Morebeer was the only place I saw selling them here. Any idea on why its on backorder so long, and when we might expect them back in the US?
A first look at the Brewzilla 65L 240v USA version
- Thread starter highland_brewer
- Start date
Help Support Homebrew Talk:
OP
OP
highland_brewer
Short Circuited Brewers
The demand was so high that all the first shipment was sold in pre-orders. The next shipment is coming... I am not sure why the delay is so long. I'll post here once they are back in stock if you'd like.
augiedoggy
Well-Known Member
couple reasons come to mind... 3500w runs off a regular 20a (15a even) 220v circuit which many countries possibly use for standard outlets, and the elements are most likely repurposed from some other coffee urn device to keep costs down. Watt density also comes to mind. from the sounds of it the element is already a higher watt density setup..
I understand the issue of keeping heat down due to electronics but the 500w element doesn’t seem that useful. Don’t see why they didn’t just put in another 1000w
augiedoggy
Well-Known Member
I could be wrong but I think its because the repurposed hot water urns already have the two elements in them from thier original design... Dont forget when used as a coffee or tea urn they use even cheaper controls... one element likely to heat the water and one to keep the liquid hot afterwards while it sits...this design is proven with these elements and changing things out adds risk and cost.
These are basically starting out as $50-100 alibaba kettles modified with attachments and controllers.. The people that spec these mods are looking to maximize profits and work with what they have as much as possible. If they have $125 cost in each one, my guess is its a lot.
[QUOTE="augiedoggy, post: 8568052, member: 177334"
These are basically starting out as $50-100 alibaba kettles modified with attachments and controllers.. The people that spec these mods are looking to maximize profits and work with what they have as much as possible. If they have $125 cost in each one, my guess is its a lot.[/QUOTE]
You are insinuating that this is a cheap repurposed piece of junk urn as opposed to a high quality cooking pot. I've never seen a 9 gallon coffee urn, let alone a 17 gallon one . I looked up what I could and the biggest are 3-4 gallons with a max 1500w. I doubt they are buying a cheap $50 coffee urn and slapping on a control panel and pump and calling it brewzilla. I'm sure parts are sourced from other manufactures with some being made and another company is building them for kegland.
I've got a beautiful chapman 15g mashtun that I'm sure was built with two huge cooking pots with some sourced parts and fittings and manufactured by someone else. its nice and it works. custom manufactured from raw materials? NO.
These are basically starting out as $50-100 alibaba kettles modified with attachments and controllers.. The people that spec these mods are looking to maximize profits and work with what they have as much as possible. If they have $125 cost in each one, my guess is its a lot.[/QUOTE]
You are insinuating that this is a cheap repurposed piece of junk urn as opposed to a high quality cooking pot. I've never seen a 9 gallon coffee urn, let alone a 17 gallon one . I looked up what I could and the biggest are 3-4 gallons with a max 1500w. I doubt they are buying a cheap $50 coffee urn and slapping on a control panel and pump and calling it brewzilla. I'm sure parts are sourced from other manufactures with some being made and another company is building them for kegland.
I've got a beautiful chapman 15g mashtun that I'm sure was built with two huge cooking pots with some sourced parts and fittings and manufactured by someone else. its nice and it works. custom manufactured from raw materials? NO.
![Craft A Brew - Safale BE-256 Yeast - Fermentis - Belgian Ale Dry Yeast - For Belgian & Strong Ales - Ingredients for Home Brewing - Beer Making Supplies - [3 Pack]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51bcKEwQmWL._SL500_.jpg)
augiedoggy
Well-Known Member
You are insinuating that this is a cheap repurposed piece of junk urn as opposed to a high quality cooking pot. I've never seen a 9 gallon coffee urn, let alone a 17 gallon one . I looked up what I could and the biggest are 3-4 gallons with a max 1500w. I doubt they are buying a cheap $50 coffee urn and slapping on a control panel and pump and calling it brewzilla. I'm sure parts are sourced from other manufactures with some being made and another company is building them for kegland.
I've got a beautiful chapman 15g mashtun that I'm sure was built with two huge cooking pots with some sourced parts and fittings and manufactured by someone else. its nice and it works. custom manufactured from raw materials? NO.[/QUOTE]
I'm not insinuating anything.. I commented on my best guess based on what's already out there and its configuration with the 500w element.
It is what it is, but I stand by my comment that its likely another repurposed hot water or coffee urn like the robobrew and mash and boil and even the grainfather. Someone else pointed out it made of very thin walled stainless maybe you should be attacking them? Some banquet halls and hotels have large hot water urns like this. That's likely where the original design came from. And yes MOST of these homebrewing machines are made with repurposed components as it's very expensive to have things tested and certified when you design them from scratch. Just how much money do you really think these cost to make anyway? Normal markups for this type of thing is around double manufacturing costs.. I believe these sell for like $250? Many plain stainless brewing kettles alone sell for that here with no controllers of elements.. I wouldnt expect German engineering and quality here myself but I'm sure it works well for what it's supposed to do.
And I have no idea what this conversation has to do with Chapman but since we are comparing other random products, dont you also own a blichmann avil fermenter too? Weren't you one of the folks disappointed with the quality?
