Easy to store brew rig?

[stratslinger]

I'm starting to think about an eventual brew-rig... Very early conceptual stages here, no immediately impending builds on the horizon, sadly.

But I'm stuck with a couple design hurdles that I would like to tackle now. This has to be an outdoor-use rig. I have no deck, so it'll be for use in the garage or driveway. But my garage is, well, how can I best put this? Full of... stuff. Mower, tractor, a couple cars, etc, etc... So no real available storage space in there to speak of.

So, my ideal brew rig would need to either be something I can easily break down into multiple small components, or simply knockdown into something small that can be tucked away into the garage or a place in my basement.

I do plan to pick up a pump in the next month or two, so I'm open to single-tier or multiple-tier designs - so long as they'd conform to the other requirements listed above.

So, anybody got any cool ideas?

 

[sarsnik]

I'll try to dig up some pictures of mine. I used bedframe angle iron and drilled/bolted it together. If you can imagine, it's made from three equal cubes of iron and each cube is bolted with cross supports. I just finished making it but its pretty sturdy.

 

[horseinmay]

Mine is made of wood, and I tried to keep it slim despite using 2x4's for the build. I have since cleaned up the plumbing and electrical, but you get the idea. This picture shows how I clean corny kegs.

 

[iijakii]

Time to go electric and move it inside!

I'm limited space wise and was wanting to make something that looked great. Just built it this weekend. Going for a two-vessel constant recirc. system. Only wanted one pump, so I made it two tier.

Going to stain the legs black and everything else a deep mahogany red.

 

[Bitty]

http://www.blichmannengineering.com/brew_stand/brewstand_modular.html

I have pretty limited space as well, and this thing is a godsend. It tucks in a corner of my garage in right around 4 feet square.

 

[ChemE]

I went with a design and means of storing that consumes very little volume and no footprint in my garage. What is used is a little bit of otherwise fairly useless volume.

MLT fit into my compact three-tier brew system

Three-tier brew rig stored in garage

Alternate view; note no footprint is consumed

 

[outside92129]

Here's my single tier with a rollaway format:
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f51/ezstor-single-tier-290296/

 

[Shooter]

You could always build a brew ladder.

There are several ways you can go to get something that will meet your requirements.

 

[Ma23456]

I use a regular folding legs plastic table so I can gravity feed my mashtun to my bk and I pour my sparge and mash myself but it hasn't caused a problem

 

[luhrks]

Blichmann Top Tier for limited space. Everything you need bolts onto it, or can be stored on it, and it only eats up about 4'x4'

 

[SmokingDog]

My recommendation is the brew ladder as well. I have compacted mine into a 5'er. Legs were cut off so that the HLT (very hot water!) is not so high. If you build and angle the "shelves" correctly, it folds up like its original use.

I'm converting mine to elec as well this spring with two vessels and one pump. So still portable, still storable, etc.

Todd.

 

[stratslinger]

The ladders are intriguing. How comfortable would you be with securing another burner assembly on the top "tier" to direct fire the HLT?

And what kind of weight do you think that can reasonably handle? Could I reasonably expect to support burner and reasonably filled keggle HLT at the top tier and a 10 gallon cooler mash tun?

 

[insp79]

Here is my brewstand ready for brewing.

Here it is stored away beneath the fermenting cabinet, so the cars can be parked in the garage.

 

[MangledMash]

I was limited in storage space and needed something that I could roll in and out of the house easy. I converted a steel cart I had. I keep adding and upgrading. It was a standard cart so the length is shorter than normal, but it works. I use gravity to lauter and pump with shutoff valves to move hot liquor and wort around.

 

[Shooter]

The ladders are intriguing. How comfortable would you be with securing another burner assembly on the top "tier" to direct fire the HLT?

And what kind of weight do you think that can reasonably handle? Could I reasonably expect to support burner and reasonably filled keggle HLT at the top tier and a 10 gallon cooler mash tun?

The top level can probably support the weight you’re talking about, but, personally, I’d be hesitant to have a burner way up there. The swing out shelf is easily strong enough to support the 10 gallon mash tun cooler. I use a drill powered pump to transfer my heated water. At some point, I’ll probable swap it out for a pump that can handle hot wort as well.

Here’s the link to the instructions. I modified the design slightly, but basically the same setup:

http://home.comcast.net/~midnighthomebrewers/brewladder.htm

 

[OneHoppyGuy]

 

[stratslinger]

What occurs to me is that I have a 16' version of one of these

I could play with it a little to figure out a way to give it a little more lateral stability, and clamp some sort of a removable top onto it, I could have a pretty decent single tier setup right there... I might have to bust that out over the weekend and play around with it a little bit - see just how the height measures up in various configurations.

