Speidel Braumeister (brewmaster)

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I just got mine last April (2013). Haven't opened the pumps yet to see what the impellers are made of though.


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You haven't opened the pump and taken the impeller out for cleaning at all?

I open it and wipe and dry it after every brew, the small holes in the impeller get clogged quite easily. Once I left the cleaning for the next day and the moisture had made a rust spot in the dent where the impeller goes.

When you do open it please report how it looked inside...:eek:
 
You haven't opened the pump and taken the impeller out for cleaning at all?



I open it and wipe and dry it after every brew, the small holes in the impeller get clogged quite easily. Once I left the cleaning for the next day and the moisture had made a rust spot in the dent where the impeller goes.



When you do open it please report how it looked inside...:eek:


I have only used it 3 or 4 times so far. Clean it with PBW with pumps running to about 70C. Then again with hot water to rinse. Use a hose and spray water in both the intakes and outlets to make sure nothing is stuck in there. Haven't experienced any flow restriction, but I will open just for curiosity's sake to see if there's anything there. Will post pics either way, maybe later today.


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I have only used it 3 or 4 times so far. Clean it with PBW with pumps running to about 70C. Then again with hot water to rinse. Use a hose and spray water in both the intakes and outlets to make sure nothing is stuck in there. Haven't experienced any flow restriction, but I will open just for curiosity's sake to see if there's anything there. Will post pics either way, maybe later today.


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Even with the above procedure, small trub will stick to the propeller.

I open up the pump after every brew and clean it with a soft cloth. I leave it open too dry and close it up the next day.

Keeps it all shiny.

Niels
 
Even with the above procedure, small trub will stick to the propeller.

I open up the pump after every brew and clean it with a soft cloth. I leave it open too dry and close it up the next day.

Keeps it all shiny.

Niels


I see I will have to improve my cleaning procedure. Did not think opening the pumps would be a mandatory step. Thanks for informing me of my error. Will post pics of the opened pump just for kicks though!


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Okay.... Seems I need to do better housecleaning. No as bad as I feared, but not good either.

Pic of open pump:
ImageUploadedByHome Brew1393032241.502758.jpg
ImageUploadedByHome Brew1393032258.837850.jpg

The pump itself is okay, just a wipedown took care of it. But the brass housing has some corrosion.
Any ideas on how to clean that up? I was thinking of taking it off and giving it a light sandblasting,
but does anyone think that might do more harm than good?


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I open the pump and wipe it clean and dry it after every brew, then let it dry out a day or two, and I still get colourisation in the brass part, no corrosion though.
 
Well I took the brass housing to work today and used a steel bristle brush on my handpiece to clean it up. It came out quite nicely, but I will be sure to clean the pumps out after EVERY brew to avoid any future problems.
ImageUploadedByHome Brew1393257963.730854.jpg
Special thanks to DeGarre & nielsr for pointing out my mistake and for their advice on how to properly clean the pumps!


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I have a 20 litre which I purchased in September 2012. I just think this shows there is a little variability in the calibration of the temp controller. Admittedly the temp sensor is at the bottom but once you have been mashing at the same temp for over 15 minutes there should be much temp difference between the top and bottom when the pump is running. I think less than 1 degree is OK but if you want more accuracy you need to measure with an accurate thermometer.
 
The manual says to open and clean with a soft cloth.


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Well I took the brass housing to work today and used a steel bristle brush on my handpiece to clean it up. It came out quite nicely, but I will be sure to clean the pumps out after EVERY brew to avoid any future problems.
I think that's good practise! Also, when opening the pump you should take out the impeller and make sure the holes in it are clear. I can imagine they can get filled up with gunk over time...

Niels
 
Hi everyone,
First of all, sort for some englich mistakes...
I'm new here but I have a Braumeister for one year. Since the beginning I'm having problems with the temperature climbing. It takes almost one hour to climb from 24C to 55C… And almost 1,5hours to climb from 78C to 100C! Does anyone have this kind of problem? What is the normal speed?
Thanks!
 
Hi everyone,
First of all, sort for some englich mistakes...
I'm new here but I have a Braumeister for one year. Since the beginning I'm having problems with the temperature climbing. It takes almost one hour to climb from 24C to 55C… And almost 1,5hours to climb from 78C to 100C! Does anyone have this kind of problem? What is the normal speed?
Thanks!

raulsn,

I get about 1C increase per minute. What you're seeing is not normal. First make sure your electrical supply is correct: proper voltage - 230V and amperage - 10A for 20l, 16A for 50l. If electrical supply is correct, you may have some malfunction - contact Braumeister support.
 
raulsn,

I get about 1C increase per minute. What you're seeing is not normal. First make sure your electrical supply is correct: proper voltage - 230V and amperage - 10A for 20l, 16A for 50l. If electrical supply is correct, you may have some malfunction - contact Braumeister support.

