What’s with all the low mileage secondhand anvil foundry units for sale??

[gorlox18]

Hello all, I’m new around here and new to homebrewing generally.

I started ~5 months ago on extract kits and have done a lot to improve cold side processes by virtue of incremental upgrades with used gear.

I’m looking to move into more sophisticated hot side as I’m currently still using a basic boil pot on the stove top with extract to make 5 gallon batches.

Over the past 2-3 months I’ve been looking at various used anvil foundry 10.5’s. It seems like the sellers of the ~5 units I’ve inquired about have never brewed more than like 6 batches. What’s more, it seems like Blichmann is constantly updating the design, so it’s difficult to compare apples to apples.

I guess my question is, to folks who have used the Foundry, is there a particular pain point you’re aware of that might be the common thread turning these people off from it? I realize this requires complete speculation about my anecdotal observations, but thought it may be worth asking before jumping into the system. Ive also considered that maybe some of these people may just not being honest about how much they’ve used the unit, but it’s odd that everyone has only done “3 batches”

FWIW I’m on the fence between traditional BIAB setup versus a foundry, or some other electric setup. I realize to some extent this is more a question of whether I want a kettle over a propane burner outside or an electric element built-in. So to this end, I suppose I’m also thinking about induction plates.

Anyways happy Friday and Thanks in advance.

 

[tracer bullet]

I own 2, a 6.5 and 10.5, and never had an issue with either. No idea how many batches, but a lot. Maybe 50 between them?

They changed design a few times, the screen moved higher up at one point and the basket has changed slightly in the way it hangs to drain, or the hole pattern in it, but that's about all. None of them are bad in any way, just incremental improvements that aren't exactly necessary.

I'd imagine people just quit brewing for some reason, I doubt any of the sellers went back to propane or changed to a different brand.

I love the electrics, I'm sold. Load water the night before and set the timer and temp, and you can mash in moments after getting out of bed in the morning. Want to ramp up step mashed temps, no problem, just hit the buttons. Etc. I can't think of a way a traditional BIAB setup is better. I'm not saying BIAB is bad, not in the slightest, but I can't think of a way it'd be better.

I definitely recommend them, if you can't tell.

 

[gorlox18]

Thanks for the response. The “set and forget” (for lack of a better term) nature of the anvil is a real selling point for me. I’ve seen that you can BIAB in the foundry so it’s definitely a method I plan to explore.

I think part of my hesitation is lacking the technical confidence to really know what I’m getting into.

Traditional BIAB is appealing since I can be outdoors, so I don’t have to worry about steam. I currently rent so can’t wire 240, and I’m worried 120 will be annoyingly underpowered. Maybe I just bite the bullet on the steam condenser and unplug my dryer on brew day!

 

[day_trippr]

It's like the old Margaritaville mixers. Folks bought them, used them twice, got disinterested and want to sell their mistake...

Cheers!

 

[gorlox18]

It's like the old Margaritaville mixers. Folks bought them, used them twice, got disinterested and want to sell their mistake...

Cheers!

I’m here for this input! I’ve seen too many margartiaville machines at garage sales LOL. I’ve reached a nice stasis with my setup where I see myself continuing to brew for the foreseeable future. “Gimmick” comes to mind for the margaritaville machine, and I want to make sure there’s no pitfalls with the foundry like that.

 

[tracer bullet]

A con is indeed that it's a lot better with 240V. Here's a secret - I sometimes use my 10.5 in my garage that only has 110V, and I use it to mash, then drain to a kettle over a propane burner to finish from there. So, yeah, I agree fully. I have a 240V outlet in the house I also use and yes, steam condenser there.

A pro is that if you do jump into all-grain, the Anvil makes it less complicated. You can maintain mash temps, you can have post-boil whirlpool temps, lots of things that are so much easier by being able to set temp and power with buttons as opposed to pouring in hot water to a cooler, and so on. There are fewer ways that things can go wrong.

 

[Yesfan]

I've still my "desk top kegerator" that uses those Heineken/Newcastle kegs. It sits on a table right next to my 4 tap kegerator collecting dust.

 

[Yesfan]

I’m here for this input! I’ve seen too many margartiaville machines at garage sales LOL. I’ve reached a nice stasis with my setup where I see myself continuing to brew for the foreseeable future. “Gimmick” comes to mind for the margaritaville machine, and I want to make sure there’s no pitfalls with the foundry like that.

Another possible con with those AIO (all in one) units are the heating elements aren't serviceable if they ever quit. That might not be a concern, but thought it would be worth mentioning if you're going the used route.

