[quote=“Silentknyght”][quote=“Silentknyght”] I like the Blichmann because of the price, but it’s tall, and my wife is really going to be cheesed off if it doesn’t store well in the garage.
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Is there anyone in the Mpls area that builds Brewtus stands for a price?[/quote]
:oops: The wife was really cheesed off because it didn’t fit in the garage, and so I no longer have a Top Tier. I’ll ask again, does anyone know anyone in the Mpls area that builds Brewtus stands? Or, how does one go about sourcing parts? Is that necessary, or do you just hand the “directions” to a local welder, and they do their thing?[/quote]
I have had two brew stands built by a local welding shop. My recent single tier looks much like a Brutus, but was sized for my equipment and process. My guys like drawings with exact measurements and materials listed. If I didn’t have it on there, they spotted it and wanted it before they got started. They also were pretty adamant that I made the decisions on things like what size tubing to use, etc. They didn’t want to be the ones blamed if I undershot what I needed. Probably why I ended up with 1" box tubing (no regrets with that overkill).
If you already have equipment, I suggest laying out a top-down design on the floor using masking tape, then setting your equipment on the design to be sure it will fit. Then, measure the tape and use that as your top-down dimensions. For height, I went about 30" after accounting for caster height.
Lastly, if you even dream of doing it, tell the welder to do it the first time. On both of my stands, I have taken them back to add something I wish I had done the first time. It is always more expensive to add it later. On my first stand, I didn’t make it large enough to fit a larger kettle and had to have it widened. On my current stand, I didn’t put a burner under the mash tun because I never figured I would want to direct fire it. If you can weld, adding things later is no big deal. If not, you will pay more than if you just had it done in the first place.
Here’s my “Pimp my system” thread on the AHA forum. I have a drawing near the bottom that might help.