Thank you Nesto,

I'll check and write here what happened…
 
Been reading alot about the Braumeister then WOW! 246th page thats alot of reading. This has to be HBT record?

I really do want one of these as one would not need so much space, storage when not in use, brew year round. Yes its an art to do it all the more economical way but sheesh this just seems the answer. Art is a feeling you accomplished on your own, nobody cares unless it tastes good what the art of creating it was. Crap now most professional artists are on a computer,,,,times change.

No i dont work for the company. I own it..j/k

Its one of those some day, some day things.
 
Hi everyone,
First of all, sort for some englich mistakes...
I'm new here but I have a Braumeister for one year. Since the beginning I'm having problems with the temperature climbing. It takes almost one hour to climb from 24C to 55C… And almost 1,5hours to climb from 78C to 100C! Does anyone have this kind of problem? What is the normal speed?
Thanks!
hey raulsn, in addition to checking the voltage and contacting speidel directly, you can post problems like this on the new-ish BM forum where others may have had similar experiences.
https://forum.braumeisters.net/

those are some seriously slow heating times, definitely not normal.
 
Been reading alot about the Braumeister then WOW! 246th page thats alot of reading. This has to be HBT record?

I really do want one of these as one would not need so much space, storage when not in use, brew year round. Yes its an art to do it all the more economical way but sheesh this just seems the answer. Art is a feeling you accomplished on your own, nobody cares unless it tastes good what the art of creating it was. Crap now most professional artists are on a computer,,,,times change.

when the BM first came out people (on this very forum!) complained that it was a machine that made beer for you at the push of a button. as if you didn't make recipes, grind malt, dough in, decide mash regimes, design hopping regimes and techniques, clean up, sanitize, and most importantly master yeast to execute a proper fermentation. if these same people grew and malted their own grain, maybe i'd listen, but... their folly is not worthy of your ear!
the BM, like you say, is a nice piece of kit for making wort, with a small footprint both in use and storage. and it's shiny.
 
Am I the dumbest BM user on the planet? :(Yesterday I was brewing for the first time since June and all was going well.
Grains weighed and crushed.
Water filtered and sat overnight.
Starter going for day and a half.
Brought water up to dough in temp.
Disaster!!
While I was doughing in I was looking down beside the BM and noticed both sets of screens!! :confused:
Of course I was only one scoop short of having the whole malt bill in the tube.
I severely admonished my self, pulled the plug,Drained 1/2 of the wort into a bucket then tipped the whole thing into a bucket with an old BIAB bag I had.
After much swearing, rinsing, and cleaning ( including special care to the pump) I was ready to roll again.
I had only 2 scoops into the tube this time before I started calling myself all of the names my wife saves for me.
F#$% I did it again.
Went through the cleaning process again, and finished the brewday with no more excitement. The whole mess cost me about an hour so not that bad, and only missed my OG by a coulpe of points.
I expect/hope I am not the only one that has ever done this, however, it is with great humility that I admit that this was not my first expeience with idiocy, as I did the same exact thing with my 3rd BM day and didn't think I could possibly ever repeat it.
Hands up everyone who has ever done this?? I hope I am no alone in first place.:rockin:

Yes, I've done this. But not twice.....................Yet :)
 
I live in a small apartment, and have been brewing for about 20 years, first with extract, then moving on to BIAB about 10 years ago (I really have to single out and thank the multitude of brewers, mostly Australian at first, who were the first to document this space saving technique that made all grain brewing a possibility for me). Since then, I fell in love with the Braumeister concept for all the various reasons people have been discussing on this board (most importantly, the ability to precisely control mash times and temperatures). Conveniently, I was on vacation this past week, and finally received my Braumeister 20L this past Tuesday (four days ago), put together a USA compatible power cable on Wednesday, and brewed my first beer on Thursday. So far, I am very happy.

One investment I have yet to make is in a wort pump to move beer from the brew kettle to the fermenter. But, since the Braumeister's pump pushes wort up through a fitting in the bottom of the brew kettle, I will not make that investment. I will press a pipe over this fitting, and wort will be pushed up through the pipe. A hose attached to this pipe will carry the wort to my fermenter.

