My two tier brew stand build

[fork]

So there have been a lot of these threads so I'll keep it short and post pics. I'll also post the cut list in case anyone wants to copy this. I had Alro, the metal supplier cut everything to length, it was cheap and saved me a ton of time. The tubing is 1-15/16 not sure about the gauge, 16 I think. The bill at Alro was just over $100 but the guy gave me a good deal.

2x 60"
2x 40"
2x 20"
2x 8-3/4
4x 30-3/4
9x 12-1/2 (for the width, and I got too many)

As of now the sides are welded and the cross pieces are tacked in place. The 12-1/2 width is a little too wide for the kegs to sit comfortably. I think I am going to get some 1 inch tubing and put them about 11-14" apart for each keg to sit more stable. So comments and suggestions are welcome.

 

[Jbird]

So I'm still new to home brewing. What's the deal with two tiers? I don't see the point of having this. What is I used for?

 

[rdann87]

So that Gravity does some of the work for you.

Lifting a full keg sucks quite a bit.

 

[Jbird]

So that Gravity does some of the work for you.

Lifting a full keg sucks quite a bit.

I guess that makes since.

 

[cracked1]

So I'm still new to home brewing. What's the deal with two tiers? I don't see the point of having this. What is I used for?

One thing is the ability to fly sparge using one pump. While gravity slowly drains wort from the mash tun into the kettle you slowly pump sparge water from the hot liquor tank into the mash tun.

 

[fork]

Yup cracked has it right.

 

[fork]

More progress.

 

[fork]

More progress. Got the plumbing mostly done. Made a sheet metal bracket to mount the ignitor. The electric ignitor is proving to be a little tempermental. I think I need to ground the burners to the stand better and get the paint off them where I want them to spark. One thing I found, I bought the second high pressure burner from amazon, and it didn't come with an orfice, so I have to order that from bayou classic and pay 6 dollars to ship a 3 dollar part.

 

[fork]

Finally got to use this thing. Worked great, efficiency was a little low, 75% but not too bad. I was surprised to see the pumo a little tough to prime when pumping from the kettle even thougb the pump was below it. I had to put the pump on the ground to get it to prime.

 

[Gumbys_Brew]

Finally got to use this thing. Worked great, efficiency was a little low, 75% but not too bad. I was surprised to see the pumo a little tough to prime when pumping from the kettle even thougb the pump was below it. I had to put the pump on the ground to get it to prime.

nice set up I frickin dig your DIY conical fermenter. Where can I get a stainless steel cone like that to weld onto a keg as you did?

 

[fork]

Thanks! I actually made the cone with nothing but an angle grinder, some clamps, and some pipes. There a threadhttps://www.homebrewtalk.com/f51/new-diy-stainless-fermenter-361798-new/. A place called toledo metal spinning sells them, but they're too expensive

 

[Gumbys_Brew]

sweet thanks for the link to the thread. any chance you remember the diameter of the sheet metal you had to cut out in order to get it to form the cone to the diameter of the keg?

 

[fork]

Well if you cut the cone out as a half circle, then the diameter needs to be exactly double the diameter of the keg where it is cut out.

 

[Stealthcruiser]

sweet thanks for the link to the thread. any chance you remember the diameter of the sheet metal you had to cut out in order to get it to form the cone to the diameter of the keg?

In the thread, I believe there is a link to the formulas needed to roll a cone.

 

[fork]

Yup there, are plenty of formulas. If you want to do fancy math, you can make the angle if thr cone whatever you want. I wanted to do the least amount of cutti.g so i did the math so i ended uo witb a half circle. I would actually make it a little oversize next time, that way you could start welding the cone around and let the seam over lap, then trim witb your angle grinder and have a perfect fit

 

[Drake9]

I was surprised to see the pumo a little tough to prime when pumping from the kettle even thougb the pump was below it. I had to put the pump on the ground to get it to prime.

I am about to start my 2 tier build and the above quote has me a little concerned. I want to use the pump for two things, move water from HLT to MLT and from BK through plate chiller to fermentor. So you had to unbolt the pump and sit it on the ground to prime. I thought if the pump was below the vessel gravity would take the liquid into the pump to prime it. The greater the distance the easier to do but I was going to build my system pretty much the same as you and figured it would be good to go, back to the drawing board I guess. Maybe I just do a pump in a tool box and that way I can move it around if need be and just sit it on the ground. Have you came up with a different solution to your problem other then just sitting it on the ground?

 

[cracked1]

I am about to start my 2 tier build and the above quote has me a little concerned. I want to use the pump for two things, move water from HLT to MLT and from BK through plate chiller to fermentor. So you had to unbolt the pump and sit it on the ground to prime. I thought if the pump was below the vessel gravity would take the liquid into the pump to prime it. The greater the distance the easier to do but I was going to build my system pretty much the same as you and figured it would be good to go, back to the drawing board I guess. Maybe I just do a pump in a tool box and that way I can move it around if need be and just sit it on the ground. Have you came up with a different solution to your problem other then just sitting it on the ground?

I had originally mounted my pump to my stand until I brewed with a friend who used a pump in a box. Now that's how I do it too. It's so much easier to deal with any issues as you're brewing.