picobrew e-biab vs. high gravity biab

I am planning to purchase one of these systems soon and want to get the opinion of a few others...maybe some owners.

you can see the picobrew system here: http://electricbiab.com/
you can see the high gravity system here: http://www.highgravitybrew.com/productcart/pc/BIAB-Electric-Brewing-System-158p3987.htm#.UqqR342A1aR

Both systems look very similar and I think either would work well for me. Prices are almost identical...although I am not sure about the shipping cost of the pico.

I am leaning toward the picobrew system because the controller has a lot of bells and whistles. However, I am a little nervous because it is a new product and uses more technology. The high gravity system has been around longer and the controller may be less prone to failure.

Any opinions out there?

Thanks.

traviswalken said:

I am planning to purchase one of these systems soon and want to get the opinion of a few others...maybe some owners.

you can see the picobrew system here: http://electricbiab.com/
you can see the high gravity system here: http://www.highgravitybrew.com/productcart/pc/BIAB-Electric-Brewing-System-158p3987.htm#.UqqR342A1aR

Both systems look very similar and I think either would work well for me. Prices are almost identical...although I am not sure about the shipping cost of the pico.

I am leaning toward the picobrew system because the controller has a lot of bells and whistles. However, I am a little nervous because it is a new product and uses more technology. The high gravity system has been around longer and the controller may be less prone to failure.

Any opinions out there?

Thanks.

Click to expand...

I think I am the one that mentioned the Pico to you.

Anyhow here are my thoughts.

There are things that I like about both of them.

The Pico is pretty cool with the touch interface. There are updates coming out quite often to add features. Those are the good parts. The bad, well you are stuck with a system that is more unique if there are issues later down the road. If he stops support and something happens you may be tossing out a lot of it and buying something new. There are also really not much for options in expansion to HERMS or such. Sure it would work as a BK but you are a little limited. You don't have to have a computer right there to run it but it seems like most people do that. Though they seem to wish the cords were longer to get a little further away from the brewing process.

Read this thread. It is where I first learned about it. I almost bought one in Oct when they had a pre release special going.
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f170/has-anyone-bought-controller-electricbiab-com-437441/

High Gravity has a few benefits. It is a PID control so if it died you could go open it up and replace parts. If you thought you might want to expand things. You could get the EBC III option to offer growth. The disadvantage is that it isn't as high tech as the pico. No built in timers and other cool stuff.

Like I mentioned I almost bought a pico. I didn't for a couple reasons. I had already started collecting some of my stuff to build a HERMS brewery. I had the keggles one of the two pumps and a few other things at the time. If I went pico, I wouldn't have the ability to move to this stuff. I would be stuck with BIAB which there isn't anything wrong with but I wanted more in the end. I went with a 50A BCS 460 controlled panel which I will be building. I like the project, and it gives me something that I will build and include the computer functionality like the pico. No touch screen unless I add one to a computer. This route will be much more expensive but it is what I did. No right answer.

If it were me, I didn't want to do a build and I had no plans of going past BIAB, then I would have a hard decision. In the end I would probably go with the High Gravity. Just because it is something I could work on later. I would likely spend the extra $300 for the EBC III. Again that is what I would do. This isn't the best option for everyone.

Thanks sennister. I am leaning back toward the high gravity system. The pico system has a 90 day warranty. I am a little nervous about a touch screen electronic device with only 90 days. Also, I don't really need a touch screen device to tell me when to add hops and do mash steps.

traviswalken said:

Thanks sennister. I am leaning back toward the high gravity system. The pico system has a 90 day warranty. I am a little nervous about a touch screen electronic device with only 90 days. Also, I don't really need a touch screen device to tell me when to add hops and do mash steps.

Click to expand...

I would look around here. You might find a thread with reviews or posts from people actually using the High Gravity System. I haven't personally used or seen either of them so I can only provide a thought on what I would do. That is what works for me and I am sure there are people that like both systems. I mentioned the Pico to you before mainly because I saw how similar it was to the HG and cost between the two is pretty close. It is best to be able to review all your options to find the best solution for you which you are doing.

I decided to go with the high gravity system. I see nothing but positive comments about it (and it's controller). I have also seen that several people use the ebc sv controller for their 3 vessel systems. So I figure I will get the e-biab kit and have the option of converting my 3 vessel system in the future.

traviswalken said:

I decided to go with the high gravity system. I see nothing but positive comments about it (and it's controller). I have also seen that several people use the ebc sv controller for their 3 vessel systems. So I figure I will get the e-biab kit and have the option of converting my 3 vessel system in the future.

Click to expand...

I know it's only been 3 weeks - and not meaning to rush you - but have you taken the plunge and purchased your system yet? If so, I'd be excited to hear your evaluation.

Keith

kzimmer0817 said:

I know it's only been 3 weeks - and not meaning to rush you - but have you taken the plunge and purchased your system yet? If so, I'd be excited to hear your evaluation. Keith

Click to expand...

I ordered it and added a gfci protected circuit. The system arrived quickly, but the controller didn't function. Dave was very helpful. He thinks it's the sensor cable so I am waiting for a replacement to arrive.

A couple observations...I do like the quality of the components. I added a little Teflon tape based on some info posted by others on the forum...no leaks.

I'll post more impressions after I am able to brew.

