Bobby_M Sight Gauge

[PKLehmer]

Ordered mine and had it shipped to my brew partners house. The idiot took out the sight glass and brush and burned (literally in a camp fire) everything else in the box. Didn't realize he had burned the stickers for marking the tube until we had it installed. I emailed Bobby and he sent me replacements right away! Great customer service, great guy to work with, and an absolutely stellar product!

 

[passedpawn]

Well, all good things must come to an end.

I installed 2 of these a while ago, and one has finally succombed to fatigue, I guess, from the heating / cooling cycles. The other one still looks fine.

As you might be able to see here, there is an additional crack at around 3.5g mark. I didn't do anyting to cause these to break (as far as I know).

I will be buying another (probably 2), although I'll take a look around and see if there is a more permanent solution. I'd rather spend more and not deal with problems.

 

[mjmac85]

He does offer heat shields for them at $10 a piece. 3 yeras of use is still a great investment. How many batches do you think you put them through?

 

[kh54s10]

Installed mine on my HLT. It was pretty easy.

I forgot to wipe the tube with alcohol before putting on the numbers. I hope they stay on.

I did a BIAB last week. It made it easy to see how much was in there.

The vinyl numbers are still there! Easily among the best $$ I have spent on brewing equipment!

 

[passedpawn]

He does offer heat shields for them at $10 a piece. 3 yeras of use is still a great investment. How many batches do you think you put them through?

Electric kettles. No heat shield required.

50 - 75 batches. I have no complaints. But if there is something better, I'm for it.

I posted to complete the review, not to complain.

 

[Bobby_M]

I'm curious if there has been any PBW or oxiclean exposure. I actually think 60 batches is a good guess as a usable lifespan even without any misuse. Now that this is my full time gig, a borosilicate sight kit is higher on the priority list. Fingers crossed that I can make it happen for the right price.

 

[Denny]

I'm curious if there has been any PBW or oxiclean exposure. I actually think 60 batches is a good guess as a usable lifespan even without any misuse. Now that this is my full time gig, a borosilicate sight kit is higher on the priority list. Fingers crossed that I can make it happen for the right price.

That would be very cool, given my special talent for melting the current ones!

 

[passedpawn]

I'm curious if there has been any PBW or oxiclean exposure. I actually think 60 batches is a good guess as a usable lifespan even without any misuse. Now that this is my full time gig, a borosilicate sight kit is higher on the priority list. Fingers crossed that I can make it happen for the right price.

Oxiclean about every 10 batches. Normally, I just hose the keggles and put away. About every 10 batches, I filled with oxiclean and recirculated for 24 hours.

I did recently (just before it cracked) do the same with heated PBW. But I think that's a red herring.

I think the culprit here is fatigue from heating and cooling cycles. Note that it cracked in two places right near the metal 'T', and nowhere else. It's possible that the combination of heat and oxygen-based cleaners are causing the failure.

 

[Bobby_M]

I've seen some people have really bad luck with alkaline exposure with certain tap water chemistry. I mean one PBW soak for 4 hours and the polycarbonate falls to pieces. Certainly not on my tap water, and apparently not yours either, but the 5start chem engineer admitted that there's something about how PBW works that steals carbon from the bond. It's way over my head, but I can't disprove what he said either.

 

[passedpawn]

I've seen some people have really bad luck with alkaline exposure with certain tap water chemistry. I mean one PBW soak for 4 hours and the polycarbonate falls to pieces. Certainly not on my tap water, and apparently not yours either, but the 5start chem engineer admitted that there's something about how PBW works that steals carbon from the bond. It's way over my head, but I can't disprove what he said either.

I'll do the same heated PBW treatment to my other keggle after I brew this weekend. It's in perfect shape now. So, another data point.

 

[krazydave]

I've hot PBW'd mine on a regular basis also. No problems yet, but I did notice a hairline crack forming at the base of one already after about 10 brews. Guess I should get a spare soon....

 

[passedpawn]

I've hot PBW'd mine on a regular basis also. No problems yet, but I did notice a hairline crack forming at the base of one already after about 10 brews. Guess I should get a spare soon....

Yep. Mine leaked for one or two brews. I noticed the crack. Then the last brew it leaked a lot. I snapped it off and put a 1/2" brass plug in there (during the brew!).

So yeah, I'd say you're on borrowed time.

 

[Ravenshead]

I had similar issues with Oxy-clean and crazing of polycarbonate. I did some experiments and found that if I filtered my water through a charcoal filter my Oxy-clean solution didn't harm the sight glass.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f11/oxyclean-vs-sight-gauge-207748/

I've also seen my polycarbonate crack from strong lye solutions (unfiltered water).

 

[drives]

I was wondering where to get the number. Thanks

 

[Ravenshead]

What number are you looking for?

 

[mors]

Heh I think he means the (sticker) numbers for the side of the sight gauge.

 

[krazydave]

Yep. Mine leaked for one or two brews. I noticed the crack. Then the last brew it leaked a lot. I snapped it off and put a 1/2" brass plug in there (during the brew!).

So yeah, I'd say you're on borrowed time.

Seems you were right. Mine gave way today...

 

[krazydave]

Depending on Bobby's quick shipping time to have it for a brew this coming weekend.
Guess I'd better keep a 1/2" plug handy also!