Brewjacket feedback

[sensortech]

Hi, I'm looking for any type of feedback on the brewjacket temp controller. Anyone here have one, and if so how do you like it??? What I HAVE seen seems pretty positive, but not a lot of recent comments out there.

Cheers!

 

[Sbe2]

Bump

 

[Partagas]

Im also looking at the brewjacket. Specifically the cooling only device as i have no need for heating. There are some stuff to keep in mind with this devices, the temp sensor sits in the outside of the fermentor, you may be able to do a thermowell but try to keep it as far away from the cooling rod as possible. The rod is anodized and will require some care on your part, cleaning it with iodophor and baking it or boiling it. No star san for the rod. And in the case of my application which is for the 6.5g big mouth bubbler, a good portion of the rod will not make contact with wort. Apparently as per Aaron, they "have investigated this and does not affect performance". Now the picture on their website is of a 5g and the rod is noticeably high, i imagine with a 6.5 and the double stopper suggestion they make in order to make space for blow off tube will make it sit even higher. I wonder too if anyone has this set up and can give us some feedback on this concern. Also remember that peltier cooling is rather slow and inefficient. You should bring down the wort to your fermentation or pitching temp in order to give this device a jumpstart in cooling.

Following thread. Would love to hear from actual users.

 

[KingDachshund]

I have the pro model (heats and cools). I've brewed 3 beers so far, 3rd in the fermentor now. So far I give it a thumbs up, and worth the investment. One of my major problems was temperature control as I live in an apartment and I don't have the space for a second fridge for fermentation. Also, the apartments I've lived in the insulation typically sucks, so the room temp swings a lot at certain times of the year. I live in California, so it's generally warm year round.

The fan is audible, but not enough to annoy me. From a lagering aspect, the lowest I was able to get mine down to was 43-45F, with room temp some where between 68 and 74. So lagering a beer doesn't look like it'll be possible for me.

 

[sensortech]

Im also looking at the brewjacket. Specifically the cooling only device as i have no need for heating. There are some stuff to keep in mind with this devices, the temp sensor sits in the outside of the fermentor, you may be able to do a thermowell but try to keep it as far away from the cooling rod as possible. The rod is anodized and will require some care on your part, cleaning it with iodophor and baking it or boiling it. No star san for the rod. And in the case of my application which is for the 6.5g big mouth bubbler, a good portion of the rod will not make contact with wort. Apparently as per Aaron, they "have investigated this and does not affect performance". Now the picture on their website is of a 5g and the rod is noticeably high, i imagine with a 6.5 and the double stopper suggestion they make in order to make space for blow off tube will make it sit even higher. I wonder too if anyone has this set up and can give us some feedback on this concern. Also remember that peltier cooling is rather slow and inefficient. You should bring down the wort to your fermentation or pitching temp in order to give this device a jumpstart in cooling.

Following thread. Would love to hear from actual users.

Good info, thanks. I'm just looking for something to maintain a good temp for fermenting lagers. I can cool down to temp as you suggested, and after primary it will go into the fridge to lager. I just cant get much above 45 in the fridge to ferment.

 

[sensortech]

I have the pro model (heats and cools). I've brewed 3 beers so far, 3rd in the fermentor now. So far I give it a thumbs up, and worth the investment. One of my major problems was temperature control as I live in an apartment and I don't have the space for a second fridge for fermentation. Also, the apartments I've lived in the insulation typically sucks, so the room temp swings a lot at certain times of the year. I live in California, so it's generally warm year round.

The fan is audible, but not enough to annoy me. From a lagering aspect, the lowest I was able to get mine down to was 43-45F, with room temp some where between 68 and 74. So lagering a beer doesn't look like it'll be possible for me.

Appreciate your reply! I would need the cool only model, but a few friends are also interested so the discount would be good for the pro at $199 each for 3. A little leary which is why I'm looking for recent feedback. I fell for the Beer bug and what a hunk of CRAP that turned out to be.

