Brew stand opinions

Bones · Post by **Bones** » Mon Jan 13, 2014 1:14 pm

Good point on one for the BK, I may go about it with that mindset.

Matt F · Post by **Matt F** » Mon Jan 13, 2014 1:53 pm

I have used a Hurricane Burner plumbed with natural gas for many years. If your situation allows, avoid the torch burners (less efficient and very loud) and use the larger ring style. I bought mine for $30 bucks many years ago. They run $50 now for what I have.

http://www.williamsbrewing.com/HURRICAN ... 77C87.aspx

I also picked up the natural gas adapter.
http://www.williamsbrewing.com/HURRICAN ... 14C87.aspx

This setup has served me well for many years. I turn on the burner once I have collected 5 gallons of wort and I usually have to turn it off to prevent a boil before my sparge is done. Nice to have no waiting from sparge to boil. I also have a burner like the smaller ring burner you have in the picture. That one is much weaker. Go with the larger ring burner and you won't be disappointed.

Bones · Post by **Bones** » Mon Jan 13, 2014 2:00 pm

I have considered natural gas, but not going down that road on this build just yet. I can get the large burners for $32/ea, but need to call on shipping. Those suckers are not lightweight. Again, I may just go with one for the BK. I know the torch units are loud, I have had them for several years from extract to AG.

This whole thing has cost me a lot more than I wanted to spend, but I landed 3 well built keggles for a great price and it's snowballed ever since.

Matt F · Post by **Matt F** » Mon Jan 13, 2014 2:09 pm

I use just the one burner. My HLT is electric and I love that. Works great for HERMS. No heat for the mashtun. Don't miss it with digital HERMS making temp adjustments really easy. I just heat mash water in the BK when I do 10 gallon batches. For 5 gallon batches, I heat all the water in the electric HLT. When I get home from work, I am ready to mash in and my HERMS water is heated up too.

Post by **JimPotts** » Mon Jan 13, 2014 2:11 pm

BTW, don't get me wrong, the hurricane burners suck. My point is that they'll work for 10-gal batches. As Matt said, they're loud and hard to control.

The banjo burners are a lot nicer in all respects (except for sounding like a jet engine; the hurricane burner wins that one hands down).

If you want to put off the added expense of good burners, you can certainly get by with hurricanes until you upgrade.

-Jim

Bones · Post by **Bones** » Mon Jan 13, 2014 2:12 pm

Super slick, I would love that setup. For now I am propane and trying to K.I.S.S. and my wallet happy. It's just a hobby

Bones · Post by **Bones** » Mon Jan 13, 2014 2:19 pm

Yes in the grand scheme of things it's not a lot of $$.

Two weeks ago I had a $30 cooler MT and $50 turkey fryer pot with a 3/8" ball valve

Now I have polished keggles, silicone tubing, camlocks, 2 pumps, etc. I will enjoy the pumps more than anything else I suspect.

Matt F · Post by **Matt F** » Mon Jan 13, 2014 2:26 pm

Electric HERMS sounds expensive, but it only cost me about $20 because of doubling the use of equipment I already had. I used a temp controller I had to run my fermenting fridge. Now it has two jobs. I use my immersion chiller as a heat exchanger in my HLT and the heating element and weldless fitting cost me less than $20. I already had the pump too so it was a small cost upgrade that has been a huge improvement for my brewery. I use gravity for part of the sparge so only need one pump.

My setup sounds expensive but is not. A friend made me the stand for some beers. Hurricane burner was $30, BK was $90 from St. Pats, both my keggles were free (found one in a dump and the other a co-worker gave me because the store would not take it back). Stainless parts from Bargain Fittings. I have less than $500 in my entire system due mostly to good luck and good friends. I like the Alton Brown approach and prefer items that can multi-task which helps a bunch.

Matt F · Post by **Matt F** » Mon Jan 13, 2014 2:30 pm

JimPotts wrote:BTW, don't get me wrong, the hurricane burners suck. My point is that they'll work for 10-gal batches. As Matt said, they're loud and hard to control.

The banjo burners are a lot nicer in all respects (except for sounding like a jet engine; the hurricane burner wins that one hands down).

If you want to put off the added expense of good burners, you can certainly get by with hurricanes until you upgrade.

-Jim

I don't think you know what I meant by hurricane burner. I hate the torch style. My hurricane burner is a ring burner. Looks identical to the Banjo or the guts of a Blichmann. I brew in my basement and a torch style is out of the question for that use.

Bones · Post by **Bones** » Mon Jan 13, 2014 2:34 pm

Matt F wrote:Electric HERMS sounds expensive, but it only cost me about $20 because of doubling the use of equipment I already had. I used a temp controller I had to run my fermenting fridge. Now it has two jobs. I use my immersion chiller as a heat exchanger in my HLT and the heating element and weldless fitting cost me less than $20. I already had the pump too so it was a small cost upgrade that has been a huge improvement for my brewery. I use gravity for part of the sparge so only need one pump.

My setup sounds expensive but is not. A friend made me the stand for some beers. Hurricane burner was $30, BK was $90 from St. Pats, both my keggles were free (found one in a dump and the other a co-worker gave me because the store would not take it back). Stainless parts from Bargain Fittings. I have less than $500 in my entire system due mostly to good luck and good friends. I like the Alton Brown approach and prefer items that can multi-task which helps a bunch.

I'm listening and why I am joining the club Thursday

I have a 3/8 SS immersion chiller I could use on a HERMS if large and long enough. I have a 1/2"x50' copper immersion chiller also, but not hacking that up just yet as I just got it last week.

I should be right around the $1,000 mark all said and done and I am ok with that and it should last me many years.

Post by **JimPotts** » Mon Jan 13, 2014 3:26 pm

Matt F wrote:I don't think you know what I meant by hurricane burner.

Whoops, I meant to say "torch." Yes, the hurricane ones like you have are what I like.

-Jim

Matt F · Post by **Matt F** » Mon Jan 13, 2014 4:08 pm

Here is a link to another post with a picture of my setup. The HLT is up top and the boil kettle sits below on the stand. The mash tun sits out by itself on a retired turkey fryer stand. I no longer use the burner under it. The tubing is configured for recirculating the mash in the photo.
http://www.crbeernuts.org/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?t=2469

Only mod I made to the chiller is adding the same QD's I use for all of my system. My sink that is a source of chilling water has the same fittings. When I am done with sparge I take it and put it in the boil kettle when it's time. It is a copper 1/2" x 50' coil. It also has an added return to do whirlpool chilling with the pump. Works to circulate the HLT to even out the temp in the sparge tank too. The lid on the HLT is actually the lid for the boil kettle and it has a cut out to fit the chiller. When the brew session is over, the temp controller is moved from the stand to the fridge. It is kind of funky compared to other setups but it works for me.

Bones · Post by **Bones** » Tue Jan 14, 2014 7:31 am

Thanks Matt, nice setup. I considered a basement setup, but the lack of space and it's our only place for storage nipped that idea. Stinks bc I have access to a drain for a sink and NG hookups.

After this build, finding a way to get a sink in the garage is the next priority.

Matt F · Post by **Matt F** » Tue Jan 14, 2014 12:11 pm

Yeah, sinks are nice to have around.

Bones · Post by **Bones** » Wed Jan 15, 2014 7:50 am

Decided to go with 3 of the mid sized, mid priced BG-12's. easier to mount, lighter and not as huge of a propane hog and I am hoping they are quieter than the torches.

Now I need to research needle valves, what PSI regulator I need to buy if my 10psi wont work and other plumbing do's and don'ts