Hey, all. Frequent lurker, first time poster. I built a budget brew stand from a $40 shelving rack and 4 replacement grill grates from a big box store for a total of $80.
I only have the one burner and wanted to have the ability to move it under the kettles, as opposed to moving the kettles on and off the burner as well as eliminating being bent over half the time brewing.
That’s an idea I haven’t seen before. Looks like it should work.
You may need a heat shield under the burner to protect the particle board from the heat. Keep an eye on it the first time you light it up. A piece of light sheet metal would probably be enough.
Good point about the particle board and heat. It wasn’t completely out of my head but I don’t have any scrap sheet around to cover it. I’ll monitor the heat transfer and see if it’s anything to be concerned with. Thanks!
You’re probably going to get a goodly amount of paint scorching on upper portions of the frame, if so it might stink like the dickens for while, but once the heat has scorched all it’s going to you should be okay. The areas that are scorched will be more prone to rusting over time.
Scorching isn’t something I had considered. Some discoloration and loss of paint Is expected. Maybe I’ll keep a rattle can of VHT paint handy just in case. If it burns and smokes the neighborhood, I’ll get video to share with you all.
Thinking of the scorching and heat around the burner area, where do most people find inexpensive metal for heat shields? Is metal ducting commonly used? It’s galvanized and light enough gauge to bend by hand, seems like a good direction…
Philbrew- they fit between the angles like they were made for it! I got lucky this time, so that’s about it for me this year.
If it’ll hold up to exhaust headers that get hot enough to glow, it’ll work on this stand. I’ve had this on my radar for my pickup, should be getting headers over the summer and I don’t want them rusting away…
VHT was my first thought too. Maybe for touch up to keep corrosion at bay. You’re right- it works on headers, but even then it flakes off after a while. Really extreme conditions, brew burners and headers. Good maintenance is probably the best one can do.
I mean the whole idea of the paint is to keep it from rusting, which it will do. If you keep on top of touching up any issues I don’t think you’ll ever have an issue with rust.
May not be the prettiest brew stand around, but form should follow function.
Brewed a Hefe on this today, thought I’d provide some feedback.
Particle board got hot. Not a catastrophe, but a little warmer than I would like. Some kind of heat shield will be used in the future. I experimented with heavy duty foil and had good results. A more permanent solution will be some metallic sheet of some sort.
Scorching wasn’t so much an issue…first time. I can see the blackened areas around the burner requiring some upkeep. No paint burnt off, no noticeable noxious fumes, no warping of the stand.
A happy accident did occur. The boil stayed much more consistent on the rack than it ever has with the pot on the burner. I almost got lazy and stopped watching.
The idea of warming sparge water next to the brew kettle went well. The only hiccup was when I cranked the heat the insulation around the mash kettle began to melt. Foil helped with this as well but a more permanent solution is more desirable.
Thanks for the comments thus far. Any other ideas or critiques would be helpful.
Another reason to cover the particle board with metal would be to protect it from moisture. I know enough stray drops, or the occasional boil over are going to real havoc with that stuff in the long run.
Looks good! Galvanized metal will work fine, just be sure the first free burns are in a week ventilated area. When galvanized gets hot, out gives off very noxious fumes. I’m a sheet metal worker. Ask me how I know… :
I’ve used roof flashing for this type of thing too. I believe it’s aluminum but I can’t prove it. 8^) It’s easy to cut and bend, a few pop rivets and your done.
I like the simplicity of your build. It looks like something just about anyone could build (since you did the hard part and figured out how to do it). You might want to submit it to the Gadgets issue of Zymurgy. You’d be “Homebrew famous”.
