𝗕𝗿𝗲𝘄𝗭𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗮 𝟯𝟱𝗟 𝗩𝟯.𝟭 (𝟭𝟭𝟬𝗩)
First off, this isn't a "set it and forget it" system like the Zymatic or PicoZ. You still have to brew on it and monitor it. But it makes the brewday a lot faster and easier. It is also not technically an all in one system as you will still need to bring your sparge water to temp in a separate vessel (I used my kitchen stove and a large stock pot) I chose the 35L version because 1) I wanted to brew on a 5-6 gallon set up (you could probably brew up to 7 gallons on this) and 2) I wanted a 110V (the 65L is 220).
Brewday was actually very easy, I brought my temp up to "close to" strike temp (165) and doughed in. I used the standard 1.25X(lb of grain) and quickly realized that the system took up more water than I expected. I added cold pre-made water (distilled with additions of CaCI2 and CaSO4) and simply let the mash come to temp on it's on. I ended up using 2 extra gallons of water, so not sure what the dough-in ratio is for this thing. IN the end it didn't really matter I knew how much water I used so the calculations for Sparge water wouldn't change. It came to temp very quickly using only the 500W element (this has separate 500 and 1000W elements.)
The temp on the bottom of the mash is going to be different (at first) than the temp at the top because of the elements. I had to adjust the bottom temp to 152 to get the mash to even out at about 150. On hind sight I probably should have stirred a few times to get the temp more homogeneous. But it wasn't an issue really. The recirc worked very well, and held the temp for an hour no problem. You do have to slow the output of the pump with a valve to make sure the pump doesn't outspeed the lauter or you will have an overflow and screw up your batch. But once you have it even it's a sinch. The top screen works very well at distributing the return vorlauf and the wort clears up quickly and beautifully. See in the pics.
This is basically a mechanized "brew-in-a-bag" concept so if that method concerns you this isn't for you. You have to pull the "malt pipe" up from the bottom and lauter into the kettle. You can hear the wort dripping into the kettle - if you are a low DO fanatic this will bother you. But OTOH the clarity of the wort seems to remove almost all the chaff and malt pieces and potential lipids and such - you could always add a little sodium bicarbonate to the mash if it concerns you. Doesn't concern me FYI.
One thing this really needs to have out of the box is a sight glass. If you do your calculations and know your grain absorption this isn't really going to be much of an issue I recon but you can not see the wort level without taking the malt pipe out. My calculations were off by about a half gallon so I had to take the malt pipe out, check level, replace malt pipe and run another 1/2 gallon sparge. I will modify a sight glass before my next brew.
I ran the recirc as it came up to a boil. The cool thing is I set the system to 202 and went and took a nap (lol) when I got up it was ready to go and was boiling within 10 minutes. SO I'm not sure how long it would take to go from 150-212 yet (I didn't mash-out). I'm guessing 30 minutes or so.
I had to run both elements to keep a steady boil. My efficiency was about 80%. I was concerned about the chiller at first but it went from 212 to 75 in about 20 minutes or less. I was able to use the pump to WP during the chilling process.
Clean up was a breeze, for the most part everything just hosed right off. There was some normal gunk stuck to the bottom where the elements are located but no scorching. I was able to scrup it right off, everything else came off with the hose. I recriced some TSP Sub and oxiclean mixture through the pump and recirculation arm and that was it. Packed it all away.
There are definitely some pros and cons of this system.
Pros:
• Higher than expected efficiency
• Boil and heat times sufficient
• Internal pump works great
• Multiple screen system works like a champ leaving very clear vorlauf (see pic) and capturing most of the hops/trub. You could probably let sit longer to remove more after chilling.
• Bottom elements work more like a burner as opposed to elements submersed in the wort which cake and sometimes scorch and are harder to clean.
Cons:
• My biggest concern is there isn't a way to replace the elements if they go bad. Apparently the prior versions had circuit boards that fried regularly however these are replaceable and is supposed to be addressed in V3.1. I haven't seen any complains of actual bad elements so maybe it isn't a real concern.
• 110V needs both elements to boil at 6.5 gallons.
• Takes a little while longer to get mash temp to set evenly than I expected - of course I didn't stir while it came to temp so that probably solves this.
• Kettle lid not notched to sit around chiller
• Needs legitimate sight glass
• Display is difficult to read unless you bend down - would have been nice if they had angled it up.
Holding Temp (took about 20 min to even out but I did not stir after initial dough in)
Super clear vorlauf!!!
Here's the malt pipe raised for sparge/lauter (unit not in use here)
Full boil - it needed both elements to roil
Whirlpool and chill
Racking to fermentor with internal pump
Super fast and easy cleanup - the caked on trub came off with the abrasive back of a sponge.
Topic: R𝗲𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗕𝗿𝗲𝘄𝗭𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗮 𝟯𝟱𝗟 𝗩𝟯.𝟭 (𝟭𝟭 (Read 6094 times)
