My Weldless Build Using Strut

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Thomsen1287 said:
Can you paint high temp paint over the galvanized steel? Or do you have to take the galvanization off first?
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Good question. I thought about high temp paint too, but if you use the same or similar burners that I do I'm guessing it won't stand a chance for more than an hour. I've heard a lot of the high temp paint that is in close contact with the flame burns off and gets pretty crappy looking too. I'll try and post a pic in daylight of what the stand looks like where the galvanized coating has cooked off. I'm probably just going to let it as is.

On another note I just uncovered a 6"x6" control box here at work that's free for the taking. It's old, with some big holes in the side, but it's aluminum so I think I will be able to polish it up to look pretty sweet. That'll give me some more room to put an LED indicator to show when the Auber is calling for heat and the flame should be on. The controller has a small light built in, but I want a larger more noticeable one. Hope to get the Honeywell valve and pilot burner hooked up here soon.
 
Here's a link to the Uni-Strut catalog: http://www.unistrutohio.com/unistrut-catalog.html

They make a fitting for just about any connection.

Here is a shot of my stand made with galvanized. Not a spot of rust after about 3 years use. I never fired under the stand though and it's all electric now.

thumb2_20100515_10-40501.jpg
 
lschiavo said:
Looks great! Strut is awesome stuff. I have built many projects with it including my brewstand. I made a tippy dump mlt with a few strut angles and nuts and bolts. https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f51/sanke-tippy-dump-mlt-309713/

Strut is solid as a rock and easy to modify if you decide to change anything on your stand.

Look at an electrical supply as suggested or a Fastenal if you have one local.
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Have you shopped for it at Fastenal? Their online catalog shows the corner brackets at $25 and change. I may be missing something but it looks like that is for a single one.
 
lschiavo said:
I always get my strut accessories from fastenal. That must be a misprint or some crazy "list" pricing.
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Awesome! Thanks. I couldn't believe it, but since I haven't shopped Fastenal or looked at Strut before I didn't know.
 
I fire my 20 gallon boil kettle with a slightly larger jet burner. FYI the burner I have has to be 15 inches below the cooking surface for maximum efficiency and correct burn. A good way to tell is there should be no black soot on the kettle after use. 5 inches below your kettles may not be enough.
 
kitemanks said:
I fire my 20 gallon boil kettle with a slightly larger jet burner. FYI the burner I have has to be 15 inches below the cooking surface for maximum efficiency and correct burn. A good way to tell is there should be no black soot on the kettle after use. 5 inches below your kettles may not be enough.
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Good info! I'll have to play around with the height but 4" seemed about right. Not sure quite how to tell if lower is going to be better.
 
It's 44 x 33-1/4 x 15-1/4 overall. The main beams I cut to 44", 30", and 12" out of 1-5/8" strut
 
I have mine shielded from the wind and I also fire in the garage. The boil kettle bottom should normally be quite aways from the tip of the blue flames this allows all of the little flames to make one huge plume of heat. You want to use this huge plume of heat instead of the small individual ones, or at least that is my understanding. More info here:
http://www.tejassmokers.com/newproducts_page6.htm
 
I also guess I need to thank you for the overall thread too. I switched to 10 gallon batches a while ago but still use my old 5 gallon home-made sculpture. I still only use a 10 gallon electrified cooler for my HLT because I'm afraid of any additional weight in my 2 tier system. After seeing this thread I'll finally be able to make something a little stronger. So thanks.

I see alot of these in outside pictures. Has anyone figured out a good way to put some heavy duty wheels on the struts using any of the stand bottoms available??
 
Old_mil_guy said:
Anyone finding stainless unistrut anywhere?
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I posted this in the weldless thread. I have been designing one using strut for a while and found this site which has stainless strut and fittings.
http://www.strutchannelfittings.com/ They also have standard fittings. Their prices on fittings seem decent but they cost of their strut is higher than HD/Lowes.

I have not purchased anything from them so I cannot vouch for the service.
 
This looks like a good solution for a brew stand I've been planning. I will probably go with the zinc, and then have my buddy who owns a powder coating shop powder coat the pieces after I know what I want. That should keep it sealed and eliminate rust issues.
 
gifty74 said:
You can find it at most electrical supply houses. There are several close to me that carry it. It's main use is to support plumbing and conduit running in buildings or warehouses. Its shape makes it very strong. Across a 36" section (the width of my stand) one piece is safety rated at 1,130 lbs. It is heavy duty. Not quite what 2" square welded stainless is like, but well in excess of what is required for a stand holding kegs full of liquid.
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Hey I am planning a build and am considering using strut for my stand. I am from Ephrata, PA. Where exactly did you get this stuff? I would like to check it out in person.
 
Adacarda said:
Hey I am planning a build and am considering using strut for my stand. I am from Ephrata, PA. Where exactly did you get this stuff? I would like to check it out in person.
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I got it at U E Electric down on the north side of Lancaster. It's just south of the Home Depot off Fruitville Pike, on the right. They had great prices on the strut, but I ordered my fittings online as they were way cheaper, and free shipping. My parts list is on the first page. Hope that helps.
 
This thread has been very inspiring! I never thought of using unistrut for a stand.

