Utility sink ideas.

[Sippingainteasy]

I'm tired of carrying buckets up and the down the stairs to the basement. Can anyone recommend a decent price sink that will work with buckets, carboys and corny kegs.

 

[badgerfan79]

This is the one I'm thinking about for the brew room when we build the new house.
http://m.homedepot.com/p/MUSTEE-Uti...Wall-Mount-Utility-Tub-in-White-19W/202041459

 

[schematix]

What is your situation? Are you brewing in the basement and hauling upstairs/outside to spray down?

Do you already have a hot/cold water supply and drain available where you're going to put it?

 

[kpr121]

If you have the room, think about an actual tub. Could pick one up for cheap at one of those reuse places.

 

[Sippingainteasy]

I am brewing in the basement I have a electric setup. I have water lines and a drain available. Just not sure the ones at lowes and menards are going to be what I want.

 

[mongoose33]

I am brewing in the basement I have a electric setup. I have water lines and a drain available. Just not sure the ones at lowes and menards are going to be what I want.

Think big on this. You're thinking of a specific use, and there may be things you can do that make it more effective for you. For instance, you may want to add a sideboard/drainboard to the sink, or buy one that already has one in place. I've been wanting to replace mine with a used stainless steel restaurant sink with a sideboard. This is a horizontal space next to the sink you can put a dish drainer on, and it'll drain back into the sink.

A sideboard allows you to lay a kettle, fermenter, or keg on its side and either rinse it out w/ a sprayer or put your arm inside to clean. I've shown my setup below, which is an old metal sink I picked up on the side of the road during a junk day years ago. You may also want a backsplash to keep water off the walls. Of course, all this depends on your space, but after using the kitchen sink and the sink in my garage, I'd want a sideboard for sure.

Here are some google images that show what I mean: https://www.google.com/search?site=.....1ac.1.64.img..1.16.943...0i30k1.bbfAP7b5GZo

Also, I will at some point redo mine so as to add a sprayer, and find a way to permanently hook up the RO filter which, currently, is just a kludgy setup but it works.

 

[Sippingainteasy]

I like the side board idea.

 

[GHBWNY]

I was blessed with a DEEP double utility sink in the laundry room (now brew room) that came with the house years before beginning brewing (God knew!). The sink on the left is the fill/wash/rinse sink; the one on the right is used exclusively for a drain board. The former owner had taken a deep wire rack from a freezer and fit it perfectly into the top of the opening. When I wash out buckets, BBMs, carboys (glass is a thing of the past) and any other kind of equipment, it stacks neatly upside down and drains into the basin below. Two sinks --- a must have for brew operation!

As someone else intimated, having a drain board on either end would be even handier. You will ALWAYS use any available horizontal surface. Afterall, that's what brewers do. Get an old (or new) length of countertop and retrofit it to your new sink(s).

 

[schematix]

I bought a commercial kitchen sink and spray wand (look at link in my signature). Only regret is I didn't buy a bigger sink. Highly recommend spending the money on a nice faucet. Worth the money for the good stuff. It's powerful enough to blast crud off without scrubbing.

 

[Sippingainteasy]

Thanks for the input. I'm gonna hold off and hope to find a good deal on Craigslist or online. I better do it right the first time. I feel it the next day after brewing 10 gallon batches hauling water and grains up and down the stairs though.

 

[Dfitz]

This is the one I'm thinking about for the brew room when we build the new house.
http://m.homedepot.com/p/MUSTEE-Uti...Wall-Mount-Utility-Tub-in-White-19W/202041459

I'm currently using a sink like this. I use RO water and store in drums. Two 30 gal. drums are the perfect height for a simple countertop. A couple well placed holes to fill and pump out and it works really well for my current 10 gal batch needs. I'm not out a lot so I'll keep my eyes peeled for a larger sink at a good price. In the mean time I have a large enough sink to use, bought on sale for about $50 with faucet and legs.

 

[Horseflesh]

I used to have the Home Depot sink linked above. It came with the house. It was better than a poke in the eye but not big enough for my 15 gal kettle. Also, being plastic, it stained when used for other chores and I always worried about making it sanitary if I wanted to fill it with Star San.

So, I got a commercial style stainless sink with sprayer too... but I went big, 36" x 24".

