My new 3 tier stand

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eknee

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Last night I finished up most of the work on my new stand. I just have a few things like casters And leveling to install and then it's ready to go. I can't wait for the first batch with this.

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Is that bad boy safe? Does the kettle just rest the brass things or is there another piece not in the picture?Pretty awesome looking!!
 
psymonkey said:
Is that bad boy safe? Does the kettle just rest the brass things or is there another piece not in the picture?Pretty awesome looking!!

I'm going to guess he uses keggles and the lips will hold them in place... If so, that's a pretty innovative design.
 
They have to use kegs. It's actually a good idea. Save weight, and space when not in use.
 
Thanks guys. I can't take credit for the design. I researched many different styles here on HBT. I do use keggles for the HLT and BK. They hang on "keg hooks" which means they don't move if I don't want them to. . I'll take some more images tomorrow and show the kegs hanging from the center mast. As far as safe, it's way over engineered. I used 2" square tubing, and all 280 lbs of me can stand on the MLT shelf.
 
Without any kind of shield for the burners it looks like it may be a bit of a problem if there's any breeze or wind. The heat rising from the burners will just blow right by the bottom of the kegs. Cool idea on using the center post tube as the gas manifold. It saves quite a bit of plumbing work and expense. However, that's a lot of gas to keep pressurized in that tube though. Be careful storing that thing all full of gas, especially inside anywhere.
 
Thanks starsailor. I have wind/heat shields cut out, but I haven't installed them yet. Because of where I installed the needle valves I have to rethink my attachment method. I mostly brew inside the garage though, so wind won't be a big problem - at least not until it warms up and I move out to the drive way. There's actually a 3/8" black pipe inside the 2" square tubing that I use as the manifold. I had thought about just using the square tube as the manifold, but I agree that it would have been too much gas in limbo.
 
Looks great man!

I'm wanting to build a stand soon too - could you comment on your previous welding experience? I have none haha.
 
Any chance you might show a detail shot of either of the TOP keg hooks? I'm interested to see how you've got them hinged / how they lock into place.
 
I have no welding experience whatsoever. A buddy of mine hooked me up with welding and paint. I picked up the tube steel as scrap at a local yard, and took them to my buddy's shop. There, we cut all the pieces with a "big ass" chop saw and layed it out for his guy to weld up. After that I got it home and started drilling holes and assembling the plumbing pieces.

It took me more than a few tries to figure out what I needed. I intended to use 1/2" black pipe throughout, but the elbows and tees wouldn't fit inside the 2" square tube. I finally settled on 3/8 pipe as the manifold inside the mast, with 1/2" nipples tying into the needle valves and propane burners.

The keg hooks are fixed and don't move. I push a keg up, into the top hook, then let the bottom skirt drop down into the bottom hook. There's enough play to let the keg move up and down, but it's still held by both hooks. I'll try to get better pictures in the next few days.
 
First brew day with the new stand. A few bugs to work out. I definitely need heat/wind shields. The heat from around the sides of the keggles started to melt the ball valve handles. And the needle valves are too close to the burners without them.

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You have any dimensions and parts for your rig to share?

In the beginning stages of building one myself and would like to see your plans if you have some

Great job!
 
Bobby. I've read your thread about that. But of course I needed to find out for myself. I got them for $20 each, and figured I could always plug jets. The needle valves and low pressure regulator I used give me excellent control. I held a rolling boil without wasting propane, and was able to get my strike water to temp pretty quickly. I just need to control the heat that spills over the side io the keg skirt. I'm probably going to attach a shield to the stand, but I thought about attaching smaller shields right on the keggles.
 
You have any dimensions and parts for your rig to share?

In the beginning stages of building one myself and would like to see your plans if you have some

Great job!

Second that. This is an amazing rig. I love the hooks and looks perfect for what I have wanted to build. The dimensions for the leg length and main upright would be awesome! I can probably figure out the rest. Thanks! :mug:
 
Here's a link to the Google Sketchup file of my brew stand. You'll need a goggle account to get it from Googledocs. It's an accurate drawing, but I don't have many dimensions included.

I used 2" square tubing throughout. I bought it as scrap and paid something like $30 for all of it. The keg hooks are pretty simple. The horizontal piece on each hook is 3 1/4" long, leaving 1 1/4" gap from the mast for the keg to fit into. 25 1/2" in between the hooks is the important number. Just make sure you measure the keg skirt to figure out how tall the bottom hook needs to be. We used 3" for the top hook and about 2" for the bottom hook. Grid or cut a bevel in the top of the bottom hook to make it easier to get your kegs in and out.

Let me know if you have specific questions. I'm happy to help
 
I'm in the process of gathering the materials now. No way in hell i'm paying retail prices for the metal but once i scrounge it all up from scrap yards I'll be building this. Thank you much for the help with the design!.
 
Just one further question, it looks like your base dimensions are around 4'x4' Does that sound about right? Don't want this thing tipping over on me, haha.
 
Here is my build so far. It is the square tubing used for the big road signs. I was reluctant to use it until I saw my girlfriend's grandfather drive a 12' section through a gravel driveway with the bucket of a loader and it didn't so much as want to bend. Everything is bolted, welded, and bolts welded. now for a stress test before painting and re-enforcing if needed. I plan to fill both kegs all the way up, lay a section of railroad tie I have over the top of the kegs, leave over night, then run with the burners before I risk brewing around this thing.

The modifications I have made are, there are two sizes of steel here so the main mast can slip out of the base for storage. With the ability to slide one over the other, I also made extensions for the legs. Overkill, I know, but they will go out to 4 feet on the keg side, 3 feet on the cooler side.

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Very nice! I also made the main mast removable. I used two different sizes of square tube much like yours. Have you come up with a gas plumbing solution! Happy brewing!
 
Dude,
That stand is awesome. I like the sinplicity and the burner shot is way cool. How much do you have invested in this build? I'm a welder by trade so I am just trying to get some idea of the materials cost. Hope it brews as good as it looks, if it does I forsee soem outrageous brew sessions on your horizon.
Bob
 
eknee,

For now, I am likely going to gather the gas parts I have and stand in the isle of the hardware store fiddling with parts to find the cheapest solution. Likely I will use a mixture of the black pipe and the hoses I have laying around. Eventually I would like to have something that looks nice and clean but for now i'm itching to brew with this thing.

I have toyed around with the idea of somehow suspending my windscreens from the kegs. Maybe drill some holes in the skirt and some S hooks, who knows. My goal is to keep the system as compact as possible when torn down for storage.

*edit* Did you use high-heat paint on yours or not bother with it?
 

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