Wooden Brew Rig Options..

[gava]

howdy all..

Currently using a dodgy grav 3 teir system with a old study desk + dodgy stools.. Just brought a march pump and want to move towards a single level pumped system.

I've seen a few (Klieny's) in bendigo which is mounted on a metal frame.. Unlike a lot of people hear I can not weld or have access to a welder..

My idea is to make a simple wooden rig.. Frist up, I use an urn for my HLT so i wont have a naked flame near the wood and for my kettle I already have a metal stand that came with my burner so I wont have to mount it.. All i need to mount will be my Willow Esky (55lt) and my urn + storage under for Gas bottle and storage of burner afterwards.

Questions:
* Is there something I can coat the wood with so it wont soak up the water?
* Do I have to make it a certain height to get the most out of my march pump?
* Im sure its been done before here how successful was the rig?
* Anything I should watch out for?
* Is it worth attempting this or find someone that can weld?

Cheers for all the feed back..

 

[muckey]

dont know about the pump etc but the coating......

couple of coats of polyurethane will waterproof it

 

[Maple]

Gava,
Save yourself a heap of trouble, go to the big green shed and pick up a stack of metal-mate or similar. have a look here I've been down the same path, as have others before me, and will be others after you. PM me if you need any advise on it.

 

[brettprevans]

+1 for the slotted metal (metalmate). I copied Maple and used the same stuff. will post pics at some stage. easy to put together with a spanner or socket wrench. easy to pull apart to modify if you want.

 

[LethalCorpse]

The flow from a pump drops off as the height it has to pump to increases. There are a bunch of other factors involved, but essentially, go for the minimum possible height difference between vessels. Don't sweat it too much though, the march pump should be able to put out a decent flow higher than you can reach.

If you've only got one pump, a single level system will mean you can't fly sparge (which you may want to do) and you'll need a fairly complex system of valves to ensure you can pump from each vessel to the next and recirc. A second pump, or a two tier system, along with some careful design, would allow simpler valve connections and any sparge/recirc method you like. I'm in the process of building a two-tier system with a single pump that uses only four valves - a search of the forum for "plumbing" and my name should find it. There are plenty of other options around if you do a few searches of the forum.

For sealing, as muckey said, couple coats of PE should do it. You'll probably want to raise the urn off the timber a little so that you don't have to worry about heat from the urn causing it to swell/crack/scorch. It'll be significantly less of a problem than a burner sitting on top of it(so it's good that you've got another solution for the kettle), but it's still a concern. Another option would be a big floor tile under the urn as a heat mat, or chequer plate instead of timber to make the shelf that it sits on.

There are alternatives that don't use timber and don't require welding. A few people have used the slotted angle bracket type systems you can buy at bunnings to good effect. Definitely worth considering, as this thing is going to have to hold up to 100kg, so a tiber system will have to be well designed. If you stick with tiber, ensure that your cross struts are actually supported by the verticals by going into them (eg mortise/tenon, dovetail, etc), as opposed to using dowel/nails/bolts etc.

 

[gava]

cheers everyone.. might suss out some bunnings crap.

 

[Thirsty Boy]

I have been looking at discarded footpath furniture for a while and I notice old steel framed chairs - barstools - desks etc etc all the time. Really all you have to do with one of those to make it into a sturdy "stand" instead of a bit of furniture is rip of the parts that aren't made of steel.

A barstool and two old chairs or a small desk/table equals a two tier brew stand with a little imagination and a few nuts and bolts.

 

[muckey]

good idea thirsty.

now I need to stop butters reading this or he'll be "investigating" again

I've certainly considered bolting some steel together to make my own brewstand. but dont see why timber wouldn't be OK with considerations as have been mentioned but the steel furniture option appeals to my cheap-ar$e natuure

 

[brettprevans]

all up I think the metal mate aka slotted metal from B*nnings was less than $80. 6 x1.8m lengths @ ~$13. done. a bit easier than wood and no issues of burning or needing to water proof.

now yes you could scrounge. but take into account the time you spend scrounging and what your time is worth. In the end thats the conclusion i came to (ie my time was worth more than scrounging for parts and welding a custom rig).

to each their own though.

 

[brettprevans]

if your interested Maple posted up a link to his slotted metal rig. I took some pics of mine last night. here and here. solid, sturdy, easy to move (once some wheels were attached) and easily modified.