My Weldless Build Using Strut

It could only be more sturdy but not needed. I can only think of solid for aesthetics.

why are you considering solid strut?

do you have access to cheap/free solid strut? looks?

To finish my thought, solid looks cooler (IMO) but the holes in the regular strut are very handy and it's a lot lighter.

Exactly, the utility of the holes being all over the place, and the weight loss, trump the better looks IMHO.

I used the solid for one main reason and that was less places I had to clean. With solid strut I can just wipe it down with a cloth and my thought was less places bacteria to thrive. Not that I am a dirty brewer or anything but I have been known to spill my share of sweet wort and that stuff get sticky!

I was not worried about weight as I never plan on doing anything with it other then wheel it around my garage plus slotted strut is only 1.5lbs less for every 10' so at 50' of strut your less then 8 lbs. As for holes if I need one I can drill one or better yet install a eye bolt or hook for the job.

In the end both work the same both are great. I would say if you not willing to order online and wait for it to show up then go slotted. If you don't mind that and are not worried about the slight weight increase then go solid, it looks cleaner and IMO is actually cleaner.

I actually was asking because when looking at GP LLC's website...I noticed the solid strut. I then began thinking I could accomplish the same type of stand with a clean look (not that slotted is not clean). I actually searched around and found Daves69 thread on his solid strut build (great build by the way!).

I was asking from an aesthetic and cleaning aspect. And when comparing prices, the difference is rather minimal.

I do think the slotted does have some added benefit to add items without having to drill.

This thread has been keeping me up at night thinking about brew stands. ha.

Hmm, my neighbor works for Fastenal and I am pricing steel now for a Brutus 10 build and hounding friends to borrow a welder. I may just look more into this and likely be finished sooner than asking for favors and other friends time.

I just talked with fastnenal today. they quoted me 22 per 10 feet and would not cut to specs. the crazy thing is I have been getting quotes all over the place. granger quoted me something like 80 per 10 foot piece. I noticed that the prices for these struts are on the upswing since a few months ago and i am not sure why. let me know what fastenal gives you for a quote.

I still haven't read all this yet, but wanted to ask this to see if it's been done. I'm leaning heavily on strut over a welded stand.

Brutus 10 style but with storage for the keggles under similar to what jlandin did? https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f51/my-new-brew-system-brutus-10-some-nice-modifications-172927/

Edit, the more I read I don't think it's that necessary. My goal was to store it under a workbench (that I may also build out of strut)

johns said:

I just talked with fastnenal today. they quoted me 22 per 10 feet and would not cut to specs. the crazy thing is I have been getting quotes all over the place. granger quoted me something like 80 per 10 foot piece. I noticed that the prices for these struts are on the upswing since a few months ago and i am not sure why. let me know what fastenal gives you for a quote.

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Fastenal, McMaster, Grainger and even Home Depot will be high for strut. You really need to search for electrical supply houses. The aforementioned stores do not buy it in enough quantity. The electrical guys use it all the time so they have more buying power. Where I buy, outside they have racks and racks full of strut.

30Bones said:

I still haven't read all this yet, but wanted to ask this to see if it's been done. I'm leaning heavily on strut over a welded stand.

Brutus 10 style but with storage for the keggles under similar to what jlandin did? https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f51/my-new-brew-system-brutus-10-some-nice-modifications-172927/

Edit, the more I read I don't think it's that necessary. My goal was to store it under a workbench (that I may also build out of strut)

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I built my strut stand using his measurements. I am not finished yet, but I think it would work out well.

adamant said:

I built my strut stand using his measurements. I am not finished yet, but I think it would work out well.

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Keep us posted. I think it would be nice for space savings. If you are happy with it, I may hit you up for some dimensions

here's the one I came up with; its worked well for 3 batches so far. I have a question: take a look at my rig. How can I incorporate a pump into the setup? Thanks...

