Markws Brew Stand Build

[markws]

Dear All,

I thought that I would document building my brewstand. For quite some time I have been brewing with a couple of converted kegs & esky with a NASA burner. Each brew day consisted of a reasonable amount of lifting and moving gear around in order to heat the sparge water, boil the wort etc. Moving forward....I have spent a fair amount of time considering what design would best suit my brewing needs and have settled on a modified Brutus Ten (Lonnie Mac, www.alenuts.com) single tier brew system. I am sure at the end of this thread I will probably be more concerned the total cost of the build!

Modifications being considered:
Gas pilot safety valve system (described by MNBugeater, honeywell thermocouple and pilot burner and BASO safety valve)
Electric HLT
BC-460 software system (wireless) and controller with my itouch. (Todate, i have this system monitoring my fermentation fridge and appears to be a stable plaform)

Progress todate:

SS 50L kegs obtained, lids cut out (1 x XU1 angle grinder has died in completing this task).
Holes for all the hex nipples have been drilled. Hex nipples have been welded into place and tested for leaks.
Approximately 1.5 kegs have been cleaned and had a basic polish (1 x XU1 angle grinder has died in completing this task).
HLT has been fitted with a 1/2" full port ball valve, 2400 watt heating element, 1/2" 100mm exterior insert thermowell (note the socket welded on to the keg is a standard 1/2" socket fitting cut in half and stepped on a lathe to help with positioning), 1/2" SS pickup tube and 1/2" SS cap nut converted to act as a compession fitting with a plastic olive compression fitting (I have found this to be the cheapest way to maintain the SS theme and create a compression fitting that does not need to provide water tight seal)

Mistakes made todate:

Mistake 1 - not really caring too much about trying to mate the diameter of the hole cut into the keg with a readily available cooking lid.
Mistake 2 - not buy shares in XU1!!!!!

Purchases made todate:

Majority of the fittings he been purchased. I am planning to use all 1/2" SS, specifically cam lock connectors for all hoses.
2x March 809 pumps purchased
1x 30 plate SS heat exchanger
50x50x3mm x 16m square steel tube (stainless stand was an inital consideration. However, at >$40.00 per metre, mild steel at $12.50 per metre was selected).

Future tasks to be completed:

Machine an appropriate cover for the heaing element to cover the power connections.
Finish cleaning/polishing the kegs
Re-weld one of the hex nipples that has a small leak when water tested.
Research burner and gas valve configurations

Additionally, I have purchased a Cigweld 130 DC arc welder and assoc equipment. So, all the welding presented in the various pics has been done by me. Until this project I have never used any type of welding equipment, so apologies to all professionals in this area if my efforts appear alittle on the butcherous. However, as a side note - since welding all the sockets into each of the kegs - I would have to say it was not really a difficult task, but rather time consuming an achievable by most DYI'ers.

Attached below are pics of the current AG brew system and the work on the new brew stand.

 

[NickB]

May just want to photoshop certain names off those 50L SS vessels..... h34r:

 

[batemanbrewer]

Yeah those kegs are definitely illegal to have and cut up.

 

[jiesu]

I am thinking of doing a similar setup in the future.
Is a 50Lt Keg Tun enough to be doing strong double batches through? The rest of my system will likely be 70litres But I am considering a keg as a tun.

 

[schooey]

Is a 50Lt Keg Tun enough to be doing strong double batches through? The rest of my system will likely be 70litres But I am considering a keg as a tun.

Depends how strong you mean by 'strong'... I have a 50 Lt tun, I can get 14kg of grain in it if I dough in at ~2.5L/kg of water. But if you want to make 46L of a beer that is above about 7.0 - 7.5% ABV, you're going to have to go for a bigger tun. Then you'll probably need a bigger HLT, a bigger kettle..blah blah blah

 

[Bongchitis]

You stick welded Stainless with no previous welding experience? The welds are quite reasonable.... any tips?

 

[raven19]

I love a good build log.

Keep 'em coming! :icon_cheers:

 

[schooey]

You stick welded Stainless with no previous welding experience? The welds are quite reasonable.... any tips?

