Show Me Your Wood Brew Sculpture/Rig

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It makes sense that it wouldn't catch fire. Anyone who has tried to light a campfire with smooth logs that weren't split know's it's pretty hard to get wood to catch fire.

I read in several places that you should seal the wood. I've heard many people endorse Thompson's Water Seal. I'm pretty sure that it's flammable. Maybe that's only when it's wet. I'm not sure.
 
joeg13 said:
It makes sense that it wouldn't catch fire. Anyone who has tried to light a campfire with smooth logs that weren't split know's it's pretty hard to get wood to catch fire.

I read in several places that you should seal the wood. I've heard many people endorse Thompson's Water Seal. I'm pretty sure that it's flammable. Maybe that's only when it's wet. I'm not sure.
Click to expand...

The fumes are what is flammable. Once the water seal is dry and doesn't have any residual smell you're good to go.
 
Actually I have one moe question; I am almost done with the initial construction but now am thinking ahead to the wheels. I will use mine on my lawn so castors are pretty much out. I was thinking maybe something along the lines of replacement lawnmower wheels like this;

http://www.homedepot.ca/product/wheel/981906

Just wondering if anyone else has done something similar and if so, can you share the details/pics please?

Cheers,

Fergus
 
How about something like CNL did on post #83, a couple big wooden wheels on the back and the front as posts so you can just pick up the front and drag it to your lawn.
 
fergusyarrow said:
.... now am thinking ahead to the wheels. I will use mine on my lawn so castors are pretty much out.
Click to expand...

either the 8" or 10" should work well, you could use 2 or 4 wheels.
http://www.harborfreight.com/materi...vel/8-inch-pneumatic-swivel-caster-42485.html

http://www.harborfreight.com/materi...el/10-inch-pneumatic-swivel-caster-38944.html

10" pnuematic wheels
http://www.harborfreight.com/10-inch-pneumatic-tire-30900.html

I did like the wooden wheels mentioned above as well...classic look!
 
I would probably go with a custom axle and the 10 inch tire(s) if you are going to do something like wilser mentioned above. The casters will raise the center of gravity REALLY high with all the weight of the water/wort in the kettles. One wrong bump or dip in the grass and everything topples over...
 
fergusyarrow said:
Actually I have one moe question; I am almost done with the initial construction but now am thinking ahead to the wheels. I will use mine on my lawn so castors are pretty much out. I was thinking maybe something along the lines of replacement lawnmower wheels like this;

http://www.homedepot.ca/product/wheel/981906
Click to expand...

Do not use these! The whole thing is plastic and the weight of almost any stand worth building (not to mention the water and tun/kettles) will break them almost instantly. The bigger ones that wilserbrewer posted all look sturdy enough, but you'll have to build something wider to compensate for the higher center of gravity they'll create.
 
You guys are killing me here...hahaha:mug:

Not that you are going to have a problem, but paints, coatings, and sealers are somewhat to extremely flamable! Some sealers contain parifin...think candles, plastics or oils. Polyurethane is fuel baby!

Casters DO NOT raise the center of gravity...using 10 " casters, I would hope the stand is 10" shorter...no?

CG is based on kettle height alone...
 
wilserbrewer said:
You guys are killing me here...hahaha:mug:

Not that you are going to have a problem, but paints, coatings, and sealers are somewhat to extremely flamable! Some sealers contain parifin...think candles, plastics or oils. Polyurethane is fuel baby!
Click to expand...
Thompson's water seal is basically a solvent and a wax. The solvent keeps the wax in solution while applying it and then evaporates. The solvent is the flammable part. Yes, think candle. When was the last time you saw a candle catch on fire? Not the wick. That's supposed to burn. The candle.
Casters DO NOT raise the center of gravity...using 10 " casters, I would hope the stand is 10" shorter...no?
Click to expand...
In and of themselves, no they don't raise the center of gravity, but unless you design specifically around them, they can certainly affect stability. Just taking a design that someone else has and slapping some 10" wheels to the bottom could lead to instability. Just offered a suggestion to work around it.
CG is based on kettle height alone...
Click to expand...
I suppose on a single tier system that could be true. Two or three tier systems are going to get a little more complicated.
 
wilserbrewer said:
You guys are killing me here...hahaha:mug:

Not that you are going to have a problem, but paints, coatings, and sealers are somewhat to extremely flamable! Some sealers contain parifin...think candles, plastics or oils. Polyurethane is fuel baby!

