Brew Stand Frame Dimension Questions

I'm handing off my plans to the welder tonight. He essentially is going to build this thing for less than I the cheapest welding gun I can find in Atlanta ($250). I'm stoked.

I'm essentially building the "Brutus 10" minus the HERMS capabilities (for now).

Here are my questions:

1) In the Brutus 10 setup, Lonnie uses 14 Gallon pots, not converted kegs. He has a 12" by 12" square that each pot rests on. Each beam is 2 inches and there is a 2 inch gap between each "burner square".

Because converted kegs (what I use) are 16 1/8" wide, there would be 1/16" overlap past the beam on each side of the square...would you all suggest widening the squares or do you think that overlap is ok?

2) The build is 28" tall plus casters that look another 3-4 inches for a total of about 32" tall -- any recommendations? I want to be able to mess with everything without using a step stool or standing on my tippy toes (lol).

3) I'm going to have the welder build the "arm" for a panel later -- any other suggestions for modifications to the Brutus 10 build?

Stevorino said:

1) In the Brutus 10 setup, Lonnie uses 14 Gallon pots, not converted kegs. He has a 12" by 12" square that each pot rests on. Each beam is 2 inches and there is a 2 inch gap between each "burner square".
Because converted kegs (what I use) are 16 1/8" wide, there would be 1/16" overlap past the beam on each side of the square...would you all suggest widening the squares or do you think that overlap is ok?

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I use converted kegs. My brew stand burners are 15x15 leaving only roughly 1/2 inch overhang. I dunno whether or matters, but frankly I'd rather have as much material under my vessels as possible.

Stevorino said:

2) The build is 28" tall plus casters that look another 3-4 inches for a total of about 32" tall -- any recommendations? I want to be able to mess with everything without using a step stool or standing on my tippy toes (lol).

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That's about exactly what mine is. Seems to work fine. Then again, I'm almost 6'2". YMMV if you're shorter.

Hmmm-- maybe I should just consider adding extra space between each one instead...Thanks for the post!

I would make the squares 16 1/8" to 16 1/4".

Make the stand so the top of the kegs are "boobie height". It looks like there is room for adjustment on the height of the Brutus so take advantage of it towards your benefit.

Stevorino said:

Because converted kegs (what I use) are 16 1/8" wide, there would be 1/16" overlap past the beam on each side of the square...would you all suggest widening the squares or do you think that overlap is ok?

Click to expand...

The overlap is ok but you may want to think down the road a little. May want to leave yourself more room (say 20" seats) if you think you may want to upgrade in the future.

2) The build is 28" tall plus casters that look another 3-4 inches for a total of about 32" tall -- any recommendations? I want to be able to mess with everything without using a step stool or standing on my tippy toes (lol).

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Sounds about right. Your's should put it at around 55-1/2". See where that is on you and go from there.

Good luck!

If I upgrade the seats to 20"...won't my current keggles just fall through?

Stevorino said:

If I upgrade the seats to 20"...won't my current keggles just fall through?

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Without something to hold 'em yeah. Need to weld in 45° elements on the corners, diamond-shaped, like TerrapinChef's:



This is essentially what I did with mine (mine's single-tier now). Holds 'em well and provides enough room for the burners.

My vessels platform sits 23" off the floor with the castors on. I don't think I'd be happy with them if they were 7" higher than that. I'm 6' tall and that just low enough for me to stir my mash without struggling.

Good input guys -- thanks! If anyone else has more to add, I'd love to hear it.

FireBrewer said:

Without something to hold 'em yeah. Need to weld in 45° elements on the corners, diamond-shaped, like TerrapinChef's:

This is essentially what I did with mine (mine's single-tier now). Holds 'em well and provides enough room for the burners.

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That's a lot of extra cutting, deburring, welding, and grinding though.

Also with these 45s, you are going to need to pay very close attention and make extra sure that you have all those pieces clamped down before welding. You could initially have a nice straight, square base that ends up getting twisted from all that welding unless you have a butt-load of clamps to hold everything secure.

TommyBoy44060 said:

That's a lot of extra cutting, deburring, welding, and grinding though.

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Not all that much. Once the saw angle is set, keep cutting. Deburr a little, tack, weld and grind the welds to finish.

Also with these 45s, you are going to need to pay very close attention and make extra sure that you have all those pieces clamped down before welding. You could initially have a nice straight, square base that ends up getting twisted from all that welding unless you have a butt-load of clamps to hold everything secure.

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Get one of these:


My friend did the welding for me while I cut the stock to length. No twisting, no problems. Did the whole thing in a few hours.

I take it that magnet works pretty damn well?

Might have to get me one then.

A few hours to complete that is extremely impressive. This took me at least 8 hours!

Yeah, they're pretty handy. A must-have.

Depends on what kettles or if you are going with Keg conversions, here is a basic drawing of dimensions from my build, hope this helps:

Is weldoing really required for rigs of this nature?

It seems that some heavy duty threaded fasteners would be mush easier for the average DIYer and should be sufficiently strong.

TommyBoy44060 said:

I take it that magnet works pretty damn well?

Might have to get me one then.

A few hours to complete that is extremely impressive. This took me at least 8 hours!

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That thing is a frickin masterpiece though.

I bought one of those magnets but I found that with angle stock, clamping it together with a C-clamp worked better. With square tube, the magnet might be handy. I think I spent at least 4 hours just grinding the welds and trying to get all the old paint off the salvaged bedframes.

tomwirsing said:

Is weldoing really required for rigs of this nature?

It seems that some heavy duty threaded fasteners would be mush easier for the average DIYer and should be sufficiently strong.

Click to expand...

I would think a lot more cross-bracing would be needed in order to keep it sqaure without welding...

Thanks Bobby. I completed it in September. (I think?) I only brewed twice with this so far which really sucks. One of my dogs recently chewed up my living room carpet and I replaced the carpet with the help of a c.c.. I hate owing cash so I have put every penny into paying off the damn rug for now.

Christmas present buying isn't helping much at all either. I bought a gift for my father and was like, "Could of got a sack of 2 row and pound of nuggets for that price." Once I take care of things I will be back in action. Hopefully make a New Year's batch...

Build the frame low as you can go as casters will raise it. Add a tippy dump to it. Don't put yourself in a corner as you will expand in brew volumes as it's a natural thing when brewing over time. Build the stand so it is easy to convert to these larger pots or keggles when the time comes. Build it once right it's cheaper than twice plus explaining why the added building costs to the War Department.

On welding I hate those magnets as you need a little gap for full penetration welds plus they do not allow for thermal shrinkage on your tacks unless you add a shim to correct for this before tack shrinkage before completing all the welding. JMO's