changes are always around

Decided to change the frame one more time.  Just a few little things to make my brewing easier. Added another 97 dollars to the steel bill. Total $180.  Extra steel was delivered today.  Little by little I've been collecting the tools I don't have but will need. Next step is to build it all. 


Got one of the burners modified and one of the kegs drilled with fittings. Came across two more kegs 15 each. Score!!! Thinking about using one for the MT. Not sure yet!!!

Scored 3 pumps from the guys at chuggerpumps $240... Two for this sculpture and one for my dads rig.

Also started looking into the brewtroller. Like what I see with the open architecture, should continue to evolve as I need to.

some notes

87 on revised steel order. Got a few old ladder racks. Had to cut the ends off but left with 6- 50" of 1 1/2" sq. stock. Lowered the center section. No reason to make it so tall. Im going to be pumping liquids everywhere. When the kegs get cut open I will do a side by side to see the burner mod difference. Soon I hope.

Almost have everythng I need

Ok so im a little late on my timeline but there are no deadlines so im good... Today I recieved one of two KAB4 outdoor cookers.  (Amazon 80 each. Got one said to be used for 52.00. It is brand new is a beat up box) The design will allow me to all a few simple and cheap modifications to create exactly what I need for my brew stand design. each burner has three mods needed.


Mod one: Move the burner: I will be able to adjust it as needed through my design.
Mod two: Create a square frame and new legs to connect to the existing stand. The reason for this mod is two things.


A) I need the cooking surface to be a little bigger.
B) The new legs will add stability as well as leveling screw feet.


This burner as popular as it has been was redesigned and lost some of its good features.  Now many home  brewers are running into issues with it. So I started a thread on the hombrewtalk.com site about my mods and what I know from having this burner in another brewery.


homebrewtalk.com

final design

This is it.... only minor changes from here...

update

another drawing

Stand Changed

So I am going to totally change my brew stand. Ive seen another stand that was three tier. The middle tier was longer for a rectangle shaped cooler, instead of enough room for a keg style Mash tun. I don't want a three tier system...but i like the middle section.Plus  I'm short so the height is a factor, also I plan on pumping fluid around the brewery. So changing from my original plan of a single tier system, this will now be a two tier system. The middle space will be taller for my mash tun, and the two outer sections will house the two burners at a lower height.. These burner stands will have two legs on one end and hooks on the inner side to hook onto the main middle section.The new design will allow room enough in the middle frame itself to store the two kegs and the two outer burner stands. Thus solving a dilemma I was going to just live with, SPACE... Self storage built in the brew frame. Nice...

Here is a quick sketch:

Fittings for the KEGS!!!

At work last week I entered a customers apartment to work on their alarm system. Sitting right on the floor in the middle of the kitchen, was a keg of beer. Made me think about the two I have sitting around that are just waiting for some work to be done to them. So I made the list of the fittings I will need to make the MT HLT and Kettle. I had been looking at a homebrew forum for something else when a link in someones title info caught my eye. www.bargainfittings.com. This site is totally dedicated to converting kegs and brew pot into what you are looking for, At least it seems that way. They don't have a ton of items for sale but they have the right pieces. And Wonderful prices. Everything is 304 stainless steel. Let me tell you the amount of pieces needed add up really quickly. total is 208+5 for shipping..   5 Flat for shipping.... SWEET... Time to order...


P.S. I have no affiliation with bargainfittings.com

Not yet ready to build!!!

I've come across most of the metal I will need for the frame, At least the more expensive pieces. So with a basic design down its time to start taking some measurements and planning my cuts. This is kinda hard to do since there is absolutely no room in my garage.With the loss of a dear friend, I received a lot of tools and garage equipment, along with the big engine lift, stand, and parts cleaner Ive been keeping and my fathers garage. When he downsized, I had to move it all. Time do some spring cleaning...

recycled steel

Question: Anyone know where I can buy used (Scrap) steel?


I'd much rather use a recycled product and also save some cash by buying used material.
Point is the steel can be prepped and painted and not show the signs of it being used!!!  
Thanks for your help. Most scrap yards do not sell the product.... so im a little lost.

Initial Stand design!!!

So about the stand.


Past few weeks I've been looking at other stands from many different people and from many different styles (types). I've come to the conclusion that there are to many great ideas to put into one system. It would just be too extreme. Knowing that I will be starting from scratch and building to fit my exact needs. I started to sketch a little. Found a Google (Sketch-up) program that is a very close mimic to autoCAD.  Quite a bit less detail though. And not knowing how to use the program properly doesnt help. So Im not sure how much further I will be able to go with this program... However, this is what I got so far:

As for the size of material. I'll be spending some time at the forums. The rough size of the entire rack is 20"x20"x60". In this sketch I used all 2" boxed steel. I imagine that I will end up using 2" because it will give me plenty of room to create mounting points. If I go to a smaller 1" box tube, I may run into issues mounting things like pumps, lines, wiring (if automated) and things. I will also have to figure the cost difference. At this point angle iron is also an option to consider...

Where to start???

Picked up two 15.5 gallon empty kegs. ($80) Price worked for me since I didn't have to spend good money on cheap beer. I was happy to see both kegs are branded with an Eagle....HMM!!!  Living in central jersey, I've seen the Anhauser-busch lighted sign from the car, all of my life.... Irony...

I bought the kegs so I could rush right into cutting the tops off and welding fittings in. But I am smarter then that. Time to slow down. I am (for lack of a better word) copying a previous set-up I have running with my father, cousin and an air-force buddy... We have been brewing all-grain for a long time. Cousin originally started in Brooklyn in 1990. With this set-up we always used big pots and home made contraptions. Everything worked like it should have but it was not pretty. So we built a H.E.R.M.S. system. Long story short Dad is moving and Air force pilot is usually quite busy. Cousin lives closer to me then the others.
And I Want My Own!!!   lol.

Back to the topic: Since I've slowed down a tad, I got to thinking, what is the first piece of this puzzle I need to build. Started looking at some different tier designs from professional to very small scale. 

I will start with the Frame (cart) that will hold the kettles, MT, burners...etc... I want everything on the cart to be semi-permanent. Meaning I should be able to roll the cart out of the garage, hook up to gas and water and BREW.... THEN after clean up it should be able to contain most of the equipment. Nice Neat and Safely.

At first I thought steel for its strength and it fire resistance. Then after some research if noticed a lot of breweries built with wooden carts and metal sheeting in strategic locations. So its time to reaseach each and make a decision on materials. 
Cost and weight are the big factory since I'll be able to build with both.....


To be continued...