My single tier build

After half a dozen or so batches with coolers in a three tier setup I saw Lonnie’s Brutus and decided I had to build one for myself. I incorporated a lot of great ideas from others on this site and I think it turned out pretty good. I have about a dozen batches with this and it works excellent.

Let me know what you think.

Credit where credit is due. There are many others but off the top of my head:
Lonnie Mac
Nicksteck's build
theelectricbrewery.com

SketchUp drawing


All said and done


Top view with dimensions


Side view with dimensions


Console dimensions

That is one heck of a stand, and I like how the controls were integrated into the stand.

Congratulations!

amazing! you should definitely be proud. Any more pics by any chance? What kind of tubing is that? Looks like stainless braided? Any reason you went for that over a simliar dimension silicone?

Excellent rig! I really like how you fabricated your stand and controls.

Congrats!

John

Very Very Impressed!!!! :rockin:

thats pretty.....youre type A aren't you. seriously,thats nice !!

aquenne said:

amazing! you should definitely be proud. Any more pics by any chance? What kind of tubing is that? Looks like stainless braided? Any reason you went for that over a simliar dimension silicone?

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Thanks man. The hoses are normal 1/2" silicone but I picked up some stainless sleeving from McMaster-Carr and just slid the hoses inside. The sleeving isn't cheap, 4.10 a foot and I used 20' but I think it looks cool.

More pics.

I am not a welder so I built a mockup out of some scrap wood. The idea was to get the measurements nailed down first in case something didn’t work out. The stand is 4x4s ripped down to 2x2. Aside from the placement of the controls and adding some extra plumbing for the pumps, everything worked out.

After everything checked out, I took the wooden mockup to a buddy and said “Make me this out of steel.” A couple of weeks later I picked up this. He didn’t have a break to make the front console, so I had a local fab shop do that part.


After holes drilled in console and getting the wiring all done.


Initially wanted to do copper tubing for the gas lines but quickly found out I suck at bending it correctly and would have a difficult time connecting it to the valves in the panel. I went to a propane shop and had them make me some custom length hoses instead.

Console with holes for controls drilled. The six square holes on the base are for the in and out gas lines. There will be a needle valve in between.




The cover bends slightly and snaps over the base. A flat head screwdriver or a small putty knife is used to pry it open. I put some electrical tape on the screwdriver to try to avoid scratching the paint. Don’t need to open it after everything is wired correctly so should be OK.


Bracket to hold down the heat exchanger. My buddy who welded the stand is a burly guy so he probably bent this with his bare hands

YOU BUILT A MOCK-UP OUT OF WOOD??!!!!
Have you seen a doctor for your condition?
You wouldn't happen to work for NASA would you?

Water pump assembly.


Wort pump assembly. The three way valves help to reduce the number of hose changes during the brew. The two pump inputs are from the MLT and BK. Outputs are to heat exchanger or back to the MLT. I will probably replace the collection of fittings at the top with one piece of pipe to reach above the console.

Needle valves. I think it is cool to have flame control front and center on the console.




Pilot burner mounting. I put this on all three burners but only have the HLT and MLT connected.

That is impressive. Nice job on the mock up too. Very pro.

~SB

OneHoppyGuy said:

YOU BUILT A MOCK-UP OUT OF WOOD??!!!!
Have you seen a doctor for your condition?
You wouldn't happen to work for NASA would you?

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OK, maybe the mockup was a little OCD but I did it for SCIENCE!

Oh, you're from Portland... that explains everything.
(Just kidding, I lived in Beaverton and Vancouver)
Seriously, a very nice build. Well thought out.

Heat exchanger with thermometer for wort out. I got the HE from dudadiesel.com and for half the price for the Therminator! Still need to get the front of it cleaned up after I took off the sticker.


To measure wort out from the heat exchanger.


Gas valves. I got these from ebay here.


Locking power receptacle for console.


Power cord. Just took a six foot cord, chopped the end off and put on the locking plug.

All the bits for the console. Switches and indicator lights were purchased from automationdirect. The PID and timer are from Auber.


Starting to mount the controls.


The extra hole on the bottom is for the timer buzzer. It turns out the buzzer is a little longer than the indicator lights and I couldn’t quite fit it in because of the switch directly above it. I shaved a little plastic off the green contact block to make it fit.


Master power switch and indicator light.

OneHoppyGuy said:

YOU BUILT A MOCK-UP OUT OF WOOD??!!!!
Have you seen a doctor for your condition?
You wouldn't happen to work for NASA would you?

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My thoughts exactly, I'm pretty sure most people here would pay good money for your "mock up." Looks better than a lot of finished stands i've seen. Good on ya!

Super clean build! Happy brewing

That's really, really awesome. Great work, great build.

My new favorite rig hands down. Nice work

mountainman13 said:

My new favorite rig hands down. Nice work

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^this. Thanks for posting such detailed pics. What a beautiful build. May it bring you many joy-filled brew sessions!

Cheers!
J

Sweet build. Love the paint job.

Connections to gas valves. Wires to valves will go through the grommet.


