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3 tier system - Weldless?
My goal by the end of the year is to put together a three tier system. I came across this website and really like the set up.
http://www.lancedrolet.com/?p=7
I may be able to get access to a welder soon, but I like the ability to unbolt everything and modify, break down as needed.
Anyone have any experience with something like this? My main concern would be stability of course. Not sure how strong the slotted angle is. Then again, it would be relatively easy to bolt in support brackets.
Thoughts?
Yeah, that material is definitely easy to work with and I believe that thicker gauges are available to address the stability issue. The downside to this route is the cost. That slotted angle is not cheap especially when you consider that the necessary lengths really add up for a system this size. This was the main deterrent for me when I was considering building materials for my system. Looks fun to build, though. Kinda like the erector sets from the good 'ol days. Cheers!
Yeah, price is a concern, but it should still come in fairly reasonable. From adding up all the lengths of angle iron and checking pricing it should be around $200 or so of metal. Plus maybe another $100 or so miscellaneous parts. I figure I could just pick up the pieces here and there over a month or two and wouldn't be that bad. At least worth it for the DIY satisfaction and the ability to take apart, reconfigure, like giant brewing legos!
Maybe I'll get lucky at the scrap yard too and knock of some cost on the angle. How about the ability of the angle iron to hold up under heat? Seems like that wouldn't be an issue, but I think he says on his web page, if they start to look like they might fail, you could just unbolt and replace with a new section...
For the parts that are going to be taking alot of heat you could use real angle iron and drill some holes to bolt it on. That way it will be lots stronger and will still be fairly cheap. Easy to take off and replace if it starts to look bad too.
ID
I use two 1/2" rebars to support each of the kegs on my system. I just tied them down with steel rebar wire. They a super cheap and haven't shown any signs of heat fatigue after 6 or so brew sessions. I guess with the slotted angle you could secure the rebar with u-bolts or something a little more permanent.
1n1 & ID - both great points, thanks for the input. i was perusing the hardware store today, and those 1/2" re-bars are really cheap, may definitely have to go that route.
anybody have any knowledge on what gauge angle to use? i'm guessing the thicker the better, but the price does jump pretty significantly.
18 ga. seemed a little flimsy, but 16 and 14 were both pretty heavy duty and reasonably priced.
When I made mine I used 2x2x1/8, not sure what 1/8 is in gauge thickness, but it has worked wonderfully.
1/8" is 11ga. See http://www.jedi.com/obiwan/jeep/misc/gaugeconv.html Cheers!
well i wound up getting access to a stick welder, and all the angle iron i would need for about 50 bucks. so a brewing buddy of mine and i somewhat taught ourselves how to weld, with a little guidance from the guys at the shop.
here's the stand at about 90%. i'm thinking the welds should hold, considering it holds me up and i'm about 260 lbs. i'll definitely still keep myself and everyone else at a safe distance during the maiden brew though...
looks good. definitely be careful during the boil though... don't want to burn yourself, or lose a batch of beer!
Looks good Osky! The low center of gravity provided by that heavy kettle should provide plenty of stability for the stand and it looks pretty wide, too. Nice design! Is that a Bayou Classic SQ14 burner I see down there? Is that welded on or is it removable? You gonna pump from the kettle to the HLT? Or install a second burner for that? Let us know how your first brew day turns out on that rig! Cheers!
Thanks 1n1!
The stand is about 20" wide and pretty stable. If I stand on the front bottom cross bar, I have to start leaning back to get it to want to start tipping.
Yep, that's the SQ 14 resting on two upside down cross pieces of angle. I drilled 1/4" holes through the bottom of the stand legs and the angle and have it bolted in, so I can remove it and fry the occasional turkey or low country boil if I ever want to. It really has a great snug fit in there and is very stable as well.
I have this pump http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/ … _200384668
mounted on the stand.
Got that idea from here http://home.comcast.net/~midnighthomebr … ladder.htm
The idea for now is to heat mash water, pump into mash tun, add grains, heat sparge water during mash and pump up to HLT, then drain mash into boil kettle, batch sparge, then drain sparge into boil kettle which should be close to boiling.
Still have some experimenting with the pump to see if it's gonna work out the way I want. Getting all the fittings and hoses put together. If it doesn't work out, I may have to go ahead and plumb another burner up to the top. I really hope it works though, I'd love to be able to have one burner, and just use my cordless dewalt drill to pump hot water around.
The pump was packed in white petroleum grease like the guy says on the brewladder site. I completely disassembled it, and it took a few long soaks and scrubs with PBW to get it clean.
Got to put a couple more cross support pieces on and then some expanded metal platforms for the mash tun and propane tank/storage area and I'll be in business!
I'll report on the first brew day...
Wow looks really great! is that high temp paint as well?
ID
No not high temp paint, but if the drill pump works, the only area that will be under direct heat is the boil kettle on the SQ14 burner, which I left with the factory finish.
I'll have to see how the paint on the nearby support posts holds up.
Hmmm might want to fire it up for a while before you have actual beer in the pots. Only reason that I say anything is that when I first used my burner the paint burned off real bad ( got it on Craigslist) and that batch tasted kinda like burnt paint and I had to toss it.
ID
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