 

[gorlox18]

Another possible con with those AIO (all in one) units are the heating elements aren't serviceable if they ever quit. That might not be a concern, but thought it would be worth mentioning if you're going the used route.

Thanks for pointing that out, I wasn’t aware of this. I imagine it’s luck of the draw like any electronic component… when you say they “aren’t serviceable” are we talking “they aren’t user serviceable but I could harass them consistently enough to take a look at it and/or take it to a electrical professional” or are we talking throw it in the garbage?

Projected longevity of the unit for whichever route I decide certainly would be a deciding factor.

 

[Yesfan]

Thanks for pointing that out, I wasn’t aware of this. I imagine it’s luck of the draw like any electronic component… when you say they “aren’t serviceable” are we talking “they aren’t user serviceable but I could harass them consistently enough to take a look at it and/or take it to a electrical professional” or are we talking throw it in the garbage?

Projected longevity of the unit for whichever route I decide certainly would be a deciding factor.

I believe it was Brian at Short Circuited Brewers (great YouTube channel btw) that mentioned that. Supposedly once the elements go bad, you have to trash the whole thing. I don't know if that's on all of them or the cheaper ones. Obviously, AIO owners can chime in and say for sure.

Just on the safe side, don't take my previous post as discouraging or poo-pooing on these kinds of systems. I like to know all the pros/cons I can find when I'm buying pretty much anything. My setup is an old school 3 vessel, 2 burner setup. It takes up a lot of space in my garage. I still love it, but I like the idea of having something that's more manageable and is easier to store and not take up space. I'm looking to go electric in the near future.

 

[OleBrewing]

Another possible con with those AIO (all in one) units are the heating elements aren't serviceable if they ever quit. That might not be a concern, but thought it would be worth mentioning if you're going the used route.

This seems as a bad engineering gimick if true. who would design something not being able to replace the element. guess i dont know the cost of these units but sure it is more than a coffee maker (of course the old bunns did have replacable elements at one time).

in perfect world the element should last a very long time if used properly but due to Manfacturing quantity and processes a bad can slip through.

 

[mashdar]

This seems as a bad engineering gimick if true. who would design something not being able to replace the element. guess i dont know the cost of these units but sure it is more than a coffee maker (of course the old bunns did have replacable elements at one time).

in perfect world the element should last a very long time if used properly but due to Manfacturing quantity and processes a bad can slip through.

These elements tend to be outside of the vessel, and I suspect they are welded to the vessel bottom. Hard to make that design more modular without some serious compromises.

 

[OleBrewing]

These elements tend to be outside of the vessel, and I suspect they are welded to the vessel bottom. Hard to make that design more modular without some serious compromises.

i admit i am not familiar with these units. i assume it is an integrated element for space savings etc. like i said the element should last ones life span of brewing but there are always defective hardware. wonder what there warranty is for the element side of the setup? Low cost hot water heaters have a 6 year warranty on tanks themselves.

 

[OakIslandBrewery]

I'm with Yesfan, old school using a cooler as a mash tun, pumping wort to my gas fired brew kettle. I've been using this method since switching to all grain almost twenty years ago, long before anyone came up with the AIO idea.

But, I am on the sideline looking at those systems. Several folks I know have hit the easy button and converted.

 

[Yesfan]

This seems as a bad engineering gimick if true. who would design something not being able to replace the element. guess i dont know the cost of these units but sure it is more than a coffee maker (of course the old bunns did have replacable elements at one time).

in perfect world the element should last a very long time if used properly but due to Manfacturing quantity and processes a bad can slip through.

Precisely why I made that post. In a perfect world, you would be absolutely right. These units should last a long time if properly built. Your typical coffee/tea countertop makers are made to be throwaways if they ever bit the dust. I'd imagine the same is true for some of these low prices AIO brew vessels as well. Is the Foundry that way? More than likely not, but they are the cheaper alternatives for those who don't want to pay Blichmann prices.

 

[kevin58]

I had an Anvil 10.5. On the surface its a great machine but there were drawbacks that finally moved me to sell it after owning for about a year.

First is that the display screen almost always fogs up and it doesn't go away. I'm sure you've seen pics of used units that have that foggy ring around the screen. Many people find workarounds such as using silicone caulk around the outer edge where the control unit meets the kettle... I tried that but it still didn't work. Others take an adhesive plastic film and stick over the control panel... which looks ugly as sin to my eye.

The second issue is that you will get a lower than expected mash efficiency using the basket and recirculation system. There is a workaround for that which is to lift the basket at least twice during the mash. There has been a new mash basket design since I had mine so this may no longer be an issue.

