My Single Tier brew stand build

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fadedgiant04

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So I am beginning to piece together my single tier brew stand. I will using the Brutus 10 as the template. I intend on using low pressure propane with either Jet or Banjo/Hurricane burners.

I am torn on whether to do stainless or mild steel. On one hand, stainless is corrosions resistant and looks cool, but mild steel is a lot cheaper and would get my stand done faster. I am going to a welding school through the navy for 3 months at the beginning of next month, so I expect welding everything together will not be a challenge.

I have accumulated some parts so far. I already have a keggle with whirlpool connection, sight glass, and thermometer which i will use i can replace it with a blingman. I have two stainless ASCO valves(which i think I may have jumped the gun since i will be doing the automation last and the honeywell 24v system seems to be the standard now, because of the safer pilot light. I did some black friday shopping and had a birthday recently and received 1 chugger pump, 1 therminator, 30 ft of 1/2" silicone tubing, and several cam lock fittings. These will immediately allow me to utilize my plate chiller and whirlpool my boil kettle.

I should have the steel mid january if i go with mild steel, or in may if I hold out for stainless.
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If you can afford it, and have access to the equipment, I would go stainless. Could make a cool school project, especially if your instructor is a beer drinker, or better yet, a home brewer.
 
I expect by now I've made up most if not all the mild vs stainless material cost differential with the finish material cost and labor.
With that foresight alone, I would have gone with stainless.

But this was an effort by a graduate of the Youtube School Of Welding - definitely not qualified to deal with all the purported nuances of welding stainless.
Maybe next rig for me, but my advise will be to go with stainless if you're anywhere near the fence on that decision...

Cheers!
 
So I am pretty sure I am going to use Stainless Steel 1 1/2" OD .0625 wall thickness from grainger. I am also going to use 15 gallon boilermakers for the MLT and HLT, and a 20 gallon boilermaker for the boil kettle. I want to use the bayou classic BG14 burners all around but with the stepped bottom on the 15 gallon boilermaker being 12.8" and the burner diameter being 10", that puts the pot supports somewhere between the 10" and 11" spacing, and that worries me about heating the frame. I have considered changing the MLT and HLT burners to the bg12 burners which are 5" diameter burners, but I'm not sure about it. Also i am going to run low pressure, and want to use the drop in orifice from williams for the bg14 instead of messing with drilling out the orifice on the bg12.
 
beeboy said:
yes. I just got one of these. Instead of drilling out the orifice, I used the conversion valve that Williams brewing sells. I did have to drill and tap the opening in the burner to fit this as it is larger than the supplied propane adapter.

It lights up quite nicely on NG, I took some pictures of it. I'll have to post it for you.
Click to expand...

I think this is what I will do.
 
Your definitely going to overpay for your SS tubing from Grainger not to mention the amount of waste that will probably come out of having to deal with 72" lengths. Going through an actual steel supplier and buying 20' lengths you could probably get 1.5x1.5 with an 11ga. wall (1/8") for a $1 more a foot. Essentially twice the steel. Also considering the amount of weight and heat combination the 11ga. would make for a more sound stand.
 
yeah, i took a second look at the 20 ft sections, and even though the shipping is expensive, it is worth considering. I am also waiting back from 2 local suppliers for info on pricing
 
Will you have access to a mig or Tig welder? What is your welding experience to date? If your experience is limited, I would plan on using mild steel and mig welding it. Much more user friendly and forgiving.
 
I have no welding experience. I have a 90 amp flux core welder from harbor freight that my dad gave me a year ago. I'm hoping one of my shipmates will have one when I move to Connecticut in 2 weeks, otherwise I will have to buy/rent a tig or mig welder. I start the Navy's Nuclear Propulsion Plant Operators weld school in 3 weeks, it covers oxy acetylene cutting, silver brazing, stick and mig welding for 4 weeks, then focuses on tig welding for eight weeks, ending with a nuclear weld that must pass liquid penetrant testing. Although I do not know how to weld now, I believe I will be able to weld stainless in a few months.
 
Maybe wait until your done with your program to decide what metal to use? You may find that your more comfortable with mig than Tig or vice versa. Tig welding takes a lot more skill than mig and stainless is more difficult to Tig than mild steel. Don't even get me started on aluminum Tig.
The main concern I would have if I were you is the gas beam on the Brutus 10. Those are the most important welds on the whole rig and pressure testing is a must.

Good luck in your program and thanks for your service to our country.
 
Domantori said:
Maybe wait until your done with your program to decide what metal to use? You may find that your more comfortable with mig than Tig or vice versa. Tig welding takes a lot more skill than mig and stainless is more difficult to Tig than mild steel. Don't even get me started on aluminum Tig.
The main concern I would have if I were you is the gas beam on the Brutus 10. Those are the most important welds on the whole rig and pressure testing is a must.

Good luck in your program and thanks for your service to our country.
Click to expand...

Thanks, The part concerns me as well. Hopefully I will be able to get my hands on a TIG welder, and practice a little bit on the scrap before I get to it. I am intimately familiar with pressure testing, and intend to do several before hitting it with propane.

Also, I think I will do a mix of burners for my rig. I am going to set the pot supports for the HLT and MLT at 10". and the BK spacing at 12". I think i will use a 23 or 21 tip jet burner on the BK and HLT, and a BG12/Hurricane burner on the MLT. I like the ability to control heat input to the MLT, and that isn't possible with jet burners without blocking jets, which I think is more expensive in the long run.
 
I think you should hold out for SS brother. So what!, you'll have to wait 4 whole months to get your materials, but with the savings in hassle in fighting corrosion or whathaveyou... I'll think you'll be happier in the long run.

Merry Christmas buddy!

Make sure you drink ALL of Dad's beer.
 
cmark21 said:
I think you should hold out for SS brother. So what!, you'll have to wait 4 whole months to get your materials, but with the savings in hassle in fighting corrosion or whathaveyou... I'll think you'll be happier in the long run.



Merry Christmas buddy!



Make sure you drink ALL of Dad's beer.
Click to expand...


I will have the funds for SS in a couple weeks, and I will definitely go that way. As for dad's beer, he's out!
 
I would go for stainless. I cheaped out and I shouldn't have. Oh well. Can't wait to see your rig come together. Cheers
 
I am building mine currently with 3/16 wall, 2 in. square aluminum. My new welder came with a spool gun, but aluminum is still tricky.
 
So I am about to order my burners and steel. I have decided to use 15gal boilermakers and a bg12 for the mlt and 23 tip jet burners for the hlt and bk. I have to bring the pot supports in to 10" spacing to support the stepped bottom of the pot. ThAg is fine for the 6" diameter bg12, but is to close for the 8" diameter jet burners? I don't want to fatigue the metal of the pot supports.


Sent from my iPhone using Home Brew
 
ImageUploadedByHome Brew1393730421.312994.jpg burner setup I decided on. I wanted enough btu on the hlt/bk to make the brew day faster and support larger batch sizes, but lower btus on the mlt to not scorch the wort.


Sent from my iPhone using Home Brew
 
And I decided to go with 20 gallon megapot 1.2, and put my pot supports at 14" to be able to support larger burners/pots in the future if I want. Steel comes on Wednesday, I should be fabricating soon!


Sent from my iPhone using Home Brew
 
I'm on the last leg of welding up my brutus 10 stand, and 100$ harbor freight welder crapped out. Does anyone know a welder I could borrow for a day in exchange for beer/money around the Groton area?


Sent from my iPhone using Home Brew
 

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