Yes, I was hoping the thread would rest for a little while so I can finish tricking out my brewmation. It was getting a little antagonistic since I hadn't posted pictures and such (and that I am wordy)... but eventually once I get everything worked out I am going to do a full followup review with vids and such. This is the first brew system I've owned, so I was building everything at the same time- 2 ferm chambers, kegerator, brewstand, wort chilling, plumbing, etc... rather than having some things already done like almost anyone else who would want one of these. And starting a new job...
After ironing some kinks out, I'll say using the system is fantastic. All of the in house made stuff (the electronics, etc.) has been pretty flawless. There were a few things I wanted changed and that was programmed in. I did have issues with the peristaltic pumps which you'll see in the review, but since they were replaced (bad batch from the manufacturer...) they work great now.
There is certainly a lot of overpriced stuff out there from the major suppliers and I would not consider the brewmation one of them. I don't know how to program myself out of a box, so... The semi-automated brewmation is as 'automated' as anything else out there (like a brew-magic or B3) that has any automation. It's a very good deal too comparatively. The full auto goes a step further than any other automated system on the market I've seen. It's worth the extra $$ IMO. Kevin has been great to work with and has gone above and beyond to 'personalize' my brewmation and fix issues and program some custom processes for me. That's all you need to know about a vendor, right...
No, you don't neeeed a system like this to make great beer, but ALL of my beers so far have been AMAZING coming out of this system (not just my opinion)... from brew 1. They are not my recipes, I've been brewing Yooper, Tasty McDole, and BCS recipes to start so far. I have flawless fermentation temp control and what not. Almost everything is sound process wise and because of that my beers are coming out great. I'm sure that will change once I start making my own recipes.
My last process change is ditching my immersion chiller and mounting a plate chiller atop the HLT.
If you have any more questions, feel free to post here and I will answer them as best I can.