Nice build. Since it is gravity there is little need for a pump. If you were using a kettle MT, you could use a pump to recirc but not necessary with a cooler since you can't direct fire. Only possible reason you might use a pump is to push through a plate chiller or CF chiller possibly use a pump to whirlpool if using an IC.

he could also use a pump with a RIMS... but again, not really needed if you're using a cooler (unless you're really, really concerned about those 2-3 degrees you lose over an hour - and you shouldn't be - or you want to do step mashes).

I think my curiosity has just been answered!

RDWHAHB, right? If its not broke don't fix it?

birdley123 said:

RDWHAHB, right? If its not broke don't fix it?

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i'd say so. sounds like you have a mild case of gearitis. it'll pass

Has anyone used self-leveling feet on their stand? I was looking at casters but when looking at my garage/driveway...some leveling is a must. I was thinking of maybe using a splice at the bottom and using a splice plate and bolting some levelers on. Just wondering what others have done.

Ok so I got some 10 foot sticks for 15 and change. However I am not sure that they are the right ones. The ones I have are have a large slot in them. My question is how stable/strong are they? Would I be alright using them? Should I take them back and go to HD?

Well, that is the traditional strut that you got. Does it look like the stuff in the first post of this thread? If so then that's the stuff. Just make sure it's strut and not slotted angle steel. That is much thinner. The strut is very strong and should have no problems supporting what you're putting on it provided you assemble it correctly with the vertical pieces underneath and supporting the longer horizontal beams.

the slots appear to be longer that in the first post. I wish my camera was working so as to upload a picture of it. When I was there they gave me a cooper b catalog. I can look it up that way. I also noticed that different companies that make the struts use different terminology, and different id numbers when referring to the same part. This makes it just that much more difficult when trying to explain to the clerk what I want. I am not a tradesman BTW.

HD3 said:

Has anyone used self-leveling feet on their stand? I was looking at casters but when looking at my garage/driveway...some leveling is a must. I was thinking of maybe using a splice at the bottom and using a splice plate and bolting some levelers on. Just wondering what others have done.

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How uneven is your driveway? I had to use self leveling feet when I brewed with a 3 tier system however now that I am single tier with casters it's easy to adjust (roll around) the stand so that it is level.

I use these casters on my stand. I don't use them to level my stand as much as I just to keep the stand from moving. You can use these wheels to level floors with slight uneveness.



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The corner brackets (THK-233) are on backorder on StrutChannelFittings.com until the end of February. Are they available anywhere else? Does anyone sell something similar that would work? They do have a powder-coated version available for ~$1 more but would this cause problems if used close to the burners?

SpudClampDawg said:

The corner brackets (THK-233) are on backorder on StrutChannelFittings.com until the end of February. Are they available anywhere else? Does anyone sell something similar that would work? They do have a powder-coated version available for ~$1 more but would this cause problems if used close to the burners?

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They are doing a THK-233-C to kind of make up for it. It's $3.44 and it is made by cutting down a THK-251.

I am looking to add two burners and found these packages on Amazon. I know a lot of folks lean towards the BG14, but would either of these work? Is a 10psi regulator big enough if I am doing 10 gallon batches? Thanks!

http://www.amazon.com/Bayou-Classic-Preset-Regulator-Burners/dp/B00F1VCRC2/ref=sr_1_11?ie=UTF8&qid=1391000137&sr=8-11&keywords=bayou+bg10

http://www.amazon.com/Bayou-Classic-Preset-Regulator-Burner/dp/B00F1V93I8/ref=pd_sim_sbs_lg_2

For the $6 difference why not go BG12?

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00F1V93I8/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

Strut is some good stuff. I actually have been using it to weld with...I used a wire wheel to remove the galvanized layer from the last 2" of each piece. It still fumed a bunch but i made sure the garage was well ventilated. Also had problems here and there with porosity but still ended up with adequate welds. New steel is expensive, especially the 2" square stuff brewers seem to like. A 10' section of strut is $19 @ lowe's...new steel is easily twice that.

