Fish Tank Stand for Brew Stand

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aredling

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Like many others before me i'm combing through the HBT archives as I plan a brew stand build. I haven't seen a whole lot about using those angle iron fish tank stands as a starting point.

I have one if my basement that measures:

49.5" long, 13.24" deep, 28" tall.

This was originally for a 55 gallon tank so the strength doesn't concern me for 3 keggles. It's 1.25x1.25x.125 angle all around and has some supports in various locations too.

The keggles would only hang off the edge very slightly maybe 1" on front and back if I centered them.

Almost identical the thisone

Anyone have any thoughts on this?
 
My only immediate concern would be the space. When you say hanging over by an inch, are the keggles touching? I bet they are.

Even if it can handle the weight, I'd be concerned about cramming everything else in there like burners etc. Doing things in a small space is good, but you don't want to constrain yourself considering that most of your $$$ is going to be spent on your keggles/fittings/etc anyhow. The stand is a relatively cheap part of the whole build.

If you really want to use the stand, do you have access to a local welder who could elongate and reinforce it for you on the cheap?
 
I def. have access to local shops that can do this work if I need it. My boss has a welding setup that he's always looking for an excuse to use.

I don't have all 3 kegs yet, just my single keggle right now. The stand is 49.5 long. 3 kegs (16.1" each) is 48.3 total space. If each of the kegs on the end are all the way at the outside edge you'd have ~1/2" space between the kegs. This does seem tight but I'm not sure how much space i'd give myself if i was gonna build this from scratch. Maybe 2-3 inches clearance?

I looked at this as a good way to save 200 bucks in material + labor to build the stand myself.
 
I hear you on the savings.

One thing to consider is that an aquarium is self-bracing. Meaning, the vertical sheets of glass don't bend, so the stand does not need to be as strong in the middle. With three keggles, you essentially have three separate point loads. The stand is going to flex. Will it actually bend or break? I doubt it. But it's certainly not going to stay straight while in use.

With regard to spacing, 4" seems like a good minimum to me.

I'd consider getting your friend with the welder to extend the frame with some channel by roughly 1', and reinforce it with another crossbar and a single central leg while he's at it. Won't be much material.
 
I think this is a good idea, and even if I have to get this done at a machine shop it won't be too much work. 6' sticks of that angle are only 15 bucks from mcmaster.

Mine already has a single crossbar in the middle that the link doesn't show. I could just add two more legs below that. Sounds like that's my best bet.

thanks for the advice.
 
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