Building 3 tier stand

[vsanchez949]

So, I've finally decided to pull the trigger and build a stand after 4 years of brewing. I hadn't had a real stand before, just used a banjo burner and folding tables/milk crates or whatever I could get to transfer liquids.

The stand I'm building is small and compact because all of my kids power wheels, bikes and what not take up all of my precious space in the garage. I copied the design from gbrewing.com.

Since I work for a machine/weld/electrical shop I have all kinds of goodies at my disposal. I was able to pick up some 16ga. 1.5" x 1.5" square tubing for really cheap. As soon as I get some extra cash I will be adding pumps, for now I'll use gravity as best as I can to transfer my liquids, I'm only brewing 5 gallon batches so far with a 7 gallon pot and a 10 gallon Rubbermaid mash tun with false bottom.

I'm gonna start cutting up my pieces today and hopefully get it welded together by the end of the week. Let me know what you guys think! Thanks!! 😄




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[rekoob]

Nice small footprint.

If only using gravity you might want the HLT on top, MLT in middle, and BK on bottom.

Look forward to seeing it come together.

 

[vsanchez949]

Nice small footprint.



If only using gravity you might want the HLT on top, MLT in middle, and BK on bottom.



Look forward to seeing it come together.

I was actually just thinking of that. I'll probably try it that way for my first batch.


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[vsanchez949]

So I'm just barely getting to put some time in on my stand. Work is getting in the way of its completion. Here are a few pics of my slow progress.

Pieces all cut and ready to be fitted.

Here they are mocked up.

One sided tacked

Both sides tacked and ready to be finish welded. My welding skills suck! I'm using a Lincoln mig welder, didn't have a lot of practice. My plan was to have nice purdy welds and just leave them, but after practicing on some scrap, I'm definitely gonna grind them down. Has anyone left their stands bare? I couldn't splurge on SS so I thought about leaving it bare, not sure how it will hold up though. If anyone wants the plans I have them on sketch up.


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[fightingtxag01]

You are going to want to paint the stand with high temperature paint. It won't take long to start rusting.


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[vsanchez949]

Woo hoo. Finally made some progress! Now it just needs paint, my burners and I'm ready to brew! View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1419981777.769302.jpgView attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1419981789.568555.jpgView attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1419981805.843145.jpg

 

[watermelon83]

Looks good! Can't wait to see the finished product!

 

[Gonefishin]

How is the stand coming? I'm starting mine soon. (I've been say that for the last 6 or so weekends and haven't been able to do much of anything on it.)

 

[vsanchez949]

Still need to mount my burners. The way I did it in the pics is just temporary so I can use gravity until I get my pumps. It's going painfully slow, too much of life getting in the way! 😁
View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1421971316.743322.jpg

 

[vsanchez949]

Burner height question. So I finally got around to mounting my burners and attempting to get the preface size correct. It seems okay to me but I thought I'd ask you guys for input and opinions.

The burners are bg12's
It is mounted 3.5" below the bk
And I'm using a bayou 10psi regulator.

Testing today I was able to get a rolling boil in about 30 min. Is that decent?

If I move the burner closer will it reach boil faster?

My stand also creaks a lot, I assume that it's just settling from all the heat?

Here's a pic. Thanks!

View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1424032056.607887.jpg

 

[NoH20]

Drilled holes in rails for expanding air to escape?

Todd

 

[Gonefishin]

I drilled some holes in the base of my keggles to let some of the heat escape. Be sure not to drill directly under valves and thermo's and such. I still have not made much progress on mine. It's making me nuts, not being able to brew.

 

[Transamguy77]

Burner height question. So I finally got around to mounting my burners and attempting to get the preface size correct. It seems okay to me but I thought I'd ask you guys for input and opinions.

The burners are bg12's
It is mounted 3.5" below the bk
And I'm using a bayou 10psi regulator.

Testing today I was able to get a rolling boil in about 30 min. Is that decent?

If I move the burner closer will it reach boil faster?

My stand also creaks a lot, I assume that it's just settling from all the heat?

Here's a pic. Thanks!

