If you already had three Sanke kegs, would you still buy a cooler for a mash tun?

[Lounge Lizard]

I know lots of guys are using coolers these days, but I already have three unconverted Sanke kegs, thanks to my buddy in Fort Worth.

If you had three kegs, would you concentrate on building a three tier setup, and forget about the cooler idea?

All I have now is my turkey fryer rig, a 32 quart pot, and these kegs to work with.

If I use a keg as a mash tun, where does a person get an insulation blanket for it?

Thanks...

 

[Baron von BeeGee]

I'd go straight to a 3-tier. Coolers hold heat like nobody's business, but I'm sure an insulated Sanke does also, plus you can add direct heat to your repertoire instead of relying on infusions when doing step mashes.

 

[Brewpastor]

My Mash/lauter tun is Stainless and I insulate it with a closed cell foam sleeping pad I bought at Wally World. I fashioned a velcro closure and also utilze a couple straps to hold it fast. It works just fine. Your keg will last forever, while coolers tend to warp and crack over time. It is up to you, but I'd go with the Keg.

 

[Lounge Lizard]

I'd go straight to a 3-tier. Coolers hold heat like nobody's business, but I'm sure an insulated Sanke does also, plus you can add direct heat to your repertoire instead of relying on infusions when doing step mashes.

Yes, I think that is good advice. Do it right the first time and all of that.

See my post to Brewpastor for why I have been undecided.....

 

[Lounge Lizard]

My Mash/lauter tun is Stainless and I insulate it with a closed cell foam sleeping pad I bought at Wally World. I fashioned a velcro closure and also utilze a couple straps to hold it fast. It works just fine. Your keg will last forever, while coolers tend to warp and crack over time. It is up to you, but I'd go with the Keg.

Holy smokes! What a nice looking setup you have in your gallery. It may be the best one I have seen on this forum yet. Though, there are some other nice ones too.

The reason I have been hesitating to build a three tier, is because I don't have a welder or a way to cut angle iron efficiently. The thoughts of using a hacksaw and drilling holes and bolting everything up, weren't that inviting.

Now that I see how the frame of your system is constructed, it looks to be right what the doctor ordered.

What is the metal stock that that your frame is made out of called? It already has holes in it and everything. It does look a tad flimsy, but with enough bracing and a good design, it looks like it will work nicely.

I sure didn't want to build one out of wood. I can just see myself burning the whole darn rig to the ground... lol

 

[Janx]

Use the keg. It'll last a lot longer than any cooler and is really preferrable.

My 3-tier is made of wood. Sturdy as hell...I can jump up and down on it. The fire risk really isn't increased IMO. You don't put the burners under the stand after all

 

[Lounge Lizard]

Use the keg. It'll last a lot longer than any cooler and is really preferrable.

My 3-tier is made of wood. Sturdy as hell...I can jump up and down on it. The fire risk really isn't increased IMO. You don't put the burners under the stand after all

How about posting some pics of that bad boy?

 

[Janx]

Yeah, I've been lazy about that. I'll try to get around to it, but it's pouring out right now.

Picture a staircase with 4x4s for the uprights. Each step is as tall as a keg. Plywood platforms for the steps. The whole thing is carriage bolted together so it can be broken down pretty easily.

I'll really try to get some pics up at some point.

 

[Dude]

Yeah, I've been lazy about that. I'll try to get around to it, but it's pouring out right now.

Picture a staircase with 4x4s for the uprights. Each step is as tall as a keg. Plywood platforms for the steps. The whole thing is carriage bolted together so it can be broken down pretty easily.

I'll really try to get some pics up at some point.

A think thread around here somewhere has some Janx...I tried to search for it a few nights ago but whiffed....I am pretty sure you posted some a long time ago--one of them had a rooster in the pic if I remember correctly?

 

[Brewpastor]

Holy smokes! What a nice looking setup you have in your gallery. It may be the best one I have seen on this forum yet. Though, there are some other nice ones too.

The reason I have been hesitating to build a three tier, is because I don't have a welder or a way to cut angle iron efficiently. The thoughts of using a hacksaw and drilling holes and bolting everything up, weren't that inviting.

Now that I see how the frame of your system is constructed, it looks to be right what the doctor ordered.

What is the metal stock that that your frame is made out of called? It already has holes in it and everything. It does look a tad flimsy, but with enough bracing and a good design, it looks like it will work nicely.

I sure didn't want to build one out of wood. I can just see myself burning the whole darn rig to the ground... lol

My rack is solid as can be. It is made out of sign posts that I got from the city salvage yard. The posts are galvinized and really are dream to work with.

As for cutting and welding, I imagine you can pay somebody, maybe in beer, to do the job for you. You just need a stainless coupling welded on, maybe a $25 job.

 

[Dude]

My rack is solid as can be. It is made out of sign posts that I got from the city salvage yard. The posts are galvinized and really are dream to work with.

As for cutting and welding, I imagine you can pay somebody, maybe in beer, to do the job for you. You just need a stainless coupling welded on, maybe a $25 job.

The day you posted the pics I was going to post and tell you my little brother called and said he wanted his erector set back.....but I declined because I wanted to make a good impression of the site and hoped you'd stick around. Now that you've been around for a week or so I think it is safe to mess with ya a bit....

:rockin:

 

[Lounge Lizard]

Yeah, I've been lazy about that. I'll try to get around to it, but it's pouring out right now.

Picture a staircase with 4x4s for the uprights. Each step is as tall as a keg. Plywood platforms for the steps. The whole thing is carriage bolted together so it can be broken down pretty easily.

I'll really try to get some pics up at some point.