:lol:

I wonder if yardy will read this and giggle like I did...

 

[yardy]

You stick welded Stainless with no previous welding experience? The welds are quite reasonable.... any tips?

yep, look both ways before crossing the road and be nice to your mum, jokes aside, stainless rods are pretty user friendly.

:lol:

I wonder if yardy will read this and giggle like I did...

nice work mark, i love a good build :icon_chickcheers:

converting the HLT to elc is my next project so looking forward to seeing yours finished

cheers

Dave

 

[cdbrown]

Nice work Mark. I cut the lid off one of my kegs on the weekend and chewed through 2 cutting discs. Very impressed with how circular the holes are - did you have to tidy it up after cutting the lid? Mine doesn' look very tidy at all. Did you just use a flap wheel to buff up the sides?

Good stuff with the welds. I'm planning on weldless fittings on mine, but perhaps after I weld the frame I might change my mind. Not done any welding since high school which was many many years ago.

 

[markws]

Nice work Mark. I cut the lid off one of my kegs on the weekend and chewed through 2 cutting discs. Very impressed with how circular the holes are - did you have to tidy it up after cutting the lid? Mine doesn' look very tidy at all. Did you just use a flap wheel to buff up the sides?

Good stuff with the welds. I'm planning on weldless fittings on mine, but perhaps after I weld the frame I might change my mind. Not done any welding since high school which was many many years ago.

Hi Cdbrown,

In regards to cutting off the 'lids' and trying to achieve a circular hole... for all the kegs I needs to initally cut the lids off with a 1mm steel cut-off disc (100mm). i then used a steel rule an marked the diameter of the circle from the edge of the rim ie 2.5 to 5.0 cm every 1-2cm. I used a couple of metal grinding discs to remove the remaining metal back to the marked line and followed up with a flap sander to smooth and feather the edges. for each keg it took at least an hour or more.

To buff the sides of the keg i used several straw discs from crawford's and black cake to remove the grime. I was not after a polish finished, rather a clean and neat appearance.

In regards to S welding - highly recommend welding Vs weldess fttings, the extra time in my eyes has value and it is not terribly difficult.

Cheers

MWS

 

[markws]

Dear All,

A small amount of progres has been made this week. Furthermore, I don;t expect a considerable amount of progress in the next couple of weeks, while materials arrive from around the globe.

Tasks Completed.

Leak tested the welds from the previous week. A couple of welds di require additional 'work' done to ensure they were truely 'leak proof'
2 of 3 keg have been 'buffed' clean. The worst keg remains to be 'buffed' clean.
HLT element has been completed both wiring and cover/cap;
Operational qualification of the HLT.

I spent most of the week reasearching several elements of the new brew system, specifically:
Burner types;
Gass shut off valves;
Gas pilot safety valves;
Gas pilot lights;
Gas themocouples;

I have more or less decided to migrate from a esky mash tun to a SS keg/false bottom which will incorporate recirculating the wort during the mash to enable step mashing, but more importantly achieve a more consistent desired mash temperature. Currently with the esky mash tun I thought I was getting a consisent mash temperature (based on the temp gauge installed), however, the last couple of 'brews' I have been possibly mislead by the read out at the beginning of the mash while it is equilibrating andhas lead to me either adding hot / cold water to later find i had predominately undershot my desired mash temp (which I fnd pretty annoying).

I have placed orders for 2 x 10 point monoglian burners and a single low pressure gas regulator plus 2 x white rodgers gas safety valves and matching honeywell themocouple and pilotburner (764-742, Q314A6094 and Q340A1066 respectively), all due to arrive in the next 2 weeks.

Once these materials arrive, i will be able to set the height of the lower brew stand (rear) beam to accomadate a 2 to 3 inch flame from the bottom of the keg.

As previously mentioned, I have installed a 2400W heating element for the HLT. i was keen to know if this would be suitable to handle 10 Gallon brews. Detailed below are pics of the cover and information regarding the time/temperature performance. Suffce to say, it will meet my needs and does have the capacity to handle a 10 gallon brew and i will not be installing a gas burner to cater for this need.