Last edited:
The chapman point was clearly about how its assembled from soup pots but works perfect and is high quality. I too think a lot of affordable equipment on the market has parts sourced from something else that is being manufactured. I would't go so far as to say they bought a cheap urn, screwed some parts on and bam, Robobrew, though. Maybe you're right but It could be a nice piece. The metal is claimed to be noticeably thicker.
The anvil had machining marks that I said was not a good finish. So sure, not everything is awesome. It wasn't junk either.
The anvil had machining marks that I said was not a good finish. So sure, not everything is awesome. It wasn't junk either.
What's the capacity of the grain basket? The More Beer website says 18 lb, but that's not near enough to do a decent-sized 10 gallon batch over 5% ABV. Some of my 10-gallon batches now use over 30 lb of grain.
Nevermind. I found their online instruction manual and the capacity is 16 kg, or a little over 35 lb. So okay up to around 7. 5% ABV maybe ?
so they do seem to be based on a big coffee urn, at least the base/element part. The integration and all in one is appealing though and people appear to like brewing with them. The element are also integrated and not replaceable which is a con, but still might be worth a try if I'm trying to downsize and reduce equipment.
I was futzing around in beer smith and 31 lbs was coming out at 8.2% for 11 gallons to fermentor.
I just found out about this. You're right they are very appealing. One earlier post mentioned putting something similar together on their own, but I don't see how you could touch anything that does what this does for the cost. To build your own Brew in a basket one vessel system you have to Source all the individual components and some sort of a control box. Yes you would then have something Superior that you could upgrade or replace elements if they failed, but at what cost? Not saying I'm not interested, but show me something that I can put together myself with this capacity for less than $1,000. And with a stainless steel basket, not a nylon bag.
HDBomber
Member
- Joined
- Nov 21, 2019
- Messages
- 23
- Reaction score
- 7
I thought about this but after seeing the 30A plug on the BZ I hesitated.
Now, running the numbers is looks like the heating elements, 2400w, will pull 10-11 amps at 240-220v.
I'm going to assume the pump isn't very much.
I have two locations in my garage that has separate 20A 120/1/60 receptacles next to each other.
Which means I could be brewing this weekend AND be able to brew in a couple of spots in the garage instead of having one dedicated outlet.
You need to run a 20 amp gfci circuit from your panel and finish with a wall receptacle that matches the plug on your bruiser
So I have been an electrician for almost 15 years and have never installed a outlet like this one. It’s little brother is used on many older vacuum systems. Why not just switch out the cord? I have several 105c cords in my garage if temp is the issue. The voltage drop at my house with a 50 extension cord drops the voltage al little more then 2 volts putting me at 241.
hopfool
Well-Known Member
Curious if anyone knows if the Brewzilla 65 liter can be had w/o their pump and/or chiller. Also, anyone know if a copper distillation hood can be found for it, as opposed to their stainless one?
augiedoggy
Well-Known Member
lots of them avalible direct from manufacturers in china on alibaba. they would also be the ones to ask about custom configurations.... 40l 60l Stainless Steel All In One Brewing System Beer Brewing Equipment - Buy 40 60 Liter Beer Machinery Fermenting Equipment,Homebrew Mini Electric Mash Tun Automated Brewing Pot,Single Vessel Home Brewing Pot Micro Brewery Product on Alibaba.com I've been quoted as little as $70 each for the robobrew.
https://www.alibaba.com/trade/searc...ome+brewing+electric&materialId=1023419769447
also heres another good repurposed hot water urn alternative..
https://kegfactory.com/collections/...ducts/digiboil-electric-kettle-65l-17-1g-220v
Not from Kegland. I wish it didn’t come with the chiller, now I have two stainless coils and nothing to do with them.
hopfool
Well-Known Member
Kinda what I was trying to avoid since I'm happly with my plate set-up.
hopfool
Well-Known Member
Yeah, looked at some gear on AliExpress (Alibaba) and purchased a fancy column there to put together a cheap system for testing distillate recipes at a bud's meadery (where his licensing covers ltd. spirit production), but I was also trying to replace my previous AG Blichmann set-up that I gifted to my S-I-L (what was I thinking?) so I can still make me some beers.
It's complicated... lol
Gonna go poke around there some more I guess. Found copper domes for the smaller units, just nothing for the 65 L. so far.
Also, haven't seen one of these IRL, but I take it that there's no hack for replacing the elements? Not a big deal at those prices I suppose, but I hate disposable.
I have some other options, including three commercial 25 gallon s/s pots that had been crab steamers. Each has eight 7/16" holes near the bottom that I had intended to have plug welded, but haven't found a competent welder who can or will do it right. My original thought was to go back to an all electric three pot set-up, but the mobility of the all-in-one is tough to beat for my newly intended use (plus I don't need anything that big). Meanwhile, I'm beerless, so gettin' antsy to just grab something and get back to brewing so I can drink while I cogitate on this further. Paralysis through analysis.
Just to add more confusion, a bud told me the other day about a small jacketed steam kettle left-over from a food processor auction for cheap, so too many variables to contemplate w/o a beer in hand.
Similar threads
