Brutus Build - First time to weld

Thanks to SouthernYankee for giving me the confidence and information to start this project. I used his plans but changed them to fit my 10 gallon pots. If it were not for hbt, there is no way I could have built my kezzer or this brew stand (not complete yet!).

I purchased a 90 amp flux core wire welder from harbor freight for $79 and with all of the equipment and the 2 year extended replacement warranty it ran a total of about $150. I know a lot of people hate this small, cheap welder but I have always wanted to learn to weld and I thought this was a small investment to learn.

The 50 ft of 14 gauge 1.5 square tubing on ebay for $110 with shipping. It was cut into 5 ft sections.

I practiced for a couple of hours on some scrap. The welds were strong but not pretty.

All of my cuts were with a Skill miter saw with a metal blade. I read that this may damage it but a metal saw was twice as much and I only made 15-20 cuts.

The welds are in no way perfect but they seem to be strong.

The burners were purchased from amazon for about $50. They are the replacement for the sq14 bayou classic. The btu output is not as high as a banjo but I am using them now on a camp chef and they work fine. I only brew 5 gallon batches and these burners have worked well.

I will put a cross member from the center supports for the burners. It will be bolted on so that the height can be adjusted or if I ever use a different burner.

A hole will be drilled in the bottom legs for a casters welding a nut over the hole so that the caster can be adjustable from the bottom. This will compensate for any part that is out-of-square. (And it is! )

The cooking surface is pretty square and the pots fit perfectly.

Here is a picture with all three pots.

Looks good. Waiting to see the finished results.

What are the dimensions for your stand?

The flux core welders are ok, I own one also the trick I found is a GOOD clean ground and try to bevel the edges where you are welding, that does 2 things, since you are "filling in the gap" it makes for a strong weld and less you have to grind. Looks good! Keep us posted.

Wolfbayne said:

Looks good. Waiting to see the finished results.

What are the dimensions for your stand?

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Thanks. I hope to add the casters and order the pumps this week.

Outside dimensions are 12" wide, 49" long, and 23" high. The casters will add another 4" to the height. The inside dimensions where the burners will go is 9 x 9.

Transamguy77 said:

The flux core welders are ok, I own one also the trick I found is a GOOD clean ground and try to bevel the edges where you are welding, that does 2 things, since you are "filling in the gap" it makes for a strong weld and less you have to grind. Looks good! Keep us posted.

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Thanks for the tip. I think that I grinded more that than I welded.

Looking good. Sweet kettles too!

tdbc2011 said:

Thanks for the tip. I think that I grinded more that than I welded.

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Lol! I've been there too, it turned out looking great, can't wait to see it finished!

Nuts were welded over holes in the bottom of the horizontal legs but when I stood on the leg the metal bent the caster failed. So I welded short vertical legs. They are solid. I hope to find two casters that can be used so that when one side of the stand is lifted it will roll. You can see the middle cross bar where the burnersl mount. They were mounted but were removed to weld the leg extensions. These leg extensions should give me enough height for my pumps to prime.
I had to throw in a pic of a black and tan that I just poured!

bsomogyi said:

Looking good. Sweet kettles too!

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Thanks. My wife insisted that I get them...all three!! I guess that I am pretty lucky.

Here are some pictures with the stand painted and the casters mounted. If the side opposite the casters is lifted the stand rolls. I realize that it cannot be moved when being used but it is very stable this way. The same casters were used, but the swivel and bolt were removed.

The burners are mounted. Waiting on the gas hook-up and the march pumps.

How are those burners mounted? It almost looks like the legs are just straddling the metal bar.

The BG-12 burners mount from a single bolt in the bottom center of the burner.

Looks good so far - ESPECIALLY for a first-time welding project!!

nice looking stand, look forward to seeing the end product.

Great looking work, you can be proud.

Your avatar makes me want a black and tan now! Your build looks great so far, I can't wait to see the finished product.

JayMac said:

How are those burners mounted? It almost looks like the legs are just straddling the metal bar.

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Just as jfrizzell said, there is a center bolt that hold the burner to the metal tubing. I drilled/cut a large hole in the bottom that was large enough to use a socket on the bolt. Then I inserted the bolt into the burner through a proper sized hole in the top of the tubing.

Thanks, Junkster, rekoob, cosmatics, and loud1 for the positive comments. So far I am happy with the results. As far as the welding goes, I think that I spent more time grinding than cutting and welding combined.

I think it is time for a back and tan!

The pumps are installed with the switches and a power supply. The wort chiller was mounted to the frame with screws from below.

The black pipe is installed on the frame.

Fire!! All of the gas lines are in and it works! I had to move the right pump because the switch box was in the way.

Finished.