Tilting Mash Tun Stand

[Skarekrough]

So, I'm in a situation where I can't really build a brew sculpture and previously I have been using a card table with a recycling bin on top of it to get high enough to drain my 10 gallon Igloo cooler mash tun into the kettle (with the burner raised up on cinderblocks so it can drain into the fermenter.

I'd like to replace the card table and recycling bin with something a little more elegant, stable, portable and functional.

My thought was to build a stand with a top which can be tilted forward for draining the tun. It seems like something simple but after searching online for awhile I'm unable to find anything like it. This of course leads me to wonder whether I'm just missing something about why it might not work or be a bad idea.

Has anyone tried this or can think of why this wouldn't work?

 

[MalFet]

There are a lot of so-called "tippy dump" system builds out there, for example this one: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f51/tippy-dump-blichmann-mash-tun-266852/

I'm a bit unclear about what you're trying to do, though. Most people use their tippy dumps for clearing out the spent grain after the mash, but you seem to want to manually pour your wort. Is that correct? Don't you use the spigot on tun?

 

[Skarekrough]

There are a lot of so-called "tippy dump" system builds out there, for example this one: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f51/tippy-dump-blichmann-mash-tun-266852/

I'm a bit unclear about what you're trying to do, though. Most people use their tippy dumps for clearing out the spent grain after the mash, but you seem to want to manually pour your wort. Is that correct? Don't you use the spigot on tun?

I saw the Tippy Dump thread and that was as close as I've come to the idea I have.

I'll use the spigot still, but I always seem to spend a few minutes manually tipping the tun to get the last of the wort out of it. The idea is to build something that will be more stable than a recycling bin placed on top of a card table and will allow for it to be tipped forward to get the last of the wort out without me having to hang onto it.

 

[MalFet]

I saw the Tippy Dump thread and that was as close as I've come to the idea I have.

I'll use the spigot still, but I always seem to spend a few minutes manually tipping the tun to get the last of the wort out of it. The idea is to build something that will be more stable than a recycling bin placed on top of a card table and will allow for it to be tipped forward to get the last of the wort out without me having to hang onto it.

Ah, gotcha. Most people use a dip tube for that purpose, but you should be able to tip the tun if that's the way you'd prefer to go.

 

[Skarekrough]

So, here's how it turned out.

To start with I measured the height of the new burner I'm going with (Blichmann with leg extensions) and the height of the kettle. I added a few inches and that was the height I went with.

The idea was simple; a stand which would feed into the kettle. When the tun is getting near empty the top is hinged and can be tilted and propped to drain fully.

The biggest issues was making sure it would hold the weight of a ten gallon cooler and be stable. So here's what I came up with.

 

[grathan]

That's great. I tip the tun, hlt, and kettle. I could probably get away with a dip tube on the hlt if it weren't doubling as the kettle. If I ever make a stand I'll now have this bookmarked, thanks.

 

[TIPA0303]

Looks nice!

Not sure if I'm missing something since all the photos aren't loading on my phone, but with grain in there you'll raise the center of gravity and it may topple over with such short walls. Have you actually tested it yet? You may want to strap it down when actually in use to avoid a catastrophic woops.

 

[Skarekrough]

Looks nice!

Not sure if I'm missing something since all the photos aren't loading on my phone, but with grain in there you'll raise the center of gravity and it may topple over with such short walls. Have you actually tested it yet? You may want to strap it down when actually in use to avoid a catastrophic woops.

A very good point.

The braces on the bottom are designed so that I can put a heavy bag on them to keep them on the ground if need be.

I am also installing eyehooks on the side to tether the tun to the platform. I have a metal chain and some heavy clips that will hook to the handles on the side of the tun.

But from my experience the tun is usually pretty stable. It's not meant to be tilted for the whole drain, just getting out that last 3/4 of a gallon of wort. When it's down to that point it's usually pretty stable.

I'll be doing a trial by fire with it in the next week or so with an Imperial Stout. I think it's probably the biggest grain bill I ever do so that will be an indication of what it's going to do.