My Weldless Build Using Strut

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I really want to build one of these. I see most of you guys out there are using Keggles on these stands. Anyone have dimensions for Kettles? I'm gonna be using the 20 gal. Spike Brewing Kettles ( I already have 1) They are about 18 in diameter. I'm terrible at figuring this stuff out. I want a single tier, 3 station with 1 station being a direct fire mash tun. Any help would be awesome!
 
Yes, if it's 18" diameter then make the width 18"... don't forget to account for the width of the strut on some of your cuts.

Gotcha, thanks! I saw this and was thinking about buying one of these kits from here :

http://www.strutchannelfittings.com...-AND-FITTINGS-BLACK-POWDER-COATED_p_1187.html

I wasn't sure what lengths I should have them cut the Strut though. It seems like it might be about the same price or a little more than doing everything yourself. I wouldn't have to rent a chop saw, time etc.
 
Just used a power drill, the plate isn't too difficult to get through with a metal bit. I used 2" #10 (I think) bolts with nylon locking nuts to keep them secure due to the pump's vibration.
 
I ordered one of the strutchannlefittings.com kits. I've wanted a single tier brewing system for but did want to she'll put the money for 2 pumps.

I'm just getting back into brewing after taking 6yrs off because an old friend of mine borrowed then sold my last all grain set up. After that I was so floored by him doing that to me that I just quit doing it but now I'm ready to get back into it and thanks to this tread I know how I'm getting back into it.

Can't wait to get my kit. Banjo burners have been ordered, keggles have been replaced and pumps and hoses are being ordered in the next 2 weeks. Thanks again to all that have posted to this topic, your information has made it possible for me to get back to the hobby I love.
 
I'm just getting back into brewing after taking 6yrs off because an old friend of mine borrowed then sold my last all grain set up.

Not sure I'd call this guy a friend, but welcome back to the hobby. We greet you with arms wide open.
 
He did a lot for me in the past so I just call us even and keep my distance. But back to the topic at hand I can't wait to get my strut stand and start brewing again.


Brew the beers you enjoy. Enjoy the beers you brew.
 
I ordered burner hangers from strutstands.com. They worked great for 10 inch banjo burners. Made it really simple. They also worked great to hang my blichmann burner. I just popped the legs off and mounted the burner and wind shield.
 
Agreed. The Blichmann burners with the SS wind shields are very nice and make for a nice setup on a strut stand with the burner mounts I sell. Like you say just take the legs off and the mounts will allow you to easily attach them to the stand and have adjustable height.
 
My stand shipped today. I can't wait.


Brew the beers you enjoy. Enjoy the beers you brew.
 
Okay... So I spent the last few days reading every post in this thread and I'm hooked. :rockin: 90 pages WOW! I've been in the market for a brew stand for some time and was ready to pull the trigger on a Ruby or Synergy rig until I happened upon this thread.

However, I recently invested in two 25-gallon kettles that are 20" in diameter, to go along with my 15-gallon HLT, requiring my brew stand to be a bit larger to accommodate them. I'm set on a brutus style stand that's low enough for me to get easy access to each kettle and would love to run my measurements by you guys to make sure I'm not missing something. I guess my only concern is overall height of the stand given that the Blichmann burners put out heat from beneath and I don't want to put too much heat on the pumps / gas manifold. Any experience in this area?

My kettles are 20" tall and from the picture below, total height from casters to kettle lid would be 3' 7" - 3' 10" depending caster height. Should I be concerned or should I increase height and deal with a step stool for mash in?

Brew Stand.jpg
 
My kettles are 20" tall and from the picture below, total height from casters to kettle lid would be 3' 7" - 3' 10" depending caster height. Should I be concerned or should I increase height and deal with a step stool for mash in?

I'd keep the height as low as you can. It makes moving stuff around much easier. I made my 2nd tier a little too high and it's a pain schlepping my cooler onto it.

I use Wok burners, but I've found that a little bit of strategically placed AL flashing goes a long way toward keeping heat off of pumps and such. I have it on areas of my wiring, gas plumbing, and pumps. I use velcro tape to keep it attached, so it can be removed for cleaning and storage.

As far as your floor, I use some silicone baking sheets under te stand to deflect the heat from my burners. I have rubberized flooring in my garage and this allows me to brew in the garage.
 
I might make the stand 4" taller, allowing me some wiggle room to get a deflector and additional equipment in there and maybe build a storage box for the hosing when not in use.

Just pulled the trigger and made the purchase from strutchannelfittings.com and will pick up the strut frames locally... Unless the black powder coated strut channel is worth the extra price? Does anyone have experience with the powder coating as far as appearance? better heat resistance?

Also 2 questions regarding burner placements and measurement:

1) With the Blichmann Burner, do I buy the Stand or TopTier version?
2) If I cut the stand closer to strutstands.com measurements, will there be an issue with larger 20" kettles? I would increase the length but keep the depth the same to allow for proper burner placement. My concern would be that the kettles would hang a few inches on the front and back of the stand but would be equally spaced with the extra length.

Thanks for any support. I'll be cutting at the end of next week!
 
