Solid Strut Brewstand build

[Fighthouse]

After a few years of all grain brewing, I am finally ready to simplify my brewing process. No more lifting heavy pots, no more swapping out equipment, and no more stacking coolers.

I received a majority of the items I need in the past month, and am ready to assemble the stand in the next couple of weeks.

Here are the items I currently have:

Two Sanke Kegs
10gal Rubbermaid mashtun
Two March 815-PL-C pumps
Two Bayou BG-14 burners
4 10' lengths of galvanized solid strut (with nuts, bolts and brackets)

Before I embark on this build, I have a few questions.

Can I use a regular circular saw with a metal cutoff wheel to cut the strut?

What is the best way mount the burners to the stand? I've seen many build, but haven't gotten a grasp on how exactly most of these are mounted.

Should I build a 2 or 3 station stand? My mashtun doesn't need to be fired, but would it be much more convenient to keep it on the same stand as the HLT and BK?


Thanks in advance for the responses.

 

[Fighthouse]

bumpity bumpers

 

[lotusworker]

Can I use a regular circular saw with a metal cutoff wheel to cut the strut?

I imagine that you don't have many cuts with this, so it should work. I have heard using a miter saw for this which may be the same.

 

[cubalz]

Subscribed.

 

[b-boy]

I wouldn't recommend using your circular saw. I used mine and it did a number on it. I probably halved the life of the saw. All the hot metal pitted the plastic parts and destroyed my dust collector. It hasn't been the same since. I'd rent a chop saw for a few hours.

I'd build the 3-station stand. You might not need it now, but you may in the future.

 

[Fighthouse]

I have a neighbor who can lend me his miter saw, but I would rather screw up my $30 circular saw that his $300+ miter saw. I also have a dremel I used to cut the top of a sanke keg - would this work for the strut too?

I am also leaning towards the 3 station stand. I only picked up 4 10' lengths of strut, but based on this build, I think I might have enough
http://www.strutstands.com/singletier3station/

Here is my calculations for the cuts

Total	Left	Cut1	Cut2	Cut3	Cut4	Cut5	Cut6	Cut7	Cut8
120"	3"	52"	52"	13"					
120"	3"	52"	52"	13"					
120"	11"	13"	13"	13"	13"	13"	13"	13"	18"
120"	30"	18"	18"	18"	18"	18"			
									
52" Cuts	4								
13" Cuts	9								
18" Cuts	6

 

[rgauthier20420]

I don't know about the dremel. I'd be worried about straight cuts. I used my miter saw with a one of those composite black metal cutting blades and it worked perfectly. The only thing was that mine has a plastic guard at the bottom where the blades goes through the hole when brought down. That plastic piece slightly melted, but it could have been because of the way I was cutting. Also could just be my saw that has this.

Either way, I'd use the circular saw before the dremel and the mitre saw if available. Good luck.

 

[30Bones]

You can rent a chop saw for pretty cheap. I would never try cutting metal with a circular saw, but I have had a few scares cutting wood

 

[Fighthouse]

I cut my strut yesterday, and had no issues using the mitre saw I borrowed and a metal cutoff wheel I picked up from Lowes. It was a little more tedious than I expected, but everything came out perfectly. I'll use my dremel tonight to smooth around the cuts, and assemble the stand.

I do have a couple more pieces I need to pickup to complete the stand. For casters, I saw these recommended in another thread:
https://www.surpluscenter.com/Caste...OPYLENE-BLACK-OXIDE-FRAME-1-5-STEM-1-3411.axd

Here is what I would like to try and mount them with:
http://www.strutchannelfittings.com/THK-146-ANGLE-BKT--3-HOLES-_p_342.html

Also, I am still trying to figure out how I am going to mount my burners. Does anyone know of a relatively easy way to mount (ideally with a heat shield) the BG14 burners I am going to utlilize?

 

[Fighthouse]

Strut cut to original length. I had to change the build a little bit, so some of them were shortened/unused.

I also miscalculated the amount of connectors I needed, I should be able to pickup the rest this week

View from inside my latest converted keg

The two pumps ready to be mounted. Yet another mistake. The second pump I ordered (on the left) was a March 815 PL-C. I submitted for a return so I can hopfully get another March 815 PL

Two Banjo BG14 burners awaiting to be mounted

A look at the stand with my vessels. I went with a 52" length for the stand, In hindsight I should have made it at least 55" to keep my plastic mash tun further from the flame. I will have to make sure I have a good heat shield in place so I don't melt the crap out of it.

Critiiques and suggestions are more than welcome! In fact, they are desired!

 

[Fighthouse]

I did a bit more work on the brewstand this weekend. I received some casters, and the connectors for the casters and the burner mounts. Sadly, I am two strut nuts short of connecting everything. I will have to find a supplier that is willing to send me a small amount of these to finish that part up.

I also had some issues installing the casters. I ordered 4 of these, and picked up some nuts from Lowes (1/2" x 13) to attach them to the connector. When I got home and starting putting things together, I had a heck of a time tightening the nuts down all the way on the casters. They required much more force to tighten than should have been needed, and I was only able to get one nut all the way down on the caster thread (even using some wd-40 to lubricate).

