My Brutus build

[jprice]

Well, here goes nothing. Building a Brutus 10 system mostly based off of Lonnie Mac's plans in the back issue of BYO. Making some minor adjustments in my rig some for cost and some for convenience. I have been compiling parts over the last 4 months, it's a lot of money to shell out all at once.

Welder:Wife found a bunch of Harbor Freight coupons in her normal Sunday Morning routine and I ended up getting this guy for $89!http://www.harborfreight.com/welding/mig-flux-welders/90-amp-flux-wire-welder-68887-8494.html

Plans: http://byo.com/store/byo-special-issues/build-brutus-10-plans

Frame: $75

Decided to make this out of 2x2 12gauge steel instead of Lonnie's frame of 2x2 stainless(saved about $400) Fazzio's in Glassboro, NJ is the ****.
http://metals.shopjfi.com/catalog.aspx?d=Tube&Pipe&c=Steel&s=SquareTube


Burners/pilots: $175

Bought the same burners as in the BYO issue from Top Food Service and they also sell pilots that screw right in for 5 bucks each, IMO it was cheaper/easier than drilling out square plugs.

Burners: http://www.topfoodservice.com/Merch..._Code=KECABJ001&Product_Count=&Category_Code=

Pilots: http://www.topfoodservice.com/Merch...een=PROD&Product_Code=KECAP002&Category_Code=

Gas supply: $160 from Home Depot. Ok, it was my first time welding, and although I considered Lonnie's design of the "Gas Beam" I didn't have the guts to do it and found it safer to use gas pipe to make a manifold.

Solenoid Gas Valves: $70

Don't over think these, if they open with 120v and they use 1/2" fittings they will work.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/1-2-Brass-E...n_0&hash=item43b0091a21#ht_2096wt_907&afsrc=1

Temperature Controllers: $90 As much as I wanted to just buy the $20 ones from amazon or ebay that I used in my Keezer built, I paid for the name brand and it didn't hurt too bad.

http://www.dwyer-inst.com/Product/T...Switches/DigitalPanelMount/SeriesTS2/Ordering

Temperature Probes and Thermowells: $38 Bought the TS-21 Probes and the TS-W Thermowells from Dwyer as well. The probes fit perfect and I plan on mounting these in the Stainless T coming off of the HLT and MT. The original Brutus 10 plans had 1 probe mounted only on the MT, but logically, it makes sense to do the same on the HLT.


http://www.dwyer-inst.com/Product/Temperature/TemperatureSensors/SeriesTS-PROBES/Ordering

Pumps: $300 2 Chugger pumps with stainless steel heads bough from BYOB (Brew your own bottle) in Haddon Heights NJ. Brett, the owner is an awesome guy that really supports the local home brewing scene in the South Jersey/Philly area, anything I can buy locally from him saves me the aggravation of waiting for shipping and helps support his business.

http://brewyourownbottle.com/

Pots: Keggles. Find some kegs + cut the tops off = Brew Pots! I guess if you want to, Bayou kettles seem like the best option, but ill save my $300 and use some keggles.

Enclosure/panel $80 Lonnie calls for a sheet of stainless 8.5x10, but I found this 12x8x8 lockable indoor/outdoor steel project box on ebay similar to what Kal uses in his electric brewery for a reasonable price.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/LOCKABLE-KE...LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item5d24793866Threads

Fittings $380
http://www.bargainfittings.com

Plate chiller $180
B3-23a 40plates
http://www.dudadiesel.com/choose_item.php?id=HX2340

Well that's the parts list so far, hope this helps some guys that might be building one of their own! My goal is to have this finished by Labor day as I have acquired about 70% of the parts so far and welded the stand. Pic's will start coming in the next few days, stay tuned!

 

[old-pasture-brew]

Well done jprice. Thank you very much for the parts and sources, esp on the gas automation. Looking forward to seeing this come together.

 

[jprice]

Well done jprice. Thank you very much for the parts and sources, esp on the gas automation. Looking forward to seeing this come together.

