[Beer Monger]

This is my brewing system.  I put it all together myself w/ the help of a welder friend for the rack:

-14 Gallon hot liquor tank on top tier
-10 Gallon cooler as mash tun on middle tier
-14 Gallon boil kettle on bottom tier
-55K BTU burners w/ custom built propane lines

The best pic. I have now - I'll try to get a better one next time I brew.


Another look at the mash tun & boil kettle (w/ immersion wort chiller inside).


Hot liquor tank w/ thermometer.


My burners (55K BTU):


Custom made propane line assembly for both burners (hot liquor & boil).


Another look.


Phil's Sparger (I could use a new one - but they aren't made anymore).


Out spigot on mash tun.


Other stuff (Spare kegs, bottle tree, etc.).

[bluesman]

Very nice system!

Simple yet very practical. Well done. 

[denny]

Phil's Sparger (I could use a new one - but they aren't made anymore).

The reason being that Dan Listermann said it was the most worthless piece of equipment he ever produced.

[Beer Monger]

Phil's Sparger (I could use a new one - but they aren't made anymore).

The reason being that Dan Listermann said it was the most worthless piece of equipment he ever produced.

Lol  Really?  It works great for me - and I prefer it to the diffusion sparge attachments I'm seeing these days. 

Of course, I did have to replace Phils Phalse Botton in my mash tun w/ a stainless one.  I had a horrible experience one time where the amount of grain in the tun pressed the plastic false bottom to the bottom of the tun and I had hell sparging that batch/collecting my wort! 

What do you use to sparge? 

[beersk]

I think it'd be hard to lift a kettle full of water to that top tier, this is what I don't get about 3 tier systems.  Unless you pump it in, it seems to not be practical to me.  But it looks very nice, if it works for you, then great.

[denny]

What do you use to sparge? 

A toilet hose in a cooler...


www.dennybrew.com

[Beer Monger]

Interesting.  Maybe I'll look into building my own sparger.  Perhaps a ring w/ lots of holes in it.....

[Beer Monger]

Very nice system!

Simple yet very practical. Well done. 

Thanks.  It works quite well for me.  The only 'issue' somewhat is the height of the hot liquor tank, but it's a very, very minor inconvenience in the grand scheme of things. 

[JKL]

I love it!!  I'm in the process of putting together my 1/2 barrel system and It'll look a lot like yours by next week when I get to finally take her for a test drive! 

quote author=beersk link=topic=6688.msg80443#msg80443 date=1301412710]
I think it'd be hard to lift a kettle full of water to that top tier, this is what I don't get about 3 tier systems.  Unless you pump it in, it seems to not be practical to me.  But it looks very nice, if it works for you, then great.
[/quote]

This is my main concern right now.  It was hard enough filling my 7.5 gal HLT on my old wooden 3 tier.  Now I'm going to be about another foot higher.  I'm planning on getting a pump soon but of course I want the s/s quick disconnects to go with it and might as well get a few new s/s valves to replace those old brass ones.  Wow Therminators sure are pretty.
-J.K.L.

[tschmidlin]

Interesting.  Maybe I'll look into building my own sparger.  Perhaps a ring w/ lots of holes in it.....

Check out Denny's website and consider batch sparging.  I don't, but a lot of people do with great results.  I'll probably try it in a few batches.

[Beer Monger]

I love it!!  I'm in the process of putting together my 1/2 barrel system and It'll look a lot like yours by next week when I get to finally take her for a test drive! 

quote author=beersk link=topic=6688.msg80443#msg80443 date=1301412710]
I think it'd be hard to lift a kettle full of water to that top tier, this is what I don't get about 3 tier systems.  Unless you pump it in, it seems to not be practical to me.  But it looks very nice, if it works for you, then great.

This is my main concern right now.  It was hard enough filling my 7.5 gal HLT on my old wooden 3 tier.  Now I'm going to be about another foot higher.  I'm planning on getting a pump soon but of course I want the s/s quick disconnects to go with it and might as well get a few new s/s valves to replace those old brass ones.  Wow Therminators sure are pretty.
-J.K.L.


[/quote]

I fill my hot liquor tank using a 1-gallon jug, so I can easily measure how much water I'm putting in for each step.  So filling it, even that high up, isn't really an issue.  That's what the step stool is for.  I never move/lift my hot liquor tank during brewing. 

[beersk]

Oh that's a good idea.  I have a one gallon pitcher that would work well for something like that also.

[denny]

Interesting.  Maybe I'll look into building my own sparger.  Perhaps a ring w/ lots of holes in it.....

Check out Denny's website and consider batch sparging.  I don't, but a lot of people do with great results.  I'll probably try it in a few batches.

Dude, am I gonna have to come up there and walk you through it? 

[Bret]

Phil's Sparger (I could use a new one - but they aren't made anymore).

The reason being that Dan Listermann said it was the most worthless piece of equipment he ever produced.

Why did he say this?  I have used mine for 15 years, and it works just fine.  I use a five gallon cylindrical cooler (blue) for a mash tun due to space constraints, so another (in addition to the two I use for well, coolers) big rectangular cooler and batch sparging don't work for me.

[Beer Monger]

Interesting.  Maybe I'll look into building my own sparger.  Perhaps a ring w/ lots of holes in it.....

Check out Denny's website and consider batch sparging.  I don't, but a lot of people do with great results.  I'll probably try it in a few batches.

Dude, am I gonna have to come up there and walk you through it? 

I guess I just need a link to the definition.  What is 'batch sparging'?