My Brewstand Plans

[Yeasty]

I thought id post a rough plan of my brewstand.

Ive had a think about how others do it, and looked around. One thing i liked was the 1 level brewstands, but didnt want to have to deal with pumps and plumbing (more things to clean?)

I liked the gravity fed systems, but didnt like the idea of having a stairway to heaven to climb and fill the stainless kegs containers...

So i thought id make the system ive designed below with the help of pneumatic rams. Ive got an air compressor here (2.75hp/50Lt tank) so i can connect it to the brewstand to feed it air.

Basically in the pic below it goes left to right (ive prolly got the labels wrong), but u get the idea. Its all at waist height for access.

1. I fill the first one then raise to the mash temp, then flick the switch. The ram would then lift the kettle up to fill the mash tun via gravity. Once done, lower.

2. Then once mash has finished, flick switch to lift, and fill the HLT to boil.

3.boil, then fill no chill cube (#4)

Could anyone see anything wrong with this setup?

I'll build and post pics here as i go...and C & C welcome

View attachment Brewstand.bmp

 

[gnewell]

I thought id post a rough plan of my brewstand.

Ive had a think about how others do it, and looked around. One thing i liked was the 1 level brewstands, but didnt want to have to deal with pumps and plumbing (more things to clean?)

I liked the gravity fed systems, but didnt like the idea of having a stairway to heaven to climb and fill the stainless kegs containers...

So i thought id make the system ive designed below with the help of pneumatic rams. Ive got an air compressor here (2.75hp/50Lt tank) so i can connect it to the brewstand to feed it air.

Basically in the pic below it goes left to right (ive prolly got the labels wrong), but u get the idea. Its all at waist height for access.

1. I fill the first one then raise to the mash temp, then flick the switch. The ram would then lift the kettle up to fill the mash tun via gravity. Once done, lower.

2. Then once mash has finished, flick switch to lift, and fill the HLT to boil.

3.boil, then fill no chill cube (#4)

Could anyone see anything wrong with this setup?

I'll build and post pics here as i go...and C & C welcome

Love the idea. Where would you get the pneumatic rams from?

I use an idea along similar lines borrowed from Ross. I use a 3:1 pulley system on my kettle using spinnaker pulleys. A little bit of muscle and the kettle goes from the bottom to the top of my brewstand.
Once its in place, I just slide 2 bits of wood underneath. Then I've got the gravity for the subsequent chill.
No pumps, no extra cleaning and it works just great.

 

[mobrien]

The theory looks good to me - I would be a little concerned about boiling liquid being lifted up and dropping, but assuming safety is in built it would work.

I'm curious - how mush is a pneumatic lift rated at 50kg plus worth? I'd compare this to the cost of a mach pump.... Unless they are easy and cheap for you!

M

P.S. Loved the pic - is that Adam having a beer

 

[Franko]

Nice idea,but wouldnt these rams etc cost you alot more than a pump and a few hoses

 

[Yeasty]

Second hand rams i can get for a reasonable price. Still only rough plans, so looking at a few options. If pump works out cheaper, then id be swayed.

see here : http://cgi.ebay.com.au/SMC-PNEUMATIC-RAMS-...8QQcmdZViewItem

Id have to secure the containers in a mini cage, or somehow to stop em tipping over.

My last job i was playing with pneumatic jigs, and the rams are more than capable of lifting the weight.

mobrien -that'd be me, enjoying a homebrew whilst operation is underway (obviously clothed, but for the purpose of the pic, i didnt wanna scale it to show off )

 

[sqyre]

Your not picking on my poor defenceless stairway are you..???

What did it ever do to you??? *sniff sniff*



Hey you could increase your lift capacity with sissor lifts using a worm drive..

i even considered a see-saw setup with rams but....yeh..

looks good if you can pull it off...

definatly need some safety components to stop a fall from a blown air line...

also the problem with pneumatic rams is that any jamming the pressure will build up untill it lets go then shoot your mash through the roof. (if you have enough pressure) where i work we had pneumatic kickins for our paintline system and one day i saw a piece of 65x35x2.5 rhs 6.5meters long get thrown 4 meters into the air on just 70psi...We quickly switched to hydralics..



Food for thought...

worm drive or hydralics would be safer...(unless you put your arm in there..ouch.)

Otherwise top idea.

Sqyre...

 

[Yeasty]

Not picking on anyones design

Thanks for the tips. Like i said, still in the planning process, so all ideas are welcome

 

[jupiter]

so long as the rams can lift i can't see why that can't be made to work... but the use of compressed air gave me another idea for a single level design (sorry to distract from your idea). if you put a sealed lid on your HLT and mash tun, you could use the compressed air into the top of each vessel to force the liquids from one vessel to the next.