 

[PeteNMA]

I've brewed a lot of good beer using my cooling only model. My pro upgrade kit and second unit from the kickstarter campaign just showed up recently and the heating upgrade is a nice additional feature to keep temps stable.

That being said, a pending move to a place with a double garage means I'm redoing my cold side setup, so I'll have both my units up for sale if you're interested I'd be willing to sell one for the 3 unit price

 

[Cavpilot2000]

I have one and have used it for 4-5 lagers (my basement is a stable 68-70 for ales, so not needed for them).

It is a great piece of equipment, well worth the investment, IMO. In fact, I may buy a second one with my tax return.

Two things to be aware of:
1: Don't rely on it to cool your wort to lager pitching temps. It will take literally days to go from, say, 80F to 50 F. Like 3 days (I know from experience - I thought it would be overnight). So get your wort down to 60F or less before putting in the Brewjacket, if you want to pitch same day or even next morning.
2: If you open the jacket (it cinches down with a drawstring) or even move the temperature probe around, it will give you some wildly fluctuating temp readings for a few minutes then will settle back down to working correctly. It's not a big deal, just don't panic when you see this.

So far all of my batches have been in buckets, but I'm moving away from using them and just received my Big Mouth Bubbler lid and a Corny Keg lid (yes, they have lids for Corny kegs now!!) and will be using the a keg with it on my Pils this weekend.

I really do like it.

 

[sensortech]

I have one and have used it for 4-5 lagers (my basement is a stable 68-70 for ales, so not needed for them).

It is a great piece of equipment, well worth the investment, IMO. In fact, I may buy a second one with my tax return.

Two things to be aware of:
1: Don't rely on it to cool your wort to lager pitching temps. It will take literally days to go from, say, 80F to 50 F. Like 3 days (I know from experience - I thought it would be overnight). So get your wort down to 60F or less before putting in the Brewjacket, if you want to pitch same day or even next morning.
2: If you open the jacket (it cinches down with a drawstring) or even move the temperature probe around, it will give you some wildly fluctuating temp readings for a few minutes then will settle back down to working correctly. It's not a big deal, just don't panic when you see this.

So far all of my batches have been in buckets, but I'm moving away from using them and just received my Big Mouth Bubbler lid and a Corny Keg lid (yes, they have lids for Corny kegs now!!) and will be using the a keg with it on my Pils this weekend.

I really do like it.

That's just the kind of info I was hoping for! I appreciate you taking the time to respond !

 

[nicklassa]

I have one and have used it for 4-5 lagers (my basement is a stable 68-70 for ales, so not needed for them).

It is a great piece of equipment, well worth the investment, IMO. In fact, I may buy a second one with my tax return.

Two things to be aware of:
1: Don't rely on it to cool your wort to lager pitching temps. It will take literally days to go from, say, 80F to 50 F. Like 3 days (I know from experience - I thought it would be overnight). So get your wort down to 60F or less before putting in the Brewjacket, if you want to pitch same day or even next morning.
2: If you open the jacket (it cinches down with a drawstring) or even move the temperature probe around, it will give you some wildly fluctuating temp readings for a few minutes then will settle back down to working correctly. It's not a big deal, just don't panic when you see this.

So far all of my batches have been in buckets, but I'm moving away from using them and just received my Big Mouth Bubbler lid and a Corny Keg lid (yes, they have lids for Corny kegs now!!) and will be using the a keg with it on my Pils this weekend.

I really do like it.

Thanks for this info. Just curious, what prompted you to move away from buckets? How has the unit worked with the Bubbler and Corny?

 

[Cavpilot2000]

Thanks for this info. Just curious, what prompted you to move away from buckets? How has the unit worked with the Bubbler and Corny?

I haven't used it in a Bubbler yet, because I don't have one and am not sure I want to go that route. I've switched to corny kegs exclusively because I want to be 100% stainless.

