Ideal workbench height

[jezbrews]

I am fitting out the workshop space that came with the rental to use as a brewery, which means whatever bench height I want that suits me. How do I know how tall the bench should be? It will have on top a mash/boil kettle (changing for an AIO eventually which will be 67cm high, or 80cm when the basket is raised), an FV (which will be 76cm high), a sink (mains water will be piped in at no extra cost by the supportive landlord, I think he might want the odd bottle) a "lab" area for a microscope when it's being used. I imagine this little table will be taller than the rest. Under bench storage will be for malts and adjuncts, and under the sink will be cleaning chemicals, the microscope etc.

How do I figure out what will be an ideal height of workbenches (different for brewing, sink and microscope work?) for me, based on my height?

 

[Cwrw666]

I don't think it matters but for your boiler or aio I'd have a bit high enough so you can drain into an fv but low enough so hoisting the grain bag out will be fairly easy.

 

[Agentgonzo]

I think a standard kitchen worktop is 90cm high. We have ours slightly higher at 95cm.

That tends to account for all types and probably also historical in that people used to be shorter in previous generations. If you're quite tall, I would go with raising it a bit. Get a few chopping blocks out and put them on your kitchen worktop until it "feels good", then measure that

 

[MashBag]

An absolutely this is a feel, not a measurement. Mess about with it and see what works.

 

[jezbrews]

An absolutely this is a feel, not a measurement. Mess about with it and see what works.

Well, I imagine there is somewhere to start, like "~cm if you're ~ tall" sort of guidelines, rather than a fixed amount. For example, I read somewhere that if you stood upright with the workbench behind you, and rested your hands on the workbench, it should fit comfortably under your palms with your wrists bent and hands facing forward as if you were leaning on it. If so, this would make 90cm perfect for me.

 

[starseeker]

I would also take into consideration if thinking of getting a AIO ,that you will have to lift the malt tube and sparge , (if you choose to ) so you may have to use steps ,or set it all a bit lower .

 

[MashBag]

Good shout. You could put in a 600mm wide low worktop.

Although I really like the adjustability of the motorcycle jack as a table.

 

[Agentgonzo]

Depending on what AIO you use, it may affect what height you want to use it at. As mentioned, AIOs tend to have a malt-pipe/grain-basket that you raise up at the end of the mash, so it need to be moderately low down - otherwise it's too hard to raise up.

Some AIOs like the BZ3 have the control panel at the bottom, which is a PITA if you have the unit at ground level. So you may want to raise it up a fair amount.

Other units like the BZ4 or G30 have the control panel at the top (or on the side looking up) which makes it easily useable if the unit is very low down.

I brew with my G30 on a small dolly, essentially at ground level. I certainly wouldn't want it on top of a worktop as it would be way too high to operate the control panel and raise the grain basket.

 

[MashBag]

You could put a pulley on the grain basket.