DIY 2-Tier Keggle System ???

I am looking for list of equipment needed to make a 2-tier keggle system. I have been reading lots of other posts, but would still like a more information on parts and setup for a well working system.
Thanks in advance for any info and ideas.

it can vary a lot, depending on what exactly you want in your system. I haven't seen any two DIY systems that are the same, each brewer likes a different system.

Well, I guess I would like the keggles to have thermostats and sight gauges. Sounds like one false bottom and one bazooka screen (unless there are better ideas).
I would also like to know what fittings have to go with what equipment, in order to make a complete list of what I need.
Or you could just share how you would do it and with what equipment, so I can pick out the ideas I like best from various responses. At least that is what I was hoping to get out of my question. Again, thanks for any insights.

Herman,
Welcome to the forum.

The information is on the forum. Plenty of threads and pictures along with lists of parts.
You need to go look for them. The rig designers aren't all going to lay them before you in your own thread. Some of them are years old and brewers have made an effort to share the information in the relevant threads.

If you put a location in your profile then we'll know where you are and what's available to you locally.

I posted something a few months ago wanting someone to give me their list of part numbers for a DYI system but I didn’t get any part numbers only links to other posts. I drew up a plan based on what I want to do using other systems and ordered the parts from more beer, northernbrewer and Mcmaster-Carr. I took several day to get all the part # my self but in the end I’m glad I put in the work because I have a good feeling of accomplishment

I have to agree with the posts in here so far... I am in the process of building my keggle based system right now, and I have spent hours going over threads in here, looking at different designs, learning what people think are the pros and cons of each design, etc. By doing this, I have a much better understanding of what it is I am building, and why it will work the way that it does.

rabidgerbil said:

I have to agree with the posts in here so far... I am in the process of building my keggle based system right now, and I have spent hours going over threads in here, looking at different designs, learning what people think are the pros and cons of each design, etc. By doing this, I have a much better understanding of what it is I am building, and why it will work the way that it does.

Click to expand...

+1... if you are just following a parts list and a sketch, rather than making educated choices about what you want, you're probably not going to end up with exactly what you want, and may very well waste some money in the process.

I think a parts list is one of the easier tasks to accomplish when building your brew rig. The hard part is determining how you want to brew and what method for each stage. Until you know that, it's tough to say what parts you'll need.

How will you heat your mash? Straight infusion, direct heat, HERMS, RIMS, etc?
What's your heat source? Electric, propane, or natural gas?
How will you sparge? Batch or fly (continuous), or hybrid?
How will you chill? CFC, IC, plate chiller? Whirlpool?
Will you use a hopback? Filter your water?
One pump or two?
Stainless or brass?
Hard plumb gas line?
Hard plumb liquid lines or flexible tubing?
Quick disconnects or sanitary fittings?

Once you know how you want to brew the parts requirements will become more evident with lots of great options and ideas from the contributors here.

Herman said:

I am looking for list of equipment needed to make a 2-tier keggle system. I have been reading lots of other posts, but would still like a more information on parts and setup for a well working system.
Thanks in advance for any info and ideas.

Click to expand...

They are all here, well most of them. Grab yourself a beer and start reading
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f51/show-us-your-sculpture-brew-rig-46578/

I also wouldn't suggest designing or building any kind of system until you have a few all grain batches under your belt with makeshift parts. It helps to understand what you want to accomplish in the end.

Thanks for the warm welcome!

...Yes, I am having a beer, and have been reading around a quite a bit already.

I have brewed a couple of AG batches and lots of partial mash...hence my interest in upgrading to new, bigger, better but mostly my own system.

I think I have a pretty decent idea of what I want, but rather wanted more ideas from other people to compliment my ideas or steer me into another direction instead. I think my biggest problem will be to figure out the extra parts needed for assembly. For example; if I want a false bottom, it seems like there are 5 options what other part I need to install it, or what size fittings to get (none of the sizes mean anything to me, because I don't know the advantages or disadvantages of them).

To get to the point, I would like to convert to kegs to keggles. Both should have a thermostat, sight gauge, and spigot. I would like to use to gas burners
(mainly because I have not heard about anyone using electric boiling plates), while having the whole system gravity fed/ run (no pups to transfer fluids from one container to the next).

Again, thanks to anyone taking the time to respond and give me ideas.

Well, if you're looking to go with no pumps, you're probably going to need a three tier. Unless, of course, you are batch sparging, then you could get away with a two tier. I'm assuming that you are looking to do a three kettle system rather than a cooler based MLT?

Well, here we go...this is what I was looking for!
Do I need a pump for a successful 20tier system? Or can I use a bucket to recirculate the sparge? I initially was not looking at a cooler MT. I do not mind moving containers around, but would like to keep the cost down with only 2 keggles. Why would you prefer fly sparging over batch sparging, and which one is easier, less labor intensive, setup intensive, and most of all cheaper to make?

