The "Now-till Summer project" - A 3 tier Brew system.

[Gil Breau]

I already showed Dave this, but I wanted to post this so I have some accountability to get this frankenstien created. I'll keep updating this as I get exact ideas on prices and progression.

I have a shop full of woodworking and some welding equipment that my grandfather left me. I used to use it all the time with him when he was alive, and this past year I made a promise to start using it more again. So this project kind of falls underneath that umbrella, even if I'm more a woodworker than welder.

Added bonus; theres a back room where the 4 wheeler, a wood chipper and a lawn mower were stored that I have no use for. Perfect place for a brewery! Only issue is no running water Hrmm  :?

Basically, the aim is to create a three tiered brew system from some various materials. I've crafted up a few plansheets, and did some research into it. Hopefully, the aim is to make something similar to this:



The Frame:

The frame will be crated from steel storage racks from Stor-it. We bought a bunch used from them for our company a few years back over half off the new price, and the shelving is all metal, which is neccesary to keep everything from falling and/or burning. If I recall the price was about 40 dollars per unit.




I looked at getting scrap metal and some metal bed frames to create a more customized height, but the storage racks have a really nice ability to be disconnected for travel and the shelves adjusted if the height needs any changes. The shelves can have holes cut into them as needed for burners, liquid lines, propane lines, etc.

Most of these units come in 72 inch heights. A single sided height of the unit shouldn't need to be more than three and a half feet, which means cutting the unit into a 42 inch and 30 inch side shelf should suffice in the total construction. Adding casters to be able to wheel the unit isn't necessary, but I'd like to try to do it, so the frame cost may be a little more than just the shelving, but not by much. I'm estimating 50$ total to create a frame.

The Burners:

I'm on the hunt for burners at the moment. Canadian tire has outdoor fryers on for 50 dollars, which includes a complete frame and a 10 quart aluminum fish fryer. (Masterchef)

The frame looks like this:



I'm trying to find out if any of the propane/BBQ specialty shops in Saint John carry just the burners, without any pots. I Imagine they'd be ~40 bucks each. The burner frame is actually neccesary for this construction. It allows extra height on the hot liquor tub if the entire frame is attached, and by cutting a smaller hole than the burner, you can set the burner in the shelf itself for lower heights. And again, easy removal allows for easy deconstruction for travel.

Beyond the burners, a single propane tank with a three way valve allows for all three burners to run off one tank. The connections and the tubing might be a little pricey depending on length, so the goal s to try and keep everything compact. I've seen a dual splitter valve for around 30 or 40, so Im guessing 50 for a triway.

Total estimate cost for heating:
3 burners 120-150$
Propane fixtures: 75$

The Pots:

The three pots will be the most expensive part of the whole thing.

The cheapest place online that I've seen so far is Home Brew Stuff. I've tried the Canadian sites but its super expensive....

http://www.homebrewstuff.com/servlet/th ... Categories

Polarware 30qt Brew kettle 120$


Cheaper 32 qt Kettle 100$


8 Gallon Mash Tun 240$ w/ false bottom included


8 Gallon Hot liquor kettle with sight kit 206$


Total for pots = 550$.....ouch  :|

And thats American. Plus the shipping which is quoted @ 130$...which I hope includes customs fees. If not, my wifes family has a camp on the stateside, and they stay there weekly in the summer, so I might be able to ship it to the border and them claim it...

If not, I'll look at Canadian site costs....

Alternative is to hit up either Moosehead or the Microbrews and see if they have any unusable Sanke Kegs, and convert them into boilers. The only purchase then is either weldless bulkheads, or taps and weld them into the kegs (Stainless steel welding is apparently harder though, and I'm still learning welding), which would cut the costs into about 70$ per keg for attachments, plus whatever's needed for a false bottom.


Plumbing:

The last hurdle to tackle. Copper piping with quick release valves for easy cleaning. Pretty simple, just soder together and attach between pots.

Cost? 50$, depending on release valves.






Current Total Estimate:

Tiered unit: Approx. 300$
Pots: 690$ (Kettles) or 210$+Kegs

[Brian_S]

Ummm beer porn.  In my opinion the more Frankensteinee the better as it strikes awe into the hearts of non brewers.

Good luck.