In my opinion however the end user should not have to rely on workarounds to fix an issue that should have been addressed before these units hit the market.

The last straw however was something people commonly experience and that is an E3 error on the screen and the heating element shuts down. Usually this is caused with grain or hop bits that scorch on the bottom of the kettle. The only fix is to drain the kettle and scrub it down. It happened to me during the last brew I made on it and that was it.

I sold it and bought an SS Brewtech SVBS which is expensive as hell when compared to the Anvil units but A: the control panel is not part of the kettle. It plugs into the bottom and can be set somewhere away from the kettle. Plus the firmware can be updated from SS Brewtech when such updates become available. B: the heating elements are not buried deep within the bottom of the kettle and can theoretically be replaced. Also the heating element on the SVBS is 4800W compared to the Anvil 10.5 2800W (using 240v power)

The Foundry did have one feature that I miss that the SVBS does not have and that is a delay start timer. You can fill it with strike water in the evening, go to bed and have your water heated to strike temp when you wake up so you can get right to the job of mashing in and brewing. Perhaps SS Brewtech can add that to a future firmware update??

 

[Dancy]

I guess my question is, to folks who have used the Foundry, is there a particular pain point you’re aware of that might be the common thread turning these people off from it? I realize this requires complete speculation about my anecdotal observations, but thought it may be worth asking before jumping into the system. Ive also considered that maybe some of these people may just not being honest about how much they’ve used the unit, but it’s odd that everyone has only done “3 batches”

Brewing beer is a hobby some initially get excited about but when they get into it, they find it takes time, trial and error and, well, work (IMO). I think some people get very excited then quickly lose interest - not unusual for some when it comes to any new hobby. The Anvil appears to me to be the most popular AIO for some time now, so I’d expect to see more of them on the used market. I bought a Mash & Boil before the Anvil came out but now I’d consider an Anvil.

 

[madcactusbrewing]

I'm very happy with my Foundry 6.5 and I've brewed dozens of recipes since early 2020. 120V is fine for 6.5 model. I have been hoping for an improved model with more features and better hardware but I would have to move up to 10.5 and that's too much for my brewing needs.

 

[Hoppy2bmerry]

I've still my "desk top kegerator" that uses those Heineken/Newcastle kegs. It sits on a table right next to my 4 tap kegerator collecting dust.

Sadder yet I still have a hoppsy plugged in… shhh don’t tell the husband.

I don’t have an all-in-one, but every brewer that I know, does like it. Foundry or the more expensive grainfathe, they are satisfied.

 

[Yesfan]

Sadder yet I still have a hoppsy plugged in… shhh don’t tell the husband.

I don’t have an all-in-one, but every brewer that I know, does like it. Foundry or the more expensive grainfathe, they are satisfied.

Mine's the "BeerTender"..................from T-Fal. LOL!

 

[AzOr]

I have the 10.5 g Foundry and love it. I do have the older version with the old style basket. The newer versions come w beefier basket supports, but I’ve never had an issue w mine.
The last few brews I’ve been using a biab bag. For no other reason than it’s easier to clean.
One never encountered the foggy display and I’m not shy about using the garden hose to spray after brewing.
Most of the time I mash at night, then set the timer for the morning. Or I’ll mash I’m the morning and set the boil for that evening. This allows for more time spent w family.

If mine were to break, I’d replace immediately. Although I may go down a size and start brewing 3g batches.

 

[Hoppy2bmerry]

Mine's the "BeerTender"..................from T-Fal. LOL!

View attachment 831470

At least you can still buy mini kegs!

 

[shetc]

I moved to the Atlanta area about 18 months ago. In the last 6 months, there has been a ton of used brewing equipment for sale, including some barely used (or unused) Anvil AIOs at nice prices. As with craft beer in general, I think a lot of people are getting out of the hobby. (By the way, I have an Anvil fermentation bucket that I am happy with.)

 

[Yesfan]

I moved to the Atlanta area about 18 months ago. In the last 6 months, there has been a ton of used brewing equipment for sale, including some barely used (or unused) Anvil AIOs at nice prices. As with craft beer in general, I think a lot of people are getting out of the hobby. (By the way, I have an Anvil fermentation bucket that I am happy with.)

That's the silver lining with people leaving the hobby. Lots of goodies at used prices for the rest of us.

 

[gorlox18]

I moved to the Atlanta area about 18 months ago. In the last 6 months, there has been a ton of used brewing equipment for sale, including some barely used (or unused) Anvil AIOs at nice prices. As with craft beer in general, I think a lot of people are getting out of the hobby. (By the way, I have an Anvil fermentation bucket that I am happy with.)

