Wooden Brew Tree?

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BeWilder

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So I'm working with three 15.5 G Sanke's. I want to go electric on the HLT and then wrap the HLT & MT with reflectix, and then maybe Rhino line them like WortMonger did. I don't want to deal with a pump and want to keep this as simple as I can so I need to have gravity on my side. I would still be using an old turkey fryer burner to fire up my kettle so that wouldn't have to be mounted like the others were, eliminating the risk of fire next to the wood.

Could I not make a 3-tier gravity brew tree out of a 4x4 or some layered 2x4's and then anchor the keg's to the stand using bolts?

According to this the weight of a full keg is 165 lbs, (of course that depends on what it's filled with.)

What are your thoughts on the strength and stability of this set-up?

FYI: I originally posted this under the "Show us your wooden sculpture" thread but I figured it would get more exposure with it's own thread.
 
I've had thoughts of using wood to build a three tier as you suggest. Should work fine if the lumber and bolts are sized correctly!

Only problem is that the entire system will be quite high! My thoughts were to fabricate some sort of hanger system whereby the kegs are hung on the tree that would allow easy removal.

Perhaps a large metal clip / hook at the top through the handle and another clip that catches the bottom of the keg to take the weight. This way the kegs could be lifted up and removed from the tree.

As a note, using two or three 2X4's might be better than a single 4X4. Any imperfections in a single piece of wood are lessened when you laminate several together.
 
All things considered I guess 4 1x4's would be even better. Is there a special glue used to laminate wood together?
 
All things considered I guess 4 1x4's would be even better. Is there a special glue used to laminate wood together?

Just realize that if you go this route, you'll need to clean and square up the final post. Sounds like a lot of work when a 4 x 4 would work. I highly doubt that you would have all 3 kegs filled to capacity at the same time, but even so, it should work. If your heart is set on gluing up 4 1 x 4's, I'd use waterproof wood glue over Gorilla glue. Gorilla glue is the best, but it doesn't seem that you do a lot of woodworking and if that's the case, Gorilla glue can make a monsterous mess of things, you included.
 
Basic waterproof wood glue (Titebond III) will hold any lamination together, as long as you don't switch up the grain of the wood. Don't bother with Gorilla glue. I woodwork more than I brew.
 
Here's a nifty keg hanging design. You could probably add something like this that was strong enough to a wooden center post. You wouldn't need 2"x2" steel for the hangers. Something like this would be much better than using bolts IMHO.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f11/keggle-mlt-insulation-62233/#post634691

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Here's a nifty keg hanging design. You could probably add something like this that was strong enough to a wooden center post. You wouldn't need 2"x2" steel for the hangers. Something like this would be much better than using bolts IMHO.

It's funny, but that's the same design I was thinking about for the tree design. If he could get somebody to weld a plate on that same hook design with bolt holes in it, he could lag it to the post.
 
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