Blichmann Modular Brewing Stand "Top Tier" (spring 09)

[bobjohnson]

chuck- now that your set up, which looks great by the way, is done, can you tell what your final tally was with the stand, burners, metal for the shelves and all the misc parts? Just wondering how in the end your cost ended up as compared to the Top Tier equivelant. I know from reading here yours is 3" and the top tier is 5", but asside from that, just wondering if you came out ahead or behind when done. Also, do you know what your total time (estimated) to build was?

I am trying to develop my own top tier and very glad I found this thread.

Great job!

 

[commander flatus]

dear all -
not to deter anyone in this thread from trying the top-tier build-it-yourself, but i found a local welder that was willing to build a brutus 10 clone (just the stand, not the burners or wheels or any of that stuff) for $800. so I went that route. I will post pictures when I take delivery (which I hope is soon).

flatulently,

 

[chuckger]

chuck- now that your set up, which looks great by the way, is done, can you tell what your final tally was with the stand, burners, metal for the shelves and all the misc parts? Just wondering how in the end your cost ended up as compared to the Top Tier equivelant. I know from reading here yours is 3" and the top tier is 5", but asside from that, just wondering if you came out ahead or behind when done. Also, do you know what your total time (estimated) to build was?

I am trying to develop my own top tier and very glad I found this thread.

Great job!

I have not done a detailed price list since I added a pump and a few other little itemms, but the last time I added it all up I had $1054 in my BrewTree. Now keep in mind this price includes all t-slot material, all hardware used to built the entire stand, all of the steel I built the burners and the shelf out of, both burners, plate chiller, cold pump, everything (includeing fittings false bottom and copper pipe) that I used to build the BK MLT and HLT, the cost of the kegs that were used, the water line including the filter, and the gas manifold. I think I got everyting....

When you buy a Top Tier you get the center mast the outriggers/legs, and burners/shelves depending on how you order it. No gas line, no chiller system, no water line, and no kettles. You be the judge of weather or not to buy or build your own, the skill level needed to build this thing was probably medium at best.

And I guess I probably have about 30 hrs in designing and building.

Would I change anything today... not really, I love this BrewTree and the design, it takes up almost no floor space which is a plus, but you need a stool to stir you mash, I have a sight glass on the HLT and a water line that feeds it so I do not have to hold a hose to fill it I just turn a valve which is SWEET!

I will be installing a March hot pump this weekend, for two reasons, so I can circulate my mash and so I can fill my new 15 gal conical fermenter from the boil kettle. The conical is my latest creation, its not quite done but I will include a pic for you guys. After istalling the pump, I will be able to lower the BK down to its lowest position on the mast, which means I can lower all the tiers and still be able to gravity feed from one to the next, at that point I am pretty sure I will not need the stool anymore to stir the mash, so this thing jsut keeps getting better!!!

Only thing left to add is wheels so I can tip it and roll it around!!!

Cheers adn happy brewing!!!

Here are a few recent pics...
Front of BrewTree.

Back of BrewTree.

My new 15 gal conical.

And finally... pouring a pint of the product!!:cross:

 

[chuckger]

Ok so I finally installed a March pump. Sooo, now its time to re-arrange the BrewTree!!!!

So here are the new pics.

The new keggles.

All of the levels have been lowered as much as possible because I can pump now!

The conical is what spaw ned the need for a pump because I was going to have to pump from the boil kettle to the conical anyway so why not lower everything, that way I can brew without getting on a step stool. Here is a pic of the conical with stand.

 

[pen25]

i can honestly say that the 8020 store on ebay can save you a ton of money. no its not factory perfect. some have a slot that is out of spec and a customer has turned it back in but that out of spec can be .01" again people are building cnc routers out of this stuff from the ebay store. also many things can be purchased there to save some money. if you need pics of stuff i have bought from the store id be more then happy to post up some. i bought 10 sticks of 1515x96 as well as allot of 90* corner plates and linear slides from the store and none of it is so far out of spec i couldnt build a pretty decent cnc router with a pretty good tolerance. as for heating up soft metal. the alum is plenty strong enough to take the heat and cooling cycle. there isnt anything in direct contact with the flame of the build i just looked at. i mean when you are brewing can you not touch the trunk? here is the factory site if anyone wanted to compare prices http://www.8020.net/

 

[andy777]

probably!!!






I have brewed about 5 times on it and I LOVE it. I find I am brewing much more consistently with it... but I believe this has to do more with having a consistent setup and stand... period. I would probably get the same experience from an equivalent single tier if that makes sense.