Other than my new electric brew system, the sink is my favorite gear, hands down. Tasks that were hateful and messy before are easy now. I use it not only for brew stuff, but cleaning giant pans from the kitchen and washing the dog.

This is how I knew I was old... when a big steel sink was my favorite thing in the house.

I'll dig up some links and post a follow up.

 

[Horseflesh]

OK, here is everything I know about stainless utility sinks... Which ain't a lot but it's working out for me so far.

Here's a glamour shot of my sink: http://imgur.com/a/zTfO4 (You can see some brined salmon in there... rinsed, placed on racks and ready for the smoker.)

It is a relatively cheap sink from webstaurantstore.com, currently $243:
http://www.webstaurantstore.com/reg...-drainboard-36-x-24-x-14-bowl/600S13624B.html

This sink is not NSF rated, which would mean it was made with sanitary welds like a fermenter. That would be great but it makes for a much more expensive sink.

This sink is, well, kind of cheap... But it is good enough for home use and miles ahead of anything I could find at a big box store. My only semi-substantial complaint about it is that it does not have much of a slope towards the drain. I have to wash debris down the drain with the sprayer, or scoot it towards the drain with my hand.

Unfortunately, shipping was $190. I looked high and low for weeks and I could NOT find any kind of free shipping deal on a similar sink. Any similarly sized sink that was available at local restaurant supply stores was NSF rated and was a LOT more expensive. A ~$250 sink with a ~$200 shipping cost ended up being the best value I could find, strange as that sounds.

this is the faucet:
http://www.webstaurantstore.com/reg...-on-faucet-and-wall-bracket/600FPRSF12LL.html

This faucet is absolutely a low-end unit, like the sink itself. It honestly feels kind of cheap. While I might be leery about putting this in a restaurant, it really seems find for home use. HOWEVER, it was a real ***** to install. I suck at plumbing so I got a handyman to help me and even he was cursing this thing, trying to get everything to seat right without leaking behind the sink. Everything is OK now but in retrospect I wish I spent more on a better brand like T&S of Fisher.

Note that this faucet has both the sprayer and a regular faucet, with a knob to choose between sprayer only or both on. I think this is the way to go. Make sure that there is enough space under the faucet to put a 5 gallon keg. That way, when you are filling one with hot water for a PBW soak, you don't have screw around to get it full. I did not think of this before I bought this combo but fortunately, it worked out!

This this is the parts kit needed to install the above faucet. You may need some additional bits, I'm not sure as I did pay to have this installed. If you get a better faucet, there's probably a similar parts kit needed.
http://www.webstaurantstore.com/reg...-installation-kit-1-2-inlet/510INSTSWEAT.html

At 36" x 24" x 14" deep any kind of brewing or kitchen cleaning task is a breeze. I can clean a 20 gal brew kettle in this sink. I also use it all the time for other cleaning tasks... Kitchen stuff, fish tank stuff, washing the dogs... messy cooking tasks like shaking dry rub all over a giant piece of meat...

I really love this thing. Go big!

 

[schematix]

this is the faucet:
http://www.webstaurantstore.com/reg...-on-faucet-and-wall-bracket/600FPRSF12LL.html

This faucet is absolutely a low-end unit, like the sink itself. It honestly feels kind of cheap. While I might be leery about putting this in a restaurant, it really seems find for home use. HOWEVER, it was a real ***** to install. I suck at plumbing so I got a handyman to help me and even he was cursing this thing, trying to get everything to seat right without leaking behind the sink. Everything is OK now but in retrospect I wish I spent more on a better brand like T&S of Fisher.

Note that this faucet has both the sprayer and a regular faucet, with a knob to choose between sprayer only or both on. I think this is the way to go. Make sure that there is enough space under the faucet to put a 5 gallon keg. That way, when you are filling one with hot water for a PBW soak, you don't have screw around to get it full. I did not think of this before I bought this combo but fortunately, it worked out!

This this is the parts kit needed to install the above faucet. You may need some additional bits, I'm not sure as I did pay to have this installed. If you get a better faucet, there's probably a similar parts kit needed.
http://www.webstaurantstore.com/reg...-installation-kit-1-2-inlet/510INSTSWEAT.html

I agree with all your comments regarding the regular stainless sink cost/quality/shipping. Same experience here. Only thing that made it slightly more acceptable was i ordered a large stainless prep table at the same time, so the shipping wasn't quite as nasty, but was almost as much as the sink!