Wheels are available for unistrut - the .pdf linked below describes them as useful for making carts out of unistrut. There also seem to be angle brackets available that might be used to support tiers on a three-tier gravity fed version. Very cool.

http://www.unistrut.us/DB/PDF1/Caster.pdf
 
On another note, welding galvanized causes a phenomenon known as metal fume fever. It is a short-term issue that produces flu-like effects. I assume that burning the coating off with a burner might (if you are breathing the fumes) cause a similar effect. Might want to fire the burners for a bit while standing far away.

http://www.aws.org/technical/facts/FACT-25.pdf
 
clawler said:
Was it difficult making the gas lines?
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No, not at all. I thought it was going to be tougher than it was. Just went to HD and bought all kinds of different sizes of 1/2" pipe (3", 4", 6", 10") because you can just return what you don't use. I then just pieced it until I hit the right heights. Used pipe dope or the yellow gas pipe tape and crank it down good with a pipe wrench. One of the easier parts of the build.
 
gifty74 said:
No, not at all. I thought it was going to be tougher than it was. Just went to HD and bought all kinds of different sizes of 1/2" pipe (3", 4", 6", 10") because you can just return what you don't use. I then just pieced it until I hit the right heights. Used pipe dope or the yellow gas pipe tape and crank it down good with a pipe wrench. One of the easier parts of the build.
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That's awesome! I am purchasing my first home in about 4-5 months so I plan on building something simliar. I am sure I will have many trips to HD when I start making mine! Thank you for posting this, it's a great tutorial for new brewers.:rockin:
 
kitemanks said:
Has anyone figured out a good way to put some heavy duty wheels on the struts using any of the stand bottoms available??
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I purchased some casters that rated at 300 lbs / caster. They have a half-inch bolt for the post. I was going to put the post in one of the holes on the strut, and fast washers and nuts to hold them in place. The casters were about $11 (for casters that don't lock, but swivel) and $17 (for the swivel lock). I thought that this was a reasonable cost. They are something like this.

Mark
 
Nice. Those are perfect, and cheap! Like Mark says use one of the holes in the strut (coming up through the bottom) and lock it down with a washer and 1/2" nut. Done. Not sure if I want mine on wheels yet, but I guess that's the better way. I like how sturdy it is sitting on a solid frame the whole way around stand. The wheels make it a little more top heavy, but I guess that's not a big deal.
 
Not Finished but works. If you use it before it's done you get used to it and it gets harder to finish.

IMG_1135.jpg



this is my strut Gantry crane with a 1500 lb winch

IMG_1136.jpg
 
That crane is awesome. Do you use that to move carboys around?

I see your spray bottle hanger there too. I found the slots in the uprights are a perfect place to hang tubing as well. My setup is just hose barbs and 3/8 high temp tubing...no qd's
 
Darkness,
I see that you have some keggs covered in bubble wrap and then stretch wrapped. I have used the industrial strength sticky backed 1 1/2 in wide or so velcro from Wal-Mart and it makes wrapping and unwrapping keggs a snap. I use it on my conicals as well.
 
Darkness

I would also like to see a close up of your wheel mounting solution. I will be mounting my wheels with the strut in the same configuration. I'm not sure about using right angle brackets, and I can't make out exactly what you did there.
 
I used 90deg brakets they make one that has 2 holes then one on the 90 bend those work great and won't rotate like a singel hole one each side. Ya the Crain is great getting a retractable corded reel to hook to it. Makes lifting nice. The supply house I use can get me any strut fitting. The crane uses strut trolleys a setup like I have could make a sweet BIAB system to lift and roll away.
 
Where is everyone buying the strut? None of my local home improvement stores (HD, Lowes, Sutherlands) seem to carry it. I found some online, but it is a lot higher than what gifty74 quoted in post #6.
 
tracyt1800 said:
Where is everyone buying the strut? None of my local home improvement stores (HD, Lowes, Sutherlands) seem to carry it. I found some online, but it is a lot higher than what gifty74 quoted in post #6.
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I think it's mostly used by plumbers, mechanical conrtactors and electricians. Try a local contractor or supply house.
 
tracyt1800 said:
Where is everyone buying the strut? None of my local home improvement stores (HD, Lowes, Sutherlands) seem to carry it. I found some online, but it is a lot higher than what gifty74 quoted in post #6.
Click to expand...
Are you sure about that? I've seen it in several HDs as well as Menard's. Some places might carry it in the plumbing section instead of the electrical department.

If your local HD doesn't carry it, I'm sure you could special-order it from the service desk, since it's not that unusual of an item.
 
In my area I have to buy the strut material at HD, Lowes, or Menards. The struts are in the electrical dept. and are 18.96 at my retail locations. Commerical plumbing and electrical stores that sell to the public are where the struts are cheaper I believe.
 
tracyt1800 said:
Where is everyone buying the strut? None of my local home improvement stores (HD, Lowes, Sutherlands) seem to carry it. I found some online, but it is a lot higher than what gifty74 quoted in post #6.
Click to expand...

Go to the electrical section at HD. It is not with the other metal (angle iron, slotted, etc) in fasteners. It should be right next to the conduit.
 

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