I think Blichmann uses the same floor standing burner on the Top Tier. I have mounted a Blichmann on a stand I built for a local guy and it worked great. I also sold several burner mount bracket kits that people have used on the Blichmann burners and they really like them. Just remove the legs and use a mounting bracket (mine or just fab them up) and it makes for a real nice install. A little pricey compared to a Bayou BG14 you can buy online, but you do get the SS wind shield. That's basically what you're paying for as you won't use the legs. You do get the regulator and hose too I suppose.

As for how much overhang, I think a little overhang is actually good. I've been making some that way now and people seem to like them. In fact I now use a 20 gal Megapot for my BK and it overhangs a good bit. The benefit is that is almost blocks the triangular gap at the four corners where lots of heat comes out and heats up things like a sight glass, thermometer, ball valves, etc. Having that totally blocked off is nice. No real loss of stability with the pot overhanging either. Hope that helps.
 
As for how much overhang, I think a little overhang is actually good. I've been making some that way now and people seem to like them. In fact I now use a 20 gal Megapot for my BK and it overhangs a good bit. The benefit is that is almost blocks the triangular gap at the four corners where lots of heat comes out and heats up things like a sight glass, thermometer, ball valves, etc. Having that totally blocked off is nice. No real loss of stability with the pot overhanging either. Hope that helps.

Thanks gifty74 - this really helps. After looking at my measurements, it would make sense to have the kettles overhang for those very reasons. My 72" length will stay the same and I'll just adjust the middle struts and play around with it.

As soon as I start the build, I'll be sure to post some pictures!
 
In fact I now use a 20 gal Megapot for my BK and it overhangs a good bit. The benefit is that is almost blocks the triangular gap at the four corners where lots of heat comes out and heats up things like a sight glass, thermometer, ball valves, etc. Having that totally blocked off is nice.
i'm not sure that having the pot completely seal all gaps is such a good thing. you are potentially limiting oxygen flow to the flame. if heat (and oxygen-free air) can't rise, it need to go around... keeping the oxygen-free air closer (or right on top of) to the flame. heat rising up = fresh, oxygen-rich air being replenished from below.
 
The powder coating is nice, but it will burn off near your burners, and will smell like a$$ until it burns back to a cool enough spot.

Has anyone tried to to coat the top of the strut stand (exposed to the burner heat) in Barb-B-Que paint AFTER burning off the galvanization?

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Rust-Ole...Satin-High-Heat-Spray-Paint-7778830/202315061

If this can work, I would rather get black powder coated strut to maintain a uniform look throughout the stand.
 
Rynolee, lemme know how the build goes for you. I'm about to embark on the same style stand, I've already got the struts/hardware just need to tighten up the plans and do the cuts. I picked up two 89qt kettles (MT/HLT) that are 18.75" dia and already had a morebeer 26gal BK that is ~20" so I was wondering what dimensions you went with. What height did you ultimately decide on?
 
Anyone have any idea how I would go about mounting an edelmetall burner from Norther Brewer? Just bolting together my single tier strut stand but haven't thought through the burner mounting. I'd like to keep the windshield in tact.
 
Anyone have any idea how I would go about mounting an edelmetall burner from Norther Brewer? Just bolting together my single tier strut stand but haven't thought through the burner mounting. I'd like to keep the windshield in tact.

I used right angle brackets to attach my burners to the stand. But they were Bg14's .

I would remove the screen, take the bolts to a hardware store, buy longer ones and bolt the burner to the stand somehow. Make sense?
 
Anyone have any idea how I would go about mounting an edelmetall burner from Norther Brewer? Just bolting together my single tier strut stand but haven't thought through the burner mounting. I'd like to keep the windshield in tact.

I used the brackets from strutstands.com to mount my blichmann burner. Fit perfectly and super easy. I was able to use the holes from where I took the legs off but you can just use the screws that attach the burner to the wind screen. Here are a few pics.

1408310489901.jpg


1408310518971.jpg
 
I used the brackets from strutstands.com to mount my blichmann burner. Fit perfectly and super easy. I was able to use the holes from where I took the legs off but you can just use the screws that attach the burner to the wind screen. Here are a few pics.

I've seen that mounting scheme on this thread, but the issue with the edelmetall is that it has three mounting holes/legs (instead of four) in a triangle shape so if I were to put the burner in with one hole square to the strut, the other two now face at a roughly 45 degree angle to the other strut on the stand. Does that make sense? I'll see if I can post a pic.

I was thinking I'd have to have bent brackets (not ideal safety-wise) or rig some sort of wire support (harder to to and still not as safe).
 
I would just drill new holes in the windscreen at the 4 quadrants where you need them to mount up with the brackets. Pretty simple job to drill a few small holes then you have a solid mounting solution.


Sent from my iPhone using Home Brew
 
I would just drill new holes in the windscreen at the 4 quadrants where you need them to mount up with the brackets. Pretty simple job to drill a few small holes then you have a solid mounting solution.


Sent from my iPhone using Home Brew

Yes, thanks! As soon as I posted my response I thought the exact same thing. Simple solution that was hard to see because of all the overthinking I was doing.
 
