Brew Stand - Build yourself or get someone else to build?

[Stevorino]

Hey guys-- I'm really wanting to get a sweet brewstand built for Xmas.

Right now I have 3 keggles, 3 burners, but no stand.

I wanted to see if anyone had any input on where I can get a brewstand built and for how much (I live in Atlanta).

I'm also considering building it myself, although I do not know how to weld (willing to teach myself though) and don't really know where to acquire the steel/metal. I've considered building a wood stand in the past, but have decided if I'm going to drop $750-$1000 on a stand, I want it to be as close to perfect as possible.

I'd eventually like to upgrade to a HERMS/RIMS System, but that's not necessary for right now.

Thoughts/Suggestions?

Thanks guys!

 

[Aleforge]

You should have some local weld shops around, I would look in the phone book and call them. Have some plans sketched up with dimensions and they should be able to give you a price to weld it, possibly with materials. I'm not a welder, but would love to buy a small welder just for these applications. Maybe someone can chime in and tell us both what type of welder would be best to buy for this type of stuff?

On a side note I have seen some members "wooden" stands on here and if you take the time you can make them look pretty awesome.

 

[Gonefishing]

Build it yourself. You'll end up with a nice brew stand, a new skill (welding),a new toy (welder) and the ability to change/update it whenever you like.
Check the yellow pages for steel dealers, maybe even used steel dealers. Even with buying steel and a small welder (check Harbor Freight or Craigslist) you won't spend $750 and will have money left for a pump,so build the setup you want now.

 

[GilaMinumBeer]

After 3 years of building, revising, upgrading, swapping, etc...

I am at a point where I'd rather just buy the damned thing and get to brewing. Problem is, I still have to assemble the dang thing.

It sure is expensive tho' and definitely not worth compounded interest.

 

[camiller]

Welding is not absolutely necessary, nuts and bolts hold things together too. Here is one example. While he use an heavy duty shelving unit to start with you can probably get angle iron/steel and drill it yourself if you need more flexibility with the design.

 

[Padstack31]

From someone who is putting the finishing touches on his brew stand, I would recommend you build it yourself.

Sure, it has taken me about a year to put everything together but it's also been a lot of fun to design it from scratch. I borrowed ideas from others but it is truely one of a kind design, to me that is more rewarding then buying a stand that just anyone with the cash can buy.

 

[conpewter]

If you are a DIY guy get the welder and the steel, otherwise go to local welding ship and talk about it with them and work out a design.

I plan on making a wooden rig (with cement board top) due to cost, but a nice steel heavy frame would be neat too

 

[Stevorino]

I'm leaning towards building it myself-- it just seems that not knowing how to weld is a silly obstacle and I'd love to have the holiday project

My biggest question is what kind of welder to get and where to procure decent quality steel at a low price. Ideas?

 

[Bobby_M]

I'm sure most racks/stands you're seeing around here are grossly overbuilt, especially the brutus clones. You really don't need 2" square tubing. I saved a lot of money in raw materials by salvaging bedframes. If you have any scrap dealers near you, go walking around looking for surplus materials. I would recommend sticking with tubular steel rather than angle though. It's much easier to grind your welds.

 

[RonRock]

The easiest and fastest way to learn welding is MIG. You can buy a 110 volt MIG (Metal Inert Gas) welder for around $500. With a little practice you will be able to run a "Bead" in a very short time. It won't pass an X-Ray but it will be plenty good for a brewstand. Be sure and get one that uses Gas, they also sell Wire Welders that look the same but don't have provisions for gas, they use a Fluxcore wire rather than gas for shielding. They weld fine but leave an ugly weld. Lots of splatter. In the end you will have one of the best tools and ability to weld things. You may consider local Pawn Shops for purchase, just be sure and study up before shopping in a Pawn. You need to be informed before you get a good deal in those shops. A local welding supply would be the safest place to buy and will likely teach you how to weld before you leave with your welder.

Obviously I'd go for it. But that's just me. I probably have a dozen welder in my homeshop.

 

[Stevorino]

I'm sure most racks/stands you're seeing around here are grossly overbuilt, especially the brutus clones. You really don't need 2" square tubing. I saved a lot of money in raw materials by salvaging bedframes. If you have any scrap dealers near you, go walking around looking for surplus materials. I would recommend sticking with tubular steel rather than angle though. It's much easier to grind your welds.

That's another question-- what tools would I need to cut this metal to size?

 

[TerapinChef]

You really don't need 2" square tubing.

Insanity. I wish mine was 3".


Seriously though, just keep your eyes open. As soon as I started thinking about building a stand, I saw materials everywhere. Bedframes, old weightlifting benches, hell I even got a bunkbed frame from right down the street. Go to the scrapyard if you're too proud to garbage pick (or don't have a pickup...) Even the carpeting sales place down the street from me has three full 10' heavy duty shelving units sitting out back. I stopped in one day just out of curiosity, and sure enough, they were mine for the taking. (I declined) But that would have been enough to build at least two single tier systems....and yeah it's heavy duty but it's also free...My SWMBO is so lucky I don't have a welder...

