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Oiled. Once it dried I will add clear coat. Tanks are supposed to ship from Stout this week.
20g Stout/Kal Build and Bar
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COEBRA
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Oiled. Once it dried I will add clear coat. Tanks are supposed to ship from Stout this week.
Looking good!
Looks awesome. Im in the middle of builiding my kegerator right. For some reason, I really enjoy using hand tools to make cuts. I love using a plane as well for shaping wood. Just something about it. I love how you have hand saws and are using planes and other items to shape everything.
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Spar urethane done and panel installed.
Tanks arrived. I didn't have time to do a whole lot, just set them up and ran some cords to see how I am going to route them.
I will write up more on the tanks next week after I had a chance to look them over.
Tanks arrived. I didn't have time to do a whole lot, just set them up and ran some cords to see how I am going to route them.
I will write up more on the tanks next week after I had a chance to look them over.
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Some progress today. I routed all the wires. I initially tried to use hangers but didn't like it so I used screw mount cable ties. I put them every 4 inches on the back and that worked well.
I also put hooks underneath the top so I can hang the lidswhen they are not in use.
I plan on doing a full write up on the tanks when I get a chance to fill then up and do some tests.
I'm just waiting to get with stainlessbrewing.com to get some parts and a HERMS coil made to start brewing beer.
I also put hooks underneath the top so I can hang the lidswhen they are not in use.
I plan on doing a full write up on the tanks when I get a chance to fill then up and do some tests.
I'm just waiting to get with stainlessbrewing.com to get some parts and a HERMS coil made to start brewing beer.
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So its been almost two weeks since I got my tanks so I thought I could post my take on them.
The Good:
-The tanks were built to my specs. The bottom drain on the HLT seems to be right. They also nixed the thermo well ports like I asked and moved some of the ports to where I had asked.
-These things are solid and heavy.
-welds are smooth and generally clean. They seem strong and I haven't seen any leaks in initial testing
The Bad:
OK, I will admit that nothing listed here is going to cause any problems with operation, but keep in mind that the total on these things is $2,100, so I think a bit of OCD is warranted.
2 of my tanks, the MLT and the HLT arrived damaged. The MLT has a dent on the front with a series of short deep circular scratches that is about 2" by 3". Im not sure what tool caused these but there was no damage to the packaging so it seems likely this occured at the factory. The HLT has two bullseye shaped scratches directly below each of the HERMS ports. These were obviously caused by a hole saw or a punch and given their location it looks like whoever was building it laid the marks out too low, probably not accounting for the bottom drain, and caught it after scratching it but before going all the way through.
I emailed Stout the day I got them. 4 or 5 days later I got a response and provided them with more photos that they asked for (photographing these shiny things is hard!). Its been a week since that and I haven't gotten a response to that email or a follow up. Not sure what they can do though, the scratches aren't going to come out easily and like I said they don't hinder anything but the looks.
Overall, I love these tanks! The damage is more irritating than anything else. I just don't get why it wasn't caught at the factory or caught by Stout before they sent them out. They could have tried to get it buffed out or repaired a lot easier than I can and even if they hadn't but told me about it I would have preferred that to discovering it on my own.
Otherwise, I am almost done. I just need to get the coil and some other parts and get it up and running.
The Good:
-The tanks were built to my specs. The bottom drain on the HLT seems to be right. They also nixed the thermo well ports like I asked and moved some of the ports to where I had asked.
-These things are solid and heavy.
-welds are smooth and generally clean. They seem strong and I haven't seen any leaks in initial testing
The Bad:
OK, I will admit that nothing listed here is going to cause any problems with operation, but keep in mind that the total on these things is $2,100, so I think a bit of OCD is warranted.
2 of my tanks, the MLT and the HLT arrived damaged. The MLT has a dent on the front with a series of short deep circular scratches that is about 2" by 3". Im not sure what tool caused these but there was no damage to the packaging so it seems likely this occured at the factory. The HLT has two bullseye shaped scratches directly below each of the HERMS ports. These were obviously caused by a hole saw or a punch and given their location it looks like whoever was building it laid the marks out too low, probably not accounting for the bottom drain, and caught it after scratching it but before going all the way through.
