Hello all. I’ve been brewing for a handful of years and have always used The Ol’ Trusty Cooler for a mash along with a couple kettles. I decided to upgrade to something that should last me a while and test my DIY skills but also not so hard my ADHD would squash the project!
I was mainly going for something that would cause less mistakes (better repeatability), use less water, make mash control easier, reduce heavy hot liquid lifting (safer) and well… Look cool!
System specs:
- 15 gallons
- RIMS PID mash control (gas)
- Recirculation ice bath immersion chiller
- Whirlpool in boil kettle
This is my new system using a TOP Gas for mash control. I used a 30x96" stainless steel table as my stand. The table is rated at 1200 pounds load and holds up like a rock.
First, I had to CNC water jet cut 3 13" diameter holes for the burners. Next I had to weld on the burner heat shields as well as weld on stainless kettle standoffs. The standoffs are used to channel burner heat as well let the burners breath. The burners also had a side benefit of making the table top much more rigid and moving the weight to the outer edges of the table making it more stable.
Oh, don’t mind the hoses, my son hooked those up to see if he could get it right… He didn’t.
Welded stainless standoffs
Front view of placement
Right side showing my hose storage solution. The little hook things are stainless mail/key holders mounted with high strength mounting tape.
On the left, I have mounted a water filter if I need to use tap. Also shown is my HLT pump controlled by a foot peddle.
Back to the right side, I mounted a piece of wood to use as a work space. The wood keeps the heat and glare down really well. Also, no, the wood won’t catch fire. There is a stainless standoff in front of it that channels the heat to the center where the mash tun is.
You will notice that there are two holes with hose running through them. The hoses are run through my immersion chiller into my old MT that now contains ice water and a strong submersible pump. I save water, chill faster, and get better cold break!
Lastly, my long stainless spoon would no longer do and I needed a proper mash paddle. This is what I came up with!
A Hawaiian tribal style Hammerhead Shark made out of hard maple.
I designed the fins in way to provide better grip while stirring and it works great!
All in all, it took months of work, a bit of blood and tears and A LOT of expletives.
I’m in the middle of building a small patio thing now for it to rest on as it’s kept outside. To keep it clean I found a water proof outdoor sofa cover for it that fits perfectly!
Hope you all like it and thanks for looking!