 

[fermentednonsense]

Here's a rig I designed . I brew out if a small apartment. The legs fold up into each side and the sides slide into the center. This way it can be used as a functional end table as well.

http://myrtlebeachbeerlovers.com/portable-compact-wood-brew-stand/

 

[stratslinger]

That plan looks linteresting - but is there enough height differential between the tiers? I suppose, especially if you work a pump into the equation, there's really no concern, but you're talking about 4.5" difference between each tier. Or is that really intended to work as a single tier, but it looks a bit like a three tier just to make it collapsible?

Neat design, either way.

EDIT: Also, OneHoppyGuy, I almost hate to ask this, but roughly what would a stand like that one go for?

 

[lpdjshaw]

Check out my gallery photo (not sure how to get the photo in this post using my iPad). It breaks down and stores on and below that shelf the scale is sitting on in the back right of the photo The only thing I don't have room for is the MLT, which I store under the stairway in the house where I ferment.

 

[buckley28]

Here's mine. Super compact, on wheels and out of the way when I need it to be. Its a full service one stop shop w/ all plumbing incorporated into the under burner area.

 

[fermentednonsense]

My burners go on either side so it the side tiers are actually higher then the middle

 

[SmokingDog]

...but, personally, I’d be hesitant to have a burner way up there. The swing out shelf is easily strong enough to support the 10 gallon mash tun cooler

I agree with Shooter, I don't think I would put a burner up there. That's why I'm going elec and with a pump. Too heavy to lift and don't want flame at my chest.

Maybe not the best choice for you if you need flame.

 

[porkchop22571]

Here's my 3 tier Gravity Woody System (E-HLT, Mash Tun, Gas Brew Kettle)
- Meets all of my goals: Cheap, easy to build, portable (casters), and compact storage

- Photo 1: Setup
- Photo 2: Bottom tier rolls inside the upper tier (reason why the upper tier is oversized)
- Photo 3: System stored, takes up about 3' x 2'

 

[stratslinger]

Now THAT I like, and bonus points because I would be very comfortable building it! See, a welder I am not, but I do have a pretty well stocked woodshop in my basement. And I think I can make just enough room in a corner of the garage to store such a thing...

Is that just straight 2x4 framing, or is it 2x3's?

 

[porkchop22571]

Its all 2x4's and 1/2" chip board; nothing fancy.

I like to weld, but have no welding equipment, so I went this route with the tools I have. The dimensions are as is due to my lack of a table saw. I didn't want unsquare tops so to minimize the cuts of plywood the shorter one is a 2'x2' stock sheet and the taller one is a 4'x2' sheet with one cut. In the near future I might cannibalize them and throw the tall legs on the short ones top and cut the tall ones top down to fit inside the new narrower tall frame. My circular saw skills surprisingly rocked so I'm not as nervouse about squareness. To narrow the entire thing it'd only take 10 cuts, but I'm not thrilled about unscrewing and remeasuring everything. Oversized works for the time being.

 

[itsme6582]

Here's my drawing. I don't have a pic of the finished cabinet but it's a very simple design. I put casters on the bottom so I can roll in and out of the garage. I heat water in the keggle and mash in the cooler. I set the height so the cooler gravity drains to the keggle while on my burner. When I'm done, everything but the cooler fits inside and I put it back in the garage.

 

[stratslinger]

That's a cool idea too, but it misses one of the main tenets of my design - it'd take more space to store than I've got. Thanks for sharing though, I'm sure there's other folks out there who could borrow the idea!

 

[studmonk3y]

I don't have a picture of mine handy, so here's a stock photo.

BIAB FTW!

 

[davis119]

Is there a reason all the brew ladders are wooden? Couldn't I go aluminum? And just make wooden shelves

 

[porkchop22571]

Is there a reason all the brew ladders are wooden? Couldn't I go aluminum? And just make wooden shelves

You need a wood ladder because some of the steps are removed and a second shelf is added. Many times the stock fold down paint/tool shelf is rebuilt or removed and replaced to suit the needs of the brewer. These modifications are much easier on a wooden ladder; plus the time, effort, and materials required to modify an aluminum or fiberglass ladder defeats the point of cost effectiveness for these types of stands.

 

[stratslinger]

So I got to thinking, and I really like Pork Chop's design, but I can't help but think that I could make it easier to store and transport. Then, it hit me: I already have the answer!!!

A couple years ago, I built one of these for my basement workshop:

Which, conveniently, knocks down to this:

Coincidentally, I've used it every brew day so far - but I really noticed on this last brew day, when I mashed 24lbs of grain in my 10 gallon cooler MLT, that the top was sagging just a hair. (OK, considerably more than a hair)

So, I can adapt that design to work with 2x material to make it a little bit stronger, and tweak the dimensions a bit to be more conducive to brewing, and I'll have a 2-part, knock-down, 3-tier brew-stand. I'm going to work on a couple drawings, but I think that I can put it together pretty cheaply (except maybe for the hardware - if I recall, the 180 degree hinges for the tops were kinda tough to come by...). I'll just need to figure out the best way to secure a second burner to the top (I'm thinking of building the frame all in wood, then having some sort of concrete board with a turkey fryer attached to it, and some sort of integrated clamp or clip mechanism - something to keep it secure up there) and possibly a way to secure the two stands to each other for a little added stability.