I moved away from buckets to get away from plastic due to its oxygen permeability and their potential to harbor cooties if they get scratches and such. Plus they should be replaced every so often, and that seems wasteful to me. Sure, newer plastics, like PET, are better than the classic buckets, but my goal is to be 100% stainless. Mine have all been retired for use as grain buckets, since I've started buying grain in bulk.

I also have a lot of glass carboys, but glass always has the slight potential to be dangerous (and messy) if it breaks. 16 years of using carboys and I've never had a break, but it would only take one to regret it. I still use glass for secondary fermentation of ciders though.

I like using corny kegs, because transfer between vessels is so easy. Hook a line from the two beer out posts, put a few pounds of gas pressure into the full keg, open the PRV in the receiving purged keg, and sit back while it does a closed-circuit transfer without any exposure to outside air.

Also they store better for lagering (narrower than a carboy, so you can fit more of them in any given cooler).

The only downside to using cornies for primaries is that you are limited to 5 gallons into the fermenter. once you factor in blowoff and/or trub loss, you usually only end up with 4-ish gallons in the serving keg. I'm used to putting 6 gallons in the primary to end up with 5 in the serving keg.

My planned solution is a SS Brewtech Brewbucket for primary and corny for secondary/lagering/serving.

 

[ssspargur]

I have a brew jacket drilled corny lid for my blichmann conical and I can't for the life of me figure out how to hook up the sleeved grommet to the drilled co2 release? It's too wide? Can you help me understand this? I'm lost. Thanks so much.

 

[Cavpilot2000]

I have a brew jacket drilled corny lid for my blichmann conical and I can't for the life of me figure out how to hook up the sleeved grommet to the drilled co2 release? It's too wide? Can you help me understand this? I'm lost. Thanks so much.

I just left my PRV intact and use an airlock attached to my gas-in quick-disconnect. See drawing.

 

[ssspargur]

Thanks!!!

 

[TBC27]

I bought 2 pros (heat & cool) in April. I've been very pleased with them thus far. They keep my desired temp within 0.2F. I have NOT tried a lager yet though.

A few other thoughts/points of feedback not yet mentioned:
1. I use Spiedel fermenters and can no longer use the spigot. This also meant I had to purchase an auto siphon which is more effort, IMHO, when racking into kegs.
2. You cannot easily take gravity readings and/or collect a sample without taking the entire thing apart. I basically wait a full 10 days before even considering doing a FG check.
3. I have to have my wife help me get a full fermentor into the jacket at the end of brew day. This isn't a huge deal but I need her to hold the jacket open so I can fit the Spiedel fermentor in it.
4. Tweaking temps during active fermentation is a breeze.
5. I had to buy an iodine based sanitizer since the medal rod cannot have starsan touch it.
6. Their customer service has been hit and miss but they do have an online community you can post on.

Happy to answer other questions or video anything for anyone looking for more detail. View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1502070788.778811.jpgView attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1502070808.859795.jpgView attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1502070828.446888.jpg

 

[TBC27]

I will also fully agree with cavpilot2000. It does NOT alter temperature quickly and you should still cool your wort to your desired pitching temp on brew day by whatever means you currently use. From my experience, it will alter a 5.5 gallon batch's temp ~0.5F per hour. So plan accordingly.

 

[DeLiquid]

My initial 2 cents-

I ordered 3 immersion pros in late June or early July 2017 as well as some fermenter lids- 2 fermonster lids and 1 bucket lid. Buying 3 priced the units at about 200$ a pop so it defrayed the cost a bit. The estimated delivery date was late August. All 3 units arrived mid August ahead of expected delivery by a week or so and in excellent condition.

I use the immersion pros with new ported 7 gallon fermonsters from morebeer. Prior to this I was using plastic buckets that I shuttled up and down stairs based on temp and then in a temp controlled spare fridge that has since been reclaimed by SWMBO. I was initially concerned about 3 things with my new setup- 1. the smallish blowoff tube, 2. the amount of rod submerged in the beer not being adequate for heat exchange, and 3. the port getting caught up in the brewjackets and causing a leak.

