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NewJersey said:
i've been brewing for a year and a half now and am at a loss when looking at all your setups. i brew all grain 5 gallon batches. i have one floor burner and two pots. mash in one boil in the other. i have no pumps or any stand and do not understand how it would really simplify the process. i have two kegs i will convert into keggles soon, but my process will remain the same. is there any kind of "brewstand for dummies" anywhere
Click to expand...

Yeah you don't really need pumps and extras but that is the beauty of the hobby. Everyone has their own brewery and their own way. I'm sure there is people out there with even simpler breweries making better beer than people with hi tech stuff

I went witha pump straight up so I could whirlpool and to try and keep everything close to ground as I can so there is little lifting of hot heavy pots and climbing up ladders. If I had the money I would of gone a 2nd pump but all in time
 
NewJersey said:
i've been brewing for a year and a half now and am at a loss when looking at all your setups. i brew all grain 5 gallon batches. i have one floor burner and two pots. mash in one boil in the other. i have no pumps or any stand and do not understand how it would really simplify the process. i have two kegs i will convert into keggles soon, but my process will remain the same. is there any kind of "brewstand for dummies" anywhere
Click to expand...

Even though I learned to weld so I could build my own 2x2" square steel single tier stand with a Blichmann Tower of Power to run the mash, I completely agree with you. It is easy and expensive (and fun!) to get swept up, but there are few things you can't do on your setup that you could do on a $10,000 rig.

If I didn't need to do multi-step mash (I use almost 100% wheat for malt) I would have stuck with my old rig which was about the same as yours.

Pumps are nice so you don't have to lift and move heavy hot pots, can pump out the HLT to mash, recirculate mash, sparge, transfer to BK, push the hot wort through a CFC or plate chiller to cool while whirlpooling, and the pumping PBW solution through everything to clean.
 
Here is the system I put together as it sits today. A project in progress. Started with a Mr. Brew, then to a BK only for Malt Extract / specialty grain brews to this current set-up. Future plans for a single tier stainless stand (Need to expand welding knowledge), additional pump and automation (PID, etc) as soon as I can get out from under some of the honey-do items.

Set-up is in the back of my buddy's (fellow brewer) Chiropractor office. Works out well if I tweak my back washing kegs / carboys.

Currently have an IPA in bottles, Pumpkin Spice Ale in Secondary and Porter in Primary with a plan in 2 weeks for a X-Mas brew.

Thanks to all in the forum for the ideas / how-to on things to this point.

RIMS_Stage1--1-RS.jpg
 
brewin4994 said:
Future plans for a single tier stainless stand (Need to expand welding knowledge).
Click to expand...

Nice shiny kegs, that takes a ton of work!!

If it we me I'd learn to weld quickly. I've never had any luck steadying a 2x4 for a crosscut on those sawhorses. I can't imagine putting 200lbs of hot liquid on them.
 
IMG_20130930_6475.JPG


Still some stuff to do, but already a couple of brews done with this set up :)

It has a kettle + mash tun too, but new bigger pots are on they way, more pictures after that.
 
pickles said:
If it we me I'd learn to weld quickly.
Click to expand...

Agree 100%. Welding was fun to learn, really easy (flux wire), opens up a ton of construction options and I've used that new skill on lots of other projects now that I've got it. Lots of good, lightly used welders are available at a good price on Craigs List. My rig is made with 1.5X1.5 square tube and has zero flex even when full. If the wheels were bigger, I could hitch it to the car and drag it down the road.
 
AlleyBrewer104 said:
Agree 100%. Welding was fun to learn, really easy (flux wire), opens up a ton of construction options and I've used that new skill on lots of other projects now that I've got it. Lots of good, lightly used welders are available at a good price on Craigs List. My rig is made with 1.5X1.5 square tube and has zero flex even when full. If the wheels were bigger, I could hitch it to the car and drag it down the road.
Click to expand...

Or use strut... Just nuts and bolts and reconfigurable anytime!!!



image-2866114953.jpg
 
Daddo07 said:
Even though I learned to weld so I could build my own 2x2" square steel single tier stand with a Blichmann Tower of Power to run the mash, I completely agree with you. It is easy and expensive (and fun!) to get swept up, but there are few things you can't do on your setup that you could do on a $10,000 rig.

If I didn't need to do multi-step mash (I use almost 100% wheat for malt) I would have stuck with my old rig which was about the same as yours.

Pumps are nice so you don't have to lift and move heavy hot pots, can pump out the HLT to mash, recirculate mash, sparge, transfer to BK, push the hot wort through a CFC or plate chiller to cool while whirlpooling, and the pumping PBW solution through everything to clean.
Click to expand...

this clears it up. IC works fine for me, but i do understand how whirlpooling and a plate chiller would be much more effective AND faster.
i enjoy looking at these even though i wouldn't build one. automation is only something I'd consider if i was making the jump to a nano (3bbl+) situation.
perhaps my opinion will change after I've actually used my setup to brew a few 10 gallon batches.
cheers!
 
Brewing for my birthday, finally was able to break it in a few times over the past few weeks. being awesome!

