Single Tier Unistrut Build

[Lgaddy44]

Very nice! May have to compare some notes with you, down the road.

 

[Lgaddy44]

Began building the frame today...

 

[bd2xu]

Looking good! I like the look of the solid strut but i figured the holes would come in handy.

Doing my third batch on mine tomorrow, this one is ten gallon batch of Cottage House Saison: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f71/cottage-house-saison-254684/

 

[lschiavo]

Looking good! I like the look of the solid strut but i figured the holes would come in handy.

The holes/slots are nice. I hang my stir spoon on one and it makes a great place to hang tubing.

 

[Lgaddy44]

Soooo....two years have gone by, and absolutely zero progress on this build, since my last post. A lot of things have changed since then, and my brewing hobby has taken a back seat to the rest of my life. I'm considering selling all of the pieces (still unused) to this build, and possibly some (if not most) of the remainder of my brewing gear.

I know if I'm selling, I need to post asking prices for any item up for grabs. I'll try to post individual items this weekend, for those interested.

First up for grabs is the unistrut frame we built. I'm only asking $75, but must be a local pickup, please. This is a solid build with 3/8" stainless hardware on all connections. Dimensions are 18"Wx70"Lx30"H.

I'll probably start a new thread in the "Want to Sell" area of the forum, for these and anything else I get rid of. Feel free to PM me, if there any serious inquiries.

 

[lschiavo]

So sad.

 

[63belair]

Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!

Say it ain't so!

 

[Lgaddy44]

Yep. Not quite what i was expecting either. But hey, check the for sale section for all the great deals on these never used items! Lol

 

[Lgaddy44]

Been thinkin long and hard about this lately...I have a ton of parts, and I'm guessing I could even dumb this build down a bit, with minimal effort, and still have a manual HERMS rig with 2 pumps. I may just re-evaluate. I might not be able to throw together the ideal system, but I still have the means for an upgrade, without too much headache involved.

 

[Lgaddy44]

....and BTW, "You know you're a homebrewer when...." you just cant let go, lol. I think there's a thread for that.

 

[lschiavo]

Been thinkin long and hard about this lately...I have a ton of parts, and I'm guessing I could even dumb this build down a bit, with minimal effort, and still have a manual HERMS rig with 2 pumps. I may just re-evaluate. I might not be able to throw together the ideal system, but I still have the means for an upgrade, without too much headache involved.

....and BTW, "You know you're a homebrewer when...." you just cant let go, lol. I think there's a thread for that.

Go for it. I have reconfigured my stand several times already. That is one of the great things about strut, it is easy to modify. There are many other uses for it too. So if you have some spare parts laying around, they will probably come in handy some day.

 

[Lgaddy44]

Thanks for the encouragement. So jumping back into this project, by myself even, I started taking inventory of my parts and got started on the HLT.

One of the more frustrating things that turned me off previously was drilling holes into my kettles. I decided to buy a new drill and some better bits that got the job done this time.

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[Lgaddy44]

You can see in the last post, i hadn't yet installed the ball valve at the bottom of the kettle. I decided I wanted to make a pickup tube, and that made me short on some fittings. I'm gonna go with the same for the mash tun and BK, so I need to review parts again after the next delivery comes.

I'm setting up both HLT and BK for whirlpooling. I figure this will help with circulation for temp control, reduce scorching in the boil, and also reduce trub. I'm also considering buying a hop spider for the BK.

 

[Lgaddy44]

Tonight I came home to a tube bender delivered to my doorstep. I jumped right into bending my HERMS coil. This was another intimidating process for me. I couldn't imagine doing this without the tool now, as even with it, I still ended up with a number of small kinks, divots, and flat spots. Overall, I do think it'll work fine, though. I say not bad for someone who's never bent any kind of pipe.

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[63belair]

You've gone from 'I haven't touched this in 2 years and have decided to throw in the towel' to drilling holes, bending tubing, and ordering more parts. Way to go!!!

Since I am so proud of you I'm not going to ding you for lack of PPE in picture #2. Keep up the great work!

 

[Lgaddy44]

Since I am so proud of you I'm not going to ding you for lack of PPE in picture #2.

I knew that was coming as soon as I posted it. Thanks.

 

[lschiavo]

Nice progress!

