[dcbc]

Well, after saving my pennies, I am having part two of the labor end of the Brew Stand 3.1 update performed today.  That's right.  Automation.  Last month, my stand went back to the welder to have a burner support and windscreen added for the mash tun.  Last week, I ordered two Blichmann Tower of Power control modules (I'm no electrician).  Today, I dropped the stand off at the plumber to adjust the gas piping to accommodate the mash tun burner and install the asco valves while they are in there.  Over the next week, I'll be installing the sparkers for the mash tun and HLT burners.  I'll also be installing a mount for the TOP, which basically amounts my bolting an articulating wall mount for a tube TV to the stand. 

I know this isn't DIY.  But, in large part, this stand never has been.  Pictures to follow.

[dcbc]

Back from the plumber.  New center burner with plumbing run at an angle so as not to interfere with my adjusting the pump.  ASCO valves are mounted below the ball valves for the MLT and HLT burners.  By mounting them there, I was hoping to have them far enough below the level of the burners so they would not get too much heat. 



More to come.

[gmac]

What kind of burners are those?  Are they enough to bring your 20 gal pots to boil in a decent amount of time?

[dcbc]

They are 20 tip jet burners.  They are extreme overkill, even for 20 gallon kettles.  I would have gone with the 10 tip, but the diameter was two small for the sparker/ignitor to reach the burner from the windscreen mounting location.  I may plug a few of the jets it keep the fire low for the mash tun, but dialing them back has never been a problem.

[dcbc]

Got a chance to work on it this morning.  Installed the spark ignitors in the wind screens.  Only drilled one unnecessary hole.  Took a good bit of time to get them lined up  Installed the temperature sensor in the HLT (don't have a tee yet to install one on the pump output).  Tested it.   No spark.  Eventually, after about 10 frustrating minutes of gas and no spark, I figured out that my spark gap was too large.  Adjusted that and got spark and ignition.  Adjusted it a bit more so that one of the sensors was well within the flame (kept shutting off after ignition).  Anyway, it's working well as far as igniting.  It did overshoot my HLT temperature by several degrees and never shut off.  Of course, I had it set pretty low and it's supposed to overshoot a bit.  I'm just not sure how much. 

Next week, I'll have my other sensor installed and will hopefully get my articulating mount set up.  Until then, here are some more pictures and short "I made fire" video.







http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yUL2KGH4pcU&feature=plcp

[dcbc]

Got the control modules mounted up today.  I need to clean up the wires, but it's basically done.  CRT TV Mount worked perfectly.  A few holes in the table and the tower of power modules screw right on.

[dcbc]

One last picture (for now) with the wiring cleaned up.

[dcbc]

Nice little action shot from last Friday.  Bohemian Pilsner.  Hochkurz mash schedule.  Controllers worked flawlessly!

[safi]

im a bit late to the show, but excellent stand and setup you got here, also thanks for the schematics

[dcbc]

Thanks!

[sonic100]

Sorry for reviving and old post but this set up is awesome. How are the gas pipes and burners attached? I can't tell from the pictures. I see the cross section underneath the burners but I didn't think those jet burners had mounting holes.

[dcbc]

No problem.  The burners are the 20 tip wok burners.  There is a hole in them that I believe is supposed to be used to to feed a pilot light through.  I use that hole to bolt them to a cross member that attaches to either side of the wind screen.  The gas piping is held up by the burners.  At some point, I will probably use some pipe straps to attach the pipe to the base of the stand, but, so far, I have not been inclined to mess with it since it seems to hold up just fine. 



You can see the bolt in this picture.




Also, for what it's worth.  I relocated the spark ignitor on the MLT burner to a position underneath that cross support.  Mounting it to the curve of the wind screen caused it to not sit completely flush.  It would move around a bit during the brew session for whatever reason and the changing gap made for inconsistent ignition.  Now, being mounted flush to a flat surface, it works great.  Not sure why the HLT ignitor never had this problem.