Overview.
No insulation on HLT / No lid on HLT
Outside temp = 23.4oC
Water Temp = 20oC
48 L in 50 L keg
Tempmate controller used
2400W heating element used on 10A circuit
Desired strike water temp = 80oC

T0 = 21oC
T1 = 240oC
T27=35oC
T36=40oc
T56 = 54oC
T1.07 = 63oC
T1.15 = 68oC
T1.24 = 73oC
T1.26 = 74oC
T1.30 = 76oC
T1.31 = 77oC
T1.33 = 78oC
T1.35 = 79oC
T1.36 = 80oC

~ 30L removed (simultating a 'mash-in' and refilled to ~ 48L to simulate preparing the sparge water)

T0 = 45oC
T1 = 43oC
T17 = 52oC
T30 = 61oC
T42 = 67oC
T49 = 71oC
T53 = 73oC
T57 = 76oC
T59 = 77oC
T1.03 = 79oC

I hope the infomation stated above has some value to others considering this route - it certainly showed to me that by using an electric HLT i can potentially shave at least 1 hour off a 5 gallon brew day and possibly 2 or more on a 10 gallon double batch event. - I'm converted!!!!!

Cheers

MWS

 

[cdbrown]

Cheers for the response Mark. Did you just get plain grinding discs or ones made for s/s. I've got a dremel tool so I might see if I can get a bit for it.

Slap a timer on the HLT and you'll have the strike water ready when you get up in the morning saving more time.

 

[malbur]

Cheers for the response Mark. Did you just get plain grinding discs or ones made for s/s. I've got a dremel tool so I might see if I can get a bit for it.

Slap a timer on the HLT and you'll have the strike water ready when you get up in the morning saving more time.

Hi cdbrown, If you get the 1mm thick cutoff disc's i am sure they say on them that they are for SS anyway, they also have more give when trying to cut around corners.

mal

 

[fcmcg]

Hi cdbrown, If you get the 1mm thick cutoff disc's i am sure they say on them that they are for SS anyway, they also have more give when trying to cut around corners.

mal

There is a YouTube video that shows you how to make a jig for your angle grinder to cut the top out of your keg..sorry don't have the link as on the iPhone..but it's what I did and it worked a treat !

 

[yardy]

Hi cdbrown, If you get the 1mm thick cutoff disc's i am sure they say on them that they are for SS anyway, they also have more give when trying to cut around corners.

mal

go easy with the microdiscs if you're forcing them to cut a radius, they'll only go so far before they let go.

Dave

 

[markws]

Dear All,

A little more progress made in last 1.5 weeks.

All the kegs are now polished and leak tested (pic attached) A third XU1 died during this process, I have certainly come the realisation in respect to angle grinders - you get what you pay for. No more XU1 gear for me!

Today the casters and square inserts arrived. I was completely disappointed with the range of casters available at Bunnings. After surfing the internet (specifically Ebay), I inadvertantly came across a VIC retail/distibutor. Phoned up on Monday - in my hand today! Perfect! I decided to go for castor rated to 100kg each with wheel and directional locks.

Burners. As previously mentioned, after a reasonable amount of research I have decided to use 2 x mongolian 10 burners for powering both the mash tun and kettle. This was based on comments most people seemed to require to plug up a couple of ports on larger mongolian burners and also I wanted the option to be able to convert to LNG (as a future upgrade). This is also aligned with Lonnie Mac's thinking for th Brutus Ten. Big Tip. If you are looking to buy this product now, expected to do a fair amount of talking on the phone, because the importer is not expecting the cargo container to arrive for another couple of weeks and most retailers are waiting for stock. So, after a couple of days I finally located a VIC retailer that had the product in stock. So today the burners arrived with a low pressure regulator and 3/8 to 1/2" brass adaptors. (Pic of the wheels and burners attached)

Still not arrived is a 'care package' from a gas parts retailer containing the automatic gas shut off valves, pilot lights and thermocouples. I am expecting this (hopefully) prior to the end of the week.

