Best Compact Brew Stand Designs

[blakelyc]

Hi folks:

After the holiday season is over I'm going to build a new brewstand. Right now, I'm using a very standard three-tier gravity-fed setup w/ two 10 gallon round orange coolers (one HLT and MLT) and a keggle boil kettle. My biggest requirement is that it must be *compact* and still work on a single burner. Ideally, it would also be shorter than the total height now, which places the HLT pretty far over my head.

I have seen these links:
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f51/help-compact-3-tier-brewstand-428578/
http://halfbarrelbrewer.com/the-brew-stand/
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f51/compact-3-tier-stand-build-375365/

There are some interesting ideas in there, but one of them is a two-burner setup and none of them have a lot of discussion about their use and (hopefully) enjoyment.

I have a few questions about these ideas:
1.) Placing the BK in the middle or at the top.... if it is at the top then it does double-duty as an HLT. If it is in the middle I end up pumping sparge water. any gotchyas with either?
2.) Are there any issues w/ pumping wort out of the BK? I tried this with my current diptube setup (simple bent tube w/ screen at the end) and it immediately clogged. I assume this is a design issue and I'll just need a false bottom or something along those lines.
3.) Shielding the plastic on the coolers... Since I'm trying to use a 1-burner setup and trying to be as compact as possible, should I install heat shielding? I figure this would be better for burner performance anyways.

Other than those items, if anyone has any thoughts with these compact designs or any experience w/ using one, I'd love to hear it. As always, I'll share my experiences in building one back w/ the group.

Cheers!
-Blake

 

[nosnhojm20]

Subbed

 

[heckels]

I no longer use this as I just finished my basement brewery build, but this is what I used for a few years. Worked great.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f51/homemade-3-tier-tower-244145/

 

[dcbc]

I have moved on to a single tier rig, but I used this for several years and it worked well. Pump was required since the boil kettle sat low, but I had one for whirlpooling already. The shelves folded up when the rig is stowed and total storage space was 24" x 24". The pins that held the legs in place also held the shelves up in the stowed position. Ultimately, I had a 20 gallon kettle on the bottom tier.

 

[limulus]

My setup is also compact. I did not want a large multi-tier or long single-tier system. This is what I came up with and it works quite well. I have an electric RIMS with a PID that I no longer use. The double stainless kettles and the thermal mass of the grain/hot liquor maintain my mash temps just fine. I can use it as a no-sparge system or as a sparge system. The 10gal MT fits inside a 15gal BK and lifts with an overhead electric hoist. I lift the MT slowly with the hoist to let the wort drain. The bottom is cut out of the MT and a perforated false bottom fits over that. I still have to use one of my 10gal coolers as a HLT but that is on a rolling cart that stays out of the way until I need it. That cart has a stainless Chugger Pump mounted to it. I also use a 10gal cooler as a CLT filled with 2-3 bags of ice and water. My heat exchanger is 2-stage. Stage one is a 20-plate chiller connected to a water hose. Stage two is a 40-plate chiller that recirculates through the CLT. The whole thing has it's own recirculating pump. I only use both stages in summer.

It all stores on my beer shelves and in a corner of the garage.

 

[nosnhojm20]

I have moved on to a single tier rig, but I used this for several years and it worked well. Pump was required since the boil kettle sat low, but I had one for whirlpooling already. The shelves folded up when the rig is stowed and total storage space was 24" x 24". The pins that held the legs in place also held the shelves up in the stowed position. Ultimately, I had a 20 gallon kettle on the bottom tier.

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-AZyHErJGM6Q/SW-NrgtKcwI/AAAAAAAACAQ/hB0Mftct8P0/s640/

Did you build
IMAGE_006.jpg

Did you build this or come fabricated?

 

[dcbc]

Did you build this or come fabricated?

I had it built by a local welder. Just like my current system, I drew it up in MS Paint (crudely) with dimensions and took it to the professionals.

 

[nosnhojm20]

Well played. I like it.

 

[slatts]

I had it built by a local welder. Just like my current system, I drew it up in MS Paint (crudely) with dimensions and took it to the professionals.

mind sharing a ballpark # for what a "local welder" can charge? I'm really interested in doing something like this but I've got zero welding skills.

 

[dcbc]

This stand was done with 3/4" (if I recall correctly) angle iron. The original build was with the single shelf as shown in a couple of the pictures. Cost for materials and labor was around $650. This did not include the burners including windscreens (those are Bayou Classic Banjo Burner Stands with the legs cut off), casters, or gas plumbing. I later had it widened to accommodate larger kettles and had the second folding shelf added. This ran me a good bit more, but would not have cost that much had it been included in the original plans. Always plan for anything you think you might try in the future. Modifications are expensive.

 

[blakelyc]

Thanks for all the responses so far. I will be learning to weld as part of this project (taking a class), so I'm going to attempt it all on my own.

For design elements, I think that it may be best to keep the MLT gravity feeding into the BK, but that it is okay to pump the sparge water. If I do that, I can save almost 2 feet in height. I also think I want to gravity drain the BK to fermenter.

I like the folding design as well. I think I may put a folding table on on side, but a permanent table on the other to give a place to put a handle for wheels. I'll try to draw this up and post pictures. Too hard to describe

 

[Brew52]

Not exactly what you are looking for, but when I decided to build mine I also wanted a small footprint. I went with a two vessel batch sparge system that is 100% clean-in-place and 95% dis-assembled using no tools. My brew stand is 48" long by 23" tall by 16" deep. Good luck with your build.

 

[blakelyc]

Not exactly what you are looking for, but when I decided to build mine I also wanted a small footprint. I went with a two vessel batch sparge system that is 100% clean-in-place and 95% dis-assembled using no tools. My brew stand is 48" long by 23" tall by 16" deep. Good luck with your build.

Okay, so I kind of love this design, especially with the control panel placement. I was looking at options for that, and most designs seem to have it hanging off the side or adding to the depth. This center/column placement keeps things very trim.

You haven't had any issues with steam and the electronics?

Thanks!
-b