Two Burners or Three- Building a Stand

[Andman&Robin]

Hey Gang,

My girlfriend and I are new to brewing and just invested in a SS Brewtech 10 Gallon All-Grain System. We haven't brewed before and are jumping right in.

Im planning out my stand and I have seen many stands use the Bajou Classic 10", but some guys use three burners and some use two. Why would I use three burners? Is it a must?

Cheers,

Andy

 

[Rnrdozer]

I like having three burners on my tower. I can heat my mash in water and HLT water at the same time. I also have the ability to adjust my mash if it gets too cool.

 

[Transamguy77]

I also use 3 burners, it keeps it simple no pumps and no pouring hot liquids from one vessel to another.

Simple is why I built a 3 tier system, let gravity do all the work.

 

[Dcpcooks]

If you have three burners you can easily heat your strike water and Your HLT at the same time.

All a third burner does is cut a bit of time off the brew day as you won’t need to pump water to your mash tun after it’s hot. It’s a convenience thing that saves a bit of time. Nice but not necessary.

 

[Andman&Robin]

Hey Gang,

So I reached out to SS Brewtech and found out that the Mashtun is insulated, so we can only go with a two burner system. In order to adjust temp in the Mashtun we will have to use a Herms/Rims setup.

Cheers,

Andy

 

[hammerthreat]

I bought the same Mash Tun but 20 gal. I built a two tier stand. Gravity for the HLT and a pump to transfer into the boil kettle. Let us know how the build goes! Good luck!!

 

[Gadjobrinus]

Hammerthreat, I see you didn't weld you stand together. Cool solution. I've also seen your pump switch style on a few builds. I've got two pumps as well and was going to try to find a way to keep their plugs on, yet control on a panel or something like that. Would you mind sharing the make/model of you switch boxes there, and I presume you cut the plug off and had to wire your pumps to the switches, yes?

Andman&Robin, good luck. It's going to be a blast!

 

[hammerthreat]

Yes I cut the plugs off. If you don’t want too you’ll have to find a different box to control your pumps. I went with SS strut so I can change the stand down the road if need be, I also went with two Hellfire burners which have been awesome. I really only use one of the pumps but I guess it’s nice to have an extra!!

This is what I used for mine, found on Amazon. I’m sure the same thing is at Home Depot!

 

[hammerthreat]

 

[Rnrdozer]

I bought the same Mash Tun but 20 gal. I built a two tier stand. Gravity for the HLT and a pump to transfer into the boil kettle. Let us know how the build goes! Good luck!!View attachment 548519

I'm curious how you pump from your mash tun. I gravity into a grant tank until the vorlof is clear, pumping it back on top of the mash. once clear I gravity into the boil kettle at a slow rate. I'm guessing you still need a grant tank?

 

[hammerthreat]

So I am still learning myself. For me, I like batch sparging. For 5 gal batches I use a 10 gal igloo cooler to mash in. But for 10 gal batches I bought the 20gal SS cooler like yours. It was only my third batch in it this weekend. I vorlauf into a pitcher slowly until clear wort. Usually about 1-2 pitchers. And pour the wort gently (I use a piece of folded up foil) back into the mash tun. After that the pump does the rest. I am having trouble with getting clear wort using this mash tun even though going very slow. My igloo cooler works way better in that regard. I believe there are some threads on here about that problem.

 

[sillbeer]

Go electric and don't look back. My ears thank me and I enjoy the music while I brew. I also invested in the new Rip Tide pumps. They are super quiet, just as quiet as the micro pumps I had before.

 

[hammerthreat]

Would converting to electric on a rig like mine be possible in the future sillbeer? Not sure if it would require different kettles or what...

 

[ancientmariner52]

I agree with sillbeer. The silence. Knowing that 100% of the heat is going into your kettle, instead of 80% or more just heating air to no purpose. No refilling or exchanging gas bottles. Being able to insulate a boiling kettle.

Yes, you can electrify any kettle.

 

[Andman&Robin]

Go electric and don't look back. My ears thank me and I enjoy the music while I brew. I also invested in the new Rip Tide pumps. They are super quiet, just as quiet as the micro pumps I had before.

We decided to go with propane because we are renting a townhouse and I don't want to go through the hassle of paying an electrician and potentially permitting and dealing with a Strata Council.

 

[sillbeer]

Would converting to electric on a rig like mine be possible in the future sillbeer? Not sure if it would require different kettles or what...

You can use the same kettles. You would have to punch holes and mount your heating elements inside your kettles, (HLT and BK). Aside from that you would have to buy or build a control panel.