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Brew stand/burner design question

Northern Brewer General
#1

Ok, so I am in the process of building a new burner stand for brewing and I had a question. I plan on using 1/8" x 1" angle iron and the burner I already have. When I look at the design I have a question. Should the square support be bigger than the diameter of the pot or smaller? I am thinking not quite inscribing the square inside the pot diameter, almost have them the same size. I was thinking I should leave the pot hang over the edge a little to help with heat shielding. Here is a pic of what I was thinking, the square bit is the angle iron and the round bit is the pot.

Any thoughts?

#2

I like it. How about 2"x2"x1/8" angle versus your proposed 1"? I think the more you can keep the heat on the bottom the better and keep it from licking up the sides. Cheers!

#3

Any special reason for 2"? Just a wider “shelf” area?

#4

I went with a design that has the kettle diameter the same as the length of the side of the square, then used shorter pieces to fabricate a sort of octagonal shape, with the theory being that you want to maximize the kettle bottom surface area in contact with the heat from the flame:

More info here:
http://hbd.org/discus/messages/366/33621.html?1235494878

#5

Brewbeer, I have seen a lot of stands with that kind of design. I noticed that the angle iron by the thermometer is angled up. Is there a purpose? Do you have any problems with your thermometer getting hot? I ask because I intend to put a valve on my kettle and would like to plan ahead a bit.

#6

On the thermo side there are two pieces of angle iron across the front just under the thermo location, both up and down to help deflect the flame away from the front. No problems with the themo getting too hot; the burner under the HLT is small and the flame doesn’t reach beyond the bottom of the kettle.

Angling some of the angle iron up helps to make sure the kettles can’t easily come off the frame, and to help align the kettles for the plumbing connections. The valves do get hot which keeps them sanitary but a good valve can get very hot and still work fine. Keep the direct flame away from the valve (use shielding if needed), and you should be good.

#7

Brewbeer,

I have another question, how close is your burner to the bottom of the kettle? I have been reading about people modifying their setups to reduce fuel consumption by moving the burners closer.

#8

The smaller burner is 2 inches from the MLT; the larger one is about 2.5 inches from the boil kettle.

#9

You could get 2x1.25 unequal leg angle. Position the 2 inch leg vertical down as a flame gaurd and the 1inch leg the surface for the pot to sit on allowing more flame to reach the pot surface.
Also, the vertical members in the corners can extend above the pot resting plane to act as containment for the pot if you feel it neccasary.

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