Money for a brew system

[Tomtanner]

Hey guys I just sold my bass rig for about $800 so that I can begin to peace together a brew rig. to start I would like to build a brew system that I can over time continuously modify. I think I have settled on a single tier stand that I will have a local welder put together for (I dont know how to weld). All I have to this point is my 5 gallon extract kit and a 15 gallon sanke keg and thermometer. I think I would like to use kegs for the hlt mash tun and brew kettle.

So here is the question, where do I start? What should I expect a welder to charge to build a simple yet expandable brew stand? With amount of cash I have is it possible to get a stand built buy three burners a couple of pumps and convert some keggles? I also have an American made fender jazz bass that I can sell for about $500 if I need more money.... After that the money will come slower for the project.

Should I buy burners first so that the welder can fabricate the stand around them? Just a lot of questions and excitement around the subject and could use some realistic advice from my friends here on the forum.

 

[DarkBrood]

It all depends on what your aims are. Have you ever brewed before? What is your skill/knowledge level? Do you plan on extract or all0grain brewing? What size batches (standard 5gal, 10 gal, or 15gal partial boil)? Is this setup for your own pleasure or is this a nano/microbrewery pilot system?

 

[Tomtanner]

I'll be doing all grain 10 gallon batches with 15 gallon keggles. I don't have to have the most pumped out system on day one, but I do want the ability to expand in the future to a fully automated system.

 

[passedpawn]

I'd get the system together, at least the burners, pots, pump, etc, before I built the stand.

I have an 10g electric system and no stand, so weigh my comments accordingly. Good luck.

 

[stlbeer]

Congrats on getting the money together!

Now the real work begins. I think a logical place to start is where are you going to brew? Do you have the space for a single tier? If so, then great. If not, then you need to determine if a 2 or 3 tier will do.

You have 1 sanke keg now. I would use that for both my HLT and BK to start with. If you have enough $ to get 2 more sanke kegs, then great, but it's not a necessity. This means the MLT is a converted cooler. I brewed this way for years before building my rig.

Sounds like to want to go all grain. That's great and the ingredients are a lot cheaper. Also sounds like you want to use gas burners so you have to decide if you want to use propane or natural gas. Propane costs more and NG, but NG is a lot cheaper in the long run.

Why do you need 3 burners? Are you planning on building a RIMS or a HERMS?

Pumps are expensive - in the neighborhood of $130 - $145 though they've been seen on ebay occasionally for cheaper. If you could survive with just one then that's a considerable savings.

I built a 2 tier stand. HLT up top then BK and MLT on the same level below that. Sort of a pyramidal type approach. This way I can gravity feed water into my MLT, then drain from MLT to my pump, out of the pump to the RIMS Tube system (to maintain the mash temp), then back into the MLT. When the mash is done I simply move the RIMS out tube from the MLT to the BK.

So with a 2 tier I only need 1 pump that recirculates the mash, pumps wort from MLT to BK, recirculates the wort through my counter flow chiller, and fills my carboys.

My RIMS Tube and Controller cost about $300, my rig cost about $200 for steel an parts (I have a welder in the family who did it for beer). I bought a pump for $130 then I built a counterflow chiller for less then $50. Kegs were bought over time from folks getting out of the hobby. Carboys are $35 each. My burners I acquired over time - a bayou classics SQ14 and a turkey burner. You can get them pretty cheap from a couple of agri sites that I don't remember the name for.

So for the $ you have, I could piece together a pretty nice system. I caution you however, about jumping into the deep end too soon. The worst thing you want to happen is build this up then not be able to make good beer. A brew rig looks nice and can shorten up your brew day and make it so you don't have too many heavy items. It can help manage/control your mash temps and helps with hitting your efficiencies and your volumes. But don't forget to also spend some of that money on good books and good ingredients. You'll be happy you did.

Oh, and if you aren't already - join a local brew club. The input of others is invaluable.

Good look and keep this thread going.

 

[bellecitybrewer]

Here's the website that i bought my jet burners from.

http://www.cpapc.com/CHINESE-WOK-RANGES-C244.aspx?UserID=16249639&SessionID=NX4wZnyO{RWTkWgCMfV4

Some people knock the jet burners, but I have had no problems with them at all. They have both propane and natural gas burners for whatever you plan on. I went with the 23 tip burners and choked off some of the tips. I have gone with a single tier and i recirculate both my HLT and mash tun. I only have one pump right now, but I'm planning on getting another one soon. All told, I might have 700 invested in my system. Granted i know someone who welds and I got my kegs for very cheap, but it can be done if you look hard enough. As you can see, it's not the prettiest, but it gets the job done! Let me know if you have any questions man! Good Luck!