Quality of the sink itself was low to poor, but they tell you when they buy them they aren't the quality you'd want for your house kitchen. its totally sufficient though. Do plan to bolt it to the floor or wall with additional brackets, not provided. That is standard practice in the restaurant industry because the installations vary so much. I had to drill holes in mine and bolted it to a concrete wall.

As far as the faucet, i dropped the coin on the more expensive brand name faucet (T&S - i see these used a lot in industry too actually) and its honestly one of the best examples of quality american manufacturing i've seen this decade. I got the T&S B-0133-ADF12-B (http://www.webstaurantstore.com/ts-...n-faucet-and-6-wall-bracket/510B133AF12B.html). It wasn't cheap and i bought some of the upgrades, so it was more than the sink, but wow it gets me excited whenever i have to use it! This thing rocks!

 

[jbrewkeggin]

OK, here is everything I know about stainless utility sinks... Which ain't a lot but it's working out for me so far.

Here's a glamour shot of my sink: (You can see some brined salmon in there... rinsed, placed on racks and ready for the smoker.)

It is a relatively cheap sink from webstaurantstore.com, currently $243:
Regency 36" 16-Gauge Stainless Steel One Compartment Commercial Utility Sink - 36" x 24" x 14" Bowl

This sink is not NSF rated, which would mean it was made with sanitary welds like a fermenter. That would be great but it makes for a much more expensive sink.

This sink is, well, kind of cheap... But it is good enough for home use and miles ahead of anything I could find at a big box store. My only semi-substantial complaint about it is that it does not have much of a slope towards the drain. I have to wash debris down the drain with the sprayer, or scoot it towards the drain with my hand.

Unfortunately, shipping was $190. I looked high and low for weeks and I could NOT find any kind of free shipping deal on a similar sink. Any similarly sized sink that was available at local restaurant supply stores was NSF rated and was a LOT more expensive. A ~$250 sink with a ~$200 shipping cost ended up being the best value I could find, strange as that sounds.

this is the faucet:
Regency 1.15 GPM Wall-Mount Pre-Rinse Faucet with 8" Centers and 12" Add On Faucet

This faucet is absolutely a low-end unit, like the sink itself. It honestly feels kind of cheap. While I might be leery about putting this in a restaurant, it really seems find for home use. HOWEVER, it was a real ***** to install. I suck at plumbing so I got a handyman to help me and even he was cursing this thing, trying to get everything to seat right without leaking behind the sink. Everything is OK now but in retrospect I wish I spent more on a better brand like T&S of Fisher.

Note that this faucet has both the sprayer and a regular faucet, with a knob to choose between sprayer only or both on. I think this is the way to go. Make sure that there is enough space under the faucet to put a 5 gallon keg. That way, when you are filling one with hot water for a PBW soak, you don't have screw around to get it full. I did not think of this before I bought this combo but fortunately, it worked out!

This this is the parts kit needed to install the above faucet. You may need some additional bits, I'm not sure as I did pay to have this installed. If you get a better faucet, there's probably a similar parts kit needed.
Regency Wall Mount Faucet Installation Kit - 1/2" Inlet

At 36" x 24" x 14" deep any kind of brewing or kitchen cleaning task is a breeze. I can clean a 20 gal brew kettle in this sink. I also use it all the time for other cleaning tasks... Kitchen stuff, fish tank stuff, washing the dogs... messy cooking tasks like shaking dry rub all over a giant piece of meat...

I really love this thing. Go big!

What was your delivery experience like with the webstaurantstore? Did you need to unload it yourself?

 

[Horseflesh]

As I recall, the truck had a liftgate and I ended up with the sink in my garage. I didn't have to do anything heroic.

I've had it now for a few years so here is a little progress report.

The sink and fixture are holding together fine. I use the setup constantly... not just for brewing but for all kinds of household cleaning.

Both elements are not looking any less cheap as the years go on... but it is holding together. The stainless is doing OK, no rust that I can see.

However, as the sink is not NSF-rated, it is hard to clean the seams. It's clean enough, but it will never be sanitary.

I am not sure I would spend more for an NSF rated sink but after seeing how this one is constructed, with grody seams and really thin metal, I would consider it.

Whatever you decide to buy, you will love it.