my brew rig build

[joety]

Wow, I'm not going to ask what you have into that industrial work of art, but what would you charge to build another one?

As a relative noob, at least to HBT, I have to ask all the people who use keggles why they prefer them over a 15 gallon commercial stainless pot. If Nicksteck put keggles on this rig, I have to assume they are preferable, but why? Isn't the bottom thinner stainless than a commercial pot would provide; and no aluminum sandwhich?

 

[Seabee John]

Wow, I'm not going to ask what you have into that industrial work of art, but what would you charge to build another one?

As a relative noob, at least to HBT, I have to ask all the people who use keggles why they prefer them over a 15 gallon commercial stainless pot. If Nicksteck put keggles on this rig, I have to assume they are preferable, but why? Isn't the bottom thinner stainless than a commercial pot would provide; and no aluminum sandwhich?

There's a bit of controversy over this keg vs pot idea. Some prefer pots because of the metallurgical attributes they provide, others prefer kegs because of cost (or lack)... it's kind of hard to over look a $100.00 keggle from sabco But there are those who also believe (I'm one) that using kegs add to the aesthetics of a good home brewery.... I mean sure, nicksteck could have gone with more BLICKMANN BLING... but he definitely would have lost "cool points" in my book. I guess what it really comes down to is economics for me. Kegs are still cheap enough (compared to go pots) to purchase legally, you can always replace them later with those expensive pots.

 

[nicksteck]

Wow, I'm not going to ask what you have into that industrial work of art, but what would you charge to build another one?

As a relative noob, at least to HBT, I have to ask all the people who use keggles why they prefer them over a 15 gallon commercial stainless pot. If Nicksteck put keggles on this rig, I have to assume they are preferable, but why? Isn't the bottom thinner stainless than a commercial pot would provide; and no aluminum sandwhich?

as far as what i spent, im guessing 1600.00- 2000.00 lost track and dont want to know

how much would i charge? i think i would sell this one and keep the second one because it would be better.

i started out with the mega pot or commercial stainless pot for extract and i think it is a very nice pot, Seebee John had the Polorware pot without the sandwich bottom and i didnt notice a differance between the 2 of them.

i had read about the ideal hieght and with of pots for all grain and the keggles seam to be close, the mega pot seams to be to short for the grain bed. but i am really new to all grain i just like to build things.

hope this help

 

[artyusmc]

Congarts, Nicksteck

"I guess what it really comes down to is economics for me."

You are on a different economic scale then me my friend. this looks awesome and i hate that word.

 

[apparatus]

Wow!! That is a piece of art. Where are the Love controller displays going? I am just getting ready to start my own build. You have given me some ideas. Thanks for the updates, great pictures, and inspiration. I hope your brewery is everything you dreamed of.

Apparatus

 

[nicksteck]

Wow!! That is a piece of art. Where are the Love controller displays going? I am just getting ready to start my own build. You have given me some ideas. Thanks for the updates, great pictures, and inspiration. I hope your brewery is everything you dreamed of.

Apparatus

between the gas valve and switch to the left, they are coming ups tomorrow so i should have pics of them posted by Weds.

thanks, Nick

 

[slnies]

To: My Brother -in- Law, Nicksteck;

You make me F'n SICK you freakin Beer Snob!!!

From:
Seabee John

Yup! A certified Brew SNOB!!!

 

[jdd12364]

That system looks great but I would be worried about water being spilled on the love controller & I would put some covers over the top of the pumps to protect from spillage .

 

[nicksteck]

well i installed the Love controls tonight, i have one thermocouple hooked up backwards and the other is reading about 40 f out of whack, besides that everything is going well.

getting the kegs welded tomorrow

more pics

either Seebee John has a REALLY high fever or i need to calibrate my control

 

[brrman]

mother of god... this is beautiful.

so... beautiful.

 

[Anthony_Lopez]

would you happen to have a build sheet for your tubing? I'm trying to get a cut sheet together and I'm a big fan of this build!

 

[joety]

Tony, if you end up building this, I'd love to see another Lopez Instructional.

 

[Anthony_Lopez]

I'm considering something VERY similiar to this build. I have been considering a single tier project for a long time now, but this system is making me itchy to build it. The biggest convenience for me is that all my brew day gear aside from the fermenters would be in one place and space is becoming an issue for us. I've already collected a lot of gear for the build. I just need to decide on the actual frame itself. I hope the build sheet for this is "open source"

 

[nicksteck]

what kind of info are you looking for?