 

[jspence1]

I picked up 1x1x1/8 thick square tubing last week, I got 10 pieces 56" long for $25 off kijiji (online classified ads) . I've been looking around and I have a mig welder for $200.

 

[Bobby_M]

I sacrificed my old 10" Ryobi compound miter saw to the project by loading it with 7" thin cutting discs. It still works, sorta.. but I only paid $99 for it and put moulding up in every room of the house before I took on the brewstand project. You could get away with an angle grinder with a cutting disc but the cuts won't be as precise without extra cleanup work.

 

[conpewter]

Hey Bobby, when you were cutting bedframes did you anneal the metal before cutting it?

 

[Jared311]

Well if you are willing to drop that much, then check out 8020.net. I am planning on building a brew stand using their frames. Just design your rig and determine how many pieces you need, what lengths, and where you want the holes drilled. Few weeks later you have a damn sexy looking brew stand that can easily be bolted together. We use these guys at work all the time for instrument racks and test setups. The best part is that you always have the option of rearranging the design or even adding more space.

 

[Bobby_M]

Hey Bobby, when you were cutting bedframes did you anneal the metal before cutting it?

I did not. Bedframes are crazy hard but no match for a cutting wheel at 10k RPM.

 

[conpewter]

Thanks! I'm going with wood for my brewstand (as mentioned) so I don't think I'll be cutting into the couple bedrails I have, but thought that perhaps that would have made them easier to cut and drill.

 

[pixelmonk]

find a server rack from a company going out of business, upgraded, or moving. Flip it on its side, cut or drill if you need to in order to make it work, add casters. Done.

 

[Dustin_J]

Build it yourself. You'll end up with a nice brew stand, a new skill (welding),a new toy (welder) and the ability to change/update it whenever you like.
Check the yellow pages for steel dealers, maybe even used steel dealers. Even with buying steel and a small welder (check Harbor Freight or Craigslist) you won't spend $750 and will have money left for a pump,so build the setup you want now.

+1

I was in a similar position and decided to go the DIY route. I spent a little more than $750, but I got a really nice welder out of the deal (Hobart Handler 187) as well as a new skill, which I've already planned on using to save some dough on a few other projects. Learning to MIG weld well enough to make a brewstand or similar projects really isn't that hard, and there are a lot of good resources on the web. It was a fun project even though it was a lot of work, and it's a great feeling to build something like that pretty much from scratch. Plus, you get to make a lot of noise, sparks, fire, etc...and what kind of guy doesn't dig that

 

[ScubaSteve]

Dude.....you can build a pretty good rig out of wood. Just look at the link in my signature.

 

[Stevorino]

Dude.....you can build a pretty good rig out of wood. Just look at the link in my signature.

Yeah, Scuba, your stand has always made me salivate...I'm starting to get excited about welding now though-- there seems like there are a lot of upcoming projects that could use welding (Gas Lines, HERMS, HERMS Panel Arm, etc.) that I'm really tempted to make the plunge...

 

[Dog House Brew]

Stevorino, you can rent a 110 mig from a welding supply store. If you know anyone in the auto-body business, they have small migs. You can make it out
of 1x1x16 ga square tubing. People tent to over-kill on material. Welders generally have amp/wire feed settings on them based on the material you are welding. Cut some short pieces and practice. Nothing to it really. Get it set, pull the trigger and your welding. Just remeber when you weld, tack together 1st, because as the weld cools it will draw the material out of plumb. Tack and then weld. Hope this helps

 

[mnadamn]

Just remember... As you build you need to post pics

 

[Stevorino]

Going back and forth now...I just realized that I have a friend of the family that knows how to weld-- I think I'm going to ask them for an estimate....if that doesn't go over well, I think I'm going to learn how to weld-- Either way, I'll post pics!

 

[sigmund]

Going back and forth now...I just realized that I have a friend of the family that knows how to weld-- I think I'm going to ask them for an estimate....if that doesn't go over well, I think I'm going to learn how to weld-- Either way, I'll post pics!

Why not see if he will work with you and teach you how to build it? Once you have the basics down, you can tackle your next project on your own.

 

[mnadamn]

I agree, offer him a couple home brews and see if you can use his equipment and have him help/teach you how to do it. Or even better, Offer to teach/help him homebrew and allow him to use your equip....

 

[Jester369]

I'm going to trade some brew for welding lessons. The guy is supposed to be very skilled, and did the welding for a local brewery, so I know he can do stainless, too. Can't wait!!

 

[nyer]

Buy a mig welder, you won't regret it. I bought mine almost 20 years ago from a friend and I have easily saved thousands of dollars doing repairs with it. If you do any work at all on cars or mowers you will use it alot. I did 1 small weld repair on a shock mount on my truck that would have cost hundreds at a shop, that one job practically paid for the wleder. I have no training and I can weld almost anything after playing around with it.

 

[ScubaSteve]

Yeah, Scuba, your stand has always made me salivate...I'm starting to get excited about welding now though-- there seems like there are a lot of upcoming projects that could use welding (Gas Lines, HERMS, HERMS Panel Arm, etc.) that I'm really tempted to make the plunge...

I don't blame you....I was pretty close to going the welding route myself. The equipment will definitely come in handy later....and it's a good skill to have.