Setting up brewspace

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Moad

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Looking to rebuild my brew area. At the moment I've got the BM (20L) on a stand with a little pulley to hoist the basket. Have to use the hose from the front garden to clean / fill cooling water etc.

There is a tap around the side where I fill for a brew day (yes I use tap water) which is probably the most painful part of the day

I was planning on just attaching my mill to a bit of mdf and placing over a bucket.

I have enough space to build a bench that could incorporate a sink and tap plus a permanent spot for my mill.

I'm thinking...

Stainless top bench about 3m long and about waist height with another 1m "dry area" for the mill, would probably use melamine or something for this area to save a bit of coin. This would have to be separated from the "wet area" somehow.

At the dry end I'd have the mill with a hole in the bench and space to fit a pail to catch the grain underneath.

Next would be the sink and tap, then the BM. I'd setup a pulley on the wall to raise the basket and make it so I can swing it over the sink once sparge and draining are done. The BM will line up with a window higher up as well. I'll need a fairly deep sink so I can fill it and put ice in it to cool with my immersion chiller and a pump that pumps ice water through (after it gets down in temp from tap water).

Then I'd leave a little space for what will eventually be an urn for heating sparge water. and a little bit of bench space for putting various bits and pieces for brew day. This bench space would also double as a spot to fill kegs from fermenters.

I'll just build a steel frame and leave it hollow underneath to fit buckets and brewing equipment, obviously anything I don't care about getting wet.

Have I missed something? How would others do it?

edit:spelling
 
Taken care of in the fermenting fridge on the other side of the garage. Space permitting I could move this to the end of the bench
 
try ebay.. heaps of stainless benches come up at a reasonable price
 
Aluminium or as the yanks say it aloominum possibly would be a cheaper alternative .
 
Moad said:
I was thinking I could build a frame and just get stainless sheets for the bench tops. It look alot better than trying to fit together a frame/benchtop with stainless bench and then tack other stuff on etc. Am I being too picky?

edit: wow... like this! http://www.gumtree.com.au/s-ad/belmore/other-home-garden/stainless-steel-work-bench/1053177651
The cost of s/s bench tops made to measure will shock you,take your time,don't rush in set your brewing area up using pieces of ply or whatever you can make do with,work out a setup that suits your needs then develop it.
Maybe a laminex bench top from Gumtree.also keep your eyes open for any restaurant auctions for benches,do you know anybody who works in a hospital ? Hospitals have auctions now and again to get rid of surplus bits and pieces.
Cheers...spog...
 
Thanks mate, I'm thinking I'll get it all setup with some old shelving MDF/melamine stuff I've got. Get the sink etc in then cover it with aluminum. Not quite sure, I'll speak to someone in the know

Its definitely something I'll take my time with.
 
I would be inclined to have the mill on wheels so that you can mill in an area away from where you are preparing wort or have it on a piece of MDF and mill outside into a bucket.

There are a few suppliers on Ebay for stainless sinks that are pretty cheap.
Like anything you get what you pay for but for brewing they would be fine.
I bought from ebay a small bench with a stainless top for my BM to sit on and then I put some wheels on it so it could be moved around easily. The top is not 316 or 304 but is 18/10 and it does the job just fine and is easy to wipe down and keep clean.
It was less than $150 all up delivered which I was very happy with.
 
screw ebay,
go to www.graysonline.com.au
catering supplies and bankrupt kitchens are a goldmine for brewing gear.
i've saved countless amounts (although the missus could tell you the exact amount) from buying from there
 
Dicko is that to avoid getting the mill wet or is there some other reason? I'm considering storing my grain under the house so I might set up a milling station there.

Do you have a hoist or you just lift the basket the old fashioned way?

Thanks housecat will check it out. I'm pretty keen to get a tap and laundry tub in. I guess I could just get a laundry tub + stainless bench. Would be awesome to have all in one along the wall but might be over budget at this stage
 
Check out the scrap dealers as well as what has already been suggested, I was in one last week and they had sheets of stainless even a stainless tank, also a few commercial kegs with the tops already cut off.
 
Dicko is that to avoid getting the mill wet or is there some other reason? I'm considering storing my grain under the house so I might set up a milling station there.
It is not ideal to have dust etc from milling grain near where you are actually brewing.
 
Moad said:
Dicko is that to avoid getting the mill wet or is there some other reason? I'm considering storing my grain under the house so I might set up a milling station there.

Do you have a hoist or you just lift the basket the old fashioned way?

Thanks housecat will check it out. I'm pretty keen to get a tap and laundry tub in. I guess I could just get a laundry tub + stainless bench. Would be awesome to have all in one along the wall but might be over budget at this stage

gap said:
It is not ideal to have dust etc from milling grain near where you are actually brewing.
Yes, it is not adviseable to have grain dust near your prepared wort or fermenting equipment.
The dust is a haven for infectious bacteria which will quickly infect a batch of beer.

I dont need a hoist because I cut the legs down on the bench I bought to make it comfortable to lift the malt pipe by hand.
The first few times I used the BM I had it on a bench that was 900mm high and it was extremely difficult to lift the pipe which prompted me to cut the bench down to a height that was manageable.
 
OK well at least I can start on the milling station and it won't be time wasted.

Will see what I can find in terms of scrap and if I can't find anything I'll start looking for a separate ss bench and tub
 
Moad said:
Dicko is that to avoid getting the mill wet or is there some other reason? I'm considering storing my grain under the house so I might set up a milling station there.
Do you have a hoist or you just lift the basket the old fashioned way?
Thanks housecat will check it out. I'm pretty keen to get a tap and laundry tub in. I guess I could just get a laundry tub + stainless bench. Would be awesome to have all in one along the wall but might be over budget at this stage
dicko said:
Yes, it is not adviseable to have grain dust near your prepared wort or fermenting equipment.
The dust is a haven for infectious bacteria which will quickly infect a batch of beer.

I dont need a hoist because I cut the legs down on the bench I bought to make it comfortable to lift the malt pipe by hand.
The first few times I used the BM I had it on a bench that was 900mm high and it was extremely difficult to lift the pipe which prompted me to cut the bench down to a height that was manageable.
Here is an old pic of the s/steel bench I got from ebay and my mill on wheels

image.jpg
 
Got the milling station set up. Had an old cupboard thing so I ripped the top off to put one on with a bit more room. Knocked out a shelf to fit the pail in and then fit a funnel to catch the grain. Screwed some handles on to move it around. Hand cranked a kg in a minute or so and then hooked up my cordless drill to churn through the rest. I think I'll get a motor after I finish updating the brew space as the drill probably isn't up to the task long term (19Nm) Ozito cheapo thing.

Worked a treat except that milled grain takes up almost double the space in a pail that unmilled does.

Milled 7KG for a brew tomorrow (I know I should mill on the day but I wanted to test it out) and it overflowed the funnel due to a blockage. Lost a tiny bit but at least I know to look for it on big grain bills.

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unnamed1.jpg
 

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