If I wasn't using a RIMS and instead was using direct fire and a mash stirrer I would not need a pump at all. I love gravity brewing... It is simple, it works very well and it's cheap. I want to add a mash stirrer so I can use direct heat instead of using my RIMS or my HERMS. Yes... I have the ability to do RIMS, HERMS, Gravity, and decoction all in one stand.

The quality is outstanding but the custom sizing of the center pillar makes it difficult to source additional components. For example, I wanted to add an arm to support my control box. I had to coble together pieces from Lowes.

JVD_X, I'm probably ordering the Top Tier later in the week with designs of adding a RIMS tube HEX and a control panel. If you've got the time and inclination to post pictures, I would love to see your adaptations. Thanks!

 

[andy777]

So I received my Top Tier today. Just noticed that the instructions say I should use a torque wrench for the shleves. I don't own one, and neither do any of my neighbors. What did you guys use for this step?

 

[RiverCityBrewer]

So I received my Top Tier today. Just noticed that the instructions say I should use a torque wrench for the shleves. I don't own one, and neither do any of my neighbors. What did you guys use for this step?

I had a torque wrench as I work on my vehicles/quads/motorcycles quite a bit, and it comes in very handy. I suppose you could just tighten it up til it feels good and snug, or buy a torque wrench from Harbor Freight for $10.

http://www.harborfreight.com/1-2-half-inch-drive-click-stop-torque-wrench-239.html

 

[richkev]

JVD_X, I'm probably ordering the Top Tier later in the week with designs of adding a RIMS tube HEX and a control panel. If you've got the time and inclination to post pictures, I would love to see your adaptations. Thanks!

Hey Andy777, have you ever gotten your system up and running? I'd like to see some pics of yours, if you get the chance. I've also been researching the do-it-yourself 3 tier modular stand, but the furthur along I get, the more I am leaning towards the Blichmann...

 

[GGGsPorter]

I was thinking of doing something similar. How often do you have to stir/mix the mash while on heat during the mash process? Is it hard to maintain the temp?

 

[ZooKeeper]

chuckger - love what you did with your stand. I've been looking at doing something similar & just ran across this thread. A couple of questions -

Any issue with stability using the 3in frame?
Do you know what the overall weight of it is?
Did you get wheels mounted?

 

[wcrooker]

I'm interested about the wheels too. I have the 3" mast and the legs, so I'm getting ready to assemble it and I would like to have wheels on it too, also where did you get the leveling feet?

 

[ProzHack]

This thread's about a year old... but I'm really interested in building this myself! I'd love some more detailed pics on the shelf mounting/support. It seems hard to imagine that curved sheet metal with a few bolts is holding up that weight. Is there something else in there?

 

[chuckger]

So I now have my BrewTree set up with 4 burners, and 2 pumps. I can do 2 batches almost at the same time now with the 2 boiler tiers. As soon as the mash is done for the first batch I have the second batch doughed in usually before the first batch is boiling. With a 30 whirlpool for hop additions on the first batch last weekend I did 2 batches start to finish including cleanup in 6 hours. I was able to whirlpool the first batch for the extra 45 minutes while I was boiling the second batch, then crash them and one after another and transfer to fermenters. I love this stand it has shaved so much time of my brew day! I now have about $1200 wrapped up in the brewtree, and I will try to post a few pics of the newest system.

 

[caseyr98625]

Here is the finished product in action. I did a Cream Ale and a Blonde back to back in 7 hours including water heat time and clean up!!

Hello,

I have a very similar system, but I am curious how you make this work without heating your mash tun to maintain heat? Or am I mistaken?

 

[DIXIEBOY1]

Can you give me the weight and dimensions on the blichman stand? I live in army barracks so I need something that is "light" as possible. Thanks

 

[bobjohnson]

http://www.blichmannengineering.com/products/toptier-brew-stand-and-burners

this link has the size of the stand. 72 " tall. 48" wide at widest part.

Weight is dependent on # of burners. But, it is heavy. I have 2 burners and a shelf and I can only guess it goes 150 - 200 pounds. Again, just a guess.

THere are wheels on 2 of the legs to tip and roll it, but you don't want to go far or over to many bumps.

Hope this is helpful at least a bit.

 

[bbt95762]

to make the plunge to the Top Tier? or keep brewing with my hodge podge of folding tables, turkey burners, ...
The Top tier does look like a nice clean setup