I know what you are saying about only having three legs on your stand. That is why I mentioned that you could probably just use the screws that mount the burner to the wind screen. In the bottom picture above you can see where the top screw is sticking out of the second hole on the mounting bracket. That screw is one of four which connects the burner to the wind screen. You could simply attach the brackets to the wind screen using those screws.
 
I was about to purchase those burners but didn't want to put extra work into mounting them, given the 3 legs instead of 4. However, I took a trip to HD and purchased 2x 6ft pieces of 14 gauge pre-drilled steel and cut them up into 11" pieces for each of my 3 burners (I needed a total of 12 brackets), I bent them about 1/3 into each piece so I had an L bracket measuring 4-12" x 6-1/2" which worked perfectly to give me a distance of 3-1/2" from the burner to the bottom of my kettles.

Here's a picture of the burner mounted to give you an idea of the steel used. I'll try to post more pictures if you need a better example:

ImageUploadedByHome Brew1408388167.420348.jpg
 
Rynolee, lemme know how the build goes for you. I'm about to embark on the same style stand, I've already got the struts/hardware just need to tighten up the plans and do the cuts. I picked up two 89qt kettles (MT/HLT) that are 18.75" dia and already had a morebeer 26gal BK that is ~20" so I was wondering what dimensions you went with. What height did you ultimately decide on?


Kserfass -

I went with 16-3/4" strut for the depth and height of the stand along with 72" length. This allows me to perfectly sit my 20" diameter pots on the stand above each burner. I did, however, end up paying a little more for SS on the top, didn't want to have to worry about the galvanization burning off, plus these dimensions really allow for heat dispersion around the strut. The strut doesn't get that hot on the legs, which is a huge benefit too me

Here's a few more pics of the stand parts used and then mostly built:

ImageUploadedByHome Brew1408388692.171900.jpgImageUploadedByHome Brew1408388757.733015.jpg
 
I just put my order in at G-P LLC and used the coupon code SAVE and got 10% off my order. I wasn't sure if the code would still work or not, but it did. Will start building my single tier brew stand once all the parts come in. Can't wait.
 
I just put my order in at G-P LLC and used the coupon code SAVE and got 10% off my order. I wasn't sure if the code would still work or not, but it did. Will start building my single tier brew stand once all the parts come in. Can't wait.

I used the same code bringing the total cost of the stand with all brackets and screws to a little under $500 (stainless steel added $150). Tom and the guys over at G-P LLC were amazing. Received a call from them on a Sunday to talk about the order and get everything going. They were extremely helpful and delivered within 4 days for the bulk of the hardware (the casters were back-ordered and took another week to arrive).

I'll take a few more pictures along with my full parts list including burners, manifold, etc. hopefully by the end of the month.
 
We finally completed the brew stand this afternoon. We did a wet run and found zero leaks (liquid or gas) and everything flowed from one kettle to the next very seamlessly.

We will be adding an additional pickup tube in the MLT (and maybe HLT) as the system currently leaves behind 1.5 gallons, too much for my liking. I guess it was an oversight as we planned for it in the BK but nothing else. BK leaves behind about 3/4 gallons with the pickup tube FYI. We will also be notching the MLT lid so the sparge arm can be used with the lid in place. Finally, we might add a recirculation bulkhead to the top of the BK if we decide to drill the hole, but that's currently just an idea. We really need to start brewing a few batches and then make these modifications :cross:.

I've included my parts list, which came to $584 for the stand including burner mounts, $449 for the burners, and $99 for the manifold. Here's some photos as well!

Parts List.png


Sparge Arm.jpg


Hop Spider.jpg


Brew Stand.jpg
 
We finally completed the brew stand this afternoon. We did a wet run and found zero leaks (liquid or gas) and everything flowed from one kettle to the next very seamlessly.

We will be adding an additional pickup tube in the MLT (and maybe HLT) as the system currently leaves behind 1.5 gallons, too much for my liking. I guess it was an oversight as we planned for it in the BK but nothing else. BK leaves behind about 3/4 gallons with the pickup tube FYI. We will also be notching the MLT lid so the sparge arm can be used with the lid in place. Finally, we might add a recirculation bulkhead to the top of the BK if we decide to drill the hole, but that's currently just an idea. We really need to start brewing a few batches and then make these modifications :cross:.

I've included my parts list, which came to $584 for the stand including burner mounts, $449 for the burners, and $99 for the manifold. Here's some photos as well!


Getting ready to do this exact same thing with 25 gallon kettles too. Did you have enough stainless left over to put angles in the front as a second heat block, or do the windscreens do a good enough job? Also, did you vent them out the back at all, or was it not necessary?

Thanks for the parts list, I'm going to probably steal it :)
 
The stainless strut I ordered was just enough for what was shown. Nothing left over. Heat comes up from the corners a bit and after doing a 30 min test run, I got some discoloration in the SS, but no big deal! No reason to direct heat anywhere else as the get shield on the blichman burners do a perfect job.

My only recommendation to the parts list is adding stainless to some of the brackets as I didn't realize it was a customized option from the website. The only bracket I didn't add it too was the center brackets, they don't really get too hot so I'm not too concerned.
 
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