I'll try to take some picture tonight and post them

 

[Fighthouse]

Here is a pic of the play I am getting on my casters. These bolts are taking WAY to much torque to screw onto the caster.

I need to hold the nut on the bottom of the caster so I can apply enough force to the top one to screw it on. However, the wrench I use to hold the bottom nut is too wide to get enough room to screw the top one down all the way.

I screwed one of the nuts off to take a look at the threads. It seems that the nut is coming apart due to the force I need to screw it on. I think I'll check out Home Depot to see if they have different nuts that might screw on easier.

 

[RyRae]

Check to see if the bolt and the nut are the same thread size. If the nut is a fine thread and you're trying to torque it down on a normal thread bolt you'll have issues.

 

[Stealthcruiser]

You will need a "collet wrench" or a "cone wrench",( used in bicycle work), to hold the stud to tighten the nuts.

That is, after you get some new casters that the studs aren't boogered up on, and the proper nuts for those threads........

They were "cross threaded" , or mismatched as to the thread pitch, as someone mentioned.

When selecting your nuts, ( tee, hee, hee.....), make sure you get some "free running" and not "self locking" nuts........Free running, as the name implies, you can run all the way down with your fingers, and use some lock washers.

If you get a "collet" wrench to hold the studs, don't get crazy on the torque, as the wrench mentioned won't stand it!


Edit: this style of wrench, re: "tight access" style...http://www.mcmaster.com/#open-end-hand-wrenches/=qy8o7w

The collet wrench I mentioned, is what comes with some air tools to tighten the collet to hold the tool.........They are usually thin, stamped steel.

 

[Fighthouse]

I did go to Home Depot this weekend and find some nuts that screwed onto the caster posts much easier. I still had the problem of not having a wrench thin enough the hold the bottom nut, but remedied that yesterday. My dad had a regular wrench that fit that nut, and we ground it down to a width that would fit in that tight space.

As of right now, I have casters on the stand, and one burner mounted. I miscalculated the amount of washers I was going to need, so I'll need to mount the other burner this week.

Also, I'd like some input on a couple of items. Currently I have a March 815 PL pump, and just received the refund for the March 815 PL-C pump. I have read that the 815 is a little overkill for homebrew purposes (too high of a flow rate can cause a stuck sparge in the mashtun). Should I get a March 809 pump, or can I just get another 815 and manage the flow rate with a ball valve on the out portion of the pump? Would there be any issue having an 809 and 815 on the brew stand?

Also, for my burners, I currently have two Banjo BG14s and this connector. I have seen other builds with hard plumbed connections, and they also use a differnent hose to connect to the burners. Would it be that much more manageable to build something like that, and return my connector? If so, is there a detailed description somewhere on how to build it?

 

[Fighthouse]

Bueller?

 

[TsunamiBeer]

Subscribed. Just ordered all the strut hardware and will pick up strut locally when that stuff gets here. You mentioned having to adjust some lengths. Was that due to missing the adjustment for channel thickness? Trying to avoid your mistakes.

 

[dfess1]

You will need that connector to provide fuel to the gas rail. Just make a gas rail with some black pipe, and "T's" for your first two burners, and a 90* elbow for the last in the line. Then get some gas tubing (head to an RV store) and hook up the burners to your gas rail.

 

[Fighthouse]

Subscribed. Just ordered all the strut hardware and will pick up strut locally when that stuff gets here. You mentioned having to adjust some lengths. Was that due to missing the adjustment for channel thickness? Trying to avoid your mistakes.

Actually I changed my build after doing the cuts. I was originally using this build as a model http://www.strutstands.com/singletier3station/ but realized that the way the bottom level strut was structured didn't fit with how I wanted to mount the casters.

I ended up following this model https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f51/my-single-tier-strut-brewstand-440287/

I did end up getting another March 815-PL pump, and some nifty fittings from BobbyM. I need to pick up a couple more 1/2" ball valves for the pump, and to upgrade the 3/8" connection I have on my Mash Tun cooler. I also need to find a permanent way to plumb the propane to the burners. I see a lot of people have pics of this in their build (like the one I linked), but can anybody provide a specific parts list needed to do so?

Also, I would like to get some heat/wind shields around the burners. Could I just buy some sheet metal from Home Depot, cut it with sheers to the dimensions I need, and then bolt it to my burner mounts? Or am I simplifying it too much?

I'll try to post some pictures tonight, because I know that's why everyone comes to a build thread

 

[TsunamiBeer]

I decided to do the same with the raised bottom shelf. I don't see any reason you couldn't do that or maybe a piece of heater duct?

I am going to try and design a tippy dump for the mash tun, right from the start. I ordered two, 4 hole hinges and am gonna run a piece of strut parallel to the top beam just under it. Then mount hinges perpendicular to it. I should be able to fashion some steel hooks to mount at end of a strut piece that runs up the height of the keggle.