I personally have not fly sparged yet but it is in the plans...Fly sparging gives you better efficiency and is an enjoyable process for the guys that really look forward to brew day. It's kind of like a decoction mash...you don't really have to do it, but it does affect some things in your beer. And if you don't mind lifting your HLT to your MLT, you could probably pull it off without a pump. You would just have to transfer your water into the mash tun by dumping, and your batch sparge the same way. A big factor is also keeping your brew kettle high enough to siphon into a carboy.

As far as materials are concerned, there are many different options available. Search the brewstand threads for many many examples.

I've found that after I switching my brewery around that it's completely changed from the first design I had planned. My suggestion is get a few cinder blocks and figure out if gravity feeding is your bag or if you wanna go all out and get 2 pumps and do a single tier system. When ya get yer mash tun too high it becomes a real pain to dough in, stirr, etc... I'm outta da cash for now but really wishing that when i was building my system I spent the money on another pump and just went with a single tier, but you might not agree. From my experience forget hard plumbing everything and just get Q/D's. When you hard plumb stuff it's alot harder to clean out. Then for every 5 people that think like me there are 5 others that will tell you that hard plumbing is the way to go and isn't that tough to clean. Sketch some stuff out and figure out what you really would like to build. I personaly wouldn't like using buckets to recirculate after having a pump but if it dosn't bother you SWEET!!! $130 instantly saved!!!

Lifting the MLT is ok if you are only doing 5 gallons. If you get to 10 gallons then things are getting a little heavy. Not saying it can't be done it's just heavier. Since you want to brew in keggles I am thinking you will eventually do 10 gallon batches. Some folks use the "lay of the land" for an extra tier or 2. (ie steps, decks, small walls, hills, cliffsetc.)
Bobby had good advice. Improvise a tier system, brew AG, see what you like and dislike. Use ladders, stools etc. I batch sparge because it is easier and yields very good results.

OK, now we're talking.

For brew rig design, lifting anything heavy is a pain - even potentially dangerous. Manual sparge with a bucket is doable, but also a pain. If you're going to build a rig, may as well go all out.

So you need to get sparge water from the HLT to the MT, then wort from the MT to the BK. That's two steps, requiring either three tiers or a pump(s). Three tier would be HLT gravity down to MT gravity down to BK. With a pump you could do two tiers which might be HLT gravity down to MT and pump to BK. With two pumps you can do a single tier, pumping from vessel to vessel.

When you're looking at your kettle conversions, you need to figure out a couple of things. IMO, false bottoms work best with direct fire mash tuns. This allows you to stir without crushing the other filtering options (ss braid, bazooka, etc). Those options will however work just fine, depending how you heat, if you step mash, and how you sparge. I'm not going to talk about sparging, it will raise an age old debate which you can search for all you want...probably not productive now.

For the MT you'll need a ss coupler (welded or weldless). Inside connection would some sort of pickup tube (many options here) and a false bottom (several options here). Outside connection would be a ball valve.

For the HLT, all you really need is the coupler and ball valve, though you might choose a pickup tube here also to avoid a gallon or so of residual water.

For the BK, you need the coupler and ball valve and some sort of pick up tube. Some brewers will also user a filtering device here (bazooka t, stainless scrubby, hop taco, deflector plate, etc). I choose to whirlpool, concentrating a hop cone and minimizing hops/break material in the fermenter. Again there are many choices here and they will dictate which parts to buy.

My personal opinion is, if you're willing to jockey vessels to varying heights when they're full of liquids, you don't need any scupture at all. The whole reason for building a stand is to keep everything in one place and make transfers easy on your back. You can FLY OR Batch sparge using a 3-tier with no pumps. If you go for ONE pump, you can batch or fly sparge on a 2-tier, or batch only on a single tier. If you buy TWO pumps you can fly on a single tier.

There's a lot more info on the wiki:
Keggle - Home Brewing Wiki
Brewing Sculpture - Home Brewing Wiki

My journey:
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f11/critique-my-single-tier-pump-plan-44004/
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f11/tres-kegs-44293/

After messing with it for a while, I'm considering putting my center position HLT up one tier higher so I can try fly sparging with my one pump. It's a tough call though, build a cube out of angle iron or or spend $130.

Cheap and effective is using a "Tee" with a bazooka in a loop around the outside perimeter inside the BK while still using the whirlpool technique. You choose the diameter that holds the bazooka below the bottom radius of the kettle hence most liquid drained out but outside the whirlpooled cold break material area. Test, measure then design. Adding stainless steel Tig wire wrapped into a spring, may need two lengths butt welded together for more length may be needed. A lathe with back gear is a easy way to wrap over the correct rod material diameter for your bazzoka screen to be filled round is easy plus professional looking. Tighten the spring radius ends preventing screen punctures. This will hold that hoop form plus keep the bazooka screen open round and full. This spring install also solves the MLT bazooka from collapsing from the mash weight hence again more filtering area for efficient fast draining. Even if you have a zigzag bazooka in your MLT just bent the spring material inside the screen to let the spring hold the bazooka's final shape.