Smaller angle/square for stand material?

[chuckjaxfl]

It seems widely accepted that 2" or 1.5" x 0.125 square tubing is excessive for our needs for a single-tier system, despite its common usage.

I've seen some builds from bedframes, and other thinner material as well, but they seem to get less attention and discussion than the over engineered builds.

What's the lightest material you think could be used? I don't want to push any envelopes, but I don't see a needing to build a 2000 pound stand to hold up 500 pounds of water.

I'm tempted to build my stand from 1" x 0.125" angle, just because that's what's available at Lowes & Home Depot. I would think that, braced properly, that a stand could be built that's sufficient to hold a single-tier, three-vessel brewery with ease.

Any engineers in the audience?

 

[tyzippers]

It seems widely accepted that 2" or 1.5" x 0.125 square tubing is excessive for our needs for a single-tier system, despite its common usage.

I've seen some builds from bedframes, and other thinner material as well, but they seem to get less attention and discussion than the over engineered builds.

What's the lightest material you think could be used? I don't want to push any envelopes, but I don't see a needing to build a 2000 pound stand to hold up 500 pounds of water.

I'm tempted to build my stand from 1" x 0.125" angle, just because that's what's available at Lowes & Home Depot. I would think that, braced properly, that a stand could be built that's sufficient to hold a single-tier, three-vessel brewery with ease.

Any engineers in the audience?

I would speak on this as a mechanical engineer, but I don't think that's entirely necessary here. The issue is that even us engineers don't really feel like doing all the calcs and reactions to determine what the optimal thickness and shape of stock we can use. Obviously, the lighter you get, the less stable the structure will be and therefore, the more bracing you will need, as you mentioned. So, here's what you start to get into; the design becomes more complicated with more labor to assemble and possibly still be a design that has no safety factor (over engineering) taken into consideration. So, now, you're possibly spending about the same amount of money in materials as you would if you would have "over engineered" the stand in the beginning. So, it's a general explanation and also simply one engineer's opinion. Others may disagree, but most of us, I think, don't want to run the risk of reaching the ultimate yield of the material and having boiling hot wort dumped all over the place, and potentially you, the brewer!

 

[rekoob]

You might want to look at other places for your material, I am pretty sure you can find it cheaper then what you are going to pay at the big box store.

 

[chuckjaxfl]

What about the use of 0.065,then? I'm searching, but not finding, threads regarding wall thickness.

The cost for 2" square, 0.065 and 0.125 are $219 and $366, respectively. That's with cuts and delivered to the door by Online Metals.

 

[BarleyRocket]

I'm about 90% done with initial fabrication on my single tier 3 keggle system. Went with 2" 0.065 mild steel. 3 20' sticks was just under $100 at my local steel shop (eastern WA).
I transported it home on the ski rack on top of my sedan, and made the cuts with a circular saw with a cut off wheel. Maybe that helps highlight that I'm an electrical engineer, not civil...
I'd run some numbers before parking a loaded dump truck on it, but you'd likely be fine. The thinner wall is still likely a safety factor way more than necessary, but 2" looks nice and feels stable, so I'm happy.
I'll only use a couple feet from the third stick, finished weight of the stand out to be 70-75#. Single person lift for me, not that I plan to lift it all that often. Lighter than 10 gallons of water in a keggle, and far safer than 10 gallons of near boiling water hoisted onto a BBQ grill for a gravity HLT.

 

[chuckjaxfl]

I did finally find a number of good threads regarding choice of tube & angle. One point that I had not contemplated at all: 0.125 steel will be easier for a novice welder (such as myself) to handle without blowing through.

Another bit of good news - I found a steel shop here in Jacksonville that has no minimum order. They only sell in whole pieces (24'), but they'll sell as few as one of them. A 24' piece of 2"x2"x0.125" is $55ish. I mentioned that I don't have a truck. He said to throw in another $10 and he'd quarter two sticks into 6' pieces for me. I'll see how it goes. If the experience is a good one, I'll report back here with good news and a link to the vendor.

 

[wagesgt903]

For my stand I got 1x1 square steel tubing 1/8" thick. About 60 feet for 80 bucks. Its sturdy a little heavier than I would've liked though.

 

[fork]

I got 2 inch by somewhere between 1/16 and 1/8 all cut for about 110$ from Alto. online metals is way high. Look for a local supplier

 

[mikescooling]

Steel tubing supply will cut your stand to order($100), but you need an exact cut list. <.065 X 2" with full pots and ten of my fattest friends can jump up and down with no problem. The casters could break at 1200lbs of jumping, but not the stand. They make light car frames out of .065.... This is a stand I can pick-up with one hand and walk around with, the steel weight is 70lbs. Feel better, now go build your stand.

 

[chuckjaxfl]

I'll see how it goes. If the experience is a good one, I'll report back here with good news and a link to the vendor.

Well, I ended up (finally) going to Metals Warehouse, a locally owned metal shop. They have no minimum order, but they won't sell partial sticks. I.E., you have to buy the whole stick, but you can buy just one and they don't give you a hard time.

The guy I dealt with was very friendly. And... to top it off... he trains service dogs. He had a puppy with him that, once trained, will end up helping some disabled person.

He did charge to cut it down small enough to go into my Cobalt, but the charge was trivial. I ended up talking to him about the puppy while he cut the metal for me. I ended up buying 24'x2"x2", 16ga. I got four sticks instead of two, so I'll have plenty left over for other projects. The total for four sticks, cutting, tax and everything was $140 something. I'll only use half of that on the brew rig, so $70.

Awesome.