You know whats funny, I had a brew buddy that quit on me too. Before he quit, he went all gung-ho and convinced me that we should upgrade to a 1 bbl system.

He spent a couple thousand on a mash tun and conical. I was all in because if he is investing that kind of money, he must be serious.

I tore down the old 10 gal system and started modifying the stand for the new HLT. That was about two years ago and I don't think he has set foot in the brewshop since.

I dropped the MLT and a few other things off at his house a few months ago because it was in my way and he wouldn't stop and pick it up. Well, long story short, I have my brew corner all cleaned out now and ready to re-install my original 10 gal system. I hope I can find the time and be brewing again this winter

 

[Lgaddy44]

I can definitely relate to that. I started out solo, knowing no other homebrewers, researching and building everything all by myself. In the beginning, i couldn't get enough info, and ideas on setups and gear. I think I dove into all grain after a couple batches. It was nice when I found a couple friends that were also interested, and could bounce ideas off of. I do appreciate the community here, but having one on one discussions over a beer, always helps grow the process. I'm now back to brewing/building solo, and like I said before, it has taken a bit of a backseat to the rest of my life. Regardless of how involved I am down the road, I'm all about efficiency in everything I do, and I enjoy geeking out on this stuff too, so I'll continue to be active in at least some degree.

We'll see how this build goes. I may have another stall down the road, whether its due to finances, focus, or time, but I'll keep chipping away at it. Nothing wrong with a good hobby to keep you sane, especially one that results in a nice buzz. I hope I can keep a few of you entertained, and I also welcome suggestions and feedback. I'm surely gonna need some help along the way.

 

[lschiavo]

Keep on chipping away. There really is no downside to it that I can see. IMO, you will be better off having your own thing anyway. You certainly found the right place for help and ideas with your system if you need them. I will help out if I can. Cheers.

 

[Lgaddy44]

Is there anyone local that knows how to bend this tubing, because I sure don't. I'm trying to get the 90s on it to attach to the comprssion fittings, but I'm just destroying this stuff. Only have about 47ft of beat up coil to go....

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[lschiavo]

I didn't bother trying to bend my copper. I just used 90 degree fittings. I guess that could be an option if you want to swap out fittings...

It looks like you may not be using the tool correctly. Those terrible kinks and flattened out spots, there is something wrong.

Not the tool you have but the video may help:

Good luck. Hope you get it figured out.

 

[Lgaddy44]

Seriously considering a do-over with this now:

http://www.stainlessbrewing.com/Coiled-to-customers-request-035-304304L-Coiled-Tubing_p_30.html

 

[lschiavo]

Now that is cheating but I wont tell anyone. $25 is a little misleading. Make sure to plug in your specifics. You have tubing and a bender. I'd cut 5 feet off and take it to the bench and practice with the bender. 50' is more than needed anyway.

 

[Lgaddy44]

I think after selecting the custom preferences with the dropdowns on that site, it comes to about $96, for what I'm looking for. Shame I already invested probably $125 for my coil and bender, but at least I tried. Worth the extra $$ to not have another "Hulk SMASH!!" experience with this bending business.

 

[lschiavo]

Funny how custom fabricated (sort of) is cheaper than buying the material and tools to DIY. In the long run it will only cost you a little more than double But what are hobbies for if we aren't burning up our money right?

 

[Lgaddy44]

But what are hobbies for if we aren't burning up our money right?

I'll drink to that!:beer:

 

[63belair]

I've read that filling the tube with sand can help make bending easier and reduce/eliminate kinks. That being said, I only have experience bending copper, not stainless.

 

[Lgaddy44]

I've read similar, especially effective if you fill with water completely, and can seal the tube. The water inside supports the tubing, not allowing it to kink or lose shape. Much too much science for me. I hit the easy button yesterday, and ordered a new custom coil. I'm not afraid to admit when I'm beat.

 

[MrFancyPlants]

I'm not afraid to admit when I'm beat.

Except that sometimes when you do you go and change your mind and try again.. I applaud your effort but was hoping to pick through your cast aside brewing items earlier in the thread.. At the top of my list is a replacement $100 kegerator if you happen to have one.

 

[Lgaddy44]

A little more progress with the kettles this weekend

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