What do you guys think the cost would be to build a rig like this one? The guy is selling it and I like to get some opinions on what you all think it’s worth.
http://stlhops.com/photos-my-new-homebrewing-system-2/has he set a price?
My estimate:
PID and electric element for HERMS, $300
Keggles, $200
16gal kettle $200
Two burners, $150
Stand with plumbing, $300
Pump, $150
QDs, copper ICs and hoses, $100
That adds up to $1400 right there. I’m thinking if you can weld and wire up the PID box yourself you could save a couple hundred. You might get kegs cheap down there too, knocking another hundred off. If you can get this unit under $1K I’d think it would be worth it just to have something that won’t take you three months to put together.
He wants $1750 for it but I think I’m going to have to pass anyway. Wife’s about to pop a baby at any moment and I probably shouldn’t be spending that kind of jack.
Someday I’ll get a rig though.
I wasn’t that far off then, probably with all the other little stuff it cost him that much. Steel is pretty expensive right now. He’s wanting to get all his money out of it though, I don’t know that I’d go for that myself. I might get a welder and learn to weld just so I can fabricate my own rig this summer.
I do like his little electric mini-pot HERMS setup. I think you could accomplish that with a 120V 1000W stock tank heater ($30) and a temp controller ($70).
At $1750 for all of it, that’s not a bad deal.
I just had something similar welded and just the stand, casters, burners and plumbing were close to $1,400. If you can weld and do your own plumbing, etc., that cost drops a bit. But as was already mentioned, steel is expensive right now. I did 2" box tubing. Going 1.5" would have only saved me about $100. Add in the PID, all of the keggles, the copper, pumps, etc. and you get over that $1,750 price tag pretty fast. To have something that plug and play with all the bells and whistles is pretty good at that price.
So far i have spent 120 on the frame, casters, and having it welded. But…my father is a welder and he got the steel from a friend. My next step is going to be the burners and the black pipes for the gas.
It is a huge money saver knowing someone who welds and having a “friend source” for steel for sure.
It does look like a pretty sweet setup. I’m still going back and forth on it. I was originally considering offering him $1500 for it but with the baby on the way I just don’t know if I should spend the cash.
The frame doesn’t need to be welded, you can drill holes and bolt it together with high-grade bolts, but this process is time consuming, and you will break some bits. Also, you can usually scrounge up some bed frames from the local dump/transfer station and make a nice frame out of those.
With one on the way, now is the time to get some brewing done. Offer $1,500 cash and tell the wife that the brew stand will be a lot cheaper than the kid.
[quote=“Brewbeer22”]The frame doesn’t need to be welded, you can drill holes and bolt it together with high-grade bolts, but this process is time consuming, and you will break some bits. Also, you can usually scrounge up some bed frames from the local dump/transfer station and make a nice frame out of those.
With one on the way, now is the time to get some brewing done. Offer $1,500 cash and tell the wife that the brew stand will be a lot cheaper than the kid.[/quote]
He’s right, just wait until you see the price tag on daycare. That’ll blow your hair back.
Each person’s situation is going to be different, if it had been me and my financial situation, I would of had to pass. I have too many student loans.
