My Weldless Build Using Strut

[brewtime]

Gulp!

A little more than I wanted to spend but sold my old stand for 1700.00 so the way I look at it it's all a wash.


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[dwaite47]

Does anyone have pictures of there gas/lpg system on one of these unistrut builds?


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[V1king]

Here's mine. It ain't pretty but it works.

 

[musikguru6]

Does anyone have a good solution for mounting chugger pumps and a plate chiller from brewhardware for this kind of stand?

 

[CastleHollow]

I used a 4" electrical plate and some bolts, had to drill a few holes but it's a tight mount:


I wanted something "unmountable" and easy for the chiller, so mini bungee cords do the trick:

 

[BarrelheadBrew]

I've been stalking this thread for months. Ordered the fittings a couple of months ago, Picked up the strut a month ago, and have been staring at a pile of stuff since then. FINALLY got the time to do something with it. I'm pretty pleased how easy it was to put this thing together. Threw in a gas igniter while I was at it...

 

[Yellowirenut]

Took several nights of just building when I had an extra 30 min but its 99% done. The only thing left to add is a bracket for my carbon filter and RV garden hose.

I am happy how it turned out and looks. Its a bit long but I left enough room in the center to add another burner if I want to expand to kegs.

Its a BG 12 burner with the legs cut off.

 

[icebob]

I really like the bottom shelf. What did you use?

 

[Yellowirenut]

for the bottom I used spare shelves from this
http://www.menards.com/main/p-2277729-c-12652.htm

 

[icebob]

cool thx. going to home depot today so I will check this out. how did you secure them?

 

[Yellowirenut]

Used 90 Deg strut brackets to cradle them

 

[mothershipbrewing]

I really want to build one of these. I see most of you guys out there are using Keggles on these stands. Anyone have dimensions for Kettles? I'm gonna be using the 20 gal. Spike Brewing Kettles ( I already have 1) They are about 18 in diameter. I'm terrible at figuring this stuff out. I want a single tier, 3 station with 1 station being a direct fire mash tun. Any help would be awesome!

 

[HOPtuary]

Kegs are 15.5" across

 

[mothershipbrewing]

Kegs are 15.5" across

Right, my kettles are 18". Just project everything else out to that size? So it'd be like 5 or 6 ft. long and 18" wide? I'm retarded when it comes to this stuff.

 

[kirbcheck]

Yes, if it's 18" diameter then make the width 18"... don't forget to account for the width of the strut on some of your cuts.

 

[mothershipbrewing]

Yes, if it's 18" diameter then make the width 18"... don't forget to account for the width of the strut on some of your cuts.

Gotcha, thanks! I saw this and was thinking about buying one of these kits from here :

http://www.strutchannelfittings.com...-AND-FITTINGS-BLACK-POWDER-COATED_p_1187.html

I wasn't sure what lengths I should have them cut the Strut though. It seems like it might be about the same price or a little more than doing everything yourself. I wouldn't have to rent a chop saw, time etc.

 

[HOPtuary]

I made mine 5' long and it works great.

 

[musikguru6]

I used a 4" electrical plate and some bolts, had to drill a few holes but it's a tight mount:
View attachment 199929

I wanted something "unmountable" and easy for the chiller, so mini bungee cords do the trick:
View attachment 199930

How did you drill the holes (like what tools - my tool stock is limited!)? And what size bolt are you using?

Thanks!!

 

[CastleHollow]

Just used a power drill, the plate isn't too difficult to get through with a metal bit. I used 2" #10 (I think) bolts with nylon locking nuts to keep them secure due to the pump's vibration.

 

[BigOrmc]

I ordered one of the strutchannlefittings.com kits. I've wanted a single tier brewing system for but did want to she'll put the money for 2 pumps.

I'm just getting back into brewing after taking 6yrs off because an old friend of mine borrowed then sold my last all grain set up. After that I was so floored by him doing that to me that I just quit doing it but now I'm ready to get back into it and thanks to this tread I know how I'm getting back into it.

Can't wait to get my kit. Banjo burners have been ordered, keggles have been replaced and pumps and hoses are being ordered in the next 2 weeks. Thanks again to all that have posted to this topic, your information has made it possible for me to get back to the hobby I love.

 

[kirbcheck]

I'm just getting back into brewing after taking 6yrs off because an old friend of mine borrowed then sold my last all grain set up.

Not sure I'd call this guy a friend, but welcome back to the hobby. We greet you with arms wide open.

 

[BigOrmc]

He did a lot for me in the past so I just call us even and keep my distance. But back to the topic at hand I can't wait to get my strut stand and start brewing again.


Brew the beers you enjoy. Enjoy the beers you brew.