 

[davis119]

You need a wood ladder because some of the steps are removed and a second shelf is added. Many times the stock fold down paint/tool shelf is rebuilt or removed and replaced to suit the needs of the brewer. These modifications are much easier on a wooden ladder; plus the time, effort, and materials required to modify an aluminum or fiberglass ladder defeats the point of cost effectiveness for these types of stands.

Sorry to thread jack
What about adding a brace to the back of the ladder and and putting a board straight through. Rung to brace and clamping it. Then there be almost no modification. Ill have to buy a ladder and try.

 

[flananuts]

I went single tier, used metal storage racks from Lowes, bolted the racks to the vertical mounts, and put it on wheels. My footprint is 24"x48"x5'. Inexpensive and light. Here's a pic if you're interested.

 

[stratslinger]

OK, so I'm still at the drawing board, so to speak, on this one... I'm still debating on whether to go with two knockdown tables similar to what I posted in #32 above and go with a 3 tier setup, or just go with one wider table and stick with a 2 tier setup. A pump is already in cards, so that won't be a deal breaker on the decision between the two - but what may present a problem is protecting my MLT (10 gallon round cooler) from the turkey fryer that the HLT will be sitting on.

How big a concern will this be? How much clearance would I need to build into such a setup to avoid melting my cooler MLT with the heat coming off the burner?

 

[brettwasbtd]

OK, so I'm still at the drawing board, so to speak, on this one... I'm still debating on whether to go with two knockdown tables similar to what I posted in #32 above and go with a 3 tier setup, or just go with one wider table and stick with a 2 tier setup. A pump is already in cards, so that won't be a deal breaker on the decision between the two - but what may present a problem is protecting my MLT (10 gallon round cooler) from the turkey fryer that the HLT will be sitting on.

How big a concern will this be? How much clearance would I need to build into such a setup to avoid melting my cooler MLT with the heat coming off the burner?

First, this is a great thread. I have seen a lot of awesome designs, especially ChemE and porkchop - ease of build, small footprint and low cost

If you are getting a pump, why do you need a burner for the HLT? Couldn't you use your brewkettle and heat the hot liquor during the mash. Then pump the hot liquor from the brew kettle to your HLT above the mash tun (in a 3 tier)? thus having hot liqour in the HLT and an empty kettle to now collect the runnings. Could do that same scenario with a 2 tier and pump from kettle to HLT, then quick disconnect and pump from HLT to Mash tun.

 

[stratslinger]

I've never really liked that scenario, because I feel like I'd lose adequate control over sparge water temperatures... I can control mash temps just fine, which is the biggest concern, I know. But in this sort of scenario, I then heat my sparge water and transfer it all into my HLT before I ever lauter out of my mash tun. I then mash out (if I choose to do so) and lauter. I then do my first batch sparge, wait 15 minutes, vorlauf, and lauter. Then I do a second batch sparge, vorlauf, and lauter. How much heat has my sparge water lost at this point? Am I right to be concerned?

 

[brettwasbtd]

I've never really liked that scenario, because I feel like I'd lose adequate control over sparge water temperatures... I can control mash temps just fine, which is the biggest concern, I know. But in this sort of scenario, I then heat my sparge water and transfer it all into my HLT before I ever lauter out of my mash tun. I then mash out (if I choose to do so) and lauter. I then do my first batch sparge, wait 15 minutes, vorlauf, and lauter. Then I do a second batch sparge, vorlauf, and lauter. How much heat has my sparge water lost at this point? Am I right to be concerned?

Its really based on how your system is setup. I agree you would lose some control on the sparge water temps. I assume you have 2 burners currently so you are dialed in to that process and it makes sense? I made my suggestion cause I am currently only working with a single burner. I heat my sparge water fairly hot accounting for the drop in temp during the wait time. I don't really perform a mashout either, just start the flame on the first runnings to stop enzymatic activity. I take good notes on my temps and have a good idea of what a mash temp will give me body wise in my system.

Do you have burners that already have stands? If that is the case you could create a shelf for the top tier and place the burner, that should provide enough space to protect the mash tun from heat.

I was trying to think of some items to make a a collapsable wood stand myself and came across these - Hinged Shelf Brackets The link is to the 16x16 version but they also make a 12x12 and 8x8. Could be an interesting addition to a build. I can't seem to find anything like this on the big box website though.