 

[Anthony_Lopez]

I'm pretty much just looking for the dimension sheet for the frame itself. Myself and a few engineers are working on something fairly similiar to what you have built, and I've been collecting a few other cut sheets from single tier systems. Since I like yours the best, I wanted to show them this one and get the "fire" lit under their a$$es.

 

[nicksteck]

shes up and runnin,

everything is working good

i will take more pics the day of our brew,

some pics for now

 

[TwoHeadsBrewing]

Very cool setup, looks professional. Do you have any plans to hard plumb the return lines into the kegs?

 

[nicksteck]

yes, i want to brew with it for at least 5-6 brew till i really get to kknow what i want, i tried thinking about how i would pipe it at first and then i decided to go with the hoses

 

[silvervan83]

I feel like I just found the greatest porn site ever.

Seriously. Very nice. I will be plagiarizing this soon.

 

[Seabee John]

Yes! All of you... kneel at the alter of Nicksteck! do it now or there will be hell to pay!

It's looking great Nick, we'll see if it brews in 30 hours and 28 minutes....

 

[Brewpastor]

Super fine.

 

[Seabee John]

Super fine.

Hey Nick...did you see that? YOU got a "Super fine" from the BP!

Yes I post whore where ever I go.

 

[nicksteck]

tomorrow is the big test for the new rig, tested last night and had a hard time getting a boil going so drilled out the orifice from an 1/8'' to 5/32 so i should go from 57,000 btu to 87,000 btu. tested burners with the co detector and it is still burning clean.

wish me luck, Seebee John is getting wireless in the garage so i should be able to send some pics during the day

Nick

 

[Gonefishing]

Cool looking rig! Looks like something you'd spend thousands on for sure.
How about setting up a webcam and webcast the day?

 

[Bobby_M]

I hate this thread. It makes me want to sell my rig for scrap.

 

[IrregularPulse]

How convenient Bobby, I just opened a scrap yard, Just swing in by and I'll give you 50 bucks.

Beautiful rig nicksteck. Thing of envy you got there. I only hope to have a dedicated HLT and BK with thermometers some day, let alone that beast!

 

[nicksteck]

Very cool setup, looks professional. Do you have any plans to hard plumb the return lines into the kegs?

i have the hoses plumbed into the lids?

 

[polecreek]

It looks like I need to break out the camera and take a picture of the scrapyard on wheels I have finally finished concocting. That way Bobby will feel much better about his rig.

 

[schweaty]

This thread made me grind up all my welds and now I have to polish them so I get a nice smooth finish. Thanks nick, now I'm OCD about my brew cart. I haven't even painted the damn thing yet!

 

[nicksteck]

broke it in yesterday at Seabee Johns brew day, i can't believe how nice it was to use, all my temps were right on, i went from 122 to 154 in about 15 min. beer smith said my efficiency was at 86%

the burners worked really good, the night before the brew day i tested it and ended up re drilling the boil burner and the hlt, they worked great i am so happy with everything

just wanted to say thanks for all the nice things you have about my build, i am going to work on getting the dimensions listed and same with the gas system.

some more pics

 

[nicksteck]

I also took some pics of the tig welders work on my kegs and lids, nice welds!

thermometer

sight glass

thermometer

lid

 

[McSwiggin']

WOW. Great build. A cut sheet and parts list would be very nice.

 

[Anthony_Lopez]

I don't want to detract from the quality of this build, but I was just curious if you considered the possibility of wanting to use this system for a bigger volume. I'm going to be using sanke kegs for now, but I think I'd like the option of stepping up to larger pots if needed.

 

[nicksteck]

yes i did, i have room for a 20'' wide pot, the total length is 62'' x 22'' deep.

how big a pot do you think i could fit?

 

[Evan!]

what's the final invoice on all that crazy beautiful stuff?

 

[Anthony_Lopez]

The diameter of the B3 Heavy Duty 26 gallon kettle is 19.5". Looks like you are good to go!

 

[nicksteck]

The diameter of the B3 Heavy Duty 26 gallon kettle is 19.5". Looks like you are good to go!

my boil burner is putting out about 87,000 btu's is that enough to get a kettle like that to boil?

 

[nicksteck]

what's the final invoice on all that crazy beautiful stuff?

i don't want to know

i have to sit down and figure it out

 

[byou3g]

I PMed a few compliments, but I figure I would write it here too. One of the nicest rigs I have ever seen. I really like the control pannel in front and the way the burners are mounted. Very professional.

 

[Displaced MassHole]

After reading this thread I just pushed my POS rig out into traffic