 

[kklowell]

It looks nice and sturdy...spray a can of paint or two on there and it would be pretty too!

 

[Tomtanner]

Here's the website that i bought my jet burners from.

http://www.cpapc.com/CHINESE-WOK-RANGES-C244.aspx?UserID=16249639&SessionID=NX4wZnyO{RWTkWgCMfV4

Some people knock the jet burners, but I have had no problems with them at all. They have both propane and natural gas burners for whatever you plan on. I went with the 23 tip burners and choked off some of the tips. I have gone with a single tier and i recirculate both my HLT and mash tun. I only have one pump right now, but I'm planning on getting another one soon. All told, I might have 700 invested in my system. Granted i know someone who welds and I got my kegs for very cheap, but it can be done if you look hard enough. As you can see, it's not the prettiest, but it gets the job done! Let me know if you have any questions man! Good Luck!

This is great man!

 

[Tomtanner]

Is it possible to start with standard set of burners and then adding sensors and pilots to those burners?

 

[OneHoppyGuy]

Is it possible to start with standard set of burners and then adding sensors and pilots to those burners?

Yes, you can upgrade them later. Sensors, pilots, etc. are supplied by others and are not originally designed to work with the burners.

 

[chezhed]

check out building your own out of extruded aluminum channel. 8020.net has the material. It's a giant Erector set

 

[Tomtanner]

check out building your own out of extruded aluminum channel. 8020.net has the material. It's a giant Erector set

Very interesting concept! Question, will this material rust under this kind of usage? This might be a great way to do things since I cannot weld....

 

[kklowell]

If it is aluminum it cannot rust.

 

[Tomtanner]

Any advice on specs?

 

[chezhed]

I made a three tier system using 2" channel stock. It's more than adequate strength wise. Blichmann uses similar stuff but it's wider and double channel and single post. Mine is double post and braced.

The mash tun (rectangular cooler) goes on the shelf on the left. And then I use that shelf with a cooler full of ice water to feed my plate chiller which hangs underneath it. No pumps. I do have to dump mash out water that I heat on the lower (boil) burner.

Assembly is really easy and completely adjustable and flexible...like Blichmann.

 

[Tomtanner]

Very nice man. Getting stoked by seeing what you guys have done

 

[Tomtanner]

I think i have settled on a single tier system. I'll be needing to get some pumps and burners. I see that a lot of people are recommending the march809 pump.... Is this pretty much the standard? I'll be starting with two pumps to begin with, anyone have some advice for me?

 

[lumpher]

i use the dual turkey fryer setup from academy.

 

[ThreeDogsNE]

check out building your own out of extruded aluminum channel. 8020.net has the material. It's a giant Erector set

I'm not an engineer, but in some other threads engineers have chimed in with cautions against using aluminum, as I recall due to its rather low melting temperature in relation to burner temps.

 

[ConiferAles]

As the old chinese proverb goes: Give a man a fish and he'll eat for a day, teach him how to fish and he'll sit in a boat drinking beer all day, but teach him how to make beer and he'll sell everything he owns to build a brewstand...

 

[Tomtanner]

As the old chinese proverb goes: Give a man a fish and he'll eat for a day, teach him how to fish and he'll sit in a boat drinking beer all day, but teach him how to make beer and he'll sell everything he owns to build a brewstand...

Haha! !! So true man! I still have an American made fender jazz bass I can convert into money to finish getting the project off the ground.

Later today ill post some pics of my kegs. I'm having a hell of a time getting a Guy to weld a stand for me.

 

[Shaft333]

Brewing is cool but ya can't sell the Jazz. That just doesn't seem right.

 

[OneHoppyGuy]

as long as the stand isn't Chinese built...

 

[dannedry]

Bro, consider the weldless steel sold through McMaster Carr... I made my rig from this stuff, it just bolts together. It is galvanized steel... so I had to fire my burners for a while to burn off the zinc so I wasn't sucking the fumes, but its all good now. Very sturdy, and fairly light weight... there are quite a few rigs on this thread (including my own) to look at... so check it out!

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f51/weldless-brew-stand-174224/

 

[subliminalurge]

Brewing is cool but ya can't sell the Jazz. That just doesn't seem right.

Yeah, that's just too sad to even think about. Sell the wife's minivan or something, but keep the bass....

 

[Firebat138]

the alum will hold up fine... Since it isnt getting DIRECTLY heated... I did the weldless one and love it...

