My Weldless Build Using Strut

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sweetcell said:
i would be concerned about the ceramic coating's ability to withstand the pressure of the nuts being tightened against it. would it crack?
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I'm going to do it and I'll update the thread afterwards. I figure for the price, if it doesn't work, I'm only out a good learning experience. [emoji106]
 
Jeepilot: your results will depend on the sandblasting actually removing all or at least most the galvanic coating.

One question for the general thoughts: I was quoted $30/piece (10' stick) for standard 1 5/8 strut made of aluminum. Do you all think this is worth it? I paid $15/10' for 4 other sticks. Wondering if just buying aluminum strut for my stand's top layer is worth the price, or if I should just buy the muriatic acid and rustoleum.
 
jeeppilot said:
Has anyone looked into ceramic coating their strut? I talked to a guy who will sand or soda blast the strut, so I don't have to cook or acid bath the galvanization off, then spray and bake a 1500 degree ceramic coating for $3/ft. My table is going to have 55" long pieces 12" width pieces. So about 13' for my setup to do the top = $40. I was lucky and my strut was free but even at average $15/ 10' stick, that still less half the cost of SS strut. Has anyone done this? Any potential issues?
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forgot to ask: where did you find someone willing/able to do this? is ceramic coating a common thing?
 
Ceramic coating apparently IS a common thing. I just googled "sand blast metal" put it into maps and found companies that do sand / soda blasting and various coatings.
 
I'm in Memphis and I found a company that does powder coating and "specialized coating". I called and spoke with the owner who informed me of this option. He mentioned the soda blasting too which I had never heard of, but apparently is too gentle to remove the galvanization.

aangel, I'd be concerned about aluminum's ability to remain rigid enough under the intense heat to hold the weight. As for the price, I am fortunate and have a neighbor who works for a company that has lots of "drops", or pieces that are cut and the remaining lengths are too small for their use. Basically, I got all my stock free.

I'm dropping off the stock on Monday and it will take a couple weeks to get it back and assemble it before I test run it. Update still to come!
 
Further updates:

Holy hell is sandblasting expensive. Like "10x higher cost than the strut" expensive.
Also: reach out to metals and electrical distributors online. I was able to get one to quote me stainless strut at $9/10'!

Now I'm wondering what the hell to do with the 40 feet of galvanized strut I have.
 
aangel said:
Further updates:

Holy hell is sandblasting expensive. Like "10x higher cost than the strut" expensive.
Also: reach out to metals and electrical distributors online. I was able to get one to quote me stainless strut at $9/10'!

Now I'm wondering what the hell to do with the 40 feet of galvanized strut I have.
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I was quoted $3/ft to sandblast AND ceramic coat. I'm only doing the top half which is about 15' so $45 bucks to prep and paint. That seems very reasonable. Now, if I could get stainless for $9/ft, I'd be all over it. Who gave you that quote?
 
I am looking to shorten mine. How close do you think i can get my cooler to the burners??
KIMG0024_zps0tdbhhcd.jpg
 
sweetcell said:
why not build some sort of a "heat skirt" to put under the cooler, to deflect direct heat away and around the cooler?
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I talked to a furnace repairman, he let me salvage anything I could get my hands on. I got tons for this build. Including metal flashing I use for a heat shield for my pump.
 
Ok. This thread is waaaaaaaaaaaaaaay to long for my ADD. LOL!

I'm going to build one of these finally, and toss (probably burn) my Sanford & Son wooden rig. What's the most popular (good quality) strut to buy that's easy to find? Also, stainless is out of the budget.

Any tips?
 
Yellowirenut said:
I got all the bits and pieces from http://www.strutchannelfittings.com/
The actual strut I got from a plumbing supply house. I don't recall how much a stick cost but it only came in 21' lengths.
Menards actually has a good selection also.
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Thank you.

I'm sure this thread has evolved since page 25, so what is the recommended strut to use? I'm not too sure galvanized is a good idea to burn...


Sorry if I'm being a burden, but there's so much damn info in this thread and i'm sure it keeps changing.
 
If I remember right I got the Pre-galvanized stiff. A few pieces are the green pained ones I found hiding in the corners at work. I am not concerned about the steel being weathered because it will only be outside wile I am brewing.
 
Well, I finally got my strut back from getting ceramic coated and put it all together. The cost was much more than I was originally quoted (another story) and ran $300 for 25 feet!! Because of the misunderstanding, they charged me $200, the cost of the material only. However it does look very sharp and the coating appears thick.

View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1457915885.464312.jpgView attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1457915902.396328.jpg

Fired it up with the BG14 first and not even 10 minutes in, smoke starts rolling! Shut it down, and quickly can saw the ceramic coating is boiling!! This stuff was supposed to be good to 1200 degrees and is used for engine headers.

Moral of the story, ceramic won't take the heat. Go with stainless, or just burn off the galvanization. I'm out $200 and now have to go buy stainless at another $200 and I can't brew for another couple weeks. [emoji35]
 
I ended up deciding to go with mild steel with a 2000 degree rustoleum coating for my my stand top.
 
