[waltsmalt]

Just saw these were $150 on Adventures in Homebrewing and was thinking about pulling the trigger.  Currently use a chest freezer to ferment in and have been able to keep temps very well there.  I would be buying one to ferment another batch while the chest freezer is tied up. 

Any big downsides to them?

Of course I only have a few hours left on this deal to pull the trigger.

[Ellismr]

I’ve had three of them over the years the heating and cooling option is very good especially if you’re limited by space.  Just keep in mind that the max you can do is 30° below ambient temperature so if your space runs really hot during the summer it might be tough to get it something to cold crash.


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[denny]

I've been very happy with mine.  That's a great price.

[MerlinWerks]

I thought that was a great price as well, which made me wonder if they are sorta clearing them out for a bigger, better, faster but most likely not cheaper model   

[Saccharomyces]

Something is going on because I placed an order to a drilled 3" TC lid on 11/26 and not a peep from BrewJacket.   I am talking crickets.

[denny]

Something is going on because I placed an order to a drilled 3" TC lid on 11/26 and not a peep from BrewJacket.   I am talking crickets.

I have no definitive info, but I would guess based on what I've seen that the company is gone.

[Saccharomyces]

I have no definitive info, but I would guess based on what I've seen that the company is gone.

I sent an e-mail message directly to one of the founders.  BrewJacket is apparently not done, just refocusing their effort on BEERMKR.  Sales of the Immersion Pro have been handed off to Adventures in Homebrewing (AIH), which explains why AIH first reduced the price to $200.00 and then $150.  AIH has a wholesale counterpart Old Ale Wholesale (https://www.oldalewholesale.org/).

[denny]

I have no definitive info, but I would guess based on what I've seen that the company is gone.

I sent an e-mail message directly to one of the founders.  BrewJacket is apparently not done, just refocusing their effort on BEERMKR.  Sales of the Immersion Pro have been handed off to Adventures in Homebrewing (AIH), which explains why AIH first reduced the price to $200.00 and then $150.  AIH has a wholesale counterpart Old Ale Wholesale (https://www.oldalewholesale.org/).

Thanks for the info!

[MKipp]

I just used a BrewJacket for the first time. Here are the device specification that might help you decide how you would want to use it. It’s rather slow at cooling, so best suited for maintaining temp.

From the spec sheet:

Cooling/heating speed:

0-10 degrees F Above/Below Ambient:  0.5 to 1 degree/hour

10-20 degrees F Above/Below Ambient:  0.25 to 0.5 degree/hour

20-30 degrees F Above/Below Ambient:  0.1 to 0.25 degree/hour

“Maximum achievable temp from ambient +/- 25 to 35 degree F
Performance is dependent on the fermenter/ jacket combo.  Carboys and buckets generally see better performance than conical style fermenters.”

My own experience:

During the height of fermentation we ended up throwing two cold packs down into the insulated jacket to help with the cooling, mostly because the unit was running a lot and the AC adapter was getting hot, which bothered my engineer husband. It does use 85-95 watts while cooling. We were able to maintain a steady temp of 68 F with the max ambient temperature of 78 F.

Now that primary fermentation has trailed off, the temp inside the vessel stays steady at 65 F and the unit rarely runs.

We have the temp probe taped to the outside of the bucket. What I observed is that if you do add a cold packs to the chamber, the air temp is of course going to drop quickly, which does not equate to the temperature of the liquid.  So watch the immersion unit to make sure it doesn’t start to heat your beer! I noticed this right after my husband dropped in some cold packs, and the air coming out of the immersion unit was cold, not warm. If this happens, temporarily adjust the set point lower or unplug the unit while the temp equilibrates.

Another thing to be aware of is that the rod must not be directly exposed to pH levels below 4.0 or above 8.0 but you can use a protective sleeve (mine came with 2). Sanitizing agents like Star San and PBW could damage the metal rod. The instructions include alternate methods of sanitation.  Iodophor or IO-Star are recommended. You could also sanitize a rod sleeve with Star-San, which is what we did.