Which brewstand should I go with?

Hey guys! I am in the planning stages of my brewstand... very early stages. Here is what I think I want, two tier herms so I can use just 1 pump (for now). I am newly married and bought a new house so cash is tight. I will most likely build a stand from wood and convert 3 used kegs for my HLTMLTandBK. So what I've seen is:

1. HLT and MLT up and BK down a tier.
2. HLT up and MLT and BK down a tier all inline.
3. HLT up but between the MLT and BK which are down a level.

I have soo many questions and I don't want to over load right away so I will start with that. Which do you prefer and why?

Thanks and my wife will appreciate this because I'm spending way to much time researching ideas for my stand instead of other things.

The only suggestion I will make is to try to think forward, you say 1 pump for now, do you want to use more than one in the future, incorporate that into your design now, to save $$$ later.

I would go with #2 myself. pump water as needed into MLT for strike and sparge, let gravity work to drain to BK.

Good Luck, take alot of pics, and post'em!

Cheers!

If I went with #2, how would I use gravity to get from my MLT to my BK if they are on the same tier. It would be gravity from the HLT to MLT and then pumped from MLT to BK. Appreciate the advise on looking forward to save more$.

I'm currently debating the same thing ... one pump, gravity somewhere. Right now, I'm leaning toward HLT up high, gravity drain to MLT, pump to BK on same level as MLT. I like the idea of a low MLT and BK so I can easily stir grain and chill ...

kuenro02 said:

If I went with #2, how would I use gravity to get from my MLT to my BK if they are on the same tier. It would be gravity from the HLT to MLT and then pumped from MLT to BK. Appreciate the advise on looking forward to save more$.

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My bad read that wrong.

#1 is what I meant, but I'm sure you figured that out.

If you are using a pump, why does it matter what tier the componets are on? thats the beauty of a pump. IMO the point of getting a pump is so that gravity is no longer an issue. A few QD on the hoses and keggles and switching is easy-peasy.

That being said, are you planning on placing the HERMS coil in the BK (so you can use it as a immersion chiller as well), or in the HLT. I would say that you'd problably want the MLT and which ever componet the HERMS coil is in on the same tier.

So your saying that I could just build a single tier and then move the pump around? Pump from HLT to MLT then MLT to BK then sanitize and pump from BK to fermentor? Also, do people use the herms coil in the HLT and then switch it to the bk a lot? never heard of that but its a great idea

what kind of beers do you brew? Lately I've done a couple of larger ABV brews, and done a "small beer" with the same grain. With my single tier and pumps, I've drained the initial runnings into my BK, then filled the MLT back up with water from the HLT, let it sit for 20 min, then pumped it back into my HLT which now pulls double duty as a second BK. 2 beers for the price of one grain bill. Makes it easier with the single tier and using the pumps to move the liquid around.

Mostly ales, I did a hefeweizen a while back, sipping on a rye pale ale at the moment. I've never heard of someone doing that but it's smart if it works. What do others think or prefer in a brew stand with one pump? I will use 1 pump until I get the money to get a second, which might be awhile after I get this sculpture built.

dfess1 said:

what kind of beers do you brew? Lately I've done a couple of larger ABV brews, and done a "small beer" with the same grain. With my single tier and pumps, I've drained the initial runnings into my BK, then filled the MLT back up with water from the HLT, let it sit for 20 min, then pumped it back into my HLT which now pulls double duty as a second BK. 2 beers for the price of one grain bill. Makes it easier with the single tier and using the pumps to move the liquid around.

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dfess1 I must confess , I have never heard of doing that before. Brilliant. Can you elaborate on the 'small beer'. Like volume, OG's etc?

Sorry to the OP, I don't want to hijack the thread. We could take it to a new thread or PM if need be.

Thanks!

What my Smoke Ring friend dfess1 is referring to can be termed "parti gyle" brewing. Old technique, still has legs...

Cheers!

Hijackers

kuenro02 said:

So your saying that I could just build a single tier and then move the pump around? Pump from HLT to MLT then MLT to BK then sanitize and pump from BK to fermentor? Also, do people use the herms coil in the HLT and then switch it to the bk a lot? never heard of that but its a great idea

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yes, thats it exactally how I do it. Granted I do single infusion mashes and batch sparges so I don't use a herms coil (not yet anyway). Sanitizing is as easy as leaving some boiling water in the BK and circulating it through the pump. I suppose you could use the boiling wort too. we just always used water from the BK

mountainman619 said:

dfess1 I must confess , I have never heard of doing that before. Brilliant. Can you elaborate on the 'small beer'. Like volume, OG's etc?

Sorry to the OP, I don't want to hijack the thread. We could take it to a new thread or PM if need be.

Thanks!

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Recently I brewed a clone of Stone 15th Anniv DBIPA, a RIS, Barleywine. They all had a huge grainbill, and were only 5 gal batches. I'm using 15 gal pots for HLT, MLT, BK. So I over fill my HLT, use what I need to sparge with, and wait to collect my volumn for the initial beer. Then i throw in leftover water from the HLT, let it sit for another 20 min or so (recirc throughout this phase, as well as my initial mash), and then collect back into my HLT. The "small" beer off my RIS still hit 1.050, and the RIS his 1.100 on it's own. I look at it as a "free" beer, so i throw in whatever I have in the fridge for hops and yeast, or other adjuncts. The second beer is about a quarter to half way through the boil by the time the first one is done. Two beers in a slightly elongated brew day, but no where near as long if I was doing two completely different beers.

day_trippr said:

What my Smoke Ring friend dfess1 is referring to can be termed "parti gyle" brewing. Old technique, still has legs...

Cheers!

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exactly! How you doin?!?

Apologies OP. I really didn't want to hijack. FWIW I agree with Schnitzengiggle. My vote is #1.

Schnitzengiggle said:

#1 is what I meant, but I'm sure you figured that out.

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Cheers!