to put this on the board for all to see.

The main question was what are the model no. for the gas control setup. I see the honeywell flame control in some of the pics from your picasa gallery, but what regulator did you use?
 
Here are the answers to your questions in the PM and your post. If I missed anything or you have any other questions, let me know.

The honeywell valve is the Y8610U retrofit kit. It includes the valve, wiring harness/controller and igniter assembly. You will need to buy a honeywell pilot burner separately. The kit is being phased out in favor of a newer model, so I got a pretty decent price on it. It works perfectly. Since it uses a 1/2" threaded input and output, it worked perfecty with the 1/2" iron pipe we used for the plumbing.

There are two regulators in the stand, since I used both high pressure and low pressure burners. From the tank, there is a high pressure regulator and host going to the stand. I used a 15 psi Bayou Classic regulator assembly. Before the honeywell valve, I needed another regulator to convert the high pressure to low pressure. I used the More Beer low pressure regulator. We just took out the brass fittings and plumbed it into the pipe. You can probably find one cheaper elsewhere, but I knew this one would work, so I went with it.

The burner on the mash tun makes life much easier. I can heat the strike water and dough in and then use the recirculation to maintain the temp and/or raise the temp for mashout or step mashes. It would take forever to get room temperature water to 150 degrees + with just the recirculation. I don't use the burner under the mash tun after the grain has been added to the strike water, just to avoid any risk or burned wort. Some people do it and don't have issues, but I wanted to avoid it. One less thing to worry about... :p
 
cdburg,

Thanks for the response. Where did you purchase the Honeywell kit? I have a Bayou classic burner that I use for my extract brew, and I'm going to use that burner for my boil kettle.

My plan was to heat the strike water in the HLT and pump to the mash tun, then add grain and use re-circulation.

Thanks,
 
It is a bit late for me getting to this thread my friend, but this system is UNREAL!!!!

Most excellent job! This is a pro looking system if I have ever seen one.

This is what it was about...

Friggin great job!
 
Thanks Lonnie! That means a lot coming from you. Thank you again for the inspiration with Brutus 10. Without the article in BYO, I don't think we would have ever done this.
 
This is a very well thought out build. Nice work!! I am very impressed. I dont think my build will be quite as nice but hopefully it will make some great beer.

Thanks for the kind words. With some planning, I'm sure you will be able to build a great stand.

Also, just in case anyone is interested, I added another link to photos with some enhancements and "fixes" we've made to the stand since the original build was complete. Hopefully they will help anyone looking to make a similar design.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f11/brutus-more-beer-1100-hybrid-stand-complete-73169/#post763614
 
Nice looking stand but I do not understand why the frame material is such large material unless it's a dual purpose stand to hold up 20 yard dump trucks fully loaded?

The original design was based off the Brutus 10 (Home of Brutus Ten!) so I used the same 2" x 2" X .120 wall stainless steel. Yes, it may be overkill, but I'd rather err on the side of caution when 100+ lbs of boiling water and grain are suspended in front of me. It I happen to need a stand to support my truck while I change the oil, I also have it. :D
 
that chevy in the background is beautiful just as she is. Don't go changing it! I love a well worn truck.
 
I like the Tippy Dump. Good thinking. How has it worked out? Do you think it would work with a Keggel. I'm wondering about the extra height.

The tippy dump is definitely nice to have. It makes cleaning out the spent grain a little easier. It's also nice to have when trying to drain the last bit of liquid out of the pot.

It should work on a converted keg. You'd just have to use taller supports and a deeper basket. For safety purposes, the fulcrum of the tippy dump should be near the middle of the pot. Since a converted keg is taller than the kettles I used, a tippy dump might be even more useful. I'd think it would be harder to reach the bottom of a converted keg.
 
Unbelievable the amount of planning and work you put into this but it shows. I'm with a lot of others that I'll be taking some lessons and ideas away from your system. Thanks! :mug:

I was wondering where you got the convoluted copper or how you made it? Looks like a great way to heat the mash or cool wort.
 
Thanks for the kind words. I've probably done 10 brews on it so far, and I've made a few minor tweaks, but overall, I've been very pleased with the stand.

The heat exchanger came from MoreBeer:
Convoluted Copper Heat Exchanger | MoreBeer

It's not cheap, but it definitely works nicely. They also sell the convoluted copper in a roll, but it's only $5 cheaper than the heat exchanger. I looked for other companies that sold the copper online, but didn't have much luck finding other options.
 
you can convolute your own with a rubber mallet and some patience.
 
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