This will then allow me to double check the correct distance to set the bottom rail to ensure the tip of gas burner flame is approx 2.5" away from the base of the mash tun/kettle. I then plan to hire a metal cut off drop saw to prepare the lengths of square tube.

Lastly;

I was bored during the weekend and decided to assemble the connector that will be used to measure the temperature of the liquid during various stages of the brewing process, such as cooling the boild wort while recirculating through a plater chiller or during the mash. This is direct copy of Lonnie Mac's design for the brutus ten but bling enhanced, being all SS. (Fittings/Components, female threaded camlock, T piece, 50mm exterior insert thermowell, and threaded male camlock). I like this concept of being able to incorporate a temperature sensor where you feel is appropriate to your brewing needs.

And..I still have not purchased a gas solenoid and it appears I will have to bite the bullet and pack a packet for shipping. Not happy jan! And, have to decide how and where i will mount the temp controllers/switches.

Cheers

MWS

 

[cdbrown]

Hi mark

Looks the goods mate. I tried to go down the weldless route but finding the s/s fittings to suit far to difficult. About the only thing that's going to be weldless is the water inlet to the HLT, the dial thermos in the HLT and MLT and HERMS element.

Where did you get the 1" BSP socket? Had hoped TWOC would have some but unfortunately not. Also that thermowell - was that from craftbrewer?

I cut all my lengths of square tubing using a 115mm cut off disc in the grinder (not XU1 but cheap ryobi I think which I've had for about 7 years). The thinner the disc the quicker the cut I found (but more likely to not be straight)

 

[Spoonta]

Cdbrown have you tryed stirling Stainless steel

 

[kevin_smevin]

Dear All,

A little more progress made in last 1.5 weeks.

All the kegs are now polished and leak tested (pic attached) A third XU1 died during this process, I have certainly come the realisation in respect to angle grinders - you get what you pay for. No more XU1 gear for me!

Today the casters and square inserts arrived. I was completely disappointed with the range of casters available at Bunnings. After surfing the internet (specifically Ebay), I inadvertantly came across a VIC retail/distibutor. Phoned up on Monday - in my hand today! Perfect! I decided to go for castor rated to 100kg each with wheel and directional locks.

Burners. As previously mentioned, after a reasonable amount of research I have decided to use 2 x mongolian 10 burners for powering both the mash tun and kettle. This was based on comments most people seemed to require to plug up a couple of ports on larger mongolian burners and also I wanted the option to be able to convert to LNG (as a future upgrade). This is also aligned with Lonnie Mac's thinking for th Brutus Ten. Big Tip. If you are looking to buy this product now, expected to do a fair amount of talking on the phone, because the importer is not expecting the cargo container to arrive for another couple of weeks and most retailers are waiting for stock. So, after a couple of days I finally located a VIC retailer that had the product in stock. So today the burners arrived with a low pressure regulator and 3/8 to 1/2" brass adaptors. (Pic of the wheels and burners attached)

Still not arrived is a 'care package' from a gas parts retailer containing the automatic gas shut off valves, pilot lights and thermocouples. I am expecting this (hopefully) prior to the end of the week.

This will then allow me to double check the correct distance to set the bottom rail to ensure the tip of gas burner flame is approx 2.5" away from the base of the mash tun/kettle. I then plan to hire a metal cut off drop saw to prepare the lengths of square tube.

Lastly;

I was bored during the weekend and decided to assemble the connector that will be used to measure the temperature of the liquid during various stages of the brewing process, such as cooling the boild wort while recirculating through a plater chiller or during the mash. This is direct copy of Lonnie Mac's design for the brutus ten but bling enhanced, being all SS. (Fittings/Components, female threaded camlock, T piece, 50mm exterior insert thermowell, and threaded male camlock). I like this concept of being able to incorporate a temperature sensor where you feel is appropriate to your brewing needs.

And..I still have not purchased a gas solenoid and it appears I will have to bite the bullet and pack a packet for shipping. Not happy jan! And, have to decide how and where i will mount the temp controllers/switches.

Cheers

MWS

Where did you get the casters. I'll be needing some in a month or two. Keep the info coming, all very informative.