My prototype is made of 0.5 inch pvc pipe rated for high temperatures, and a piece of 2x3 inch wood (eventually I will replace the wood with pvc for sanitation reasons). The 0.5 inch pipe has a rubber gasket that forms a seal with the pump fitting at the bottom of the kettle. The 0.5 inch pipe is pressed down using Braumeister's connecting rod. See the photographs of the prototype (as always, each picture is worth a thousand words).

The piece of wood has two holes drilled about 1.75 inches (about 4.5 cm) apart, one for the connecting rod, and one for the 0.5 inch pipe. The wood is intended to slide over the connecting rod and over the 0.5 inch pipe. The 0.5 inch pipe was cut about 13 inches (abut 33 cm) from the bottom, and then reconnected using a fitting that has a larger outside diameter than the pipe. The wood cannot slide past the large od fitting. When the wood is secured down onto the connecting rod using the wing nut, it pushes down on the 0.5 inch pipe and forms a seal with pump's output fitting.

So far I've only tested it with clear water. When time to transfer the wort, I expect it to be a challenge to find the pump fitting in the bottom of the kettle (cannot see through the wort). So, I'll have to be sure to remember its approximate location ahead of time.

cheers

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That's pretty damn clever. I look forward to hearing about how it will work post brewing with the wort, hops and trub obscuring your vision and presumably the hole as well.

Could a T pipe be added post pump to the plumbing below to essentially do the same thing without have to fuss with getting the pipe into the hole from the top?
 
Good day I decided to post my Braumeister 50L brew setup. The Braumeister is amazing for small apartment and since I live in 3 and a half I have no regrets. My latest modification is the condenser that connect to the copper hood using flexible tubing. On my last brew the condenser enabled me to recover 2liters of water that is a lot of humidity in a bucket and not in my apartment.

Happy Brewing.

2014-05-17 at 9.23.00 PM.jpg
 
Good day I decided to post my Braumeister 50L brew setup. The Braumeister is amazing for small apartment and since I live in 3 and a half I have no regrets. My latest modification is the condenser that connect to the copper hood using flexible tubing. On my last brew the condenser enabled me to recover 2liters of water that is a lot of humidity in a bucket and not in my apartment.

Happy Brewing.

Cool setup! Is this condenser DIY or off-the-shelf? Would you mind sharing some info about how it operates (I suppose you run cold water through it which makes the evaporation condens or something similar...)?

Cheers,
Niels
 
I posted this in the other forum, but I thought I'd start a quick discussion. Let's call it Sparging is for Suckers:

5 Reasons you shouldn't sparge:

1. You have $3000 (more if you modified) electric all-in-one vessel machine and you're still heating water in a separate vessel?
2. You still have to adjust/acidify your sparge water, additional steps, additional measurements required, simplify your process
3. Improper adjustment of sparge water can lead to excess tannin extraction
4. You can avoid 1,2, and 3 (above) if you simply use a bit more grain and don't sparge
5. You can avoid 1,2, and 3 if you add a little bit of DME too

So, why would you sparge? To save a few bucks on ingredients? Maybe?
 
I get my water for the sparge from the hot tap and hot water boiler, no extra hassle. And by sparging I get many litres more beer and still hit my gravity. I mash with 26L and would end up with a lot less than 20L of finished beer if I didn't sparge. Now I sparge with 6-8L and get to bottle 22-23L of beer minimum. First 2 times I brewed with BM I mashed with the "recommended" 23L or so and didn't sparge, got around 16 litres of beer max.

I did the math.
 
...you don't have to adjust/acidify your sparge water since the grain has enough buffering power by itself (which is true in many cases - there are exceptions of course). What you however always should keep an eye on is the pH of the runnings (or what ever you call it – the outcoming wort :) )
 
I get my water for the sparge from the hot tap and hot water boiler, no extra hassle. And by sparging I get many litres more beer and still hit my gravity. I mash with 26L and would end up with a lot less than 20L of finished beer if I didn't sparge. Now I sparge with 6-8L and get to bottle 22-23L of beer minimum. First 2 times I brewed with BM I mashed with the "recommended" 23L or so and didn't sparge, got around 16 litres of beer max.

I did the math.

I don't see how this should necessarily affect the volume of your finished beer. I just top up with whatever volume of water I need to achieve my target pre-boil volume, and I don't have to process or heat that water separately.

