My brew stand- WIP

[sundevil]

Long time lurker first time poster. I want to start off by saying just how helpful this forum is. I have learned so much from this place; what an amazing group. THANK YOU!

Been AG brewing for awhile, but just used the patio table as a stand and siphoned between vessels. Well a few weeks back I spotted a stainless steel table on craigslist for $70, so I jumped on it. It's originally from home depot, it looks like this:

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Unbrande...Work-Table-24-in-x-72-in-SSWTABLE72/203715801

Cut the legs down, put on some casters, and voila, easily movable brew stand. But after my first few attempts at 10 gal batches, I started to realize it was time for a pump. I didn't like the prospect of a life changing injury if I slipped lifting 100 plus pounds of wort. I also didn't like how high up my kettle was when boiling. (I use a Dark Star burner from NB. It held the 10 gal batches just fine, but it still made me nervous.) So I decided to integrate burners while adding the pump.

Last week, NB was offering a free Dark Star burner with any $150 purchase, so I pulled the trigger on a chugger pump. I plan to Frankenstein the two Dark Stars into burners for my stand.

SWMBO was out of town this weekend, so it was fab time. I have attached a few pics below. I'd love any feed back you all might have! Thanks!

Here is the burner I added. I put some thin 4" steel for risers to let the heat vent. Might have been overkill. I think I might change it to 2" to get the kettle closer to the burner. Took a little too long to bring the kettle to a boil. (36 minutes to bring 5 gal from 82 degrees to boiling.)

Here you can see the dark star burner inside the cut out:

The great thing about this table is that there are two u-channel supports that add to the surface integrity, so cutting out the section for the burner did not cause any sagging, even when the 15.5 gal brew pot was full:

I'll be adding a second burner shortly, I just wanted to test the first one and work out the kinks before moving onto number two, and after hearing any feedback. Thanks for reading!

 

[30Bones]

Simple, clean and effective. Well done

 

[wilserbrewer]

I like the table, and very clever how you integrated the burner! Nice clean work A+

 

[catdaddy66]

Makes me want one


Sent from my iPhone using Home Brew

 

[bajaedition]

pure simplicity
nicely done

 

[Jamming]

Nice Job ! But of course you want to get a longer propane hose, that tank will get baked under there. I welded in plates under my table and the floor still gets warm from the radiant output.

 

[rekoob]

+1, Looks great! nice job with that burner.

 

[sundevil]

Thanks for all the feedback. Good point on the tank Jamming. I plan to get something longer once the second burner is complete, maybe integrate fixed valves so two burners can run off one tank.

 

[JackAssBrewer]

Looks great! Love the DIY minds. I really like the cleaness and simplicity of your stand! My question is does the table surface get a wee bit hot near the burner?

 

[sundevil]

Looks great! Love the DIY minds. I really like the cleaness and simplicity of your stand! My question is does the table surface get a wee bit hot near the burner?

The surface gets hot, but nothing outrageous. I brewed my first batch on the stand on Sunday morning and spilled some sparge water during the process. The water that hit the black burner quickly sizzled off, but the water on the table surface did not.

The table did feel hot to the touch, but I also made the mistake of starting my brew day too late. I'm in Phoenix, and by the time the boil was finished, it was 102 outside. I also picked the wrong spot to brew and lost my shade halfway through the process. So whether the burner was on or not, that table would have been hot to the touch.

That was the biggest learning experience of my brew day, and one that should have been obvious to me as a Phoenix native. (I've been burned to the point of having a blister by a hot seat belt buckle before.) From now on , brew in the early morning, and always in the shade. The whole day almost became a disaster when I chilled to fermentation temps. I got the beer to 68, but the temperature quickly began to rise as I racked to the fermenter. Two degree rise in under three minutes. Out of ice, I was forced to pour the wort, hot break and all, into the fermenter. I brewed a wit, so it was going to be hazy no matter what, but still a lack of forethought on my part.

The burner itself worked, but it needs to be reworked. For one, the kettle is too far from the burner, so I used and excessive amount of propane. Second, the X pattern of the supports on the burner seemed to direct heat outward instead of toward the pot. That blasted me with heat (unpleasant when it is already 102) and heated the side of my mash tun and the kettle valve.

I plan to modify the burner support to be more of a half moon shape, so that the heat is vented at the back of the kettle, away from me, the ball valve and the mash tun. Hopefully that will have an the added effect of trapping more heat under the kettle for longer, improving efficiency.

I'll post photos of the modification when it is done. Any recommendations for the next recipe? I'm thinking of doing a trial run on a pumpkin ale so I have the recipe perfect to make a big batch for fall, but I am open to suggestions. Thanks again for all the positive feed back!

 

[sundevil]

After the first run I made a modification to the burner to direct heat away from the front of the kettle, and to bring the kettle closer to the burner. I'll be doing another batch early on July 4th, so I will update on how the new setup works, but here's a pic in the meantime.

And just for fun, here's the temperature reading from the kettle sitting in my detached garage. Welcome to summer afternoons in Phoenix...

 

[sundevil]

New design worked great on the latest batch. More heat transferred to the table, but not so hot that I can't live with it. Plus much better boil speed and propane efficiency, and most of the heat directed at the back of the kettle away from me and the ball valves. Time to fab up burner number 2! :rockin: