Single tier planning

I've been working on a sketchup model of a single tier brew stand I've been itching to get started on. I'm looking for any feedback on anything that might not work well or could be done better.



I'm planning to use high temp painted 1.5" square mild steel tubing welded using wire feed or mig. The stand will be approx. 60" wide, 20" high (2' high to the surface the kegs will sit on if you include the 4" casters), and 17.5" deep. I tried to make it so that the keggle edges will rest roughly in the middle of the tubing. I'm intentionally making this lower than many designs I've seen on the forums - hopefully this will make it easier to see and clean inside the kegs without a stepstool. I'm planning to use 3 BG14 burners as pictured, a plate chiller I already have, and a march pump I already have.

I paid particular attention to several threads about heat shields and venting heat and exhaust gasses. I'm using a heat shield, which I might buy here: http://www.brewershardware.com/12-heat-shield-burner-mount.html, or I could try to make out of some stainless sheet or duct or something.



I added gussets in the front of the stand to create a solid surface in front of the kegs. The burner shield is mounted flush with the surface, but I've cut out 1.5" of the top of the ring in the rear to allow heat to flow out that side and up around the corners behind the keg. Hopefully this would successfully keep heat away from the valves and silicone tubing in the front. I've seen some examples where they've opened the back of the heat shield and lowered the rear frame member to allow heat to escape out the entire back, but I felt like that would weaken the frame and this seemed like it would work just as well. It's a little hard to tell in the pic, but I was planning to use pieces of 1.5" bar stock to weld the heat shield/burner mounts into the frame. I was thinking I'd drill several sets of holes in the heat shield at different heights for the purposes of mounting the burners and this would provide some height adjustment on the burners.

Any feedback is welcome, but my main questions are:

1. Will the stand be strong enough as designed? What gauge tubing should I use?
2. What could I do to keep paint chipping and rust where the keggles sit on the frame from becoming a problem? (or is that not really a problem for others)
3. Is the approach taken to venting heat and exhaust gasses good?

No responses? I guess I'll just assume all is well then.

I'm in the design phase as well and have been roaming the forums trying to get an idea of how to build mine.
From what I've read:
1) 16awg should work but 11awg will keep your options open for mounting equipment (via tap and die set). I will most likely go with 1.5"x1.5" 11awg mild steel for my build for extra strength and I liked the idea of being able to use a tap and die to mount hardware for a pump, chiller, etc.
2) I've seen people put spacers where the kegs will sit to allow venting for the propane as well as reduce the wear and tear on the paint job. I will see if I can find the post with the spacers as I thought it would be a good idea for my build.
3) Not sure.

Good luck with the build and make sure to post pics of your progress. I hope to do the same.

Found the picture:
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f51/my-single-tier-build-289260/index6.html#post3647016

1. The stand is definitely strong enough! It is probably overkill for what we are doing, but when you are finished, you will notice that you could put some tires on it and ride it down a hill.

I used 2"-16 gauge mild for my stand, 1.5" will be fine. My stand is based on n2fooz stand that you linked to.

2/3. You should put spacers on top of your stand, mostly for venting heat, but also to protect your stand surface. It is very inefficient to have the keg sitting right on top of the stand without any venting. I have a heat shield as well, it wraps about 80% of the way around the burner. That is needed to protect the flame and direct it upwards, but it is also necessary to let it escape.

Here is a link to my thread.

So you don't think the lowered back edge of the heat shield and the open corners in the back behind the keggles will provide enough ventilation? I see the point about protecting the stand from the keggles by having them sit on spacers, but I had hoped to provide a path for ventilation that would force the heat to avoid the front of the keggles where valves, thermometers, and sight glasses are. If I use spacers it seems like the heat will go in all directions and those components will get really hot. Is that not enough of a problem to worry about?

gadams00 said:

So you don't think the lowered back edge of the heat shield and the open corners in the back behind the keggles will provide enough ventilation? I see the point about protecting the stand from the keggles by having them sit on spacers, but I had hoped to provide a path for ventilation that would force the heat to avoid the front of the keggles where valves, thermometers, and sight glasses are. If I use spacers it seems like the heat will go in all directions and those components will get really hot. Is that not enough of a problem to worry about?

Click to expand...

I have seen the threads where that back tube was dropped for ventilation. I didn't do that, so I don't know how well it works. I wanted my stand to be flat and uniform, so I went with spacers on top (also less welding). I think it looks better and it works great for me.

Raising the keggles 1/2" off my stand with spacers made a dramatic difference in the flame efficiency out of the burner. And I used the spacers more to vent the heat, than to protect the stand (but they serve both purposes). My thermometers/sightglasses do not get that hot, and if I am concerned about them, I wrap a small piece of foil around the bottom to deflect the heat. Personally, I would rather use some foil occasionally than have a different stand. Just my $0.2