Weldless brew stand.

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Bender

Senior Member
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Joined
Mar 14, 2007
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Location
Barnegat, NJ
Copied from Sam Scott's Wallace.

I'm calling mine the Popeye. You can't see it, but all three burners are lit. I plan to add a Brutus style control panel eventually, but time is tight and I didn't want to wait until the fall to get it going.

BrewStand7.jpg
 
looks good. what type of metal is the framing? aluminum ( i hope not), galvanized, or something else? just dont want it to rust.
 
It's galvanized steel and it will rust eventually, but the sections are easy to replace.

its probably cheaper to replace one section at a time, but you could always powder coat it, but that would probably cost more than the stand itself. my stand is welded, so i can't swap out sections at a time, so when it came time to consider steel + powdercoat or stainless, it worked out to be the same price.

power to you brotha. take more pics as you go along. the cool thing about your stand is that you can change it around at any given time. nice!
 
Cool, I'd bet you would get better use of the heat if you lower the burners an inch or two.

:mug:
 
I did not know that there was an "erecter set" brew stand! Nice build.

That's what everyone calls it. :cross:

Cool, I'd bet you would get better use of the heat if you lower the burners an inch or two.

Yes. I had to buy the entire Hurricane burner stove with stand so I lopped of the top and bottom frame with an angle grinder and I kept the rings for wind guards. I plan to remount the burners about 2" lower with the wind shields, but I need to pick up a couple of pieces of slotted steel and chop it up.
 
How sturdy is this stand? I was planning on making a wood stand similar to Scuba Steve's setup, but this looks like a very interesting weldless option... Is she pretty solid? Any warping or sagging from the combination of heat and the filled kegs? Have you considered painting the frame with that high temp spray paint? VERY COOL!!!!
 
I've got something similar--mine is a 2-tier, with 2 burners (I use a cooler for a mash tun). It's also angle-iron, galvanized... I made an extra "shelf" to mount the burners (same kind as yours) a little lower. I also hit mine with the black hi-temp BBQ paint; seems to be working fine so far. Mine "lives" outside on the back porch, exposed to the weather; the spots that I missed with the paint haven't begun to rust yet, and it's been out back for 3 years or so now... Looks good! Now, get to brewing! :mug:

--Misha
 
Kick ass! Nice job Bender!

I've since added some switched outlets for the pumps and used "waterproof" boxes/switch covers that I picked up at the home depot for a few bucks. I wired in an extension cord and plug that into a portable GFCI outlet.

Here's an old pic before I added a second pump...
brewstand.jpg



Copied from Sam Scott's Wallace.

I'm calling mine the Popeye. You can't see it, but all three burners are lit. I plan to add a Brutus style control panel eventually, but time is tight and I didn't want to wait until the fall to get it going.

BrewStand7.jpg
 
It's very strong...

Definitely strong... the most expensive part of my build were the casters because I got ones that were rated at 400lbs each. One keg filled to the top with water weighs in at about 150 or so lbs. I filled all 3 kegs to the top with cold water and stood on the frame while kind of bouncing up and down all while a friend rolled me around a little just to see if the casters seized under the weight. Casters worked fine and nothing budged, bent, or squeaked. I've been using mine for over 2 years (25 batches or so) and it seems as strong as ever.
 
This is what I used for my stand also. I bought the steel at home depot and used high temp paint to help prevent rust. I'm still doing the finishing touches, but it will be a brutus plus or minus a couple things. Questions though, what size bolts did you use for the march pumps? The ones I got from mcmaster are too big, and I haven't had a chance to bring the pump down to HD.
 
I've since added some switched outlets for the pumps and used "waterproof" boxes/switch covers that I picked up at the home depot for a few bucks. I wired in an extension cord and plug that into a portable GFCI outlet.

I may end up going that direction myself, although I'd like to add a Brutus control panel. Now if I could just figure out where my wife put the ASCO valves when she "cleaned up".

One question Sam, I was able to find every part on my own except the 90 part you use between the burner and the valve. How did you couple from the male compression thread on the Hurricane valve to the FPT thread on the needle valve?

Now if I could only find time to brew.
 
You can paint it with a high temp paint. If the galvanized steel hasn't been sitting out for a couple years, you should get some distilled white vinegar and spray it all over the stand. I used to use bug sprayers. The galvanized steel has a coating on it that does prevent paints from bonding to its surface. The vinegar counteracts it. Just hose it off after that, and you should be golden.
 
Now that you made it from an erector set... a real man would do it again 2 more times, once with Tinker Toys and again with Lincoln Logs...:mug:
 
I may end up going that direction myself, although I'd like to add a Brutus control panel. Now if I could just figure out where my wife put the ASCO valves when she "cleaned up".

One question Sam, I was able to find every part on my own except the 90 part you use between the burner and the valve. How did you couple from the male compression thread on the Hurricane valve to the FPT thread on the needle valve?

Now if I could only find time to brew.

I don't know... I'd have to take a look again. From what I can remember, I bought a burner jet from morebeer that threaded into the burner. Actually, I think the jet was too small to thread into the burner so I had to use a reducing bushing. The 90 degree elbow was a brass street elbow I found at my local ACE hardware. This street elbow connected to the "bayou classic" needle valve. When I get a chance I'll post a picture.
 
Now that you made it from an erector set... a real man would do it again 2 more times, once with Tinker Toys and again with Lincoln Logs...:mug:

I wish the LEGO's would hold up to the heat! j/k! But seriously it looks good!! Any ideas on the cost of project to date?
 
For the painting, I just used a de-greaser/cleaner from HD that said it removed grease from metal. Worked fine, paint sticks to the metal, so all is good.
 