 

[PJM]

I ordered burner hangers from strutstands.com. They worked great for 10 inch banjo burners. Made it really simple. They also worked great to hang my blichmann burner. I just popped the legs off and mounted the burner and wind shield.

 

[gifty74]

Agreed. The Blichmann burners with the SS wind shields are very nice and make for a nice setup on a strut stand with the burner mounts I sell. Like you say just take the legs off and the mounts will allow you to easily attach them to the stand and have adjustable height.

 

[BigOrmc]

My stand shipped today. I can't wait.


Brew the beers you enjoy. Enjoy the beers you brew.

 

[Rynolee]

Okay... So I spent the last few days reading every post in this thread and I'm hooked. :rockin: 90 pages WOW! I've been in the market for a brew stand for some time and was ready to pull the trigger on a Ruby or Synergy rig until I happened upon this thread.

However, I recently invested in two 25-gallon kettles that are 20" in diameter, to go along with my 15-gallon HLT, requiring my brew stand to be a bit larger to accommodate them. I'm set on a brutus style stand that's low enough for me to get easy access to each kettle and would love to run my measurements by you guys to make sure I'm not missing something. I guess my only concern is overall height of the stand given that the Blichmann burners put out heat from beneath and I don't want to put too much heat on the pumps / gas manifold. Any experience in this area?

My kettles are 20" tall and from the picture below, total height from casters to kettle lid would be 3' 7" - 3' 10" depending caster height. Should I be concerned or should I increase height and deal with a step stool for mash in?

 

[b-boy]

My kettles are 20" tall and from the picture below, total height from casters to kettle lid would be 3' 7" - 3' 10" depending caster height. Should I be concerned or should I increase height and deal with a step stool for mash in?

I'd keep the height as low as you can. It makes moving stuff around much easier. I made my 2nd tier a little too high and it's a pain schlepping my cooler onto it.

I use Wok burners, but I've found that a little bit of strategically placed AL flashing goes a long way toward keeping heat off of pumps and such. I have it on areas of my wiring, gas plumbing, and pumps. I use velcro tape to keep it attached, so it can be removed for cleaning and storage.

As far as your floor, I use some silicone baking sheets under te stand to deflect the heat from my burners. I have rubberized flooring in my garage and this allows me to brew in the garage.

 

[Rynolee]

I might make the stand 4" taller, allowing me some wiggle room to get a deflector and additional equipment in there and maybe build a storage box for the hosing when not in use.

Just pulled the trigger and made the purchase from strutchannelfittings.com and will pick up the strut frames locally... Unless the black powder coated strut channel is worth the extra price? Does anyone have experience with the powder coating as far as appearance? better heat resistance?

Also 2 questions regarding burner placements and measurement:

1) With the Blichmann Burner, do I buy the Stand or TopTier version?
2) If I cut the stand closer to strutstands.com measurements, will there be an issue with larger 20" kettles? I would increase the length but keep the depth the same to allow for proper burner placement. My concern would be that the kettles would hang a few inches on the front and back of the stand but would be equally spaced with the extra length.

Thanks for any support. I'll be cutting at the end of next week!

 

[gifty74]

I think Blichmann uses the same floor standing burner on the Top Tier. I have mounted a Blichmann on a stand I built for a local guy and it worked great. I also sold several burner mount bracket kits that people have used on the Blichmann burners and they really like them. Just remove the legs and use a mounting bracket (mine or just fab them up) and it makes for a real nice install. A little pricey compared to a Bayou BG14 you can buy online, but you do get the SS wind shield. That's basically what you're paying for as you won't use the legs. You do get the regulator and hose too I suppose.

As for how much overhang, I think a little overhang is actually good. I've been making some that way now and people seem to like them. In fact I now use a 20 gal Megapot for my BK and it overhangs a good bit. The benefit is that is almost blocks the triangular gap at the four corners where lots of heat comes out and heats up things like a sight glass, thermometer, ball valves, etc. Having that totally blocked off is nice. No real loss of stability with the pot overhanging either. Hope that helps.

 

[Rynolee]

As for how much overhang, I think a little overhang is actually good. I've been making some that way now and people seem to like them. In fact I now use a 20 gal Megapot for my BK and it overhangs a good bit. The benefit is that is almost blocks the triangular gap at the four corners where lots of heat comes out and heats up things like a sight glass, thermometer, ball valves, etc. Having that totally blocked off is nice. No real loss of stability with the pot overhanging either. Hope that helps.

Thanks gifty74 - this really helps. After looking at my measurements, it would make sense to have the kettles overhang for those very reasons. My 72" length will stay the same and I'll just adjust the middle struts and play around with it.

As soon as I start the build, I'll be sure to post some pictures!