No problem, sourcing the parts can take awhile if your trying to stay true to Lonnie Mac's original design. Will post some pics of the frame and gas manifold/burner assembly tonight.

 

[HDIr0n]

Good luck and post pics as you go.

 

[jprice]

Here is the stand all welded up, still needs to be sanded and painted. Still debating cost of powder coating vs high heat grill paint

 

[day_trippr]

I would not go with powder coat, I've seen too many go that route only to have it totally fail in the face of burner heat, and there's no good way to deal with that. At least you can touch up or even reapply grill paint, plus you can get some stuff that's rated to pretty high temps...

Cheers!

 

[jprice]

Here is a the completed manifold with burners attached








Close up of the BK burner



MT burner & pilot



HLT burner & pilot



Here is the burner without a pilot so you can see the threaded pilot hole.



Here you can see a close up of the pilot complete for the MT or HLT. It is a 1/8" thread so I had to build it out with a close 1/8" nipple, 1/8"x 1/2" mop bushing, & 1/2" coupling in order to hook up the 12" flex line

 

[HDIr0n]

Looking good so far!

 

[jprice]

I would not go with powder coat, I've seen too many go that route only to have it totally fail in the face of burner heat, and there's no good way to deal with that. At least you can touch up or even reapply grill paint, plus you can get some stuff that's rated to pretty high temps...

Cheers!

Thanks for the input! High heat paint does seem like the most efficient/economical choice for this project, ultimately I think I will be going that route

 

[jprice]

Welded arm & attached control panel using leftover steel from the stand and a 8"x10" x1/8" steel plate and drilled and tapped holes in the sheet to mount the box.

 

[jprice]

I liked Lonnie Mac's idea of casters on the bottom, but since I will be taking this out of my shed to brew in my backyard thes 10" inflatable tires from harbor freight seemed ideal. I used 3' of hot rolled 5/8" round steel for the axle, drilled holes to slide it through the stand, and then reinforced the axle with welds. The tires are these http://www.harborfreight.com/10-in-pneumatic-tire-with-white-hub-69385.html which have a rating of 300 pounds per tire at 30psi, only $6 each!

 

[jprice]

Before the Mess. You can see the 3 blocks here, top for ground, middle for neutral, bottom for hot

 

[jprice]

The first and second group of wires consist of 1 hot for the gas valves, 1 extension cord for the pump, 1 temperature probe. The third wire on the right is an extension cord I butchered up for the main power.

 

[jprice]

Love TS-010 wiring: 7 Hot 8 neutral 9nothing 10 hot 11 gas valve

 

[jprice]

Bought these cool little rocker switches at radio shack that have an LED indicator when they are turned on and had a hell of a time to try and figure out the wiring. Hopefully I can make it easy for someone else: tab 1 at top neutral, middle tab whatever you want to control with the switch, bottom tab power source.

 

[lpdjshaw]

Nice, looking good so far.

 

[Lgaddy44]

A buddy and I are embarking on our own Brutus build, with what looks like a lot of similarities. We're still collecting parts, as you have, and should start building in the next few weeks. We may have to hit you up on some tips and tricks.

Looks like youre comin along nicely. Good luck and please continue with the posts.

 

[jprice]

A buddy and I are embarking on our own Brutus build, with what looks like a lot of similarities. We're still collecting parts, as you have, and should start building in the next few weeks. We may have to hit you up on some tips and tricks.

Looks like youre comin along nicely. Good luck and please continue with the posts.

Whatever questions you may have, ask away! This community has been a wealth of information for my build and I hope I can help some other guys with theirs along the way as others have helped me.

 

[jprice]

Got a coat of paint on it and mounted the pumps, control panel, and gas manifold








used 2 3/4" pipe hangers and 1 conduit hanger thingy to mount the gas manifold

 

[jprice]

Pilots lit



We have fire!

 

[jprice]

If you're gonna use the jet burners, make sure you get a regulator rated for 11" WC like this http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00D86IELK/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20. It equates to approximately .5 psi. I tried to hook up a 1psi grill regulator I bought at home depot, and all I got was crappy low flames. After some searching on HBT I found out my mistake.

