Brew Stand Help

[adx]

With the current cash influx of a Christmas bonus I'm thinking about finally getting a brew stand and I'm trying to find something that will be easy to move in and out of the house. The bonus was big enough that the budget is just about unlimited and I might as well get something with burners if I'm getting new.

I brew on my back deck, but don't have any storage out there. Instead I'll be moving it in and out of the sliding door of my walk out basement. The main problem is I have a single step up when you walk out my basement door to get on to the deck. That means I need something that is light enough to get up and down that step and narrow enough to fit through a standard sliding door.

Single tier or a tree system doesn't mater to me. I already have a pump, 10 gallon cooler MLT and a 15 gallon Boilermaker. Chilling is done through a plate chiller and I'd like something that I could rig that up to. Right now I use a 7 gallon pot with no valve on it as an HLT, but I'll upgrade that with this buy too.

 

[ScubaSteve]

If your budget is unlimited, I'd look at going electric. Propane is good, but there's nothing like the comfort and convenience (and overall awesome factor) of pushing brightly lit buttons on a control panel and mashing in. Instead of going in and out, how about a 220v outlet inside the basement near the back deck? Brew inside, and use it for welding/power tools if you're into that. Keep in mind, I'm biased; it's what I'm doing

A couple things:
1. 3 tier is out because you can afford a pump. Go single.
2. 2 or 3 vessels? You already have the boilermaker, so I'd get another and then decide if you're happy with the cooler. (But you could get 3 custom 16G Penrose kettles for less than one additional BM if you sell your current BM )
3. Keep in mind a lot of the stands you see are larger than they need to be and have a lot of open space. If you go electric you're not dealing with flame weakening the stand/being too close so you can go very compact and your vessels can be much closer together.
4. CIP is nice and can be done for cheap.

Food for thought.

 

[adx]

I've thought about, but part of brewing for me is about enjoying the outdoors when I brew. In not a heavy brewer, maybe 10 batches a year, so I don't think I'll be moving inside.

I'm also considering selling the BM and either getting something else or 2 10 gallon BMs since I only make 5 gallon batches. That means I can get something smaller than most stands for keggles.

 

[Catt22]

Consider going with a modular design. IOW, don't get all hung up building a monolithic rig. It will be much easier to move and more compact to store if you go modular. JMO, nothing more.

 

[dobeluvr]

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f41/brew-stand-sale-christmas-giveaway-210780/

Check out the thread above. I bought mine from pinupbrewery (brewers equipment). I can move it from the pole barn thru the grass in the yard relatively easily. It is also light enough I can pick it up and carry it, but its size makes it very awkward. Rolling it and picking one end up for one stair would be a piece of cake. Cost is very reasonable and it is a quality product.