I’m inclined to agree. Out of curiosity, where are you usually seeing them for sale? I spend time in atlanta and may try to scoop one while there

 

[shetc]

I’m inclined to agree. Out of curiosity, where are you usually seeing them for sale? I spend time in atlanta and may try to scoop one while there

Just look for homebrew equipment on Facebook Marketplace.

 

[Bobby_M]

As a homebrew store owner, I have my theory. There are plenty of people that get into new hobbies all the time and they like to throw money around. I keep hearing that no one wants to buy a bunch of beginner gear and regret it later when they have to throw it all away when they upgrade. Ok, great, well this Foundry 10.5 can be used for a straight up electric boil kettle for the first few extract kits and then you start using the grain basket when you want to move up to all grain. Well, by the numbers there are new brewers who just don't take to it and after the first two batches, they move on to the next thing. At one time, it meant they had an oversized spaghetti pot in the garage. Now they have this brewing specific thing to resell instead.

To a lesser extent, there are people who got the 10.5 and then upgraded to the 18 when it came out. Others get wrapped up in the very reflective 3 vessel systems and think it's going to make better beer.

 

[mashdar]

As a homebrew store owner, I have my theory. There are plenty of people that get into new hobbies all the time and they like to throw money around. I keep hearing that no one wants to buy a bunch of beginner gear and regret it later when they have to throw it all away when they upgrade. Ok, great, well this Foundry 10.5 can be used for a straight up electric boil kettle for the first few extract kits and then you start using the grain basket when you want to move up to all grain. Well, by the numbers there are new brewers who just don't take to it and after the first two batches, they move on to the next thing. At one time, it meant they had an oversized spaghetti pot in the garage. Now they have this brewing specific thing to resell instead.

To a lesser extent, there are people who got the 10.5 and then upgraded to the 18 when it came out. Others get wrapped up in the very reflective 3 vessel systems and think it's going to make better beer.

My oversized spaghetti pot still gets great use! It even fits my newish malt pipe to get that last 1.5qt while everything else boils!

I'm shocked how people go straight to all grain gear now. Talk about jumping in at the deep end.

 

[d f]

Hello all, I’m new around here and new to homebrewing generally.

I started ~5 months ago on extract kits and have done a lot to improve cold side processes by virtue of incremental upgrades with used gear.

I’m looking to move into more sophisticated hot side as I’m currently still using a basic boil pot on the stove top with extract to make 5 gallon batches.

Over the past 2-3 months I’ve been looking at various used anvil foundry 10.5’s. It seems like the sellers of the ~5 units I’ve inquired about have never brewed more than like 6 batches. What’s more, it seems like Blichmann is constantly updating the design, so it’s difficult to compare apples to apples.

I guess my question is, to folks who have used the Foundry, is there a particular pain point you’re aware of that might be the common thread turning these people off from it? I realize this requires complete speculation about my anecdotal observations, but thought it may be worth asking before jumping into the system. Ive also considered that maybe some of these people may just not being honest about how much they’ve used the unit, but it’s odd that everyone has only done “3 batches”

FWIW I’m on the fence between traditional BIAB setup versus a foundry, or some other electric setup. I realize to some extent this is more a question of whether I want a kettle over a propane burner outside or an electric element built-in. So to this end, I suppose I’m also thinking about induction plates.

Anyways happy Friday and Thanks in advance.

I use Robobrew electric now with BIAB. Just remove all the inner "filters" but keep the "Pipe" to lift and drain the wort. This also eliminates using the recirculating pump, which over the years will need replacing several times...

 

[Bassman2003]

I had an Anvil 10.5. On the surface its a great machine but there were drawbacks that finally moved me to sell it after owning for about a year.

First is that the display screen almost always fogs up and it doesn't go away. I'm sure you've seen pics of used units that have that foggy ring around the screen. Many people find workarounds such as using silicone caulk around the outer edge where the control unit meets the kettle... I tried that but it still didn't work. Others take an adhesive plastic film and stick over the control panel... which looks ugly as sin to my eye.

The second issue is that you will get a lower than expected mash efficiency using the basket and recirculation system. There is a workaround for that which is to lift the basket at least twice during the mash. There has been a new mash basket design since I had mine so this may no longer be an issue.

In my opinion however the end user should not have to rely on workarounds to fix an issue that should have been addressed before these units hit the market.

The last straw however was something people commonly experience and that is an E3 error on the screen and the heating element shuts down. Usually this is caused with grain or hop bits that scorch on the bottom of the kettle. The only fix is to drain the kettle and scrub it down. It happened to me during the last brew I made on it and that was it.

