JonClayton
Well-Known Member
I am in the process of designing my brew stand and would like some input from those of you who use them. I have not had the chance to see a brew rig in action so I am a little unclear on what is necessary versus a nice add on.
Currently, the only parts I have purchased are (3) Bayou NG burgers, (2) of them being the 10 tip version and (1) 23 tip for the boil kettle.
I have a keggle for the boil bot, a converted 10g rubbermaid for the MLT (but still installing the burner for a future keggle mashtun) and a 8 gallon pot that I will add a ball valve to for the HLT. Eventually the whole system will be keggle based as I continue to find used kegs on craigslist.
My original thought was the keep it simple and relatively inexpensive by building a 3 tier gravity fed system. I am still not opposed to this, but would like my bottom level (boil kettle) to be high enough off the ground to support gravity feed into the carboy or later into a plate chiller into the carboy. If I allow 24" height for the bottom tier and 24" for each tier, that puts my top level at 6ft, or roughly 8 feet to the top of the HLT. I still think this is doable but a little worried about the height and and how much of a problem it would be to climb a step stool to add water to the HLT. What do you brewers think? Big problem?
The next option is a 2 tier system. Has anyone successfully ran a system like this with one march pump? I am trying to avoid the pump expense if possible, but one pump would not be a deal breaker. From my understanding there is no real less expensive alternative to a march 809hs so I am trying to decide if it's possible to do it with one pump? If I do a 2 tier system I am envisioning gravity feed from HLT to MT, and pump MT to BK, and gravity from BK to carboy hopefully passing through a plate chiller along the way in the future. Does this sound plausible?
Lastly is of course the single tier. I saw on on the brew stand wiki on this site that it is possible to do a single tier with one pump, but how does it work? I understand that it would first and foremost have to be a batch sparge system but even then, how would the pump layout work? It may be in the future that I can add a second pump, for now I want to make sure what ever I design is a no pump or single pump system.
Any input is appreciated, especially for anyone that has used similar systems. Thank you!
Currently, the only parts I have purchased are (3) Bayou NG burgers, (2) of them being the 10 tip version and (1) 23 tip for the boil kettle.
I have a keggle for the boil bot, a converted 10g rubbermaid for the MLT (but still installing the burner for a future keggle mashtun) and a 8 gallon pot that I will add a ball valve to for the HLT. Eventually the whole system will be keggle based as I continue to find used kegs on craigslist.
My original thought was the keep it simple and relatively inexpensive by building a 3 tier gravity fed system. I am still not opposed to this, but would like my bottom level (boil kettle) to be high enough off the ground to support gravity feed into the carboy or later into a plate chiller into the carboy. If I allow 24" height for the bottom tier and 24" for each tier, that puts my top level at 6ft, or roughly 8 feet to the top of the HLT. I still think this is doable but a little worried about the height and and how much of a problem it would be to climb a step stool to add water to the HLT. What do you brewers think? Big problem?
The next option is a 2 tier system. Has anyone successfully ran a system like this with one march pump? I am trying to avoid the pump expense if possible, but one pump would not be a deal breaker. From my understanding there is no real less expensive alternative to a march 809hs so I am trying to decide if it's possible to do it with one pump? If I do a 2 tier system I am envisioning gravity feed from HLT to MT, and pump MT to BK, and gravity from BK to carboy hopefully passing through a plate chiller along the way in the future. Does this sound plausible?
Lastly is of course the single tier. I saw on on the brew stand wiki on this site that it is possible to do a single tier with one pump, but how does it work? I understand that it would first and foremost have to be a batch sparge system but even then, how would the pump layout work? It may be in the future that I can add a second pump, for now I want to make sure what ever I design is a no pump or single pump system.
Any input is appreciated, especially for anyone that has used similar systems. Thank you!