Brew Boss Systems

[markgalli]

Do you have an idea as to how it was damaged? Just curious...

I recently had a probe go bad as well, with the same symptoms. I found the male plug was bad. So I cut it off, stripped the wires--a delicate job--and then attached them to a new male plug. You have to make sure to attach the wires to the appropriate connections (e.g. ground to ground, etc.), but some online diagrams help. And then of course, you have to be able to solder. But the new plug works--for about $3.00 in parts. The end is wrapped in a lot of electrical tape, so it's not pretty.

 

[ebrooker007]

I have just the bag but I have had the same problem with it detecting at 180ish degrees since I bought it. I changed the boil detect settings and sometimes it would do fine for a couple of batches then detect wrong for a batch then do fine on the next. Is there a way to check to see if it is the probe or the circuit board is causing the problem without sending it in?

Just curious when did you all buy yours? I bought mine last Black Friday sale. Maybe a bad batch of probes. Overall I have been happy with the system other than this.

 

[comoxlandia]

I've had my eye on the system for a while but being in Canada, really hoping that Darin has another sale this Black Friday to help offset the cost (exchange rate & shipping). I asked but he was uncertain and seemed like they were overwhelmed with orders last year and don't want to re-live that experience. Fingers crossed.

 

[stlblues5010]

I have just the bag but I have had the same problem with it detecting at 180ish degrees since I bought it. I changed the boil detect settings and sometimes it would do fine for a couple of batches then detect wrong for a batch then do fine on the next. Is there a way to check to see if it is the probe or the circuit board is causing the problem without sending it in?

Just curious when did you all buy yours? I bought mine last Black Friday sale. Maybe a bad batch of probes. Overall I have been happy with the system other than this.

Probably not, you can try plugging it directly into the connector on the circuit board. It would have to be failed completely or faulting to really determine. That would determine the outside connector and wiring to the circuit board are good. Take a look at the connector on the circuit board see if it looks intact. If still bad I would try replacing the connector like the previous post.

I also got mine last Black Friday sale.

 

[stlblues5010]

I recently had a probe go bad as well, with the same symptoms. I found the male plug was bad. So I cut it off, stripped the wires--a delicate job--and then attached them to a new male plug. You have to make sure to attach the wires to the appropriate connections (e.g. ground to ground, etc.), but some online diagrams help. And then of course, you have to be able to solder. But the new plug works--for about $3.00 in parts. The end is wrapped in a lot of electrical tape, so it's not pretty.

Do you have the diagrams you found? I might try changing my connector on the old probe.

 

[stlblues5010]

I cut the temp probe connector open. Not a 100% sure but the black wire may have been what was broke. I'm going to try resoldering it.
Red goes on top, white in the middle, black bottom nearest plug

I soldered the black wire back on and it appears to work fine.
I'll have to look for a new sealed plug. I have it taped up for now as a spare.

 

[Beavdowg]

I was just on the Brew Boss site and saw that Darin has a new Swirl Boss. Has anyone tried it and, if so, how does it work? The one I got with my system is the one that clips onto the side of the pot but it isn't very stable and so far I'm not a big fan of it. The new one looks much better as it attaches directly to the accessory port.

 

[HLSheppard]

I have the new Swirl Boss. It's very stable when cam-locked in. I don't use it much though. I've clogged it a couple times with big IPA's. Now I use Arbor Fab's hop screen instead. I did use it once with my Jaded King Cobra to help chill. It worked pretty well that time. Overall - it's good quality but I probably wouldn't buy it again if I lost it.

 

[comoxlandia]

Wonder if someone can helo me with couple of quick questions: For the 15 gallon Brew Boss, which size hop spider works best and also which size of the King Cobra chiller?
Thanks

 

[HLSheppard]

Wonder if someone can helo me with couple of quick questions: For the 15 gallon Brew Boss, which size hop spider works best and also which size of the King Cobra chiller?
Thanks

Standard size King Cobra is perfect. The Arbor Fab Hop Spider I use is the 6" X 14". 300 micron. That said - it sits on the bottom of the kettle (kind of between the curves of the heating element) under the Hops Boss. You could probably get a better set up with a custom hook for the lip of the kettle, etc - but I am reusing from my old propane days.

 

[comoxlandia]

Thanks. Had been holding out in case there was a Black Friday sale this year to help defray costs of shipping to BC but finally placed the order for a 15g system. Stoked!

 

[shemp]

I just test fired mine today. Im having the same problem with the temp probe. I sometimes get 32, then 185, then actual. Im betting on a bad probe.

I also am finding the app isnt getting current temp input. It matches with the controller at first power up but never changes. Hoping Darin will have a solution soon.

