The new single tier sculpture in action

I posted this at the end of a really long thread so in case it got lost in the shuffle, I made a new thread.

Very nice!!! Color me jealous.

So do you have plans to add any particular parts over time? You mentioned a sparge method, what about temp controls on the pumps?

Is there a way to fly sparge with one pump on a single tier?

That shiny keggle is going to turn us all green with envy.

I'm installing a false bottom in the MLT so the only thing I'd have to do to fly sparge is add a second pump. I don't think I'm going to spend the money though because the efficiency is fine as is.

I had considered playing around with HERMS and automated temp control but I want to crawl before walking.

trey cool Bobby_M

The all grain tutorial that you have on your web site was really helpful as well.

Cheers
BeerCanuck

Looks good man. I know you usually brew on the spur of the moment, but let me know if you have any scheduled brews coming up...

Soulive said:

Looks good man. I know you usually brew on the spur of the moment, but let me know if you have any scheduled brews coming up...

Click to expand...

Damn... Great video. You do a great job on the Stainless... I am the proud owner of an Original Bobby M Keggle thanks to Soulive and it rocks :rockin:

Awesome job!

Bobby, how do you like using the keg for a mash tun as opposed to the cooler.

Joe, it's certainly different. You probaby shouldn't ask me after the first time because it won't allow me to adapt and lose my bias. The cooler is great for a single temp rest because it holds temps so well. It's set and forget. In the winter, I'm sure I'm going to need to insulate the heck out of the keg to hold temps and probably apply heat a few times during the 60 minutes to keep it in range. I also don't have the keg bolted down to the tippy dump frame so as of right now, cleanup is a pain. We'll see.

Looks great. Nice to see that you're finally able to use that bad boy. How long did it take to get it all together?

I love how the stand with everything in place makes for a (IMO) much more enjoyable brew day.

I like your thermometer protection, I'll be incorporating that into mine this weekend.

Now that I have the proof of concept on the thermo protector, I might replace it with stainless. It takes away from the accuracy in the mash tun though because the liquid isn't as likely to flow into it. I'm going to increase the open area by drilling a lot more holes. I've perforated stainless tubing before, but not 1/2".

Won't pumping the wort into the bottom of the brew kettle put a strain on the pump? Also what are you using to keep the hops out of the pump? I couldn't see very well into the brew kettle. Your setup gave me some good ideas.:rockin:

Looks great, Bobby. Good work!

wildwest450 said:

Won't pumping the wort into the bottom of the brew kettle put a strain on the pump? Also what are you using to keep the hops out of the pump? I couldn't see very well into the brew kettle. Your setup gave me some good ideas.:rockin:

Click to expand...

It certainly doesn't seem to bog the pump down at all. Considering you can block the output completely with a ball valve, it doesn't concern me one bit. It might flow a little slower this way especially once the BK is half full+ but it's certainly one way to avoid HSA.

For this batch, I only used an ounce of pellet hops so I just let them swim. The pump doesn't care about a little hop pellet sludge. If it were a hop heavy batch, I would have been using my large nylon hop sacks.

Lil' Sparky said:

Looks great. Nice to see that you're finally able to use that bad boy. How long did it take to get it all together?

I love how the stand with everything in place makes for a (IMO) much more enjoyable brew day.

Click to expand...

The brew day was a dream even though I was learning the whole time. Not having to huck liquids over the top with a bucket was awesome and I'm sure the long term stability of the my beer has increased for it.

I found the thread I started back in Sept 07 where I had the kegs and was trying to figure out how to plumb them... Man.. 9 months in the making.
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=37963

Yeah, it's all worth it though!

Nice Job, Bobby. I am going to be incorporating a lot of stuff I have learned from your build into mine. Thanks!!

I am going for a "manual" approach to temp control at this time, as well. Did you find it fairly easy to accomplish?

I love bobbys videos, watched many over my voyage into brewing and they all were very helpful.

sleepystevenson said:

Nice Job, Bobby. I am going to be incorporating a lot of stuff I have learned from your build into mine. Thanks!!

I am going for a "manual" approach to temp control at this time, as well. Did you find it fairly easy to accomplish?

Click to expand...

I look at the manual approach as innate because we all do it when we cook things on our stoves. I look at the mash temp, oops.... falling out of range... light the burner and start the recirculation pump.

Yeah, that makes sense, Bobby. I am still in the parts gathering end of the build, but got the stand itself done.

Sorry to jack your thread!

