3 tier rig build started

Awesome freebee! Do you plan to motorize it somehow, or use something like a ratchet?

 

i was thinking about using my drill for right now, but i am not sure if it will have the power to lift it at full weight. i could also use an air gun. i have our shop right next door, or i could always use the air system from my jeep

 

impact wrench operated brew stand... it doesn't get any better!

 

yea, i was thinkin it would be real cool

 

Your 3 tier setup is looking real good jonp9576
Curious to see how the Boil Kettle lift works out for you.


Cheers
BeerCanuck

 

ok, didnt make any progress today, but we did get a great deal on a used mig welder. i've never used one before. it was a ton of fun. i build a cart for it. tomorrow i'll weld the BK lift together and give it a test run with about 10 gals of water. i figure that will be the most it will ever have to lift

 

today i welded the BK stand onto the lift. i put a big bucket of sand on it that weighs about as much as 10 gals of water. it lifted just fine using the air gun.



then i decided that a well oiled air gun is going to shoot oil into my wort. so i decided this would be a hand wratchet job



here it is all welded into place

next up burner placement and gas lines

 

Sorry, I've not really done my homework on 3 tier rigs, but what is the purpose of lowering and raising the 1st tier? Is it so you can raise it at the end so you can siphon to carboy? I've seen other 3 tier rigs, they dont have this feature, how do those work?

 

1) It's built high enough to gravity drain (makes things really high).
2) Use a pump.
3) If you chill w/ a CFC, you can use a wort wizard to vacuum the wort out. I did this when I had my 3-tier before I bought a pump.
4) Lift the kettle up and pour/drain when you're done.

 

well said sparky.

i plan to put a ball valve into my BK. at the burner height its too low i wanted an overall lower height. so not i can raise it up the foot or so needed to drain right into my fermenter. also, i can raise it up pretty high to give me some nice aeration while transferring.

 

I'm sorry to hear that. How bad was it hand ratcheting to the level you'll be lifting to? Have to thought about attaching a low speed high torque AC Motor to it. then just an on/off switch or momentary PB to lift?

 

from burner height to the top of my fermenter is only a little over a foot. it wont be too bad to ratchet it. less than a minute

 

oh thats not bad. I was thinking you'd be traveling the length of the leadscrew there.

 

today i drilled the BK and put in the sight glass and the dump valve. i also re fitted the glass and balve on the HLT and the mash tun.

this thing just needs some burners and some new paint and its ready to brew

 

burners are on today. fired up for a test run

 

Looks like you're ready to take her on her maiden voyage.

 

this weekend she will be tested

 

With the burners turned down a bit i assume?! haha
Nice rig. Any idea on final pricing IYDMMA.

 

Have you tried a cordless drill? Some of them are very torquey and should be able to raise the kettle. You can buy a socket adaptor pretty cheap. I wanted to do something similar to my stand, maybe I'll mod it some day. I don't get the siphon pull I'd like to when I transfer to the carboy. So it's either that or a pump.

 

yes, with the burners turned down. they are 250000btu burners, and they were on pretty high so the flames would come up in the picture.


as far as the cordless drill. it wont fit. its pretty tight under there.

 

so the wheels are on. its now mobile. i dont have a pic of that yet. but there are some corrections that need to be made.



the top tier was too close to the burner so i have to wither raise it up or weld something to the bottom of the keg to get it up from the burner.



i might go with welding something on the keg so it doubles as a heat sheild. the heat melded the cover right off of the ball valve handle.

 

here are the legs on the keggle and the heat shield to protect my mash tun

 

so here we are, maiden voyage. since i melted part of my mash tun yesterday this is just an extract batch, but its in use right now, so thats all that matters.

 

so this thing is gonna need some mods.

 

Whats kind of hiccups did you run into?

 

3 major things stuck out in my head.
1. the gas controls are too close to the burners. they are very hot so i was controling the flame with my foot trying to turn the knobs with my shoe. also, i would like to move the gas lines further from the burners.
2. my original concern was height, but i have chosen to forget about that i plan to move the top level up to make it easier to access the bottom level.
3.finally, along the lines with moving the top level, the lift system is sub par.
it took about 10 minutes to move it up the 10" so i could drain directly into the fermenter.

what i am thinking about doing is keeping true to one rule that seems to apply to everything. KISS. i tried to over engineer it and while it worked, it was too much.

i am thinking about pulling all of the levels apart. leaving the base and main "mast" in tact. then i plan to put the levels back on in kind of a "spiral" 3 sided configuration. this will leave nothing under the top level and nothing right above the BK level. also, i plan to move all 3 levels up 10-12" to eliminate having to move the BK when its time to drain into the fermenter. with no moving parts it should make brewing a little easier.

 

also, as far as the burners go, these are from drywall heaters so they are really meant to be used either all the way on or off so lowering the flame created some inconsistencies with the burner sounds and i am sure it was burning very inefficiently. i might go to a banjo burner or something with more precise control.

 

I think the sprial thing is great. If I were to rebuild mine (you know I will someday) I will probably do that. Sometimes paint falls from the HLT burner into the boil kettle, and I do not like having the HLT in my way for looking into the Boil kettle. I would at least put the boil kettle in the middle, facing front, and then MLT HLT L-R. Then I could have more room for building a rising boil kettle fixture.

 

yes, i felt like i was being blocked from my bk by my hlt. i'll make some cuts and move some stuff around saturday and maybe give it another go sunday

 

so here we are now.



the bottom tier is just above fermenter height. the second tier is off to the side so the valve from the mash tun is right over the bk. and the top tier is on the other side so the ball valve from the hlt is draining right into the mast tun. i'll post more pictures once the burners are placed and i put the mash tun bk and hlt onto it.

 

as far as you melting the handles on your ball valves... if you welded couplers in the side you could just put a nipple on it to move the ball valve out from the kettle wall....

 

So what, new isn't better these days.

 

i guess new isnt better. the mig machine we just got has some years on it too. it kicks some ass. and it was cheap. great tool to learn on

 

Well it's my fault I should of stated with the same "Buzz Box" machines as there are millions of them around that are still working and in use. My old HS english teacher "FUDD" had a way of turning around anything you could write down into what it did not mean at all and 180 degrees off. Newer machines can have failures of the PC boards, feed rolls,torch housing wearing out as well a motor failing or a diode failing. And one must add cooling fan, all that are not on a "Buzz Box". I have had the Red as well Blue Migs and Tigs fail over the years.

Congrats on your "it kicks some ass". "and it was cheap", I could never find a "cheap" Tig and Mig Miller in the size of welders I have. I must of been shopping for welders in the wrong welding supply shops.

 

looks great! can't wait to see the final product.

 

ok, so this appears to be the final product.

 

one possible problem i found is the bottom burner placement. as you can see its not right in the middle. does anyone see this being a problem being off center a couple inches.

 

i could change the mounting plate for it and move it out to the middle. i might try it out once and see how it goes

 

It would be better in the middle. You're going to be wasting propane otherwise.