None of my fears have been realized...
1. The 7 gallon fermonsters provide ample head space so that krausen has not even come close to the lid despite pitching over 200 billion cells from a yeast starter per fermenter and very healthy fermentations;
2. Temps can adjusted and maintained without issue despite about 1/3 of the rod being above liquid level; and
3. I just make sure to press out a little pocket of space in the brewjacket where the port faces before inserting the fermenters, slide them in carefully, and slip my hand in after to feel that the ports have a little room.

One minor thing I don't love is that the head units rest on the blowoff elbows and tip the head unit a bit. This wouldn't be an issue if using plastic carboys with the blowoff in the neck or buckets. Regardless, it hasn't yet caused any issue as far as I can tell. Out of curiosity, on my last batch I left one unit a little higher in the bung collar so that it sits above the elbow and a little rod (~1/4") is exposed. That unit displays a 0.1 degree difference in temp compared to unit with it pushed all the way in and resting on the elbow. The temp differential may or may not be related and it could be causing the unit to cycle the fan more often but I haven't noticed it.

All told I have fermented 33 gallons of NEIPA with them in my basement; three 11 gallon batches split between 2 fermenters. I live in central Massachusetts and my brew dates were in late August, early October and mid November (November batch is on day 9 now in the fermenters).

Overall, so far I have to say that they have performed as well as expected and I am very pleased with my purchase. That being said, my basement has been in the 50 to 65 degree range so I am not asking a lot of the units. I have been fermenting at around 66 and then ramping up to the mid 70s after primary winds down. The units have been responding well and I find their simplicity of use to be great. I bumped temp from 68 to 74 in the morning just yesterday and they had hit 74 by the time I got home from work about 9 hours later. I cold crash in kegs in a kegerator so I cannot comment on how they would handle that function and cooling demand.

The only other thing I don't love so far is the fact that you can't use starsan directly on the rods. The first time I used the rods I made 5 gallons of IO and hated dumping it after because it seemed wasteful. The last 2 brew days I made a gallon of IO (easier to measure by the gallon) then filled a spray bottle and dumped the rest but it still seems wasteful. I see on the brewjacket website that they sell a 10-pack of baggies that slip over the rods so you can sanitize the baggies with starsan so I like that they responded to that consumer demand.

Compared to other more expensive or complicated options, I am very pleased with my set up so far. My brew buddy covets them whenever he sees them and wants to buy the 3rd unit from me. I am going to try a lager in the summer and see how they hold up to those demands but until then I dig them and have had no issues other have complained about on other posts.

 

[mbg]

My initial 2 cents-

I ordered 3 immersion pros in late June or early July 2017 as well as some fermenter lids- 2 fermonster lids and 1 bucket lid. Buying 3 priced the units at about 200$ a pop so it defrayed the cost a bit. The estimated delivery date was late August. All 3 units arrived mid August ahead of expected delivery by a week or so and in excellent condition.

I use the immersion pros with new ported 7 gallon fermonsters from morebeer. Prior to this I was using plastic buckets that I shuttled up and down stairs based on temp and then in a temp controlled spare fridge that has since been reclaimed by SWMBO. I was initially concerned about 3 things with my new setup- 1. the smallish blowoff tube, 2. the amount of rod submerged in the beer not being adequate for heat exchange, and 3. the port getting caught up in the brewjackets and causing a leak.

None of my fears have been realized...
1. The 7 gallon fermonsters provide ample head space so that krausen has not even come close to the lid despite pitching over 200 billion cells from a yeast starter per fermenter and very healthy fermentations;
2. Temps can adjusted and maintained without issue despite about 1/3 of the rod being above liquid level; and
3. I just make sure to press out a little pocket of space in the brewjacket where the port faces before inserting the fermenters, slide them in carefully, and slip my hand in after to feel that the ports have a little room.