Casters DO NOT raise the center of gravity...using 10 " casters, I would hope the stand is 10" shorter...no?

CG is based on kettle height alone...
Click to expand...

I'm afraid I don't agree with you at all wilser. The flammability of the sculpture is no greater once the fumes have dried from whatever sealant you used than the sculpture without any sealant. And the heat given from any stand burner is not enough to catch anything on fire unless it is in the direct heat path of the burners. Once the fumes are gone you're golden.

If the sculpture is already built putting 10" casters on it vice anything shorter will most definitely raise the center of gravity. Fortunately his sculpture isn't built so he could take that into consideration. I still think he would be better off keeping the whole thing as low to the ground as possible considering the terrain he will be on. Stability is KEY!

Center of gravity is not only based on kettle height. While this is the most contributing factor due to the weight of water/wort the overall weight of the stand plays a roll as well. My stand (see below) is approximately 100 lbs without any brew equipment on it. It stands about 61" tall with 3 inch casters (which actually add 5 inches of height). It is very stable but one good trip and fall right into the stand would for sure knock it over. That would only be exacerbated by a taller caster. Those 10 inch casters probably are closer to 13 or 14 inches when installed. The wheel alone is 10 inches.

20130506_144242.jpg
 
Thanks for all the helpful feedback guys. I was looking at my stand again today and taking what you all said into account, decided that casters are the way to go :)
 
I just read the latest posts from this evening that I missed before. I will put the casters like I said, but I will use a smaller one to keep the whole thing lower to the ground. I was also looking at where it needs to go when I brew and I already have some paving stone at my shed entrance and have some additional stone left over from another paving project last year. What I might just do is similar to what you have TobyG (my stand is also 2 tier but my MLT sits below on the second tier with the kettle) and use a similar size caster. I will then just wheel this bad boy out onto the paving stone at the shed entrance and then there is no need to cross the lawn.
 
My stand is similar, except I always put my burner and kettle on the ground. I have 3 inch casters (only 2 on 1 end) and I have to wheel it over some uneven flagstone. I'm thinking of the bigger casters after seeing them in this thread. My stand is very sturdy, and I don't think falling into it will easily knock it over. Also, I wouldn't think you would ever move the stand with liquid in it. I would get the bigger neumatic wheels if rolling over any rough surface. Wish I did.
 
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Firelog

wood + wax = duraflame

The CG and stability of a stand is based solely on shelf height and the weight on each shelf. Of course one needs to account for higher wheels, perhaps even a drop shelf lower to the ground b/w the casters.

Perhaps the most stable arrangement would be w/ large wheels axle mounted outside the stand frame.
 
wilserbrewer said:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Firelog

wood + wax = duraflame

The CG and stability of a stand is based solely on shelf height and the weight on each shelf. Of course one needs to account for higher wheels, perhaps even a drop shelf lower to the ground b/w the casters.

Perhaps the most stable arrangement would be w/ large wheels axle mounted outside the stand frame.
Click to expand...

Firelogs are a totally different story as it is wax, not sealant they use. It is intended to be combustible

You said exactly what I did regarding compensating for a higher wheel height.

And the last statement you said is exactly what I had suggested before on a home made axle with the 10 inch wheels you posted.
 
wilserbrewer said:
Ok, so when you call wax a sealant, it doesn't burn...got it.
Click to expand...

No. The wax used in the firelogs is only to hold together the wood shavings/dust in the log and to help it burn longer. Traditional wood sealant such as Thompson's is not wax based. It is oil based. Once the oil is absorbed into the wood and dries it is no more flammable than the wood by itself.
 
Wax on wax off... as Mr. Miyagi said...I just figured that impregnating wood with combustible materials, be it wax, oil, plastic, or "sealant", it's all the same family of known combustibles, might inherently make the wood less flame retardant...I guess I'm wrong and you are right...thanks for the correction...cheers!

My apologies for the misinformation I may have presented...please let us get back to the presentation of lovely wooden sculptures...happy brewing y'all!
 
I'm curious if any homebrewers have actually had their wood rigs catch fire. You would have thought that we would have heard a good story or two by now.
 
