Single Tier HERMS Brewstand Step by Step Build

[30Bones]

No automation? How difficult is it to manage the temps? This is how I am building my setup and am somewhat nervous

 

[Shawnylocks]

Probably figure $2500 but I did the stand myself. Also you could save money on cheaper kettles and quick disconnects, things like that add up a ton. And 14 ball valves, off ebay though. :cross:

Thats not horrible. Kind of what I was expecting. All in due time hahaha. Thanks so much for the response.

 

[DuffyBros]

How do the BG14 burners work with the 26 gallon Kettles? Does it take forever to bring them to a boil? I've seen so many different BTU ratings for those burners along with different high pressure/low pressure suggestions. Just curious.. I'm about to start the same build.

Also the wind shields/burner mounts from Accurate? Are those custom made? I've been waiting on brewershardware.com 12" version to come in stock but they said not till mid February. Anyways, looks great.. Good job. Here's my stand. Picking up Monday!

 

[supercarbuilder]

No automation? How difficult is it to manage the temps? This is how I am building my setup and am somewhat nervous

It's easy and I love it. I may upgrade to some automation but for now the price is right to do it manually. I wouldn't worry about doing it yourself.

 

[+HopSpunge+]

Really nice. I like the way everything fits underneath and stuff. You probably named it already. But, if not, I was thinking of the name "transformer" because it's more than meets the eye. Awsome job.

 

[supercarbuilder]

How do the BG14 burners work with the 26 gallon Kettles? Does it take forever to bring them to a boil? I've seen so many different BTU ratings for those burners along with different high pressure/low pressure suggestions. Just curious.. I'm about to start the same build.

Also the wind shields/burner mounts from Accurate? Are those custom made? I've been waiting on brewershardware.com 12" version to come in stock but they said not till mid February. Anyways, looks great.. Good job. Here's my stand. Picking up Monday!

The burners are great, I have the high pressure 30 PSI regulator from Bayou Classic and it heats up as fast as a turkey fryer with 5 gal. The closest BTU that I found is 225,000 with the high pressure reg, where if you run the low pressure (with the low pressure orifice) you only get around 150,000 like a Blickmann.

The shields are custom made, accurate is a sheet metal company locally. Any shop can do it cheap though. I used 1/8 in sheeting that they rolled into the ring and welded. Then did the cutting and drilling my self.

 

[30Bones]

1.5" or 2" tubing? I like your design with no middle supports = less steel

 

[supercarbuilder]

1.5" or 2" tubing? I like your design with no middle supports = less steel

Thanks, it's 1.5inx1.5in tubing

 

[30Bones]

I see a lot of conflicting info on the BG-14 burners. These are cheap @ $33 but state up to 100k btus

http://www.agrisupply.com/product.a...1&zmap=64494&gclid=CP2asZTA-bsCFUtgMgod4y4AEA

 

[DuffyBros]

I've seen tons of conflicting btu ratings on the BG14. Some at high pressure some at low pressure. IMO at high pressure it should be 220,000 btu with the right regulator setting. At low pressure I've seen both 60,000 and 70,000 btu ratings. I think it all depends on the regulator. But I'm no expert. Hope that helps.

I see a lot of conflicting info on the BG-14 burners. These are cheap @ $33 but state up to 100k btus



http://www.agrisupply.com/product.a...1&zmap=64494&gclid=CP2asZTA-bsCFUtgMgod4y4AEA

 

[supercarbuilder]

I see a lot of conflicting info on the BG-14 burners. These are cheap @ $33 but state up to 100k btus

http://www.agrisupply.com/product.a...1&zmap=64494&gclid=CP2asZTA-bsCFUtgMgod4y4AEA

I don't believe any BTU ratings either because it's so difficult to actually test correctly and accurately. The agrisupply ones are the ones I got. With a high pressure regulator it will boil a 20 gal batch almost as fast as my Blickmann burner will do 10 gal. So I think it's about 1.75 times more BTU, which would make sense if Blickmann says theirs are 155,000.

At the end of the brew-day it's much more powerful, so much so, I have to turn it way back once I reach a boil, I imagine if I had these on a 10 gal batch it would shoot wort out of the kettle with ease.

 

[day_trippr]

fwiw, iirc Blichmann rates their burners closer to 75KBTU, using their 0-10psi regulator...

Cheers!

 

[30Bones]

I don't believe any BTU ratings either because it's so difficult to actually test correctly and accurately. The agrisupply ones are the ones I got. With a high pressure regulator it will boil a 20 gal batch almost as fast as my Blickmann burner will do 10 gal. So I think it's about 1.75 times more BTU, which would make sense if Blickmann says theirs are 155,000.

At the end of the brew-day it's much more powerful, so much so, I have to turn it way back once I reach a boil, I imagine if I had these on a 10 gal batch it would shoot wort out of the kettle with ease.