Main power input and connections for the rest of the console. Pump wires will enter through the grommets and connect to the ground but I should probably ground the console and stand itself ☺


I really like the idea from theelectricbrewery.com of using mic jacks for the temperature probe connections. This is the PID and temp probe jack for the HLT.


Controls for HLT. Blue is the water pump, yellow is power for the HLT PID, and red is the HLT gas valve. The PID will turn on the gas if it needs to but I can also manually turn on the gas with the red switch. The PID will also light the red indicator if gas is on. There is a duplicate set of controls for the MLT and wort pump.


Timer power and gas switch for BK. On the bottom is the timer buzzer and reset button.

Timer and MLT controls.


Wiring shots. Looks like I forgot to connect the timer indictor light ☺

Console all done!

I had the powder coater put a high temperature coating around the burners and normal powder coating everywhere else. He also welded on some tabs on the top to help direct the hot exhaust gases out the back of the stand. The round kettles sitting on the square burner mounts create four small holes for exhaust gases to escape. Before adding the tabs, I had a lot of hot exhaust coming out the front directly below the kettle valves and oh man did they get hot! I’m hoping the tabs will correct the problem.

I haven’t run it through a full brew session after the powder coating so we’ll see how the paint holds up. The couplings welded to the front are used to attach the console.

Can't help but wonder what this cost you in materials and paid labor? Obviously, you don't have to answer but it's the big giant elephant in the 'room'

Love the build. It is very detailed. Now tell the truth did you make a miniature one before you made the wood mock-up? JK way to go.

Highridin4x4 said:

Love the build. It is very detailed. Now tell the truth did you make a miniature one before you made the wood mock-up? JK way to go.

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Unfortunately, the pics of the 1/10th scale model made of balsa wood and the high speed camera footage were lost due to hard drive failure

Gas manifold with pilot lines to the burners. The far left valve is the BK and I don’t need a pilot for that.




Pumps mounting. I still need to add drip shields in case of spills. Anyone have an idea of how to make them without a break?




Gas pilot line. The extra screw is covering a hole because I was being stupid and drilled in the wrong place!

Wires for gas valves entering the console and gas lines to valves.


Pump wires entering console. I also added a washer because the gap between the stand and console was a bit too tight to fit the hose end with a quick disconnect through.


Magnetic hooks work perfectly for keeping the mash paddle within easy reach!




RTD temperature probes.

Other shots.










I know I've spammed this thread with a ton of pics but seeing other people's rigs has really helped me with this build so hopefully I can help others out. If you want any pics of anything else or have a question, let me know.

Cheers,
Brandon

WOW, I mean really... WOW The level of detail and thought you put into this is amazing. How long did you work on this? With the attention to details, I would imagine your planning stage was just as long as the built itself if not longer. I mean, you made a full size mock up just to see if it was right?!?!?!Gee-Zusss!! And to think I was proud of my sight glass project, dang!

(subscribed)

PROST!

petrostar said:

Can't help but wonder what this cost you in materials and paid labor? Obviously, you don't have to answer but it's the big giant elephant in the 'room'

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I originally had a pretty detailed spreadsheet with all the components but I grew a little lax as the project evolved over the year. I'm guessing it is around 3-3500 for the stand and control panel. The pots are another 1100ish.

Snafu said:

WOW, I mean really... WOW The level of detail and thought you put into this is amazing. How long did you work on this? With the attention to details, I would imagine your planning stage was just as long as the built itself if not longer. I mean, you made a full size mock up just to see if it was right?!?!?!Gee-Zusss!! And to think I was proud of my sight glass project, dang!

Click to expand...

I think I began planning around Sep/Oct 2010 and built the mockup in December. My buddy then built the stand in February and I had a fully functioning system in March. I used it like that all year tweaking the pump plumbing here and there (I originally didn't have the three-way valves) then finally disassembled it last month for the powder coating. Got it back from the powder coater a few weeks ago then put it all back together. I'm really anxious to see how the powder coating performs.

Amazing.

Everything about it is amazing. Honestly though what really puts it over the top for me is the mash paddle hanging there in center ready to rock!

Note to self: Buy some S.S. sheathing for silicon tubing. Baller status!

brandolomite said:

Pumps mounting. I still need to add drip shields in case of spills. Anyone have an idea of how to make them without a break?

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Depends on what you want to make them out of. You could use cheap galvanized flashing and manufacture a break using 1x4 and clamps. Just clamp the edge about 3/4" in and score the flashing with a utility knife using the 1X4 as a guide. Then bend your break to 90°. Do the same with the other end and then bend the whole thing into a U-shape. Invert it, drill the holes where you want them and attach it to the pump mount. Looks like you'd need a slot in one side to clear the power cable for the pump.

But I don't think cheap galvanized flashing is going to cut it on this beauty...although you could do the same thing with some thin-ish gauge steel, then have it powder coated to match the stand.

This build is wicked sweet!

Please tell me you are going to show this bad boy off at big brew this year! And, where? I really would love to see this is action! Absolutely amazing! I even love the color