View attachment 256737

How many gallons were you boiling? I use BG10 burners with a 20psi regulator and it takes me 30 ish mins to get 13+ gallons to a boil. I'm pretty sure the BG12's put out more BTU's so a half hour sounds about right. I have mine mounted 5" from my keggles.

 

[vsanchez949]

Drilled holes in rails for expanding air to escape?



Todd

Hmmm.. Didn't think of that. I might consider that, although I'm afraid of weakening the structure since my tubing is on the thin side to begin with.

 

[vsanchez949]

I drilled some holes in the base of my keggles to let some of the heat escape. Be sure not to drill directly under valves and thermo's and such. I still have not made much progress on mine. It's making me nuts, not being able to brew.

Will the escaping heat take my boil longer to get up and going? I know how you feel, I've passed by mine for weeks not being able to do anything and now I might find some time to actually brew!! Thanks for the input.. I hope you get going on it soon! 👍

 

[vsanchez949]

How many gallons were you boiling? I use BG10 burners with a 20psi regulator and it takes me 30 ish mins to get 13+ gallons to a boil. I'm pretty sure the BG12's put out more BTU's so a half hour sounds about right. I have mine mounted 5" from my keggles.

I did 6 gallons of water for my test.

 

[NoH20]

Hmmm.. Didn't think of that. I might consider that, although I'm afraid of weakening the structure since my tubing is on the thin side to begin with.

They don't need to be large at all, just need somewhere for the expanding air to go. Won't structurally weaken the metal. Stick 1 hole in the bottom of each (keep any water out by being on the bottom).

Todd

 

[Gonefishin]

Will the escaping heat take my boil longer to get up and going? I know how you feel, I've passed by mine for weeks not being able to do anything and now I might find some time to actually brew!! Thanks for the input.. I hope you get going on it soon! 👍

I had to drill mine to allow for more combustion air. It helped the burner and hence the boil be more efficient. (I have BG-14's).
Have you brewed with your new setup? I was wondering if you would make any changes or do anything different now that it is up and operational? I have my plan and have built the frame but have not been able to finish the assembly.
Thanks,

 

[vsanchez949]

Ah. I see.

I have not brewed with it yet, I plan to hopefully get a brew in tomorrow. I think the only thing I would have done differently is use SS for the frame. I like the bare look, and I really don't want to deal with painting mine, and having to re-paint it every so often. Other thank that I'm pretty happy with the overall design of my stand. It's nice and compact. 😄

 

[vsanchez949]

Oh. Are you welding your frame? If you are, tack as much of it together as you can, small tacks. I used too much heat a couple of times and got things out of square.

 

[Gonefishin]

Thanks, I had a welder friend weld mine for me. I don't have a welder and probably wouldn't trust my rusty skills on something that will be seen. I'll post some pics when I get it on the wall. Good luck with your brew day.

 

[ibrewmyown]

Looks like something I built years ago (and still use regularly) I love the adjustable burner height idea. I just switched to natural gas and I've been trying to find the perfect height. The top mash tun on mine tips right into a garbage can or bag. I've added a few goodies since this picture so I'll have to get some updated pics. Its an all in one, easy to roll around unit.

 

[mbalbritton]

Looks like something I built years ago (and still use regularly) I love the adjustable burner height idea. I just switched to natural gas and I've been trying to find the perfect height. The top mash tun on mine tips right into a garbage can or bag. I've added a few goodies since this picture so I'll have to get some updated pics. Its an all in one, easy to roll around unit.

How was it with the BK underneath? Enough room to stir and such?

 

[ibrewmyown]

The BK is the one that's accessible. The one under I use to heat water for mash and mash out. I pump it to up to the mash tun directly above. The sparse arm was just sitting on my BK.

 

[ibrewmyown]

Here's a my recent pic when I was doing a trial run with my cleanable wort chiller. Full 12 gallons of boiling water to 65 degrees in 14 minutes. View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1426558513.809685.jpgView attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1426558532.596872.jpgView attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1426558547.061863.jpgView attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1426558561.695111.jpg