I think propane and NG can both burn at close to 2000 C, so it will be tough to get a coating that can handle that kind of heat. The fact that it's a direct flame doesn't help. The temperature at your burner will probably be lower, but it will still be pretty hot.

I think SS is the way to go if you're concerned about the galvanized stuff. You can do a mixture of galvanized and SS to save a few bucks. You just need to carefully design the stand so that the flames only touch SS.
 
jeeppilot said:
How is that holding up to the heat? What burner and what if any heat shielding are you using?
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I'm building it next week so I can't report on it yet. The Rustoleum itself is only rated to 2000F/1000C so I'm actually kind of concerned now. On the other hand, from what I understand there are many mild steel brew stands with rustoleum paint jobs that don't rust...so maybe it'll work. Either that or the Rustoleum stops working and hides the underlying steel starting to rust.
 
Yellowirenut said:
If I remember right I got the Pre-galvanized stiff. A few pieces are the green pained ones I found hiding in the corners at work. I am not concerned about the steel being weathered because it will only be outside wile I am brewing.
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Thanks for the info! I appreciate it!


This is what I decided. Green strut for the base and legs, and mild steel struts for the top.


There are steel tables at my work. We clean them with Simple Green, wipe them dry, then coat them with a rag sprayed with WD40. Then we wipe them clean before the next use. Not a spot of rust, and they're over 20 years old and stored in a garage. We use them for just about everything and no issues. So that's my plan.

I worried about the WD40 igniting even though it was wiped clean, so I took a torch to a table at work... no fire! Whooohooo! Lol! So no worries there. Better to check at work than in my garage. Lol!
 
aangel said:
The zinc will burn off. And poison you as it burns off. And also expose the mild steel underneath to rust.
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Further reading indicates that yes, it is a bad idea to just burn it off. Explains many things about my family from the deep south and their "projects"

The question is, just how much of the top is necessary? Due to how these things are built, everything that is above the plane of the burner?
 
bierdeblanche said:
Further reading indicates that yes, it is a bad idea to just burn it off. Explains many things about my family from the deep south and their "projects"

The question is, just how much of the top is necessary? Due to how these things are built, everything that is above the plane of the burner?
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There are options to remove galvanization. Acids weak and strong (vinegar, muriatic acid, etc). Maybe some iron oxide removal agents. I'm using Metal Rescue at the moment, will report back on how that works.
 
aangel said:
There are options to remove galvanization. Acids weak and strong (vinegar, muriatic acid, etc). Maybe some iron oxide removal agents. I'm using Metal Rescue at the moment, will report back on how that works.
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Aren't these "fire" or hot-dipped galv?

If so, acid isn't going to work. I think you'd be better off grinding - a lot safer, too.

I think for mine I'm just going to pony up for the SS and not worry about it.
 
bierdeblanche said:
Aren't these "fire" or hot-dipped galv?

If so, acid isn't going to work. I think you'd be better off grinding - a lot safer, too.

I think for mine I'm just going to pony up for the SS and not worry about it.
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Acid works on galvanization coatings:



'tis a dramatic reaction. I should note that my previous statement about using Metal Rescue was in regards to removing mill scale and rust (not galvanization).
 
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aangel said:
Acid works on galvanization coatings:

youtube

'tis a dramatic reaction. I should note that my previous statement about using Metal Rescue was in regards to removing mill scale and rust (not galvanization).
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Right, but it's a lot more difficult to do on hot-dipped galv, which is what galv strut is.

It would be a lot safer, and easier, and less time just to grind it off.

That guy in the video has a good point about the inside and grinding.

I know most conduit is hot-dip galv, no idea if what he's doing is hot-dipped.

I do know that he should be wearing a gloves/goggles and you should have a fan on that blowing away from you if you're doing it...

Also, for people reading:

Always
Add
Acid

Water first, then you add acid, otherwise you risk splashing acid everywhere because acid and small mounts of water boil and gets everywhere.
 
Just want to thank everyone this thread has been great!! Took a couple weeks to read while I planned and order they stuff. Started the build and got about 75% cuts done. As you can see not a CAD or Google sketch type and adjusting as I go. Trying to build a 3 tier stand as short as possible since I'm not that tall. Can't wait to start to assemble

View attachment 1474134438891.jpg

View attachment 1474134453286.jpg
 
I bookmarked this thread in early 2013. Well, I finally got around to building my own stand. Basically copied LuisInIdaho's build from earlier in the thread as it fit my needs pretty with already having the Blichmann Burner. Ordered a second burner & pump yesterday and am about halfway through putting the strut together.

Should be finishing the framing & mounting of one burner tomorrow & I will post some pics.
 
xdalisx said:
I bookmarked this thread in early 2013. Well, I finally got around to building my own stand. Basically copied LuisInIdaho's build from earlier in the thread as it fit my needs pretty with already having the Blichmann Burner. Ordered a second burner & pump yesterday and am about halfway through putting the strut together.

Should be finishing the framing & mounting of one burner tomorrow & I will post some pics.
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Looking forward to seeing your rendition!
 

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