...you don't have to adjust/acidify your sparge water since the grain has enough buffering power by itself (which is true in many cases - there are exceptions of course). What you however always should keep an eye on is the pH of the runnings (or what ever you call it – the outcoming wort :) )

You're kind of contradicting yourself there... if the first part of your claim is true, then you don't need to keep an eye on the runnings PH.
 
You're kind of contradicting yourself there... if the first part of your claim is true, then you don't need to keep an eye on the runnings PH.

This is exactly the reason why I try to stay away from forums. Dont you figure you will lose buffering power as you sparge? Think about how chemistry works.
 
I wont comment any more in this thread until it's about the BM. Anyone who is interested about the subject I just commented about is welcome to PM me.
 
This is exactly the reason why I try to stay away from forums. Dont you figure you will lose buffering power as you sparge? Think about how chemistry works.

Read carefully before making snide remarks. I wasn't making the argument you're disputing. Of course the mash loses buffering power! That's precisely the reason professional brewers acidify their sparge water. That's Sierra Nevada's process, and I'm sure they're not the only ones.

Now that we're on the same page, can you enlighten us as to what basis you have to claim that:
"you don't have to adjust/acidify your sparge water since the grain has enough buffering power."
Can you quantify "enough," for us?

Anyone who is interested about the subject I just commented about is welcome to PM me.
We are discussing good arguments for sparging on the BM even though sparging isn't required. I'm pretty sure we're on topic.
 
I've been trying to follow along and one problem I keep hearing is that the 20L system is limited to 13lbs of grain and not being able to create big beers. Why not just increase the size of the tube? Same size on the bottom to ensure the seal, but widen starting at 2-3 inches from the bottom? Add another 1-3 inches in diameter.
 
I don't think that would work. There needs to be enough liquid around the outside of the pipe to act as a reservoir for the pumps. You would also need bigger capacity pumps to push the greater amount of water over the top of the pipe which would make it worse. It's a case of diminishing returns.

As the lower part of the pipe would need be the same diameter as it is now the grain would still tend to compact more at the bottom. It would be worse due to the weight of the extra grain. That would affect the efficiency.

Fortunately, I never make high gravity beers so the Braumeister suits me perfectly. Apart from doing a double mash or adding sugar or malt extract I don't think there's a good solution.
 
Can anyone provide any links or personal knowledge of the 500L being used in a small commercial nano brewery setting? I am an owner operator of a very small brewpub in upstate NY. We have been open since 2008 and brewing with 50 gallon Blichmann Boilermakers and Blichmann 42 gallon fermenters since day 1. We are looking into upgrading and expanding just enough to do a little local distribution while still staying small and staying true to our roots as homebrewers. We are looking into something at least the size of a 4-barrel for our next step and the convenience and small and smart package of the Spiedel is very intriguing. As you all know it takes practically the same amount of time and energy to brew 10 gallons as it does 5. It will probably take the same amount of time and energy to brew 4 barrels as it does 1 using the 500L versus a single barrel system.

A few questions for you folks using the 20L and 50L.....

Would you imagine brewing on the 500L would be very similar to brewing on the smaller versions...only larger volume? Obviously cooling hot wort is a little different with the glycol jacket of the 500L, and the time it takes to dispose of spent grain and cleaning/flushing the system a bit more time consuming.

What would you imagine the shortcomings may be by using this system in a commercial application? I have hunch that most of you will say that higher gravity beers are a bit more challenging from what I've read.

Has anyone done double batches with the 20 or 50....and also done double batches on a traditional mash tun and HLT cooler and boiling kettle (3 vessel) and can compare their findings in the time it takes from start to finish of brewing on the two different systems? It seems to me that any size Spiedel is less conducive to double batches since you must completely drain and clean the wort boil compartment before starting a new batch...whereas you can be mashing while cooling wort in a 3 vessel system. There is some time saved though with the spiedel by not sparging and not transferring the wort from the mash tun to the boiling kettle.

Has anyone been able to calculate their electric usage cost of the spiedel vs. gas usage cost on a conventional direct-fired brewing kettle?

Thanks to everyone for sharing their experiences with this machine. I'd really like to think the 500L has a place in the brewpub/nano brewery world, and I'm willing to really pursue it if you all think I should go for it. The only other system I'm looking at right now as an upgrade to our single barrel is a Psycho Brew 5-barrel system that uses (2) 100 gallon mash tuns and (2) 100 gallon boiling kettles and a on-demand hot water system for sparging. Cleaning 4 kettles that you can't reach into without tipping over and climbing in seems to be a real labor of love. It's hard enough to reach into (2) 50 gallon kettles and clean a Therminator everyday.
 
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