One minor thing I don't love is that the head units rest on the blowoff elbows and tip the head unit a bit. This wouldn't be an issue if using plastic carboys with the blowoff in the neck or buckets. Regardless, it hasn't yet caused any issue as far as I can tell. Out of curiosity, on my last batch I left one unit a little higher in the bung collar so that it sits above the elbow and a little rod (~1/4") is exposed. That unit displays a 0.1 degree difference in temp compared to unit with it pushed all the way in and resting on the elbow. The temp differential may or may not be related and it could be causing the unit to cycle the fan more often but I haven't noticed it.

All told I have fermented 33 gallons of NEIPA with them in my basement; three 11 gallon batches split between 2 fermenters. I live in central Massachusetts and my brew dates were in late August, early October and mid November (November batch is on day 9 now in the fermenters).

Overall, so far I have to say that they have performed as well as expected and I am very pleased with my purchase. That being said, my basement has been in the 50 to 65 degree range so I am not asking a lot of the units. I have been fermenting at around 66 and then ramping up to the mid 70s after primary winds down. The units have been responding well and I find their simplicity of use to be great. I bumped temp from 68 to 74 in the morning just yesterday and they had hit 74 by the time I got home from work about 9 hours later. I cold crash in kegs in a kegerator so I cannot comment on how they would handle that function and cooling demand.

The only other thing I don't love so far is the fact that you can't use starsan directly on the rods. The first time I used the rods I made 5 gallons of IO and hated dumping it after because it seemed wasteful. The last 2 brew days I made a gallon of IO (easier to measure by the gallon) then filled a spray bottle and dumped the rest but it still seems wasteful. I see on the brewjacket website that they sell a 10-pack of baggies that slip over the rods so you can sanitize the baggies with starsan so I like that they responded to that consumer demand.

Compared to other more expensive or complicated options, I am very pleased with my set up so far. My brew buddy covets them whenever he sees them and wants to buy the 3rd unit from me. I am going to try a lager in the summer and see how they hold up to those demands but until then I dig them and have had no issues other have complained about on other posts.

Hi, I'm looking for any type of feedback on the brewjacket temp controller. Anyone here have one, and if so how do you like it??? What I HAVE seen seems pretty positive, but not a lot of recent comments out there.

Cheers!

 

[mbg]

I got the pro as a gift last September. I first brewed an ale so not a lot of hard work for the chiller but really maintains the temperature well.

Currently at the end of my second brew with it - a lager. Don’t know if I should be disappointed or not because I’ve exclusively brewed ales, but, I’ve bottomed out at 37F. My son only got to 43F. We both have FastFerment conicals. One thing I found somewhat by chance that I think improves performance is to remove the anodized finish at the top of the rod (my original rod had bad threads so they replaced it - I cut about 1/8” off the rod to get rid of the bad thread area).

Been using my grill Wi-Fi temperature controller to monitor fermenter temperature and BrewJacket duty cycle. Works as advertised, 0.5F/hr up to 10F below ambient, 0.25F/hr to 20F below ambient, and 0.1F/hr to 30F below ambient. So sort of slow. They also say it cools down to approximately 35F below ambient.

Pleased but was hoping to get closer to freezing.

Mike

 

[lablover]

Do these work on glass carboys? Their site says the rod is 1 1/2" diameter and my old glass carboy is closer to 1" or 1 1/4" inside diameter.

 

[IKR]

I have the Brew Jacket Pro which I purchased after my keezer which was made from a freezer purchased new with an Auber Instrument Temp Control. My keezer performed flawless but I bought the Brew Jacket as an experiment and well, the fact I love brew gadgets. I haven't lagered with it but for Ales the Brew Jacket Pro has performed every bit as well as the Keezer with perhaps tighter temp control with their converted PET carboy they sale.

 

[nobadays]

Lablover.... I don't believe they will work in a glass carboy. The website however says they will work with the PET carboys with a 1.75" opening. The cooling/heating rod 1.5" you need an even larger diameter hole for the large, drilled rubber stopper the metal rod slides through for the seal. They sell drilled bucket lids...just be sure you get the right lid for the bucket you use. I ended up buying a Speidel fermenter and love it just about as much as my Fastferment conical.

