Show Me Your Wood Brew Sculpture/Rig

[twst1up]

well, i think i'm gonna go ahead and get started getting materials for the build. Anyone care to suggest what kind of lumber to get? What's the deal with treated wood? any recommendations...?

 

[menschmaschine]

well, i think i'm gonna go ahead and get started getting materials for the build. Anyone care to suggest what kind of lumber to get? What's the deal with treated wood? any recommendations...?

Treated lumber will last longer and be more resistant to decay/mold growth from getting wet (you may want that flexibility). But regular white lumber is OK too. If you need any wood for flat surfaces (plywood), I would recommend the most cost effective wood to be Advantech (or similar) subflooring. It's like a thick OSB infused with wax, so while it's not as resistant to decay as treated lumber, it's fine for these purposes and is a lot cheaper than the same thickness of treated plywood.

For obaining this wood, you might hit up construction sites on houses being framed. You could probably find all your lumber in the dumpster (with permission from the builder of course), but for a few odds and ends.

 

[Bob_E]

I ran across this earlier.
http://breweryconstructionguide.com/

 

[Boerderij_Kabouter]

Anyone care to suggest what kind of lumber to get? What's the deal with treated wood? any recommendations...?

It really depends on what you are going for and how much you want to spend. If you do not want to spend a lot, do not have woodworking experience, and just want to put this thing outside and forget about it, I think treated lumber and the materials mentioned above would be perfect. However, if you are going for something that looks good and is functional (think fermoire vs. son of a fermentation chiller) I would build your stand out of white oak and use a proper sealant. White oak is extremely rot resistant and looks fantastic, IMHO. That is what I will be using. For the framing, I will likely just use construction grade pine because it is cheap, and my stand will be indoors.

 

[its02003]

If it is going to be outside, a wood like cedar might be a good idea since it stands up to the elements so well.

If its going to be living inside other than on brew days, pine would be my suggestion. The reason I am not throwing oak or maple out there is because odds are you are going to spill wort and other crap all over the place, especially the first few times you use the new rig and are getting used to the various nuances of it. With metal stands, you could just spray it off or wipe it up, but wood will probably soak a little of it up each time and maybe even stain after a while. If thats going to happen, you probably want it to happen with pine and not oak.

That said, oak or maple would look VERY nice especially with some stain and the right hardware....I hope I didn't contradict myself so much that the information is confusing.

 

[BeWilder]

So I'm working with three 15.5 G Sanke's. I want to go electric on the HLT and then wrap the HLT & MT with reflectix, and then maybe Rhino line them like WortMonger did. I don't want to deal with a pump and want to keep this as simple as I can so I need to have gravity on my side.

Could I not make a 3-tier gravity brew tree out of a 4x4 or some layered 2x4's and then anchor the keg's to the stand using bolts?

According to this the weight of a full keg is 165 lbs, (of course that depends on what it's filled with.)

What are your thoughts on the strenghth and stability of this set-up?

 

[android]

here's mine:

nothin' special, but gets the job done.

 

[Catt22]

I built this one using the cheapest lumber I could find which was 1x3 & 1x4 firring strip material. The shelves are 1/4" plywood. The whole tower weighs less than 50 lbs, yet it's strong and stable enough to stand on the top platform. I can transport it on the roof rack of my SUV. Several coats of house paint and it's water resistant so it can be hosed down for clean up.

 

[barnesyfc]

Fellow homebrewer Littlehop has a fantastic wooden brew stand.
I stumbled upon it in the random photos on the home page.
You should all have a look, and encourage him to post details.

 

[TwoHeadsBrewing]

Fellow homebrewer Littlehop has a fantastic wooden brew stand.
I stumbled upon it in the random photos on the home page.
You should all have a look, and encourage him to post details.

Very cool!

 

[kal]

Here's mine so far. Still needs to be stained and varnished.

Kal

 

[Lil' Sparky]

You ******s with the really nice Blichman bling make me sick!

 

[bakins]

Here's mine before I rebuilt the electronics yet again:

Mash tun goes on top "shelf." I have since added a RIMS. I need to take some new pictures.

 

[purechaos]

My march pump is underneath the MLT, on bottom side of rig to protect from water.

I have rig is on wheels to easily move from garage to back yard where i brew.

all vessels are fitted with male QD's, I have 2 hoses with female QD's, 1 short hose shown that is fitted with a QD and a CPVC pipe that is used for flysparging. The MLT lid has a hole drilled in top that i fill with a gum stopper during mash.

I have a CFC that also has a QD attached to it.

 

[houndhome1]

It was made with 1 inch square stock. My brewery name was cut with a computerize plasma cutter.

It getting it's first use tomorrow if it every stops raining.

 

[wilserbrewer]

Simple ten gallon electric heatstick basement brewery. 44 and 60 quart kettles not shown. Stand was
a wooden bunk bed that was cut up and repurposed into a brew stand. Window fan keeps humidity in
check during brewing, I do run the fan for a couple hours after the boil to air out the basement.Skateboard
aids in wheeling heavy kettles and kegs about the brewery.

and the product, house ale at high kreusen

summer wheat, the coriander and orange smells tremendous

 

[bakins]

S

and the product, house ale at high kreusen

Not trying to thread jack, but do you just ferment in SS pots?

 

[amercuric]

I can spend all day looking at this thread! If only I wasn't a semi-transient poor as ramen every day college student, I'd totally build one of these things. It's going to be a 3-tier system, because nothing wakes you up in the morning more than having an unsecured HLT with up to 5 gallons of almost boiling hot water less than a couple feet away from my face.

 

[wilserbrewer]

Not trying to thread jack, but do you just ferment in SS pots?

Yep, same pot as the boil, chill mid to low sixties and pitch plenty of yeast, once fermentation peaks, wrap and seal the top of the kettle w/ plastic and a string to seal it up tight. Usually w/in 10 -14 days, I crash cool and have racked it to a keg and purged w/ Co2 to let it finish for another couple weeks.

Call me crazy, lazy, or both. But it works well for low to moderate gravity ales that ferment out rather quick. I took the pics just for kicks, The following morning, I sealed up the pots and will not touch them until I rack to kegs.

 

[Lil' Sparky]

I don't see anything wrong with that. Sounds to me like a good way to ferment your beer.

 

[doggage]

i agree! the less you transfer the less equipment you need to buy/sanitize/move around...

Great idea, wilser!

 

[D-Boss]

little stain can snazz things up a bit

 

[CNL]

here is mine almost done with it but it is 99% done let me know what you all think

 

[bakins]

here is mine almost done with it but it is 99% done let me know what you all think

Love the wheels!

 

[CNL]

Love the wheels!

Thanks, I actually made the wheels from wood as a cost save move, but in the end I think they are my favorite part of the whole rig, gives it character.

 

[Chosenwon]

Here is mine:

 

[sharpstick]

this heers my wood brew skulpcher. see the two peece adjustable desine? this keeps the pot levil cuz i brew on a hill.
brew stand thing

 

[Chosenwon]

this heers my wood brew skulpcher. see the two peece adjustable desine? this keeps the pot levil cuz i brew on a hill.
brew stand thing

Awesome!

 

[Ryan_PA]

Here is mine:

I use my brewing toolbox for recirculation and for chilling:

 

[brrman]

I went all electric - here's my wooden cabinet...