 

[schiersteinbrewing]

I had the same problem with mine and the connection on the controller was loose. Tightened it up and haven't had a problem since.

 

[comoxlandia]

Standard size King Cobra is perfect.

Thanks again HLSheppard. I just discovered that they'll do custom builds with legs for these chillers. Unfortunately I won't have the actual kettle in my hands for a few weeks. Do you (or any others using King Cobra) think some legs to clear the element would be worthwhile. If so, can anyone give me the height (ie. to top of element or any other obvious impediment to the IC) I would need to give them for the custom build? (15 gallon kettle)

 

[HLSheppard]

Thanks again HLSheppard. I just discovered that they'll do custom builds with legs for these chillers. Unfortunately I won't have the actual kettle in my hands for a few weeks. Do you (or any others using King Cobra) think some legs to clear the element would be worthwhile. If so, can anyone give me the height (ie. to top of element or any other obvious impediment to the IC) I would need to give them for the custom build? (15 gallon kettle)

My pleasure! I got all the measurements and had them make me an Electric Chair. They did a great job with it (perfect, actually) but I just go 'commando' and let it rest on the element a bit. I can move the chiller easily up and down (for faster chilling) and no problems thus far.

Gives me a more room in the kettle for Hop Basket/ Swirl Boss, etc.

 

[Schumed]

Ok, the purists are probably going to have a fit, but here's what I did just as an experiment.

I brewed a five gallon RIS according to its recipe, then set the COFI basket aside during the boil. After the RIS was done I heated another eight gallons to mash temp and replaced the COFI for a 90 minute mash. After boil I added one pound of D-180 to the porter.

I'm still working on my efficiencies, I had the pump flow too restricted but the RIS came out at 1.070 and the porter at 1.044. They are both in secondary right now.

How did the parti-gyle beers turn out trying it this way. This process makes the most sense to me...been doing a lot of big beers on my brew boss the last month and everytime I dump the basket in my head is telling me to try a parti-gyle...going to try this with a dopplebock I have planned

 

[Schumed]

Thanks again HLSheppard. I just discovered that they'll do custom builds with legs for these chillers. Unfortunately I won't have the actual kettle in my hands for a few weeks. Do you (or any others using King Cobra) think some legs to clear the element would be worthwhile. If so, can anyone give me the height (ie. to top of element or any other obvious impediment to the IC) I would need to give them for the custom build? (15 gallon kettle)

Add the electric chair attachment for the King Cobra or build your own...I've got a pic of mine a few pages ago in this post...love it

 

[Schumed]

I just test fired mine today. Im having the same problem with the temp probe. I sometimes get 32, then 185, then actual. Im betting on a bad probe.

I also am finding the app isnt getting current temp input. It matches with the controller at first power up but never changes. Hoping Darin will have a solution soon.

I've got the same problem with the app not showing the correct temp...its been a problem for some time..the latest update worked for a while...its like the app is losing some sort of connection/communication during the brew...i've actually been using manual mode and watching the controller read out...which works fine but would be nice to be back to trusting the app. I've been meaning to send my controller back to have Darin look at it but been busy brewing

 

[mwills]

I've got the same problem with the app not showing the correct temp...its been a problem for some time..the latest update worked for a while...its like the app is losing some sort of connection/communication during the brew...i've actually been using manual mode and watching the controller read out...which works fine but would be nice to be back to trusting the app. I've been meaning to send my controller back to have Darin look at it but been busy brewing

I had a similar issue a couple of years ago when I first got my BrewBoss. The temp would go from actual to 32 and if you touched the heat sink on the top of the controller it would bounce all over the place. Before sending it back for a replacement I opened it up and found one of the wires (the white one in the photo) had snapped and was disconnected. Been fine ever since - maybe a similar situation?

 

[stlblues5010]

I think the solder connections are weak.

 

[mdime]

Anyone successfully using the email alert function? If so, is there a trick to setting it up?

I remember getting it to work earlier this year but for some reason all I get now is a pop-up stating that it failed to send an email.

 

[jayjaytuner]

havent read thru this whole thread yet, but anyone know if the stock COFI filter will work/ fit in a blihmann boilermaker g2 pot.....thinking of getting the 15 gallon blichmann, and adding the ports needed for element...(there ss ulwd triclamp one, not a boilcoil)
thanks

 

[swimIan]

Yes it will fit but the Brew-Boss kettle is cheaper.

 

[jayjaytuner]

guess i like the idea of being able to use the blichmann hop blocker...but im not sure if there would be enough space for one with the cofi filter in

 

[swimIan]

That would depend on the height of the hop blocker. You could use intranets and a calculator to find out

 

[AK_Phil]

My brew-boss keeps tripping my 240v 30 amp breaker. Not sure why. It worked for about 5 brews. Not it's not working.