IMG_20131004_131528_zpsf6696847.jpg


IMG_20131003_100633_190_zps9800b57c.jpg


than at the end of the boil... this poor guy jumped in to the wort :(

IMG_20131004_144733_792_zpsaac1eaf1.jpg
 
That's completely wrong for the style - they go better as a bittering addition.

Rivenin said:
Brewing for my birthday, finally was able to break it in a few times over the past few weeks. being awesome! than at the end of the boil... this poor guy jumped in to the wort :(
Click to expand...
 
Rivenin said:
Brewing for my birthday, finally was able to break it in a few times over the past few weeks. being awesome! than at the end of the boil... this poor guy jumped in to the wort :(
Click to expand...

A little extra protein won't hurt and now you have a Great name for your beer. Grasshopper Ale
 
bd2xu said:
A little extra protein won't hurt and now you have a Great name for your beer. Grasshopper Ale
Click to expand...

hahaha, this is about the same message i sent my wife at work.

"Honey, i think god wanted me to name this beer "grass HOPper pale"" as i was brewing a session pale as well :mug: .

i saw something funky floating as it was at a boil, figured it was a leaf or something that fell when i had my back turned and knew it was going to plug my pump.... low and behold, it wasn't a leaf after all.

beer tastes great so far though!
 
Recently added a pump so I don't have 8-9 gallons of hot water positioned high up any more. Also transitioned current system to HERMS. HEX is in the HLT.


ForumRunner_20131014_172649.jpg

Love this new setup. Can't wait to add more.
 
Here's mine with the brew partner (and business partner) in the pic. I'm a foot taller with a shaved head and goatee...think a slender Stone Cold! Haha.

Just christened this past Sunday. There are a few tweaks...like casters, etc., but wouldn't do much different. Works great! OH, and it was all out of scrap metal from previous projects, and my powder coater did it with another job...basically free. I knew the powder would burn off around the burners, but I then asked my guy the easiest way to remove the powder to paint with high temp paint, and he said, "Just bring it up here and let me hit with some high temp powder." Nothing like someone offering to sandblast and coat your brew sculpture with a free, high-temp powder coating! Yay!

gravity brew setup.jpg
 
NewBrewB,
I have been toying with wether or not I want to paint it. I like the character it has now but I do agree that it would look pretty good painted. Thanks

Groundchuck,
Thanks! I acquired the cart from another guy who was using it as a brew stand but it was very unstable (I can stand on every level now) and only had one level. I think he said it was a warming table in a restaurant. As for the cabinets... My wife's grandfather was a sign maker so when he passed away a lot of signs were headed to the trash. So my wife gets to have memories of him and I get some kick a$$ cabinet doors.
 
Man, I totally forgot I could finally post this!

Direct fire on all three vessels with 10" banjo burners, LP hose manifold with needle valve orifices. Used velvet shield carbonized fiber welder's blanket for insulation on the MLT, and haven't mounted the chugger pump because I'm not sure yet where I would want it - so far I like having it portable. Whirlpool port on the boil kettle with an immersion chiller, get great cold break that stays in the kettle. Lots of props to BobbyM for the hardware!

1017044_10201384823694522_389014611_n.jpg
 
I figured I would repost my rig since it has gone through a major overhaul.

Here is my original rig. It had a simple control panel that housed the burner ignition system and a pump switch. It served me very well and brewed over 300 gallons of tasty brew during its time.

18 final.jpg

Here is the redesigned model. The old control panel is now mounted under the diamond plate to house the ignition modules. This was done so I didn't get noise that interfered with the PID's during the sparking sequence. I built a new control panel, which is awesome by the way. I added a RIMS tube that I got from Brewhardware. The RIMS tube is really nice and keeps my mash temps perfect without having to constantly turn the burner on and off.

new paint job.jpg
gas pipe paint.jpg

Since I added the new components it was only fitting that the whole thing got a fresh coat of paint. I went with flat black on the top and a gloss blue on the rest. I just need to fire up the burners to set the paint and put the burner shrouds back on and we are back in business.
 
I believe I would like to pick up one of the metal racks with the adjustable shelves from HD to act as my three tier stand. My question is which one is strong enough to do a 10 gal batch? Is there a certain metal that people recommend?

Ideally I'd like one like this that allows me to adjust shelves on both sides (like the first picture), but I would be okay with the larger second one.

First.jpg


Second.jpg
 
DWhitwell said:
Man, I totally forgot I could finally post this! Direct fire on all three vessels with 10" banjo burners, LP hose manifold with needle valve orifices. Used velvet shield carbonized fiber welder's blanket for insulation on the MLT, and haven't mounted the chugger pump because I'm not sure yet where I would want it - so far I like having it portable. Whirlpool port on the boil kettle with an immersion chiller, get great cold break that stays in the kettle. Lots of props to BobbyM for the hardware!
Click to expand...
Where did you get the velvet shield?
 
bd2xu said:
Where did you get the velvet shield?
Click to expand...

I got the velvet shield here, but the price has gone up by more than 20 bucks since I got it on September 2. I've also added some aluminum tape arount the top to keep crap from getting behind the insulation and the keg, and I made an insulated mash tun cover out of multiple layers of reflectix.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Here's mine. Just finished building last weekend, going for the maiden voyage tomorrow. (Sorry for the crappy cell phone pic)image-272135848.jpg
 

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