AG Brewing with pulleys.. a new cheapo route to brew?

So I had this idea as I was falling asleep yesterday:

I have two 7.5 kettles, one outdoor propane burner, and a soon-to-be-converted-to-a-mashtun orange cooler. I do not however own a house, or own a brew stand.

I decided to use my insanely impressive MS Paint skills to sketch up what I thought would be a possible way to brew all grain 5 gallon batches in my rented garage, by using only what I have (with a few mods). Here are the incredibly detailed and accurate pictures, as a step-by-step:









Step 4.5: Boil. I would also be building an IC to cool the wort after flameout, before moving to step five.



The "pulley system" is actually a deer hanger (only 10 bucks each). If anything I could buy two for the BK and MT separately.


What do the pros think?

Possible?

I think if I could do it, it would be easily portable to any garage... which would be nice. And when I do buy a house in a year or two, I can move it there easily until I build a real stand.

I could just build a brew stand too, but I thought this was a cool idea.

 

I think you are either asking for a huge mess or to severely burn yourself.

 

Agreed. this seems like a disaster waiting to happen.

 

MetallHed - you could use a very sturdy ladder (think scaffolding) for a sturdy base.

Why not use Metro Shelving (or equivalent). Metro brand shelving is heavy duty, some shelves hold 300+ pounds without bowing.

http://www.google.com/images?um=1&h...1199&bih=573&tbs=isch:1&sa=1&q=metro+shelving

 

or just built a single tier brew stand that takes up not a lot of space and is safer and probably wont be that much more expensive in the long run.

 

Yeah, that diagram made my butt draw up.

I don't even like to use gravity in a multi-tier stand.

Pumps keep you dry and un-burnt.

:rockin:

 

I don't think it's hard to avoid burning yourself without a pump. I think your system would fine, but would personally prefer some way to stabilize the kettles once that high. Perhaps build a single tall shelf that you could lift the pot onto with the pulley and rest it on before making any transfers. This is of course assuming a lot of head space in the pots when lifting. I wouldn't be doing this with a pot more than 3/4 full.

 

You can do this. I'm sure it will work. Would I do it? No. Would I do my best to talk you out of it? Yes. After water gets to about 170F, all it can think about is scalding you. I don't care how careful you are, there are too many variables. You don't have to go "traditional", just get some metal or wood under that hot water. Luck - Dwain

 

http://www.homebrewtalk.com/f11/incredible-invisible-ag-sculpture-picture-heavy-157905/

 

has been done before on here.

 

Ironically this was my original plan for AG brewing. The only difference was that I have a hand crank engine hoist for lifting/lowering instead of a deer hoist.

In the end I opted to just go with a similar setup but do a BIAB. Less stuff and just seemed easier for me because I have a bad back. I can do my whole brew and the only thing I actually have to lift is the malt to pour it in to the bag in the keggle.

One suggestion I can make from experience is get your boil kettle up to a height where you don't have to bend over during your boil. Then you also won't have to lift it to transfer to your primary.

Cheers

 

Dang, I need a pulley if I ever load a 1/2 keg into the keezer, lol.

 

hmmm... I might have to borrow that dolly idea to keep a moving platform.. that way I can set the kettle down to sparge, lift the MLT up..

Really the pots with liquid will only need to be raised about 3-4 feet to be effective, IMO.. or I can do less lifting with BIAB method..

I still am going to try this, I think, so I can do brewing in the garage right after I convert the cooler and build the IC... this summer, when it's warmer and I have more funds (truck will be paid off in spring) I'll probably build a more traditional brew stand..

I have a "Nesting Table" 3 tier design I'm working on... Separate tiers that can go into themselves to compact down...

Thanks for the tips, wussies!

BTW, who can I sue if I burn myself?

"I dropped a hot pickle on my chin!"

 

I did this for years with a come-a-long. It's not a bad route. Having the kettle securely
supported from above made it more stable since it never really sat reliably on my burner.
I hung it from a 2x6 beam that was part of a patio cover so it was not going anywhere.

 

I originally considered something like this when I was dreaming up my system. Eventually I realized that I might as well just add a real third tier. I mean, if you look at it, all you really gain with the pulley is not having to use a second burner on the top tier.

By the time you work out all the mechanics, you might as well just throw a burner directly on the HLT, put it on a top tier, and let gravity do all the work. You'll find that it is just easier, and probably a little safer.

If you are determined to do this though, you've almost got to motorize that, take pictures, and report back
*http://www.harborfreight.com/2000-lb-capacity-remote-control-utility-winch-92860.html

 

I agree completely, and I now how a 1 tier system, but when your an extremely poor college student and your HLT consists of your bottling bucket
and an old cooler (which still needs to be used as a cooler when not brewing)
its not that bad. My kettle was a keg with the just the top cut out, we had to use the racking cane to get it into the carboy after chilling. We were too poor for proper fittings and valves. Don't ask where we got the keg, back in those days in Chico, CA you could find them pretty quick. It was never pretty, but we made some good beer.