Has the rain stopped yet? Huh? Has it? Has it? *wink*


Seriously, I would like to see some pictures sometime. I can imagine the frame, but not how you mount the burners on the plywood.

I guess a guy could put three of these on the steps:

 

[Lounge Lizard]

My rack is solid as can be. It is made out of sign posts that I got from the city salvage yard. The posts are galvinized and really are dream to work with.

As for cutting and welding, I imagine you can pay somebody, maybe in beer, to do the job for you. You just need a stainless coupling welded on, maybe a $25 job.

Thanks.... thought I saw a little bowing in the middle of the long parts of the frame at the bottom. I can see how sign posts would be sturdy! Too bad we don't have them kind of posts around here. Think Home Depot/Lowes would have something similar?

 

[DrewsBrews]

The day you posted the pics I was going to post and tell you my little brother called and said he wanted his erector set back.....but I declined because I wanted to make a good impression of the site and hoped you'd stick around. Now that you've been around for a week or so I think it is safe to mess with ya a bit....

I hit him with an erector set crack the day he started posting (on another thread). Of course, I made up for it by telling him the state of awe the brew stand left me in. :rockin:

 

[Janx]

Has the rain stopped yet? Huh? Has it? Has it? *wink*


Seriously, I would like to see some pictures sometime. I can imagine the frame, but not how you mount the burners on the plywood.

I guess a guy could put three of these on the steps:

Yep that's what I do. Not those exact burners and I only use two (no burner on the mash tun). But they just sit up there and get put away when I'm done. I like the flexibility of not having them built into the stand, but my setup is nowhere near as sophisticated as something like BrewPastor's. Mine's more of a get-the-job-done barebones kind of approach

Cheers

 

[Lounge Lizard]

Yep that's what I do. Not those exact burners and I only use two (no burner on the mash tun). But they just sit up there and get put away when I'm done. I like the flexibility of not having them built into the stand, but my setup is nowhere near as sophisticated as something like BrewPastor's. Mine's more of a get-the-job-done barebones kind of approach

Cheers

Hey! Here is a pretty good looking outfit I found:

I like it! It was found here:

http://www.xb-70.com/beer/3_tier/

I want a burner under the tun for flexibility

Of course I'll have some sort of sheetmetal or fireproof sheetrock (or something) on the steps....

And some way to make the kegs more stable. Those look like a good Texas wind would blow them right over....

 

[parasonic]

You just need a stainless coupling welded on, maybe a $25 job.

It's going to be a lot more than that for a good backpurged weld.

 

[Janx]

Hey! Here is a pretty good looking outfit I found:

I like it! It was found here:

http://www.xb-70.com/beer/3_tier/

I want a burner under the tun for flexibility

Of course I'll have some sort of sheetmetal or fireproof sheetrock (or something) on the steps....

And some way to make the kegs more stable. Those look like a good Texas wind would blow them right over....

Wow, I must have copied my design from that site. That stand is EXACTLY the same design as mine, except I don't have that slick little cabinet under the HLT. That's pretty cool.

But mine is exactly like that in terms of placement of the cross members. And I dadoed out the joints like that guy did and used carriage bolts.

As far as a burner on the mash tun...be careful with that. Kegs are thin and applying heat directly to grain is a recipe for disaster. 90% of all beers can be made with one or two infusion steps. 100% can be done with more infusions or decoction. I wish I had built mine so that the steps were unequal. Instead I built it thinking I might add a burner for the mash. No way. Not a chance. Never gonna happen.

I too was worried about the stability, but I think you'd be suprised. Once those kegs are full, there's no wind in the world that would knock them over and not blow out your burner and blow you across the yard. I mean, they are HEAVY Now, the burners in that picture do look shaky and weird to me. I did go out of my way to find burners I thought would really help stabilize them...they have these arms that sort of cradle the keg. When they are full, you'd have to push them HARD to knock them over.

This is a picture of my burner:
http://www.kegs.com/brewkettles1.html

As far as fireproofing, I thought I'd do that, but wanted to try it once to see if it was necessary...I didn't really want to add the weight and bulk. The tops of the steps really don't get very hot, and they're usually totally wet. YMMV, but I've gotten very comfortable with mine after several years brewing with it. It's hard to argue that a fireproof top layer wouldn't be better though.

 

[Janx]

Oh, another thing to think about is whether you even want to build the lower step. I have often looked at mine and wondered why the heck I have it. You could just as easily put the lower burner on the ground and lower the overall height of the thing. It would be smaller and more manageable. If I had it to do again, I wouldn't build a bottom step at all.

Cheers

 

[Lounge Lizard]

Oh, another thing to think about is whether you even want to build the lower step. I have often looked at mine and wondered why the heck I have it. You could just as easily put the lower burner on the ground and lower the overall height of the thing. It would be smaller and more manageable. If I had it to do again, I wouldn't build a bottom step at all.

Cheers

That is an idea! I'll have to do some measurements, and see if my keg on top of the burner, will still be tall enough to move the cooled wort into a carboy through a ball valve...

 

[RichBrewer]

I know lots of guys are using coolers these days, but I already have three unconverted Sanke kegs, thanks to my buddy in Fort Worth.

If you had three kegs, would you concentrate on building a three tier setup, and forget about the cooler idea?

All I have now is my turkey fryer rig, a 32 quart pot, and these kegs to work with.

If I use a keg as a mash tun, where does a person get an insulation blanket for it?

Thanks...

If I were you I would stick with the cooler idea and ship the kegs to your good buddy BrewerRich in Colorado!
Seriously- If I were you I would build a 3 tier set-up. I think it would be more versatile and make brewing easier.