It took about 50 feet of strut to complete a B3 1550ish type sculpture...that's $100 in strut or $200+ in steel....forget about stainless...that's closer to $300!

ScubaSteve said:

Strut is some good stuff. I actually have been using it to weld with...I used a wire wheel to remove the galvanized layer from the last 2" of each piece. It still fumed a bunch but i made sure the garage was well ventilated. Also had problems here and there with porosity but still ended up with adequate welds. New steel is expensive, especially the 2" square stuff brewers seem to like. A 10' section of strut is $19 @ lowe's...new steel is easily twice that.

It took about 50 feet of strut to complete a B3 1550ish type sculpture...that's $100 in strut or $200+ in steel....forget about stainless...that's closer to $300!

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I know everyone doesn't have the same access to steel and I am fortunate to have a large company like Discount Steel local to me but I just paid $37 per 24' piece of 2"x2" 16ga tubing.

1.5" square steel here is $1.45/ft 2" is $1.66 (both 16 ga)

Prices vary, but yours are really high. I was going to go strut until I called on steel prices.

i don't think the BG12 puts out enough heat to boil 10 gallons. i have BG14s for the HLT & BK, and a BG12 for warming the MLT.

*if* the BG12 can boil 10 gallons, it would take a long time to get to boil.

I am certain the 12 can boil 10 gallons. All depends on high or low pressure though.

30Bones said:

I am certain the 12 can boil 10 gallons. All depends on high or low pressure though.

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Yeah, all the info out there gets confusing. So, the BG12 will work, but not in the kit I linked with a 10psi regulator?

Anyone have any tips on mounting 10" banjo burners?

SpudClampDawg said:

Yeah, all the info out there gets confusing. So, the BG12 will work, but not in the kit I linked with a 10psi regulator?

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It should do it. I ran a 10psi and a smaller torch style burner and got 7 gallons rolling in 30-40 minutes I'd bet, but it was LOUD! I have a new 30 psi reg I would sell you cheap over returning it

oldstyle69 said:

Anyone have any tips on mounting 10" banjo burners?

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Curious as this is the biggest problem I am having. Build my own wind screens/mounts or pay $25/ea for stainless brewers hardware pieces. I am not sold on the thickness of the BH's pieces for hanging these heavy pieces from long term or if you move your stand from garage to backyard or on a trailer/back of a truck.

When I started doing 10 gallon batches I went straight to a jet burner, and started using natural gas instead of propane. It was a lot more money but the difference is night and day.

Same here. I went with a 10-tip jet burner and run it off of house NG. NOT GOOD when low flame and control is needed, but man, on full blast there is nothing that heats faster that I've found. My buddy has a BG14 on high pressure propane and his takes a lot longer to get to boil. Probably 40'ish % improvement with the NG jet burner. I use the BG12 for my direct fired mash and I think it's perfect for that. Nice low, even, highly controllable flame. I run both my jet and BG12 off the house NG.

As for the BG14 burner mount, I've gotten a lot of people asking about it after selling them a strut stand kit. I ordered some slotted strut fittings that I think are going to do the trick. If it works like I think it should I'll post here. These could be used in conjunction with the SS heat/wind shields but the fitting would allow you to direct bolt through the shield, and attach directly to the BG14 burner. This way the shield would not be supporting the burner, which I would agree, might not be very secure moving it around, etc.

http://www.tejassmokers.com/newproducts_page4.htm

The Crab boiler at the top of the page is the one I use. I got it in propane first, which uses alot of propane and then switched to Natural gas, best decision I made next to the 20 gallon size Blinchman I use to boil in. These things are just worth the cash. The Blinchman fermenters aren't though.

I'm getting ready to order parts and pieces to build one of these stands.
Anyone have any setup or pic's on mounting the BG 12 or BG 14 burner ? May have to check out gifty74 mount he sells.

I'm still tightening it up but this is what I have with bg14 . I've got to add washers and nuts but it seams the burner holes are metric type 6 threads ??

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