Fiberglass or Aluminum "Brew Ladder"

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BrewinWV

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I've been looking at the rigs on here based on a ladder. I was wondering
if anyone has used an Aluminum or Fiberglass ladder successfully?
I've got an old aluminum one laying around and the cheapest I can find a wooden ladder new is like $50. Granted I need to look at craigslist a little more before I give up on the wooden one.

J

EDIT: This is what I'm trying to make, but aluminum instead of wooden... thanks for the replies so far.

http://home.comcast.net/~midnighthomebrewers/brewladder.htm
 
Not sure it really makes a difference. the only time a fiberglass ladder is really in order is for electrical work. Why not just try using what you have? Brewing beer is expensive enough.
 
Yeah, I just was wondering if there was some reason people didn't use aluminum or fiberglass, maybe it's just cause they had old wooden ones laying around.

Anyone think there be any kind of additional risk involved using the aluminum one if I wanted to add a March Pump later, the pump would be on a GFCI circuit with a remote switch for activating the pump so there shouldn't be any issue with the pump I'd think.
 
The last time I was on a aluminum step ladder it seemed pretty rickety to me. Since you have to remove a couple steps you will have to drill out rivets where a wooden one is a bit easier. I'm not sure how much drilling out the rivets would weaken the sides of the ladder.
 
I use an aluminum ladder. Never had an issue. To be honest, my entire rig is made from steel. An aluminum ladder is the least of my electrically grounded worries.
 
The last time I was on a aluminum step ladder it seemed pretty rickety to me. Since you have to remove a couple steps you will have to drill out rivets where a wooden one is a bit easier. I'm not sure how much drilling out the rivets would weaken the sides of the ladder.

Huh? Why?..........

Edit: Nevermind. I JUST realized taht this thread was about using teh ladder as the frame. Sorry. I somehow read this as more generic.
 
Huh? Why?..........

Edit: Nevermind. I JUST realized taht this thread was about using teh ladder as the frame. Sorry. I somehow read this as more generic.

:D I think that since there was a picture of Steve Kranz's "BrewLadder" in either BYO or Zymurgy recently I suspected that was what he was after. I can see how one could be confused.

Edit: I went back and looked, it was the January issue of Zymurgy.
 
Most brew rigs are made of steel, so conductivity is not really an issue. Just make sure it's steady, you don't want hot liquid crashing down on you. You may beed to reinforce it after removing steps. Make sure the burner does not directly heat the ladder, as aluminum melts at much lower temps than steel.
 
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