My single tier build

[brandolomite]

After half a dozen or so batches with coolers in a three tier setup I saw Lonnie’s Brutus and decided I had to build one for myself. I incorporated a lot of great ideas from others on this site and I think it turned out pretty good. I have about a dozen batches with this and it works excellent.

Let me know what you think.

Credit where credit is due. There are many others but off the top of my head:
Lonnie Mac
Nicksteck's build
theelectricbrewery.com

SketchUp drawing


All said and done


Top view with dimensions


Side view with dimensions


Console dimensions

 

[cranium213]

That is one heck of a stand, and I like how the controls were integrated into the stand.

Congratulations!

 

[aquenne]

amazing! you should definitely be proud. Any more pics by any chance? What kind of tubing is that? Looks like stainless braided? Any reason you went for that over a simliar dimension silicone?

 

[jcav]

Excellent rig! I really like how you fabricated your stand and controls.

Congrats!

John

 

[OneHoppyGuy]

Very Very Impressed!!!! :rockin:

 

[bigbopper]

thats pretty.....youre type A aren't you. seriously,thats nice !!

 

[brandolomite]

amazing! you should definitely be proud. Any more pics by any chance? What kind of tubing is that? Looks like stainless braided? Any reason you went for that over a simliar dimension silicone?

Thanks man. The hoses are normal 1/2" silicone but I picked up some stainless sleeving from McMaster-Carr and just slid the hoses inside. The sleeving isn't cheap, 4.10 a foot and I used 20' but I think it looks cool.

 

[brandolomite]

More pics.

I am not a welder so I built a mockup out of some scrap wood. The idea was to get the measurements nailed down first in case something didn’t work out. The stand is 4x4s ripped down to 2x2. Aside from the placement of the controls and adding some extra plumbing for the pumps, everything worked out.

 

[brandolomite]

After everything checked out, I took the wooden mockup to a buddy and said “Make me this out of steel.” A couple of weeks later I picked up this. He didn’t have a break to make the front console, so I had a local fab shop do that part.


After holes drilled in console and getting the wiring all done.


Initially wanted to do copper tubing for the gas lines but quickly found out I suck at bending it correctly and would have a difficult time connecting it to the valves in the panel. I went to a propane shop and had them make me some custom length hoses instead.

 

[brandolomite]

Console with holes for controls drilled. The six square holes on the base are for the in and out gas lines. There will be a needle valve in between.




The cover bends slightly and snaps over the base. A flat head screwdriver or a small putty knife is used to pry it open. I put some electrical tape on the screwdriver to try to avoid scratching the paint. Don’t need to open it after everything is wired correctly so should be OK.


Bracket to hold down the heat exchanger. My buddy who welded the stand is a burly guy so he probably bent this with his bare hands

 

[OneHoppyGuy]

YOU BUILT A MOCK-UP OUT OF WOOD??!!!!
Have you seen a doctor for your condition?
You wouldn't happen to work for NASA would you?

 

[brandolomite]

Water pump assembly.


Wort pump assembly. The three way valves help to reduce the number of hose changes during the brew. The two pump inputs are from the MLT and BK. Outputs are to heat exchanger or back to the MLT. I will probably replace the collection of fittings at the top with one piece of pipe to reach above the console.

 

[brandolomite]

Needle valves. I think it is cool to have flame control front and center on the console.




Pilot burner mounting. I put this on all three burners but only have the HLT and MLT connected.

 

[ShinyBuddha]

That is impressive. Nice job on the mock up too. Very pro.

~SB

 

[brandolomite]

YOU BUILT A MOCK-UP OUT OF WOOD??!!!!
Have you seen a doctor for your condition?
You wouldn't happen to work for NASA would you?

OK, maybe the mockup was a little OCD but I did it for SCIENCE!

 

[OneHoppyGuy]

Oh, you're from Portland... that explains everything.
(Just kidding, I lived in Beaverton and Vancouver)
Seriously, a very nice build. Well thought out.

 

[brandolomite]

Heat exchanger with thermometer for wort out. I got the HE from dudadiesel.com and for half the price for the Therminator! Still need to get the front of it cleaned up after I took off the sticker.


To measure wort out from the heat exchanger.


Gas valves. I got these from ebay here.


Locking power receptacle for console.


Power cord. Just took a six foot cord, chopped the end off and put on the locking plug.

 

[brandolomite]

All the bits for the console. Switches and indicator lights were purchased from automationdirect. The PID and timer are from Auber.


Starting to mount the controls.


The extra hole on the bottom is for the timer buzzer. It turns out the buzzer is a little longer than the indicator lights and I couldn’t quite fit it in because of the switch directly above it. I shaved a little plastic off the green contact block to make it fit.


Master power switch and indicator light.

 

[thelorax121]

YOU BUILT A MOCK-UP OUT OF WOOD??!!!!
Have you seen a doctor for your condition?
You wouldn't happen to work for NASA would you?

My thoughts exactly, I'm pretty sure most people here would pay good money for your "mock up." Looks better than a lot of finished stands i've seen. Good on ya!

 

[MaxOut]

Super clean build! Happy brewing

 

[jsled]

That's really, really awesome. Great work, great build.

 

[mountainman13]

My new favorite rig hands down. Nice work

 

[jammin]

My new favorite rig hands down. Nice work

^this. Thanks for posting such detailed pics. What a beautiful build. May it bring you many joy-filled brew sessions!

Cheers!
J

 

[Im_Lars]

Sweet build. Love the paint job.

 

[brandolomite]

Connections to gas valves. Wires to valves will go through the grommet.


Main power input and connections for the rest of the console. Pump wires will enter through the grommets and connect to the ground but I should probably ground the console and stand itself ☺


I really like the idea from theelectricbrewery.com of using mic jacks for the temperature probe connections. This is the PID and temp probe jack for the HLT.


Controls for HLT. Blue is the water pump, yellow is power for the HLT PID, and red is the HLT gas valve. The PID will turn on the gas if it needs to but I can also manually turn on the gas with the red switch. The PID will also light the red indicator if gas is on. There is a duplicate set of controls for the MLT and wort pump.


Timer power and gas switch for BK. On the bottom is the timer buzzer and reset button.

 

[brandolomite]

Timer and MLT controls.


Wiring shots. Looks like I forgot to connect the timer indictor light ☺

 

[brandolomite]

Console all done!

 

[brandolomite]

I had the powder coater put a high temperature coating around the burners and normal powder coating everywhere else. He also welded on some tabs on the top to help direct the hot exhaust gases out the back of the stand. The round kettles sitting on the square burner mounts create four small holes for exhaust gases to escape. Before adding the tabs, I had a lot of hot exhaust coming out the front directly below the kettle valves and oh man did they get hot! I’m hoping the tabs will correct the problem.

I haven’t run it through a full brew session after the powder coating so we’ll see how the paint holds up. The couplings welded to the front are used to attach the console.

 

[petrostar]

Can't help but wonder what this cost you in materials and paid labor? Obviously, you don't have to answer but it's the big giant elephant in the 'room'

 

[Highridin4x4]

Love the build. It is very detailed. Now tell the truth did you make a miniature one before you made the wood mock-up? JK way to go.