Brew Rig Needs Some Feedback

[sponge]

Hey hey everyone

After quite some time out of the brewing game (doing partials), its about time to jump back into it and go AG.

Ive pretty much acquired everything needed to brew and just worked on a bit of a brew stand

Its just a boltless storage shelf from the big green shed, and using left over kitchen tiles for the shelves instead of the MDF they supplied with it.

Just a question, i was looking at cutting the bottom shelf tiles so that the keggle was supported by tiles on either side and the burner would be positioned in the gap between the tiles. Would this be a problem in regards to heating the tiles too much? There will be two tiles supporting both keggles instead of just a single tile to give it a bit more support

And ive only put the mash tun to one side so that when the boiler is getting a good boil on, there was room for the steam to escape instead of having shelving come all the way across and stopping it from going anywhere. The HLT is going to be run by a 2200W element on a timer so that I can get started brewing after waking up on a weekend.

Ive got some silicon hose to put between the three vessels. One other problem I was thinking of, is how to fill a cube for no chilling after the boil since Ill probably have to lift the keggle to a higher position to let gravity do its thangggg... The reason its positioned where it is now, is so the burner can sit on the ground and have the tiles supporting the boiler just above it.

Also, what attachments do people use for their keg taps and hose? is there just a standard nipple attachment that can be purchased to screw into the tap and place the silicon hose around it?

If there is any other feedback it would be greatly appreciated as I would rather find out its weaknesses now, then when it comes time to brew

Cheers heaps,

Sponge

 

[sponge]

...Heres the photo <_<

 

[felten]

I used a tile offcut jammed under my brewstand to shield my new ballvalve assembly last brewday. I was worried it would explode everywhere, it made a few awkward noises, but it held up fine. YMMV, and so might mine next time I try it...

 

[Logman]

Check out the barbs etc here for your taps.

 

[peaky]

I'm not too sure about tiles and heat but it sounds a bit suspect to me. If a tile does break it could get messy/dangerous. I would be more inclined to sit your kettle, mash tun, and HLT on 2 short lengths of steel angle or some SHS. I know my 50L keggle is a pain to lift empty (or maybe I'm just lazy?) one full of beer is going to be a mission to lift up to height to fill a cube. Any chance you could put everything up one level? ie. HLT on the very top shelf, mash tun where you have the HLT now and keggle where you have your mash tun. You might need to get up on a chair to fill the HLT but you wouldn't need to move the kettle once it's full of wort. That's what I have done with my 3 tier gravity system.

 

[bignath]

Yeah, the height of the kettle was the first thing i noticed. Definitely get it up higher so that the outlet is above the height of a cube or a fermenter.

You will be glad you did.

 

[sponge]

Thank you muchly for all the fast replies. I may have to go out and get a couple more support beams and move everything up a few notches to make enough space for the cube. That way ill stick in another platform for the burner so its still sitting on something but off the ground, and still try the tiles to support the kettle over the top. If the tiles dont hold up though (ill give it a test run with just water in the kettle when i do my 'dry run') then ill look at getting some sort of metal frame for it instead.

I wont be able to move everything up too much with the ceiling being not too far off the top of the photo, but ill try and at least move everything up enough to fit a cube.

and cheers for the link for the tap fittings. Just unfortunate that I only just got a delivery from them.... I'm sure ill be able to find enough stuff on the website to warrant the shipping ^_^

Thanks again

Sponge

 

[peaky]

If the tiles dont hold up though (ill give it a test run with just water in the kettle when i do my 'dry run') then ill look at getting some sort of metal frame for it instead.

Get some short lengths of 40x40x3 shs and fix them across the racking that you have. This would support the kettle no worries. I wouldn't trust tiles myself but square hollow section will never break.

 

[sponge]

Get some short lengths of 40x40x3 shs and fix them across the racking that you have. This would support the kettle no worries. I wouldn't trust tiles myself but square hollow section will never break.

Where is the best place to get shs from (assuming you are talking about those hollow lengths of steel)?

 

[peaky]

Where is the best place to get shs from (assuming you are talking about those hollow lengths of steel)?

Check out your local steel merchant. They'll probably have some offcuts you can have for nothing or at very little cost.

 

[Logman]

You can get that at Bunnings - it's where the wire gates etc are. You want the right angle pieces so your kettle will sit in it, not a hollow piece...

 

[peaky]

You can get that at Bunnings - it's where the wire gates etc are. You want the right angle pieces so your kettle will sit in it, not a hollow piece...

Pay through the nose at Bunnings for something you can probably get for free or next to nothing at a merchants/fab shop. I'm a welder in a fabrication shop and if someone popped in asking for a few off cuts of shs I'd give them some, it only goes in the scrap bin anyway.

I would rather sit the kettle on shs instead of inside some angle. Depending on the width or your racking though, if the kettle overhangs the sides of the racking then angle would probably work ok.