An Idiot Builds a Brutus 10... or at least tries

[rossi46]

I haven't used that sparge arm, but I have one of his false bottoms and a few other things. He is Jaybird here on HBT, stand up guy with good products at a reasonable price.

 

[cossacks19]

I have built a stand similar to yours and I'm just wondering how the heat shields and burners have held up. Not sure if I should tac weld the heat shields in or if your self tapping screws have held up.

 

[FlynnAle]

Looks good!

 

[30Bones]

Old thread, but how tall and wide is your stand?

 

[jawilson20]

Old thread, but how tall and wide is your stand?

I am still here! I can take some measurements in the morning.

 

[CollinsBrew]

Thanks for the shout out earlier in the thread. The only reason I went into so much detail with my control box was because I couldn't find it anywhere else on here. I'm not an expert by any means so it was a process of trial and error. I have experience with wiring and repairing audio components but not really doing something like this.

Truthfully, it's been right at about two years since I put it together and it's been working great. I probably couldn't build another one tomorrow without directly referencing mine or figuring it out as I went again. Maybe I'd reference my pics and cheesy arrow graphics from way back when...

 

[TychoBrahe]

Jawilson did you ever figure out the issue with your pumps?

 

[jawilson20]

Jawilson did you ever figure out the issue with your pumps?

I switched to March pumps and haven't had an issue since. No idea if it was the Chuggers in general or the two Chuggers I had - but they just didn't perform.

Based on my experience I would 100% recommend that anyone considering pumps spend the little bit extra that it takes for the March's.

 

[jawilson20]

Thanks for the shout out earlier in the thread. The only reason I went into so much detail with my control box was because I couldn't find it anywhere else on here. I'm not an expert by any means so it was a process of trial and error. I have experience with wiring and repairing audio components but not really doing something like this.

Truthfully, it's been right at about two years since I put it together and it's been working great. I probably couldn't build another one tomorrow without directly referencing mine or figuring it out as I went again. Maybe I'd reference my pics and cheesy arrow graphics from way back when...

My control box has been running flawlessly for nearly two years. That was the most complicated portion of the build and the one piece I couldn't have done without HBT.

 

[CollinsBrew]

I got in way back and bought my 2 Chugger pumps el cheapo...under $100 and one had a serious issue with the impeller contacting the head and make a terrible noise. I could never get it to prime. I contacting Chugger about just sending me a new head and they sent me a whole new pump with a stainless head on top of giving away stainless heads on here to drum up business. I swapped the heads on the non-working pump and it worked just fine. So now, I have three working Chugger pumps. One of them I keep set aside in the event one burns out, however, I haven't had an issue with them since. Well, I did have an issue once when I spilled water on one while brewing. Fortunately, the GFCI I wired into my control box kicked immediately and shut everything down. Saved me and the pump. Once it all dried out it worked fine again.

I didn't mean to sound like I wired by control box all by myself. The people here on the forum helped a ton with my troubleshooting. I just hoped my cheesy pictorial could clear some things up for those who were a little more novice.

 

[jawilson20]

Old thread, but how tall and wide is your stand?

The frame is 24x52 on top of 4" casters.

 

[jawilson20]

And her she is right now. Mashing a Milk Stout.

 

[30Bones]

The frame is 24x52 on top of 4" casters.

\
Thanks a bunch

Much narrower than I guessed. I am at 56" wide and have 13" between the burners and 4" between the keggles. Maybe I should narrow up my burner spacing to 12". I have yet to order my burners or decide on how I am doing the windscreens.

 

[jawilson20]

\

Thanks a bunch



Much narrower than I guessed. I am at 56" wide and have 13" between the burners and 4" between the keggles. Maybe I should narrow up my burner spacing to 12". I have yet to order my burners or decide on how I am doing the windscreens.

I highly recommend the burner mounts used in my build.

 

[30Bones]

I just emailed them and got a response, they are off backorder and will ship this week. Now to find a decent deal on the burners. Shipping is killing me on these pigs.

 

[jawilson20]

I just emailed them and got a response, they are off backorder and will ship this week. Now to find a decent deal on the burners. Shipping is killing me on these pigs.

Agri Supply is where I got mine, but that was two years ago.

 

[30Bones]

yeah I called them and don't have the shipping $ in front of me, but it was in the $50 range for 3 burners. Seemed steep to me even with their great prices.

 

[jawilson20]

yeah I called them and don't have the shipping $ in front of me, but it was in the $50 range for 3 burners. Seemed steep to me even with their great prices.

You will be surprised just how heavy they are.

 

[30Bones]

You will be surprised just how heavy they are.

Just trying to find a distributor closer to me is all.

 

[30Bones]

Is 18 gauge steel really thick enough to support those heavy burners? That's only 0.048" thick

I am racking my brain over burners, burner mounting and stand design. I have all the keggles, fittings, hose, pumps and am making the simple and tried and true part too complicated.

 

[jawilson20]

Is 18 gauge steel really thick enough to support those heavy burners? That's only 0.048" thick

I am racking my brain over burners, burner mounting and stand design. I have all the keggles, fittings, hose, pumps and am making the simple and tried and true part too complicated.

My stand is two years old and it is as strong as the day I finished it. During cleaning, I have all kettles nearly full - not sure how much weight that is, but I have no worries. As far as the burners, I think that the combination of the mounts and the self tapping sheet metal screws make for a very secure connect and again it is just as sturdy as the day I built it.

 

[30Bones]

I am more concerned with transporting this as I plan to move this around, on a trailer, etc. I am not dismissing them, just rethinking another way to skin this cat. Not questioning your stands structure at all.

 

[jawilson20]

I am more concerned with transporting this as I plan to move this around, on a trailer, etc. I am not dismissing them, just rethinking another way to skin this cat. Not questioning your stands structure at all.

The only element that causes me concern if I ever were to transport my stand is the control panel arm.

 

[30Bones]

The only element that causes me concern if I ever were to transport my stand is the control panel arm.

Good to know thanks, I need to order a LP regulator and orifice's so I may tack these onto the order as well.

 

[30Bones]

Just ordered my burner rings and orifices from BH's. Thanks for all the answers via PM. Much appreciated.

 

[jawilson20]

Just ordered my burner rings and orifices from BH's. Thanks for all the answers via PM. Much appreciated.

No problem! Best of luck with the build!


Sent from my iPhone using Home Brew

 

[30Bones]

In looking for an option that can be more contained in my MLT I see this option from Norcal (http://www.norcalbrewingsolutions.com/store/product419.html). I really like the feature that this can be installed inside my MLT and allow for me to connect to it via a cam lock for my hoses. Has anyone else used this guy?

In my initial brew I also only returned liquid to my MLT and HLT by running the hose into the top of the keg. I think I would also like to incoropate bulkhead returns at the tops of my keggles to do this. Could I get away with recirculating through my sparge assembly at full speed during my mash? Or do I need to recir faster?

No problem! Best of luck with the build!

I am liking this setup a lot. Price seems fair considering stainless anything is not that cheap. I priced the pieces and I am at $35+shipping so $45 from NorCal is very good.

My MT already has an upper fitting, I will use some silicone tubing on top of the grain bed for my first batch or three, but this is seriously promising for the price.

 

[jawilson20]

I am liking this setup a lot. Price seems fair considering stainless anything is not that cheap. I priced the pieces and I am at $35+shipping so $45 from NorCal is very good.

My MT already has an upper fitting, I will use some silicone tubing on top of the grain bed for my first batch or three, but this is seriously promising for the price.

I never added a bulkhead to my MT. I simply drape the hose over the top of the kettle. I really do not see a need to use the manifold I contemplated purchasing.