 

[jprice]

Ordering fittings, hoses, and chiller today. Anyone have any suggestions on what kind of set up to do with the BK? I've seen false bottoms, kettle screens, and some with just a diptube in them. Just curious which seems to be the easiest to brew with.

 

[Lgaddy44]

Ordering fittings, hoses, and chiller today. Anyone have any suggestions on what kind of set up to do with the BK? I've seen false bottoms, kettle screens, and some with just a diptube in them. Just curious which seems to be the easiest to brew with.

I'm still mulling over the same. I'm considering a dip tube on the ball valve, and possibly adding a false bottom also. The false bottom I received for the mash tun is about 2" high off the bottom of the kettle. I'm thinking that should be effective.

I've also thought about building the kettle to allow for whirlpooling. I've never done this, but I think I understand the concept and it could also prove to be useful.

Regardless, I'll probably continue to use hop bags for the boil. I figure anything I can do to minimize the trub or prevent clogs to the chiller is worth making the effort. I'll likely opt to overdo it, and add more than I need, as my biggest fear is clogging my CFC. I'm shooting for smooth operation, and no re-work of the system once its built.

 

[jprice]

I'm still mulling over the same. I'm considering a dip tube on the ball valve, and possibly adding a false bottom also. The false bottom I received for the mash tun is about 2" high off the bottom of the kettle. I'm thinking that should be effective.

I've also thought about building the kettle to allow for whirlpooling. I've never done this, but I think I understand the concept and it could also prove to be useful.

Regardless, I'll probably continue to use hop bags for the boil. I figure anything I can do to minimize the trub or prevent clogs to the chiller is worth making the effort. I'll likely opt to overdo it, and add more than I need, as my biggest fear is clogging my CFC. I'm shooting for smooth operation, and no re-work of the system once its built.

Thanks for the input, after checking around here it looks like just whirpooling with a side pickup at the bottom seems to be the most efficient way for me I guess. I will lose a little bit in volume but don't have to worry about the clogs as long as I can get the trub to form a cone in the center.

 

[dozer5454]

I like the way you laid out the parts list and where to get things. This will help others that want to take the plunge.

 

[jprice]

I like the way you laid out the parts list and where to get things. This will help others that want to take the plunge.

Glad you like it! Will be posting more pics when I get all the fittings and chiller in.

 

[Mudflap]

Any updates on your build? I'd like to see how it worked out for you. I'm just starting mine and reading up on several of these threads now trying to absorb as much as possible.
Any advice and things you would and wouldn't do again? Burner system working out well? I'm looking to get the same jet burner setup and pilots..
Thanks!

 

[jprice]

Any updates on your build? I'd like to see how it worked out for you. I'm just starting mine and reading up on several of these threads now trying to absorb as much as possible.

I actually just finished installing the fittings on it on Monday and ran a couple batches through it yesterday, I will post some pictures of it in the next few days.

Any advice and things you would and wouldn't do again?

The only thing I think I would change is to deviate somewhat from the measurements that I found for the stand in the Brutus 10 back issue and make room for the pots to be stored underneath while transporting it. I take it in and out of a shed and brew on my patio and I have to make a few trips to get everything.

Burner system working out well? I'm looking to get the same jet burner setup and pilots..
Thanks!

Its awesome! Everything fired up perfectly and heated as planned, a little bit of soot on the bottom of the pots, but it wipes up fine when cleaning up after a brew session. I read about the Honeywell ignitors in place of the standing pilot, but the standing pilots performed flawlessly and seem quite safe as long as you are brewing outside and monitor your brewery.

 

[Mudflap]

Sounds great! I may look into the under storage idea too. It looks like a few people are doing that with other builds. I just don't want the thing too tall and need to make sure there is plenty of clearance for pumps, valves, etc. Thanks for the heads up!
I've ordered those jet burners from topfoodservice.com but still waiting on a confirmation of the order (2 days now). I imagine this may take a while with these folks...