I've been patiently saving to get either the High Gravity eBIAB or the PicoBrew eBIAB and noticed this morning the new "BrewBoss" offerings from Picobrew, in either 120V or 240V. While the inclusion of Android tablets to control the process is great, it looks like the price went up a good amount--just about $1100+ for the 15 gallon/240V setup without a pump or tablet. That puts it above the High Gravity now in terms of price.

Or, am I reading this wrong? Honestly, I was leaning towards the Picobrew because it appeared I could get a system for under $900, but I think I prefer the simpler & less featured High Gravity controller (seems less to go wrong). This Pico price increase changes my choice, so I am just checking if I missed anything before getting the High Gravity one in a month.

Anyone else notice this change to Picobrew?

stealthfixr said:

Anyone else notice this change to Picobrew?

Click to expand...

I looked at his site and it doesn't look fully updated for the new system. The photos appear to be of the old system. The new system allows you to customize your own brew steps and use it on any type of setup, not just BIAB.

Yea I looked at the site yesterday and wasn't having any luck seeing the new system, because this has been on my short list of "want" controllers

I currently use the Picobrew system and love it. Here is a video of my brewing an Arrogant Bastard clone on it

[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HmHVdaIL89I[/ame]

Another picoBrew owner here. I love my system and I honestly cannot say enough good things about the support I have received from the creator. I probably sent him 20-30 emails over the course of purchasing/setting up/brewing and he answered all of them with thoughtful and helpful responses usually very quickly.

Just as an example of this great support, I just emailed him 20 minutes ago asking about the new Brew Boss product and whether some of that functionality will make it into the current controller. The answer, yes, he is currently beta testing a replacement firmware for current picoBrew users to take advantage of the android/brew boss platform. This guy is on the ball.

I second his great support and quick & thorough responses. Sent him an email a short while ago asking for some more information.
His reply:

"Thanks for the inquiry. Sorry about the confusion, we are in a transitional stage at this point trying to get our new web site up and supporting information for our new product Brew Boss created prior to it's official introduction at the National Homebrew Conference in June. We have created Brew Boss in response to multiple requests for a user programmable system that can do Brew in a Bag and also be used for conventional brewing setups, Brew Boss was created on the Android platform as it offers a more user friendly user interface as well as a true file system that allows more convenient storage and recall of saved operational parameters and brew steps. Eventually, Brew Boss will be supported by Windows, Linux, and MAC pcs as well.

Because the new system does BIAB as well, we are phasing that product out and standardizing on the new Brew Boss platform.

Click Here for the preliminary operations manual and Click here to download a cut sheet to further familiarize you with the system.

Hops Boss is an automated feeder for hops and other finnings (such as Irish moss) and integrates with the new Brew Boss controller. It will be officially introduced at the conference as well. showing it in action to give you an idea of what it is and how it works.

Let me know if you have any other questions."

I just got the Brew Boss controller and started a new thread on it (Brew Boss Systems Thread).
Also, their website (brew-boss.com)has been updated with information on the new system.

Really the main differences between the Brew Boss and High Gravity systems is the amount of future expandability that you want. If you want a single kit that will get you brewing beer and save you time in your brew day, and won't expand your system further in the future, the Brew Boss is the best choice. But if you're a hobbyist and a tinkerer, you won't be satisfied for long. You're going to want more pots, controlling more temperatures, etc. And then there is a whole other extreme in fully automating your home brewery. At that point you'll want a centralized, computer-based controller like the BCS-460 (http://www.embeddedcontrolconcepts.com/).

As far as the PicoBrew (Brew Boss) goes, all the guts are there that would be in the High Gravity unit. What you'd have to do is swap out the PicoBrew Arduino computer module for a $20 PID. Then it would basically be the same thing. But you'd lose all the programming functionality.

I have both. I've had issues with my PicoBrew, and I'm about to brew my first batch with the High Gravity BIAB system. Will post my results.

I like the Pico, but I'm in the process of sending it back due to boil issues and a possible faulty pump. I've made 65+ batches with my Pico. It's great when it works -- and it works 98% of the time. But I've lost about 5-8 batches due to pump/boiling issues. I've made great, great beers with the Pico brew. It's a kickass system. But it's a blackbox. If a part breaks, you can't go to Home Depot to get a replacement. This annoyed the hell out of me, frankly. Fortunately, Pico support is top notch -- and they're there on weekends and able to answer question -- but the fact that I could mash fine and then ruin a batch because a faulty boil drove me crazy. As I say, my Pico is on its way back for some serious surgery. I'm sure it'll be fine when it returns -- but until then, I plan to use the HighGrav BIAB system.

I'm not unhappy with it -- I like it -- but it's finicky. I bought the HighGrav BIAB system because I was tired of boil issues with the Pico. In a few days, I'm about to make my first BIAB batch.

Stay tuned.

IMHO if one wants to brew smaller batches (like the picobrew), this is an excellent system for the price:

http://brausupply.com/collections/biab-systems/products/unibrau-120v-5-gallon-brew-boss-automated-brew-system

I think we need to be careful to not confuse the Brew-Boss System (http://www.brew-boss.com/), which in its first iterations was called picobrew, with the PicoBrew System (https://www.picobrew.com/). Two completely different systems and creators.

Also keep in mind that the Brew-Boss System has changed significantly from its pico days.

Sorry to revive an old thread, but I'm in need of the PC software for this. Is anyone able to share? My controller is dead in the "wort" if you will, and I cannot control the recipe without it. I just built my system, and I'd hate to have to throw this system away because I cannot control it aside from the recipe it's loaded with now.