I emailed Stout the day I got them. 4 or 5 days later I got a response and provided them with more photos that they asked for (photographing these shiny things is hard!). Its been a week since that and I haven't gotten a response to that email or a follow up. Not sure what they can do though, the scratches aren't going to come out easily and like I said they don't hinder anything but the looks.
Overall, I love these tanks! The damage is more irritating than anything else. I just don't get why it wasn't caught at the factory or caught by Stout before they sent them out. They could have tried to get it buffed out or repaired a lot easier than I can and even if they hadn't but told me about it I would have preferred that to discovering it on my own.
Otherwise, I am almost done. I just need to get the coil and some other parts and get it up and running.
When spending that kind of money, I think you are justified in feeling upset about the damage, aesthetic or not. I feel like you should at least get some money refunded for that. I would expect them to be flawless for that much cash.
orangehero
Well-Known Member
I think you get what you pay for actually. These are made in china and far from flawless. To get something like this made in the states would not even be realistic. When you know it's a gamble, I think people would gladly pay to upgrade in order to avoid the huge hassle of bad tanks.
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Stout emailed me back tonight. They offered to pay for a shop to repair them, send me the stuff to do it myself with a bit taken off the price, or have the whole thing shipped back for repairs. I've decided to go with the second option.
I'm too impatient to send them back and too busy, and lazy, to drive an hour to Tucson to try and hunt down a shop to do the repairs.
I can't wait to get this wrapped up and get to brewing. I cleaned up my old rig to try and sell it so I haven't been able to brew for a while now.
I'm too impatient to send them back and too busy, and lazy, to drive an hour to Tucson to try and hunt down a shop to do the repairs.
I can't wait to get this wrapped up and get to brewing. I cleaned up my old rig to try and sell it so I haven't been able to brew for a while now.
TripleTap
Member
I agree. Stout Tanks are a great deal for the money. They are a premium price vs plastic. They are a very discounted price for Stainless Steel. That said. Their stuff works well.
olse0230
Member
I agree about the Stout Tanks. I just got my HLT after 6 months of waiting. I was backordered about three months when I ordered it. I had to make several calls to see where it was, only to find out it was further backrordered. When it did finally make it state side from China, it got shipped to somebody else so I had to wait another three weeks and make several more calls.
My HERMS coil doesn't line up with the fittings on the kettle. When I called about this, I was told everything is custom so there isn't anything they can do about it. They recommended I take to a local metal worker to have it re-bent, work which they'll pay for.
My HERMS coil doesn't line up with the fittings on the kettle. When I called about this, I was told everything is custom so there isn't anything they can do about it. They recommended I take to a local metal worker to have it re-bent, work which they'll pay for.
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I should have my HERMS coil by Friday. The plan right now is to put the final parts on Friday, auto tune on Saturday, drive to Tucson and buy grain on Sunday, and hopefully brew on Monday.
I calibrated and applied my sight glass stickers (thanks Bobby). I also built a hose rack and bolted it to the wall.
So close...
I calibrated and applied my sight glass stickers (thanks Bobby). I also built a hose rack and bolted it to the wall.
So close...
ImNoExpert
Well-Known Member
Looks great!
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Coil arrived yesterday. For those who aren't up to speed on this, Stout ships their HLTs with small, short HERMS coils (3/8" x 25' I think). I opted to order my tanks with the fittings but with no coil. Zach from stainlessbrewing.com built a 1/2" x 50' coil with tri clamp ends that drops into place. Here it is.
The coil fits perfect. If you have stout tanks and are unhappy with your coil or are thinking about getting stout tanks, I highly recommend it. It isn't listed on his site so I contacted him via email to order it.
I also put most of the fittings on the pumps and chiller. I need just a couple more parts.
Probably going to brew this weekend. I bought 100 pounds of grain on Sunday to have on standby. I also got 6 15 gallon plastic barrels for fermenters. This build seemed to take forever but I am getting close now.