I may end up going that direction myself, although I'd like to add a Brutus control panel. Now if I could just figure out where my wife put the ASCO valves when she "cleaned up".

One question Sam, I was able to find every part on my own except the 90 part you use between the burner and the valve. How did you couple from the male compression thread on the Hurricane valve to the FPT thread on the needle valve?

Now if I could only find time to brew.

I don't know... I'd have to take a look again. From what I can remember, I bought a burner jet from morebeer that threaded into the burner. Actually, I think the jet was too small to thread into the burner so I had to use a reducing bushing. The 90 degree elbow was a brass street elbow I found at my local ACE hardware. This street elbow connected to the "bayou classic" needle valve. When I get a chance I'll post a picture.


Sorry, forgot to post a picture. Here you go...

burner_detail.jpg
 
Copied from Sam Scott's Wallace.

I'm calling mine the Popeye. You can't see it, but all three burners are lit. I plan to add a Brutus style control panel eventually, but time is tight and I didn't want to wait until the fall to get it going.

BrewStand7.jpg

This is an excellent build. Looking at the materials list, I noticed that the much of the cost of materials is in the casters:

Qty Part# Description Price
2 each 8968K26 1-1/2" X 1-1/2", 6’ length $17.32
6 each 4664T65 2-1/4" X 1-1/2", 6’ length $66.54
16 each 4664T22 Steel Corner Plate, 6"x 6" $35.52
1 pack 4664T61 Bolts W/nuts & Washers $12.89
4 each 8789T42 400 lb. capacity caster $91.84
Total: $224.11

The cost is really low without the casters. I think you could shop around and find a better deal on those or maybe even scrounge them up somewhere for free.

One thing I find very appealing is that this rig will weigh a lot less than most of the typical over-designed rigs. I would not be concerned about rust at all. Sure, it will develop some rust. That's unavoidable, but so what? Makes it that much more manly IMO. Just paint it and touch it up now and then if you feel it needs it. Personally, I would not paint it at all.
 
This is an excellent build. Looking at the materials list, I noticed that the much of the cost of materials is in the casters:

Qty Part# Description Price
2 each 8968K26 1-1/2" X 1-1/2", 6’ length $17.32
6 each 4664T65 2-1/4" X 1-1/2", 6’ length $66.54
16 each 4664T22 Steel Corner Plate, 6"x 6" $35.52
1 pack 4664T61 Bolts W/nuts & Washers $12.89
4 each 8789T42 400 lb. capacity caster $91.84
Total: $224.11

The cost is really low without the casters. I think you could shop around and find a better deal on those or maybe even scrounge them up somewhere for free.

One thing I find very appealing is that this rig will weigh a lot less than most of the typical over-designed rigs. I would not be concerned about rust at all. Sure, it will develop some rust. That's unavoidable, but so what? Makes it that much more manly IMO. Just paint it and touch it up now and then if you feel it needs it. Personally, I would not paint it at all.

I agree with you on the casters... I'm sure you could find a cheaper option. It's just that I purchased these items online and couldn't touch/feel how sturdy the casters were. The last thing I wanted was to have gallons of boiling water/wort topple over because a caster failed so I went with the expensive "weight-rated" ones.

I had no intention of painting either... mine has a nice patina of rust and burnt sugars that I love!
 
Hey sam, I'm totally with you on wanting sturdy casters and solid support. There's nothing wrong with that approach at all. Quality, heavy duty casters are never cheap. Yes, burnt sugars provide a near impervious finish. I like it!
 
ebay has some really burly casters for pretty cheap....you could probably go with the 250lb casters and still be fine.
 
How well would this thing hold up with paint on the plated rails?

Say you took some high temp paint to it, would it flake off with the plating when it's heated? or would it be fine and hold to the frame?

This is DEFINITELY a direction I'd love to go in. My only problem with single tiered stands is my cooler mash tun, I'd hate to melt it haha.
 
How well would this thing hold up with paint on the plated rails?

Say you took some high temp paint to it, would it flake off with the plating when it's heated? or would it be fine and hold to the frame?

This is DEFINITELY a direction I'd love to go in. My only problem with single tiered stands is my cooler mash tun, I'd hate to melt it haha.


Not sure about the paint but a piece of cement board (HardieBacker) under your cooler mash tun will protect it from the heat. I made a few batches with mine before I converted a keg to a mash tun...

cement_board.jpg


edit: Obviously, I didn't use the middle burner while using the igloo. ;) The cement board just blocked heat from the side burners. Later, I hung more cement board around the sides to block the wind.
 
Not sure about the paint but a piece of cement board (HardieBacker) under your cooler mash tun will protect it from the heat. I made a few batches with mine before I converted a keg to a mash tun...

cement_board.jpg


edit: Obviously, I didn't use the middle burner while using the igloo. ;) The cement board just blocked heat from the side burners. Later, I hung more cement board around the sides to block the wind.

Awesome!

I saw that picture on the site and didnt read anything about it, It just looked like plastic to me. Glad it'd doable. I guess parts for a brewstand might be next on my list.
 
Just ordered the parts from McMaster to get started on this. I'm going to be going with the two burner set up. Already have two sankes with hardware to convert, a march pump, and one burner. Going to be SWEET! :)
 
Gremlyn1, let me know if you need any help or have any questions. I'm just finishing up a brutus clone made in this style. You will definitely need two hardware sets. The angle steel can be found at HD, as with most of the other parts, or check out Fastenal near downtown or Hayes bolt & supply in case you wanna save on shipping.

I'm hoping to have mine up for a test run this weekend. Just have to get the gas and pilot finished up.
 
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