B

[Jmac00]

I've seen burners only before....i beleive it was Kent or home depot that had them.

oh, and for keg...keep checking kijiji and scrap yards  

[Richard]

When I get a damn house I am all over this kinda thing...

... and good luck. Not that you need it, because a newbie brewer who's gonna have a sculpture like that, so soon, clearly already is up on their luck

Man when I eventually build a brew room, it's going to look like the breakfast scene out of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.

(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=thJOfavJLeA)

[Richard]

On a more pragmatic note I've heard mixed opinions over the whole multi-tiered thing. I think people prefer pumps in such situations, to abusing gravity (and the resulting pain in the ass attempting to reach things at different levels).

[Gil Breau]

I.ve actually been home brewing wine for years now. Beer has been on my want to do list since last summer, but things didn't pan out until about a month ago...

Mind you I've been doing tons of reading, and doing fidget projects like this system always gets me going.

The pots are the big hurdle. I can probably come in waayy under budget on the frame but I'd rather guess high than low and work down. I know some people that work over at moosehead, so I'll try and get some sanke kegs first. If I can weld the fixtures on the bulkheads are way cheaper than the no weld too...

If not, I got a feeling it'll be a compromised system to start with just a cooler mash tun and the kettle being the only pot for now, but I want to set the goal as itis.

[Dave Savoie]

It will become an addiction be care one cool peice of equipment leads to another dont say I didnt warn ya  

[Tony L]

I bought a burner from Wal-Mart a few years ago. Nice and sturdy, square frame, but the burner is the old style and is inefficient. Still it works for me.
$49 IIRC

[Kyle]

You might think of going electric. If you have a standard 30A 220v dryer outlet with GFCI, you can bring 12 gal of water to a boil pretty quick I've heard. This is my plan. I'll go with a single pump, on a metal cart, with used restaurant surplus pots and weldless fittings.

Then you can brewyear round and not have to worry abour CO.

Of course, you would need to do it properly to not electrocute yourself, and I have no responsibility for it.

[Gil Breau]

Actually just found out Home hardware has 50L SS pots for 70 bucks each. I get 10% with my account so they're 63+tax. Much better than a couple hundred. Looks like I'm going to self weld these bad boys.

Ordered a few, they didn't have any in stock so I have no clue how long before they know when they'll get them. I'll post pics when I get them modded.

http://www.homehardware.ca/en/rec/index ... rkey+fryer

[Gil Breau]

You might think of going electric. If you have a standard 30A 220v dryer outlet with GFCI, you can bring 12 gal of water to a boil pretty quick I've heard. This is my plan. I'll go with a single pump, on a metal cart, with used restaurant surplus pots and weldless fittings.

Then you can brewyear round and not have to worry abour CO.

Of course, you would need to do it properly to not electrocute yourself, and I have no responsibility for it.

I've seen some mods with kettle boiler elements put inside the pots. Seems pretty neat. Not sure I trust myself that far.

Mind you, I wonder how hard/horrible using hotplates would be....You can usually get them for 20-30$ and it'd be nor worse than a stovetop I would think. Maybe a little les heat where they use a 120V outlet though...

[Dave Savoie]

by Broken Wrench » Wed Feb 13, 2008 2:08 pm
I have an electric boil kettle that is a converted sanke keg. I started out with 2 120V 1500 watt elements controlled by a PID controller with the output form the controller turning on 2 SSR. This did work but the boil kettle had to be insulated and it took a long time to get it to a boil. So I switched out the 120V elements to 2 240V 3500 watt elements. I had to add two more SSR's (one for each leg of the 240V elements) so now the PID controller turns on 4 SSR's. This change also 7 gallons of wort to get to a nice rolling boil in about fifteen minutes. Of course I turn on the elements as soon as the wort covers them so it is heating up before the sparge is done so it is a little longer than fifteen minutes. Once it is boiling the elemnts are drawing about 45% power according to the controller. This is with out insulation on the boil kettle now. I also changed out the element in my HLT to a 240V although the 120V did work the new on is much faster. I hope this long reply helps you out a little

[Gil Breau]

Yeah thats what I kinda figured. The 120v hotplates are going to be subpar even at 1500W. The only plus is that you don't have to worry about going outside....

[Dave Savoie]

http://www.theelectricbrewery.com/

This website tells you everything you need to know !!! its awesome

This almost made me wanna cry its such a piece of work !!!

Also the guy is canadian to boot