Markws Brew Stand Build

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More work done on the stand this weekend.

Basically constructed the burner sub-frame and commenced milling the instrument case to install the two digital temp controllers.

The flat bar used to support (rest) the burners on has been machined to include two locating holes for the burner and a separate hole for the bolt to pass through and srew into what was the pilot light hole. An additional hole was drilled to provide access to install the pilot light gas tube. The pilot lighter and thermowell couple has also been installed.

The vertical braces have been milled to allow the burner height to be completely adjustable.

I have also started preparing the frame for the final coats of paint which i hope to complete shortly.

Pics attached.

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well done, looking good
 
Work on the brew stand has been slow over the course of the last few weeks, however some minor progress has been made.

90% of the gas plumbing has been done (pics attached). I have mounted most of the equipment that will be used, again the set up is very similar to pumpy's however included in the system are a couple of different items. Two automatic gas shut off valves have been included that operate of a pilot light (not pictured) and a single gas solenoid for the Mash tun.

I decided to also 'pipe' the LPG gas internally from the bottom of the brew frame on the LHS. So inside the left hand vertical leg is 1/2" copper pipe and brazed fittings - I will take photos later when I disassemble the system.

I also have been working on some heat shields for each burner and you can also see the plans for where the heat exchanger will be mounted.

Basically - a couple more items need to be manufactued to allow me to progress through to painting the frame and final assembly, wiring etc.

MWS

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Great work! Threads like this really help when trying to design a brew stand.
Have you considered adding a second 2400W element just to add a bit of extra kick if you ever need to quickly ramp up temp? In designing my setup I was going to go for a 3600W element but then the standard 10A temp controllers wont run it, so the second element would be a manual switch if required(I guess it could be on a second controller).
This would require the socket to be welded in the vessel on a slight angle to allow both elements to run side by side I guess.

Also, Is a burner under the mash tun simply to add small amounts of heat to maintain the temperature if it starts to drop?
 
Brew stand painted and ready for equipment to be mounted - two tone; pot belly black (heat resistant) and charcoal hammer tone. I additionally have made some heat guards for each of the burners to improve flame and heat direction/control. pics to follow.

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:icon_drool2: Top work on this build mate. :icon_cheers:
 
Progress report - three pics. The gas system is basically 90% complete - i just have to bend the 1/4" pilot gas lines and then it is ready for leak testing. Most of the electgrical is complete - have to purcahse a couple of items prior to wiring it up.

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That is looking very good mate, nice and clean. :icon_drool2:
 
Looking great Mark. What kind of regulators & extras do you have rigged up for the burners & pilots, and would you mind me asking where you got them?
 
I have labelled the pics posted earlier today and detailed some of the basic components in the brew stand.

information - gas system a combination of the brutus ten system (alenuts.com) and various postings on the us forum homebrewtalk (search for brutus ten), specifically MNBugeater has posted a significant amount of information on his setup which i have copied in principle. Also, pumpy's brew stand for the location of the gas valves etc. The key drivers was to incorporate an appropriate level of safety into the system (ie gas safety valves) and improve mashing temperature control (pls read brutus ten and check out Loonie's youtube vids on the set-up parts 1 to 5).

I have used a STC gas solenoid valve after a reasonable amount of research - ASCO's were too expensive and in the literature it was a difficult read to determine the inappropriateness of the STC product. At the end of the day a significant number of people have used the STC sucessfully.

The gas safety valves and honeywell equipment was all purchased from the US via patriot-supply. Super easy to dea with and likes paypal.
Gas valve - stcvalve.com. Again easy to deal with over the internet - ships directly from china.

In the pics what you can not see is that the gas hose will connect behind the LHS front post, just above the bottom rail. Inside the post is a section of straight 1/2" copper pipe with 90 degree pipe to thread sockets soldered on. (the whole system will only be running low pressure 0.5PSI proprane). I purchased from carvanspareparts (good for propane connectors) a 1/2" to 3/8" connector for the gas hose. so in summary the gas comes in at the bottom, travels up the LHS leg and enters the 1/2" SS tee fitting.

The white knight gas safety valve has 3 settings - closed, pilot and open which is nice. The gas ball valve, brass right angle connector and braided 600mm gas line is all from bunnings. I pm'd pumpy on the braided gas lines and almost did not beleive him that he got them from bunnings. 8 shops later and 3 weeks, I managed to tracked them down in Mandurah - an hour south from perth by accident!!!!

The gas components in the centre of the stand are identical to the LHS with the exception of the gas solenoid valve. In the centre of centre vertical brace i have threaded the wiring loom, down to the right and then back up the front RHS post. Between the two march 809's is hole to allow each of them to be connected.

As you can see I have mounted the pilot burner and thermocouple, but are yet to bend the 1/4" brass tube to connect the pilot burner to the safety valve - next weeks project - hopefully.

I did do a reasonable amount of research on sourcing the gas items locally - all the pricing provided back to me was not competitive with the US inclusive of shipping $45USD - flat rate 3 to 5 days US priority!

the paint is white knight pot belly black (temp resistant) and white knight charcoal hammer tone from bunnings - I have also fabricated two heat defectors to surround each burner which also require mounting.


Products
1 SS Tee
2 White rogers dual inlet gas pilot safety valve (thermocouple operated) (cat 764-742)
3 SS threaded tube (~150mm) with 2x SS nuts and 1x1/2 SS washer either side of frame.
4 STC Brass closed gas solenoid valve 2W160 220v closed electrically opened.
5 gas ball valve bunnings
6 Mongolian burner 10 jet
7 Honeywell pilot burners Q314 and Q327A) cat Q314A6094
8 honeywell 18" universal thermocouple (cat Q340A1066)

Hope all this information makes sense and helps.

Cheers

MWS

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This stuff is fantastic - I want to build a HERMS setup one day, and it's great that you take the time to show everyone how your doing it. Pictures are worth 1,000 words and its great that I can come here and learn off you guys :)
 
That rig looks really professional Mark - top job. Makes mine look like crap. I think you should take some time off work to get it finished though.
 
Progress report. Basically the brew frame and entire system is >95% complete. During teh last couple of days a fiar bit has been achieved:
Entire system is basically wired;
Cover for the pumps is completed (and painted);
Heat shields have been assembled and mounted;
The remaining components of the gas system ie pilot light and thermocouple are installed, including bending the pilot gas tube.

Things left to do:

Finish the HLT - site glass. Calibrate the site glass.
10mins of wiring to complete.
purchase tubing to assemble flexible line connectors
Manufacture a cover for the front right hand corner of the stand that the gas tube runs up inside.
Do a pilot run of the system to idenify any loose ends prior to committing to a double batch.

I have already tested the gas safety/pilot light system and it works a treat - i think that i have ended up with about 3 saftey cut offs just in the way you need to rotate the gas shut-off valve in conjunction with the manual ball valves which is great.

Anyway - plenty of pics attached for those interested. i included one pic of the location of the flexible gas pipe from the gas cylinder to the frame.

A bit sad the built is finished - its been a great challenge. I will take a couple of final pics with the entire system ready to go. Next, like many others, a motorised grain mill.

MWS

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That's awesome Mark. Top job mate. Get those little things finished and start 'er up!
 
:icon_drool2: :icon_drool2:



slotted angle just really wouldn't cut it would it
 
Hi Markws,
very impressed with the build.

have you used it yet? How does she go?

Cheers,
Al
 
Can you make beer with it?.

Cheers

Paul
 

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