The coil fits perfect. If you have stout tanks and are unhappy with your coil or are thinking about getting stout tanks, I highly recommend it. It isn't listed on his site so I contacted him via email to order it.
I also put most of the fittings on the pumps and chiller. I need just a couple more parts.
Probably going to brew this weekend. I bought 100 pounds of grain on Sunday to have on standby. I also got 6 15 gallon plastic barrels for fermenters. This build seemed to take forever but I am getting close now.
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Just finished my second brew day with the new rig. The first day went long, about 9 hours. I had a bunch of hiccups but nothing tragic. The session today took about 7 1/2 hours but I spent an hour of that calibrating the rtds which I shouldn't have to do again for a while. In case anyone views this for ideas, here are things I learned and would do the same or different in building the rig.
I would definitely do the stout tanks again. Despite the wait and some minor complaints, they are nice. Tri clamps are easy to clean and I like being able to hook anything up together instead of trying to match fittings
I love my coil from stainlessbrewing. I never tried the stock stout coil but this thing works and fits perfect. No problems with heat exchange at all.
Clean up is a ton easier with a shopvac. I use it to suck up grain and any standing water in the tanks. I use it to blow out the filter and plate chiller so I can disassemble them with out dripping any remaining wort before I clean them. A shop vac hose fits perfectly in the gasket groove of a 1.5" tri clamp.
Trub filter works good. I free range my hops in the kettle without bags now.
Kals control panel is great as expected. I wish I had gone with a 50amp just to keep my options open but that probably isn't needed. I added a fourth rtd that sits in a tee on the output side of the plate chiller. This works great. I just swing the panel so I can see it and sit in front of the valve in a chair to dial in the cooling temperature. I should have added a fourth pic for this but for now I just unplug the mlt probe and plug in the spare rtd. You could just move the mlt probe each time, but this way I didn't have to muck with how the wires are routed.
I need more hoses. I have enough to brew but it would be handy to have a few more of varying lengths to minimize clutter when things are hooked up.
If it weren't wrong on so many levels, I would probably make sweet sweet love to my plate chiller. This thing is incredible. I stopped using a pretty chiller, my tap water is hot during the summer, and instead I put 40 pounds of ice in the mlt and fill with water and pump from that. I keep the wort pump valve full open and keep the water pump valve about half to get wort out at 62. Its pretty fast.
I bought way too many clamps. I ended up needing just a few more than what end up coming with the tanks but ordered about 20. On the plus side, I never have to look for a clamp.
Bottom drain HLT makes cleanup much easier, this should be a standard feature for stout.
If anyone is building something similar and has questions feel free to ask.
I would definitely do the stout tanks again. Despite the wait and some minor complaints, they are nice. Tri clamps are easy to clean and I like being able to hook anything up together instead of trying to match fittings
I love my coil from stainlessbrewing. I never tried the stock stout coil but this thing works and fits perfect. No problems with heat exchange at all.
Clean up is a ton easier with a shopvac. I use it to suck up grain and any standing water in the tanks. I use it to blow out the filter and plate chiller so I can disassemble them with out dripping any remaining wort before I clean them. A shop vac hose fits perfectly in the gasket groove of a 1.5" tri clamp.
Trub filter works good. I free range my hops in the kettle without bags now.
Kals control panel is great as expected. I wish I had gone with a 50amp just to keep my options open but that probably isn't needed. I added a fourth rtd that sits in a tee on the output side of the plate chiller. This works great. I just swing the panel so I can see it and sit in front of the valve in a chair to dial in the cooling temperature. I should have added a fourth pic for this but for now I just unplug the mlt probe and plug in the spare rtd. You could just move the mlt probe each time, but this way I didn't have to muck with how the wires are routed.
I need more hoses. I have enough to brew but it would be handy to have a few more of varying lengths to minimize clutter when things are hooked up.
If it weren't wrong on so many levels, I would probably make sweet sweet love to my plate chiller. This thing is incredible. I stopped using a pretty chiller, my tap water is hot during the summer, and instead I put 40 pounds of ice in the mlt and fill with water and pump from that. I keep the wort pump valve full open and keep the water pump valve about half to get wort out at 62. Its pretty fast.
