Help me finish my brewstand project

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udt89

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So I scored this stand and three keggles a while back. I have two burners I just bought in the classified section. The H205 which can be found here:

http://morebeer.com/view_product/17245/beerwinecoffee/Propane_Burner_-_55000_btu

Two large items I need would be a pump and plate chiller. Everything after that would be tubing and various hardware. What I am looking for from you guys is to basically walk me through what I need and how to set it all up. Your thoughts on mounting the burners, plate chiller, pump, and helping me select the right fittings and other hardware I need to make this whole setup tick. I included a pic of some various hardware that was included in my purchase.

I was thinking of using 3/4" plywood (not sure it will hold weight) on the lowest part on the top and using a stand burner for my HLT. I dont know why he welded those tabs on all three levels of the top half of the stand......

What would you recommend I do to clean up the rust? Obviously sand it down but should I paint it?



























 
I can't help you with the build but for the rust, use barkeeper's friend and some elbow grease. I can't tell how rough that surface is due to rust and welding but you might can just use a scrub pad to get that off of there(and barkeeper's friend, of course). Depending on how bad it is, you might want to be careful putting weight on it.

Also, I wouldn't paint over that before you sand it or something. With that surface chipping and coming off like it is, the paint probably won't hold.

Best of luck to you
 
If u have a grinder get a wire wheel or two and a full face shield clear and go to town on that rust a bell wire wheel will work best they look like a cup made up of wire i.e. a bell. Then wipe down your stand with paint thinner (don't smoke at this time lol) and you will be good to paint. I got some of that high temp spray paint from lowes and it looks real nice. Good luck and be carefull with that wire wheel.
 
Ugh. I hate wire wheels, nasty stabby things that fling bits of themselves and make everything look like crap.

I'd go with flap disks instead...

Cheers!
 
Go with flap wheel and dust mask for face. You will be pleased. They come in various grades so watch what you buy. 100 for rust, 80 for pitted rust. You will clean it up quick!
 
Flap wheels are by far better but if u wire wheel then use a flap wheel you will use a lot less of them, they won't gum up as fast that way. A flapper wheel does give a nice finish.
 
I'm using camlocks and tubing from bargain fittings on mine they just came in today as a matter of fact, with 1/2" couplings welded to the pots. If you don't have acess to a welder they also sell the weldless kind too. I got my ss ball valves here in town from the supply house but bargain fittings has good prices on those as well. Pumps from Austin brewing because they have free shipping over $100. Don't know if any of that helps.
 
i think these keggles, at least two, have tri clamp fittings on them. I never used or have any education on how they work....or what I need to get. Plus that other keg has some weird ass connector that I dont know what it is.

I just want some help getting ball valves connected to the two kegs that are tri clamp. One for the HLT on top of the stand and the other which will be the boil kettle. The other keg that doesnt have the tri clamp I decided to use as the mash tun based on advice from this forum.

Will I run into problems because I will be using a pump between a MLT with different fittings than the boil kettle? That is why I first thought using the keg with the smaller different fitting as the HLT because it wouldnt make connecting the pump inbetween the mash tun and boil kettle.
 
The smaller looking fitting is just a compression fitting. I think you could probably remove that, if you wanted all your fittings to be tri-clamp. The tri-clamp fittings are really easy to figure out, they all work with those large clamps, and 2 tri-clamp fittings face each other and you clamp them down. It doesn't look like your valves are tri-clamp and from the picture I can't really tell what they are. Do they have threads inside of them?

You won't run into problems with different fittings, only that you may need specific hoses for each connection, etc. If the majority of your fittings are already tri-clamp, you could probably just remove the compression fitting and modify to be tri-clamp.

As for pumps, you can start small with 1 pump, either a Little Giant or a March 809. They can be had on ebay fairly cheaply usually. You can buy two pumps right away, but it may be overkill.

Of course you need a way to heat the water. You can go propane or electric here.

I would check out some other build threads on the site for ideas, and then maybe you can ask more specific questions as you go. Difficult to give you good suggestions since everyone's builds are different.
 
How would I apply a false bottom w/dip tube or screen with a tri clamp setup? What does the dip tube attach to?
 
How would I apply a false bottom w/dip tube or screen with a tri clamp setup? What does the dip tube attach to?

Still looking to answer this. I also added some more pics. Some of the inside of the kegs. One looks to have burn marks on the bottom, the one with the compression fitting. Do I need to clean up the holes in the inside? Or is that normal look after welding? Do you think that keg might just be worthless because of the burnt bottom and semi rusty looking inside of the fitting?

I just bought a march 809 and a duda plate chiller. So basically all the big stuff is taken care of. Bought two burners on here about 2 weeks ago as well.

I'm not to worried about cleaning up the stand as I tested the strength of everything and it all seems just fine. So cleaning up the rust is secondary to finishing everything else.

Basically now all i need is a way to hook up a dip tube/false bottom/screen to the BK and some other type of false bottom/screen in the MLT. As well as getting tri clamp ball valves. I have hose and all the little stuff from before I moved to all grain.

Any help and things I'm forgetting would help me out a ton
 
Keggle parts: bargain fittings and brewhardware.com

To get rid of rust, "DEWALT 120-Grit 4-1/2"W x 4-1/2"L High-Performance Abrasive Sandpaper" attached to a grinder


edit: I missed your most recent post so half of what I wrote wasnt applicable
 
Get a 1/2 inch NPT tap and thread the inside of your tri clover starting the tap inside the kettle. Then the dip tube from brewers hardware will fit.
 
No but here are some easy steps.

1) Put oil on tap
2) Stick tap in hole
3) Turn tap gently. If tap starts to bind unthread 1/4 turn and then continue to thread forward.
4) Continue to thread until cutters on tap are seated then remove tap from hole.
 
So i measured the inside of the fitting thats welded onto my keg. I measured the inside diameter and it looks like its 7/8", is that right? The opening has a lip and i measured the width of the actual opening.

also the guy that sold me the keggles gave me clamps for them and they say kf25 on them. does that help?
 
7/8 is closer to the OD of 1/2 inch pipe. Perhaps you have 3/4 pipe welded onto your keg. If the wall thickness is enough you may be able to tap it to 3/4 instead. You'll have to measure OD of 3/4 pipe thread and see if it is small enough to thread in.
 
Honestly I would cut it off and silver solder or weld a 1/2" stainless coupling in place. Then you would have exactly what you need with no farting around.
 
if i knew how to i would. the coupling thats on there now is fine, just need to identify exactly what it is, thread it, clean up the inside and im good.
 
Silver soldering is really easy and there's a great sticky on how to do it. The welding part is a little harder to make look pretty unless you have a tig machine.
 
Sounds like 1" dairy tube. Dairy tube is measured by od so 1" tube is about 7/8" id. Also sounds like you have a ferrule on the end of the tube. If you can get a 1" dairy tube cap you can drill or plasma cut a hole large enough for a 1/2" coupling to pass though and weld it to the cap. That would give you a thread for your dip tube and a thread for your ball valve.
 
i think i am going the route of threading the opening from inside of the keggle so I can screw a dip tube in there or whatever hardware I end up getting.

Its hard getting advice via the net with just pictures.
 
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