Update - My heating element burnt up inside the housing at the end of the cable.

 

[warriorcoach]

That sucks. Now the question is why?

 

[R_Horn]

My brew-boss keeps tripping my 240v 30 amp breaker. Not sure why. It worked for about 5 brews. Not it's not working.

Update - My heating element burnt up inside the housing at the end of the cable.

He has those original style elements on clearance for $25

 

[AK_Phil]

He has those original style elements on clearance for $25

Yeah, I saw that. Honestly I caused the element to burn up. Instead of being conservative out of the gate and doing something simple, I opted for a big wheat beer (no rice hulls). It caused scorching and then I soaked the element in a heavy mix of PBW and water and must have submerged the wire housing.

Needless to say I am upgrading some components but next time I'll have to boil longer to offset a gallon or so more of water due to using more rice hulls.

In my defense, take it for what you will, I read on multiple forums that you can do a wheat beer without rice hulls with a 300 micron basket...maybe so, but the mill size might have had something to do with it as well.

 

[MerlinWerks]

Well now you know from experience

300u would be fine without re-circulation, I suppose that's why Darin specs 800u baskets. I use a 500u but still do a bit of babysitting and stirring...

 

[mcgimpkins]

In my defense, take it for what you will, I read on multiple forums that you can do a wheat beer without rice hulls with a 300 micron basket...maybe so, but the mill size might have had something to do with it as well.

Try doing a Protein Rest while mashing. That should help some from getting gummy. Even still I would recommend rice hulls. I scorched one in my Brew Boss, and just decided to spend the extra $.50-$1.00 on rice hulls over dumping the entire thing in the back yard. Wheat beers can be a pain in the butt with the Brew Boss, or any electric BIAB system.

 

[swimIan]

I'm having difficulty with the beerxml import feature. I save to google drive from BeerSmith, save xml file to the xml folder on the app, then I am unable to view the saved file to import.

I can type in the name of the file and then I get an error message about a value being too large.

Thoughts?

 

[swimIan]

Nm saved the file under the wrong format.

 

[Hoppslover]

Has anyone used the BeerXML file with the Brew-Boss app? How does this work? I know it needs to be imported through a ftp site. Just wondering if someone can give me a little bit more instruction that what is in the manual. Thanks

 

[Pezzonovante11]

For those of you who use a Brew-Boss I was wondering about something. How is the seal between the false bottom and the walls of the basket?
Does grain ever slip out when you mash, or when you hoist the inner basket out? I would think with the "give" of the mesh that it may be a problem.

Thanks

 

[SeeMont]

For those of you who use a Brew-Boss I was wondering about something. How is the seal between the false bottom and the walls of the basket?
Does grain ever slip out when you mash, or when you hoist the inner basket out? I would think with the "give" of the mesh that it may be a problem.

Thanks

Using the Brew Boss with the false bottom, The false bottom is just used to brew with the brew bad, to keep the bag away from the heating element. So you either use the Brew bag with false bottom or the COFI system. Hope this helps.

 

[andrewmaixner]

Has anyone used the BeerXML file with the Brew-Boss app? How does this work? I know it needs to be imported through a ftp site. Just wondering if someone can give me a little bit more instruction that what is in the manual. Thanks

You can import the file through multiple methods, the easiest is just a USB cord from the tablet to your computer.

 

[Pezzonovante11]

Using the Brew Boss with the false bottom, The false bottom is just used to brew with the brew bad, to keep the bag away from the heating element. So you either use the Brew bag with false bottom or the COFI system. Hope this helps.

Yes I'm sorry I meant the COFI filter. The bottom portion of it (that's what I meant by false-bottom) slides up and down. I was wondering if people experiences grain slipping through where the bottom portion meets the sides.

 

[Pezzonovante11]

Using the Brew Boss with the false bottom, The false bottom is just used to brew with the brew bad, to keep the bag away from the heating element. So you either use the Brew bag with false bottom or the COFI system. Hope this helps.

Yes I'm sorry I meant the COFI filter. The bottom portion of it (that's what I meant by false-bottom) slides up and down. I was wondering if people experience grain falling out between where the bottom portion of the COFI filter meets the sides.

 

[comoxlandia]

Brewed my first batch last week. First brew ever actually and between creating my recipe using Beersmith for first time, using BB for first time etc, I guess it went reasonably well. I did have issue with the whirlpool however with hop material fairly quickly plugging up the "E" opening on the swirl boss. Suggestions on how to avoid this?
Thanks