I'm just doing 5 and so entires 10 gallon batches. Maybe I only need a bg12 or just use my bg10's for now

 

[supercarbuilder]

I'm just doing 5 and so entires 10 gallon batches. Maybe I only need a bg12 or just use my bg10's for now

I really like the BG-12's, one of the guys at my local brew shop uses one, I've brewed at a demo there and that burner seems to have the power but because it's smaller you can control it better, especially on a 5 gal batch. I like to get a nice boil, not too crazy, and then dial it back to save propane. Also my high pressure bg-14's have been freezing my propane tank and using considerably more fuel than the low pressure ones. Another advantage to the bg-12.

 

[res291que]

How do you figure your water/wort gallons?

 

[supercarbuilder]

How do you figure your water/wort gallons?

I use beersmith to calculate all of the volumes that I should need and meet. I have a cheap water meter on my hose to measure mash and sparge water. I measured the kettle to find that .75 in is one gal. so I do the math to find my pre-boil and post-boil volumes.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B003QRLAQ2/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

 

[res291que]

Cool thanks for the info, sight glasses are cool, but love the clean look of your pots without them. Damn always something else to aspire to and purchase.

 

[supercarbuilder]

Cool thanks for the info, sight glasses are cool, but love the clean look of your pots without them. Damn always something else to aspire to and purchase.

I've never had sight glasses, I always wondered how easy they clean up. The way the system is now, it only takes me 5-10 min to clean it so I was concerned about taking them apart to run a brush down or whatever you have to do. I built this with the thought in mind that using it can be simple, I can teach someone to brew on it after one try, even though it looks complicated.

 

[30Bones]

I've never had sight glasses, I always wondered how easy they clean up. The way the system is now, it only takes me 5-10 min to clean it so I was concerned about taking them apart to run a brush down or whatever you have to do. I built this with the thought in mind that using it can be simple, I can teach someone to brew on it after one try, even though it looks complicated.

It actually looks user friendly to me, and I have never brewed on anything nicer than a cooler/turkey fryer setup. I am trying to think of a way to adapt that sparge arm onto a keggle or if I just want to recirculate my MT with the arm that is already on my keggle. Afraid when doing 5 gallon batches it will be too high.

 

[supercarbuilder]

It actually looks user friendly to me, and I have never brewed on anything nicer than a cooler/turkey fryer setup. I am trying to think of a way to adapt that sparge arm onto a keggle or if I just want to recirculate my MT with the arm that is already on my keggle. Afraid when doing 5 gallon batches it will be too high.

Can you gravity sparge? I think you can recirc through your boil kettle port but sparging will mess up the grain bed some. I used to do it that way. I used to gravity sparge with this (see below) arm and it produced the nicest grain bed and perfect sparge.

 

[30Bones]

I am doing single tier so no. I was planning to pump from bottom to top during the mash and doing the same when sparging. No idea if this is the proper way, again I am learning via the internet. Joining the local brew club tomorrow to gain more hands on knowledge I hope

 

[supercarbuilder]

I am doing single tier so no. I was planning to pump from bottom to top during the mash and doing the same when sparging. No idea if this is the proper way, again I am learning via the internet. Joining the local brew club tomorrow to gain more hands on knowledge I hope

I've also done some research on using a setup like you have, just add 4-5 ft of 1/2 in silicone tubing to your top port and you can use it sort of like a Blickmann auto sparge does. Then your volumes do not matter and you can get a nice slow spiral sparge. This would be cheap to try at least.

 

[DuffyBros]

How's the stand working out for you?


Duffy & Sons Brewing DuffyBeer.com

 

[Shmeffrey]

What is the need for the burner at the mash tun if you have a herms system?

 

[30Bones]

What is the need for the burner at the mash tun if you have a germs system?

There isn't a need. Once I go HERMS I will have wished my MT keggle was bottom drain. If I ever go electric everything will be bottom drain

 

[Shmeffrey]

How many brews can you get out of one tank of propane? I'm interested in building a single tier system but can't decide whether to go propane or electric.

 

[30Bones]

I use a heat stick to heat my strike water and rarely use the HLT burner. Intermittently use the MT burner while recirculating. Then the BK is obviously ran pretty much full tilt for 60-90 minutes. I refilled a 20# bottle and have not used it on the grill and have 2 brews on it and will likely get two more in the next couple weeks. All these are 5 gallon batches. Cost me ~$20 for 20# refill (not an exchange). I bet I can get 4 brews, maybe more. I can update this once I can confirm it.

Electric adds up fast....propane is not that expensive or difficult to operate. I would however love to plumb NG into my garage.

 

[LovesIPA]

I use propane for all brewing-related heating and boiling. I get about 3-4 batches out of a tank.

 

[supercarbuilder]

well guys...I have since sold this setup and have gone all electric on a restaurant stainless table. And it is great!!!! way better than expected, much faster heat times and much more control also way cheaper. $1.50 per batch instead of $15-20 in propane. I'm heading out to GABF but I'll try and post some pics when I return. Thanks!

 

[Dennisusa]

Great design and build!

Please share how well the Hop Stopper performed in your BK? So far the biggest complaint I’ve heard has to do with the cold break formed either from an immersion chiller or from a counter-flow chiller if cold wort is recirculated back into the BK. Also did you experience any scorching between the screen and the bottom of the BK?