 

[crazyseany]

try craigslist for a welder? There are some pretty good guys that work out of their garage... Not to mention a little money, a case of beer, and your assistance you might get off pretty cheap.

just a thought

 

[Tomtanner]

Bro, consider the weldless steel sold through McMaster Carr... I made my rig from this stuff, it just bolts together. It is galvanized steel... so I had to fire my burners for a while to burn off the zinc so I wasn't sucking the fumes, but its all good now. Very sturdy, and fairly light weight... there are quite a few rigs on this thread (including my own) to look at... so check it out!

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f51/weldless-brew-stand-174224/

So There isn't a McMaster near Tampa and I assume the shipping costs will wipe out the savings I might enjoy by going the weldless route. Do you guys have any other ideas about where I might find something like this?

I also spoke to a welder I found nearby and he wanted to charge $500 for the stand alone.... Didn't sound like the route you guys would advise so I will keep searching. Thanks for all the input and advice guys. I will certainly be needing it!

 

[Tomtanner]

Hey guys I'm keeping this thing going, here are my kegs for future keggle







conversions

 

[subliminalurge]

Hey guys I'm keeping this thing going, here are my kegs for future keggle

View attachment 37270



View attachment 37270

conversions

Very nice. I'm jealous.

I've gotten my hands on one so far. It's sitting in the same state as your three. Just boiled a couple gallons of water in it tonight hoping to get rid of the lakeshore/algae smell it had even after what I thought was a thorough cleaning/rinsing/cleaning/rinsing process.

Gotta get that process figured out better because I've decided I want at least 10 of these, and maybe more, when I move to 10 gallon batches. 3 for brew day, 4, 5, or 6 or so for fermentors, and then what the hell, some to serve from, too.

Probably getting them slowly because I'm offering lowball money for them. Don't want to be accused of "stealing" kegs, so I'm offering on craigslist to buy them for about half of what the typical deposit around here is.

 

[Firebat138]

the shipping on my weldless was less than 20 bucks... if I recall

 

[Tomtanner]

the shipping on my weldless was less than 20 bucks... if I recall

Awesome! What site did you go through? Also do you have a parts list that I can compare to? I'm pretty well seton doing a single tier along the lines of the Brutus or wallace......

 

[Tomtanner]

Here is my next addition. I went ahead and bought 2 of my 3 cast iron banjo burners. I would have bought all three but my brew store only had two in stock

 

[Tomtanner]

Here is my next addition. I went ahead and bought 2 of my 3 cast iron banjo burners. I would have bought all three but my brew store only had two in stock

Forgot to attach

 

[lehr]

Buy all your parts before you go to the welder, try to lay it all out (even on the floor ) so you can get some idea of the size it will be and the location of the parts and pieces. My system is two tier you only have to have 1 pump and I prefer to run off with gravity. You can up grade as you go I added a RIMS to mine a year or so after I built it. Here are single and two tier systems I've built.
Pat

 

[Tomtanner]

Buy all your parts before you go to the welder, try to lay it all out (even on the floor ) so you can get some idea of the size it will be and the location of the parts and pieces. My system is two tier you only have to have 1 pump and I prefer to run off with gravity. You can up grade as you go I added a RIMS to mine a year or so after I built it. Here are single and two tier systems I've built.
Pat

Holy cow those are both beautiful! Can you give me an idea on cost for your parts and labor just on the stands (minus costs for burners and pumps etc)?

Also what did you use for your RIMS?

really nice man.

 

[lehr]

Holy cow those are both beautiful! Can you give me an idea on cost for your parts and labor just on the stands (minus costs for burners and pumps etc)?

Also what did you use for your RIMS?

really nice man.

I think stainless tubing was around $600.00 the stainless sheet around 300.00
labor in the 1500.00 range.
The RIMS tube on the two tier is out of a dialysis machine the single tier is from brewers hardware it's a nice piece.

Thanks Pat

 

[crazyseany]

for my stand I'm copying "wallace & popeye"

I can get the angle cheaper @ one of my customers...and I'll order the bolts and braces from mcmasters which is about an hour away... (wife won't mind... We get to goto quacker steak and lube for lunch then!)

 

[Coff]

i use the dual turkey fryer setup from academy.

Do you have a link tho this? It looks like I need it in my life.

It can support all of that weight pretty well?

 

[Tomtanner]

Has anyone considered converting a stainless steel prep table into a brew stand? I see them on eBay for around $200 with free shipping. Couldn't you just buy buy one and modify the top portion of the table to accommodate the burners etc?