I sold it and bought an SS Brewtech SVBS which is expensive as hell when compared to the Anvil units but A: the control panel is not part of the kettle. It plugs into the bottom and can be set somewhere away from the kettle. Plus the firmware can be updated from SS Brewtech when such updates become available. B: the heating elements are not buried deep within the bottom of the kettle and can theoretically be replaced. Also the heating element on the SVBS is 4800W compared to the Anvil 10.5 2800W (using 240v power)

The Foundry did have one feature that I miss that the SVBS does not have and that is a delay start timer. You can fill it with strike water in the evening, go to bed and have your water heated to strike temp when you wake up so you can get right to the job of mashing in and brewing. Perhaps SS Brewtech can add that to a future firmware update??

Sorry you had this experience. I have the original and outside of needing to bend down to read the screen, it has been good. I will say that I have stopped using the basket and gone to a false bottom with a bag and only use the unit for mashing and holding chiller water. But that is because I have expanded from an AIO in my brewing. It works just fine as an AIO. I never liked the engineering decision to go with a basket. It is hard to clean. But it does allow one to lift and set where a bag is lift and hang.

Regarding scorching, I would not be surprised to see your SVBS scorch the grain or bottom in the right circumstance as well. The E3 error/stoppage actually saves your batch. I try not to run the element for anything under 135-140F at a minimum. I think this applies to most electric systems and gel temps with the grain. With 4800w you can really do some scorching!

To each their own goals. The Anvil has been a great value for me. When I look at the more expensive setups I always think they are overbuilt in many cases.

 

[mkopec1]

I was watching some youtube vodeo about home brewing and it was mentioned that during COVID there was a huge uptick in home brewing that since has gone down. So you might be seeing these COVID brewers just get disinterested and selling off their wares.

 

[LegacyBanker]

Hello all, I’m new around here and new to homebrewing generally.

I started ~5 months ago on extract kits and have done a lot to improve cold side processes by virtue of incremental upgrades with used gear.

I’m looking to move into more sophisticated hot side as I’m currently still using a basic boil pot on the stove top with extract to make 5 gallon batches.

Over the past 2-3 months I’ve been looking at various used anvil foundry 10.5’s. It seems like the sellers of the ~5 units I’ve inquired about have never brewed more than like 6 batches. What’s more, it seems like Blichmann is constantly updating the design, so it’s difficult to compare apples to apples.

I guess my question is, to folks who have used the Foundry, is there a particular pain point you’re aware of that might be the common thread turning these people off from it? I realize this requires complete speculation about my anecdotal observations, but thought it may be worth asking before jumping into the system. Ive also considered that maybe some of these people may just not being honest about how much they’ve used the unit, but it’s odd that everyone has only done “3 batches”

FWIW I’m on the fence between traditional BIAB setup versus a foundry, or some other electric setup. I realize to some extent this is more a question of whether I want a kettle over a propane burner outside or an electric element built-in. So to this end, I suppose I’m also thinking about induction plates.

Anyways happy Friday and Thanks in advance.

I’ve done 45 batches on my Anvil and recently it seems one of the heating elements may have gone out, so it’s very slow to boil. But it was great before that!

 

[Dancy]

//

 

[Zanatrik]

My oversized spaghetti pot still gets great use! It even fits my newish malt pipe to get that last 1.5qt while everything else boils!

I'm shocked how people go straight to all grain gear now. Talk about jumping in at the deep end.

I actually only brewed one extract beer before switching to all grain. I wasn’t happy with the results and part of the joy for me is designing a recipe with greater flexibility. Now about 2 years later, I’m still glad I did it. But I understand that extract is a time and complexity saver for most, and their results using extract are still better than my all grain. I do tend to agree though with Bobby’s comments above. Some people just want the ‘best gear’ starting a new hobby and throw a bunch of money at it, only to then give up and sell not long after.

 

[LegacyBanker]

I didn’t really like the taste of the extract beer. It always had an aftertaste.

 

[simbabrew]

I ditched mine for a Mash & Boil with Pump. More compact when the basket is raised (not a tall tower like the Anvil), includes a recirulation pump, and simple and reliable. I did this primarily because the Anvil was just too tall for my brewing area.

 

[LegacyBanker]

I ditched mine for a Mash & Boil with Pump. More compact when the basket is raised (not a tall tower like the Anvil), includes a recirulation pump, and simple and reliable. I did this primarily because the Anvil was just too tall for my brewing area.

Can you post a picture of your set up?