Aluminum 3-Tier?

[Brewiz]

Very cool!!!!

 

[user 574]

All plumbed in. Don't have my boil keg finished yet but am taking it for a ride (IPA) today. Still need to figure out shelving on the bottom & middle section.

 

[Lil' Sparky]

Very NICE!!! You're going to love it.

And my propane plumbing looks almost identical to that.

 

[user 574]

And my propane plumbing looks almost identical to that.

Yea, it was pretty much plagery from you. Thanks!

 

[Lil' Sparky]

Cool. So let's hear a report about how it went.

 

[HarvInSTL]

1.) What size Al did you use?
I noticed at the start of the thread you mentioned 1x1x.25 but I wasn't sure if that was the final result.

2.) I'm assuming that you have used it, so if you could change anything about your design would you, and if so what would that be?

3.) Do you have any detailed parts list/lengths/assembly/etc that I could look at?

 

[user 574]

Hey Harv,
The Al is actually 1x1 hollow and 1/8" thick welded together.

I have used it and it works great. A little bit of a pain still since I only have the 1 keg currently (still waiting on my buddy to finish my other 1/2bbl.) Nothing at this point that I'd change up. I do intend on getting some diamond board shelving and raising it up with 1/4" steel spacers so it is not flush on the frame. It gets a little warm near the burners surrounding the frame but nothing different than steel would do I'd gather. If you can see them in the pics, I have very heavy duty wheels on it. We had these at work as well and they carry a 1000lb load in the equipment that we build. Invest in nice wheels with brakes on the rear. The lower tier height will not work for you if you intend on gravity to the fermenter. I use a pump (wort wizard actually) that allowed me to lower it.

As for specs and all; the dimensions are verbatim to what is shown on this hotlink below. The red lines signify the pieces and their orientation as it butts up against the other pieces / where the weld occurred. I think the middle pieces are of a different configuration (reverse what you see there). We thought about it and decided it'd be more sturdy the other way. I could validate that if you want me to when I get home. Also, the top sections laying across the burner area ended up being 3" wide by 1/4" thick Al. I'm no welder; the guy at work who does this for a living did that part for me... The welds aren't around all sections; just where he "knew" it needed to be.

http://www.imajininteriors.com/ajb/3-tier/3-tier v5.htm

After the frame, if you want more info on the other parts (plumbing, burners) I'd be more than happy to provide where I got that stuff as well but frame is your starting point...

 

[foppa78]

This is very nice dB.

Has anyone else made theirs out of aluminum?

 

[Cheesefood]

Wow...not one fight between AL and SS users. Impressive.

 

[user 574]

This is very nice dB.

Has anyone else made theirs out of aluminum?

I'm sure someone out there has since wood, copper and steel has been leveraged. Just haven't heard about it from anyone at this site. Not many are going to have this al laying around though like I had available to me.

Wow...not one fight between AL and SS users. Impressive.

The SS kegs and Iron burners throw some trash talk at the AL frame.

 

[foppa78]

Can you check you link? It isn't working for me. Not being blocked by corporate firewall either.

http://www.imajininteriors.com/ajb/3...-tier v5.htm

 

[user 574]

Can you check you link? It isn't working for me. Not being blocked by corporate firewall either.

Grrr.. I thought I fixed it earlier, perhaps not. I fixed the link on pg 4 and here it is again to be sure:

http://www.imajininteriors.com/ajb/3-tier/3-tier%20v5.htm

 

[HarvInSTL]

How sturdy is it using 1/8" Al? I've got some very cheap 1/16" available to me and if I can use that my Al materials cost would be less than $40.

 

[user 574]

I dunno, I might think that could push the envelope personally...

 

[user 574]

I added some diamond plate today. I kept a space between the keg burner area's to avoid heat transfer. Only had 3' long pieces but I may add some more on the bottom section to make it more consistent. Enough cutting for today though.

 

[Lil' Sparky]

Man, that looks suweeet!

 

[ScubaSteve]

That is TRICKED OUT!

 

[ScubaSteve]

I want to fog it up with my breath and write my name on it!!!!!:rockin:

 

[user 574]

Just got some PM's from a member about using aluminum for a stand and figured I'd toss an updated pic of my stand out here. Not the best pic but it does show that if the sun hits it right while you're brewing you can go blind!

Just added a bit more diamond plate (vertical as a heat shield below the HLT) and the pump.

 

[sigmund]

Just got some PM's from a member about using aluminum for a stand and figured I'd toss an updated pic of my stand out here. Not the best pic but it does show that if the sun hits it right while you're brewing you can go blind!

Just added a bit more diamond plate (vertical as a heat shield below the HLT) and the pump.

It looks like you added a pump to your system but kept it at 3 tiers. Purdy system.

 

[user 574]

It looks like you added a pump to your system but kept it at 3 tiers. Purdy system.

For now. I still prefer to fly sparge instead of batch. I need another pump if I cut it down and continue to fly. Birthday and holiday seasons just around the corner.

 

[Chriso]

Very posh, looks like it's holding up quite well over time! I dig it!

 

[FSR402]

So how does the cooler hold up to the burner?

 

[user 574]

So how does the cooler hold up to the burner?

Not very well. Seems like I have to buy a new one after each batch. :fro:

 

[smoa]

that looks awsome