This is my buddy's wood gravity feed brew sculpture. We brew together on it every 3 weeks and do two 5 batches each time. All we do is attach a hose to the bottom and with valves we can fill the HLT, or activate his home made wort chiller. The rest we do with gravity. We've done about 75 gallons so far this year without a hitch. It works great!
IMG_0090_zps5eac1dc2.jpg


IMG_0094_zps160832bb.jpg
 
Recycled and modified craft/hobby cart for my two vessel electric system in my small space.

IMG_1005.jpg
 
pellis007 said:
This is my buddy's wood gravity feed brew sculpture. We brew together on it every 3 weeks and do two 5 batches each time. All we do is attach a hose to the bottom and with valves we can fill the HLT, or activate his home made wort chiller. The rest we do with gravity. We've done about 75 gallons so far this year without a hitch. It works great!
IMG_0090_zps5eac1dc2.jpg


IMG_0094_zps160832bb.jpg
Click to expand...

Very nice. :rockin:
 
wilserbrewer said:
That's a sexy lil brew stand...got any more pics...curious how she runs and the hidden bits:mug:
Click to expand...

Thanks. Still working on it. Shelfs folds down when not in use. Drawers hold my little bits and pieces and adding hooks on back to hold hoses and long spoon, mash paddle etc. Chugger pump modified with triclamps is mounted low on left side. Still have to mount small control panel somehow.

image-783219073.jpg


image-1054321733.jpg
 
wilserbrewer said:
@ kevin509,

Oh boy....Blichmann kettle and a Yeti cooler...not foolin around!
Click to expand...

@ wilserbrewer

Saved up a long time and did some bargain shopping to get them but they'll last forever and fit my brewing style perfectly
 
IamCanadian said:
I really like this idea. How is the balance on it when the kettle is full water.
Click to expand...

I put the shelf low enough to not cause balance issues but tall enough to drain into fermenter. I brew small batches so never more than 5 gallons in kettle. One could add a drop down support leg to shelf. The cart is heavy and balances nicely.
 
Mike C said:
Sorry I'm a bit late to this thread. I built a brewstand two weeks ago out of 2x4s and some laminate countertop.

I made the plans with Google's sketchup:

BrewStand07.png


and here it is, in action:

IMG_0659.jpg

IMG_0664.jpg

IMG_0666.jpg


Since then I've already built a shelf in the high part to hold the propane tank, and I intend to fully enclose it with some nice cabinetry. Cheers~
Click to expand...

Do you have the dimensions for this build?
 
vike4life said:
Do you have the dimensions for this build?
Click to expand...

You can get pretty close by eyeballing it. Standard keg height is right around 24 inches, and that burner appears to be about half that. That gives about a 3 foot height difference from the BK tier to the MLT tier. Based on my own build, it looks like the same rough dimensions in a slightly different configuration. IOW 2'x2' BK, 3'x2' MLT and 2'x2' HLT. Only difference for me is that I skipped the (what appears to be) 8" rise to the HLT since a BoilerMaker spigot will drain even with the top of my MLT when sitting on a 12" high burner. First picture in my build thread (in my signature) has a graph paper drawing with dimensions. Just extend the 2x4s on the HLT tier another 8" and split the decks, and you should have pretty much exactly that design.
 
vike4life said:
Do you have the dimensions for this build?
Click to expand...

It really should be custom for your own equipment.

Height of your lower burner plus the height of your BK = height of your middle tier.

Height of your middle tier plus the height of your MLT minus the height of your HLT burner and minus the height of your spigot on your HLT = height of your top tier.

You might want to add a couple of inches to the top tier so that your HLT spigot is a couple of inches higher than the top of your MLT.
 
LandoLincoln said:
It really should be custom for your own equipment.

Height of your lower burner plus the height of your BK = height of your middle tier.

Height of your middle tier plus the height of your MLT minus the height of your HLT burner and minus the height of your spigot on your HLT = height of your top tier.

You might want to add a couple of inches to the top tier so that your HLT spigot is a couple of inches higher than the top of your MLT.
Click to expand...

This is exactly what I did when I built my stand. Worked GREAT!
 
I like the tip design on your top tier. Do you have a pick up tube or do you just have a screen?
 
Hlt just has the tubing going into mash tun. Mash tun has the braided tubing. Have to slow down draining to maintain siphon because drain is not completely on the bottom. I found the tipping really helps.
 

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