Nah, it's not a jack. Seems relevant enough to me.

Lil' Sparky said:

Looks great. Nice to see that you're finally able to use that bad boy. How long did it take to get it all together?

I love how the stand with everything in place makes for a (IMO) much more enjoyable brew day.

Click to expand...

I can't wait myself for the inaugural brew on the brew stand in the brewhaus.

Looks great, Bobby! I especially dig those 90 degree QD's. (or maybe they're just 1/2" male barb elbow X 1/2" MPT?) I think they were a bit more $$$ but they look worth it. Do you think it affects your pump output? You'll probably need to use several feet less of the silicone tubing now, which will actually pay for the elbows because that stuff is like $2 a foot!

I think the 90's were like a dollar more than the straights at Mcmaster and I thought it was worth it since the tubing doesn't have to make the turn and possibly kink in the process.

I just recently got another batch of male/female QD's so I can make and break the connection between the hoses and the pump, but I'm beginning to doubt the need. Always leaving the hoses connected to "something" keeps them tidy.

Just in the process of converting a sanke to a keggle and your video along with Yuri's has helped alot.

For the hop stopper I was thinking of using a braided stainless steel supply hose. The cool feature is the 1/2 female connection built in. (probably not stainless though)


When i was down at the local welding shop to install the 1/2 inch nipple on my keggle. The owner/welder said it would of been far better to cut the top off the sanke later. Installing the nipple first to allow proper purging/back pressuring of the keg...told the guy ill have to keep that in mind on my next one

Cheers
BeerCanuck

I thought I heard that pedal biker tapes a heavy duty foil pouch behind the weld location and just fills that small pocket with argon.

those 90 degree fittings are a great idea. i will definitely incorporate those into my build. the video was great except for one thing....what's up with the coors light in the background????

Right now it's full of old tools but my wife drinks Coors light almost exclusively. Avert your eyes and observe the delicious Helles being brewed in the foreground.

Nice job man! That's a sweet setup.

Did you price out square tubing prior to getting the bed frames? I just made a call to the local Metal Supermarkets for it and I got a quote around $1800.

I'm now thinking of doing the same thing and use bedding frame. I'd fit right in with some of the people riding around in my neighborhood on garbage day.

This is definitely inspiration at its finest!

In retrospect, I would have spend a lot more time hitting the scrap yards looking for square stock simply due to the ease of cleaning up outside corners. Judging by the strength of my rack, I would go as small as 1" square. I'm not saying angle doesn't work structurally, but the grinding of the interior corners just can't happen with my 4" wheels.

Ah, good point. I'll get a price for 1x1 instead. Theoretically, it should be half as much as 2x2.

Thanks for the tip.

wizardofza said:

Ah, good point. I'll get a price for 1x1 instead. Theoretically, it should be half as much as 2x2.

Thanks for the tip.

Click to expand...

If you are buying a lows...not so much.
If you are sourcing your steel at a reputable steel dealer, they are charging you by weight. No matter what shape or size your steel is, it will be the same rate. And I don't know how over built you want your sculpture to be, but most that I've seen could very well be built from 1/2" steel. It wouldn't be so fantastically Manly and Big and Bulky, but would be more than sufficient.

I think 2 x 2 is insanely over kill for holding up 3 kegs and 20 gallons of liquid.

Just for pricing ideas, look at onlinemetals.com

Hot Roll square tube, 1.25" x 1/16th wall is $11.59 for 8 feet.

1" square, 1/8th wall is $17.32 for 8 feet.

Not bad if you can find those prices locally.

Never intended to jack the thread....

I'll definitely check out that place Bobby for price comparison sake and see if I can squeeze out a better deal from the local place.

wizardofza said:

Never intended to jack the thread....

I'll definitely check out that place Bobby for price comparison sake and see if I can squeeze out a better deal from the local place.

Click to expand...

Just as a sanity check for you, I just call the local steel folks.

2 x 2 x 1/8" x 24' = $69.44 - $2.89/ft
1½ x 1½ x 1/8" x 24' = $48.90 - $2.04/ft

sigmund said:

Just as a sanity check for you, I just call the local steel folks.

2 x 2 x 1/8" x 24' = $69.44 - $2.89/ft
1½ x 1½ x 1/8" x 24' = $48.90 - $2.04/ft

Click to expand...

Thanks man, I appreciate that. I'm going to hit up the metal supermarket near my house probably tomorrow and compare some numbers.

Now, back to our regularly scheduled program....