Well phew.
I've just read the entire thread in one sitting. Awaiting my award eagerly...
I'm sure there's things I've forgotten to comment on, but here's my Brewzilla 35 litre experience. I'm in New Zealand so unapologetically use metric figures, can't get my head around US/UK gallons (why are they different?) and farenheit...
I was given it in May 2021 and have done 14 brews now, all different bar the NZ Pilsner I am currently supping (that was so good I've re-brewed it for xmas day)...
I use Brewfather for all my recipe calculations, and haven't had any issues, except for a couple where the mash was too thick so I added an extra litre of water (sparged less to compensate)...
I sparge by pouring a litre at a time over the top screen. The only time I removed the screen the gravity was a little low, and I put that down to channels forming. And it's only when I've lost count sparging that I've thought I may need a sight glass. Lifting the pipe to check levels wasn't a big deal, just a little awkward...
I also have family commitments so like brewing early in the AM. Generally fill sparge urn and Brewzilla the night before and just turn on first thing, it heats while I am getting prepped. I like manually operating it so have never used the program function...
I too use hot water from chilling for cleanup. Generally run a PBW mix through the unit then rinse well. A tip I picked up for stubborn deposits was to use a microfibre cloth and vinegar. Any hard deposits rub off easily, then again a good rinse and I store upside down to drain dry...
After sparging I lift the pipe into a large sanitised bucket. A lot of sweet wort collects while I am setting up the boil...
Boilovers happen, but I just turn the tap on and collect in a 5 litre measuring jug until it settles into a rolling boil, and pour back in...
I use a hop spider that fits inside the supplied s/s chiller coil. So post boil hop additions are easy. A tip I've just picked up from here is to give this a stir to maximize hop utilisation...
I made a stepped brew bench with 3 levels so the BZ, bottling bucket and scales etc are all at a good working height...
I always set flow at the tap so nothing flows through the overflow. Often quite slow at the beginning but have always met (and usually exceed) targets...
I measure temp at the output of the pump, and change the controller set point to get output temp to match the recipe...
I just use the tap to drain into fermenter, through a sieve to catch any bits and to add aeration. Usually tilt it at the end to maximize volumes, stopping just before the gluggy bits.
I use a whirlpool arm but mainly for rapid heating/cooling as I use a hop spider. I never use the pump at boiling temp, and have found the 1900W element keeps the rolling boil just right on it's own (NZ has 240V single phase supply)...
And that's pretty much it. Look forward to gaining knowledge from this forum and trying new methods...
Sorry about the rambling post but I've just read 25 pages, and I'm trying to comment on things I remembered.
Also, think I've talked to
@DuncB on another forum...