I bought way too many clamps. I ended up needing just a few more than what end up coming with the tanks but ordered about 20. On the plus side, I never have to look for a clamp.
Bottom drain HLT makes cleanup much easier, this should be a standard feature for stout.
If anyone is building something similar and has questions feel free to ask.
COEBRA
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Jan 9, 2014
- Messages
- 159
- Reaction score
- 25
I also put most of the fittings on the pumps and chiller. I need just a couple more parts.
Where did you get those cool sanitary fitting covers?
sandyeggoxj
Well-Known Member
Those have some on pretty much every triclamp fitting I have bought from brewershardware or brewhardware. I ususally just toss them in the trash. I should have been saving them for you, eh?
The plastic caps that come on a keg will fit a 2" sanitary fitting too
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Ha! One man's trash...
That's where mine came from. I wish I had more they are handy little dustcaps. I have this nightmare of a packrat making a home in an instrument tee.
They are called flange protectors if you want to try to find them but all I have found of those style come in 500 packs.
orangehero
Well-Known Member
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I saw those. I may switch to those, the stretchy ones, if I can't find the ones I have, hard caps.
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The stock tanks would run $1824. With my customizations and the coil from stainlessbrewing.com it is $1979. So its $155 extra to get my configuration
I don't remember the exact numbers but I think the price taken off for removing the coil was either the same or maybe even more than the cost of the larger coil from Zach. I think most of the increase comes from making the HLT bottom drain.
I think it was worth it.
augiedoggy
Well-Known Member
What is the herms coil made of that it wont bend /reform easily with say an $8 pipe bender from the hardware or autostore?
unless its made of some kind of hardened steel that doesnt bend easily this would be the most practical choice.
Dont you think its a bit unrealistic to expect both ends of a metal coil to line up exactly unless you actually sent them the coil to dryfit during manufacturing?
kcmobrewer
Well-Known Member
Could you take a picture of the bottom drains? I am aiming for pretty much this exact setup. Really curious about the bottom drains you had put in.
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Here you go.
The layout of the bottom drain on the HLT and MLT are the same. Flat bottoms with the drain in the bottom front.
This is the outside. That seam is where the bottom of the tank is. A skirt attached below it hoses the bend for the drain.
This is the inside showing the drain.
This is the underside of the skirt. An up-skirt shot you could say...
Hope that helps.
The layout of the bottom drain on the HLT and MLT are the same. Flat bottoms with the drain in the bottom front.
This is the outside. That seam is where the bottom of the tank is. A skirt attached below it hoses the bend for the drain.
This is the inside showing the drain.
This is the underside of the skirt. An up-skirt shot you could say...
Hope that helps.
sandyeggoxj
Well-Known Member
I like that. I have a bottom drain MLT, but I wish that I had that for my MLT. Heck, it would be great to have that for the BK too so that I could just CIP the whole setup. I would not use the bottom drain BK for brewing, but it would make cleanup a freakin' breeze. I'll order that on my 40-gallon system, when I get to that in a year or two. I'm liking my 30-gallon kettles a lot.
I'm also jealous that you have a herms coil from stainless. My stout herms coil is sized nicely, but it is a piece o crapola. It must be 4 or 5 pieces welded together. Maybe even more.
I'm also jealous that you have a herms coil from stainless. My stout herms coil is sized nicely, but it is a piece o crapola. It must be 4 or 5 pieces welded together. Maybe even more.
kcmobrewer
Well-Known Member
That is awesome. You have inspired me. This is almost exactly what I want now lol.
Sent from my iPhone using Home Brew
Sent from my iPhone using Home Brew
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Wow. That's a new one. I had read that people didn't like the size but welding sections together? I love my tanks, but some of thier QC stuff makes me scratch my head sometimes. I'm glad I replaced from the start.
A bottom drain on the domed boil kettle is a great idea. I would have happily modified my stand for it if I had thought of it. For now I just use the shop vac to clean it out but a dump would be even easier.
