Brutus Ten ????

I built mine with a small false bottom (9" diameter mesh SS) and I had no issues. I had a 23 tip jet burner using propane but I plugged about 10 holes. I constantly let me mash recirc not just to maintain constant temp but also to help the bed settle and get crystal clear wort.. worked for me but ive seen some mash stirring on other builds.

Has anybody tried using aluminum to make the frame? How well did it work?

My gen 1 frame was made from t-slotted extrusion from 80/20 and although it was light and easy to transport, the cross members started to soften at about 100 batches in. I sold the frame and built an SS version which is much more robust.

I sold my frame cheap to a fellow who said he was going to use it but immediately flipped it to a local brewery for much more. So much for trying to hook a fellow brewer up. The brewery now uses it multiple days a week and the frame looks like crap but somehow has not failed. The top cross members look horrible and now have a serious radius, but the main frame was built using a 2x4 type of cross section and that part is holding up ok. I think if I made the cross members out of 2x4 versus 2x2, I might still have the frame today.

I'm glad I went to SS though as it is far easier to clean and will last forever for roughly the same cost.

I picked a few of these plane control panels at a yard sale and like the idea of utilizing the switches and/or face as part of the panel.

Could any electrical minded folks weigh in?

These should work as I've done something similar. The rotary switches tend to be wafer switches and I gave up trying to use them. The other two or three position switches should work fine as long as you keep the amperage low as most of these are desined for low amp dc circuits.

I wired main power through the red guarded switch so I could secure it quickly if needed.

looks like the 28V DC power goes straight to a 110V AC resistor.

The light indicator text is on a transparency, so I can swap that out with whatever I want!

First piece of my Brutus build has been acquired

A brew stand controlled by a nuclear missile launcher... That's pretty badass.