The brewjackets themselves are great! Haven't lagered yet but they keep the ferment temp within a degree or two with little fluctuations. If you are tight for room to have a dedicated ferment chamber these are the ticket!

 

[lablover]

Without insulation you are looking at more than $300 for one of these. What do others do for inexpensive fermentation temperature control? I don't have room for another kegerator in my place.

 

[nobadays]

Wet towel and a fan.... They are expensive but, like you I have no room for a dedicated fermentor so I saved my quarters...

 

[yowzers]

I bought a small stainless coil imbedded in a rubber stopper. It seals through a whole I drilled in my bucket lid and the coil goes down to the bottom of my bucket. I then pump ice water through that with an Inkbird controller. I have to change ice jugs once a day for ales and twice a day for lager temps. It's a pretty small stainless coil so I haven't been able to cold crash with it, but it easily maintains fermentation in the low 50 F range for lagers in the summer time.

 

[Sbe2]

I bought a small stainless coil imbedded in a rubber stopper. It seals through a whole I drilled in my bucket lid and the coil goes down to the bottom of my bucket. I then pump ice water through that with an Inkbird controller. I have to change ice jugs once a day for ales and twice a day for lager temps. It's a pretty small stainless coil so I haven't been able to cold crash with it, but it easily maintains fermentation in the low 50 F range for lagers in the summer time.

Could you post a link or picture?

 

[yowzers]

Could you post a link or picture?

Sure picture below. The rubber stopper fits in a hole I drilled in my bucket lid. It also fits my Fermonster that I recently got from Morebeer. The blow off tube is on the left and it's larger tubing. The cooling piece is in the middle (it is a loop, but you can't see too well). The thermowell is on the right. I use a fountain pump from Lowes that was $12 and an Inkbird to control the pump in the ice water. I can post pictures of the system put together if you want, but it is pretty darned simple. Got the unit from www.ballandkeg.com and I got the one that has a thermowell so I could put my Inkbird thermometer down in the liquid.

 

[Sbe2]

Sure picture below. The rubber stopper fits in a hole I drilled in my bucket lid. It also fits my Fermonster that I recently got from Morebeer. The blow off tube is on the left and it's larger tubing. The cooling piece is in the middle (it is a loop, but you can't see too well). The thermowell is on the right. I use a fountain pump from Lowes that was $12 and an Inkbird to control the pump in the ice water. I can post pictures of the system put together if you want, but it is pretty darned simple. Got the unit from www.ballandkeg.com and I got the one that has a thermowell so I could put my Inkbird thermometer down in the liquid.
View attachment 566589

I was on that site a couple months ago looking at the keg level indicator and I can't believe I didn't see that. I will definitely look into that, seeing as how I do not have a way to cool my fermonster.

 

[yowzers]

I was on that site a couple months ago looking at the keg level indicator and I can't believe I didn't see that. I will definitely look into that, seeing as how I do not have a way to cool my fermonster.

I've only had mine for 5 or 6 weeks and I've done one lager and a couple ales. It must be relatively new on their site because I just found it recently. Actually, I was surprised how quickly it was able to drop temps, since the stainless loop is only a couple feet in each direction and my pump is about a 3 inch square. I'd say it dropped my cooled wort from 80 F to 65 F in a few hours and it got down to lager pitching temps overnight.

 

[lablover]

Sure picture below. The rubber stopper fits in a hole I drilled in my bucket lid. It also fits my Fermonster that I recently got from Morebeer. The blow off tube is on the left and it's larger tubing. The cooling piece is in the middle (it is a loop, but you can't see too well). The thermowell is on the right. I use a fountain pump from Lowes that was $12 and an Inkbird to control the pump in the ice water. I can post pictures of the system put together if you want, but it is pretty darned simple. Got the unit from www.ballandkeg.com and I got the one that has a thermowell so I could put my Inkbird thermometer down in the liquid.
View attachment 566589

Alright just ordered mine. I got the unit without the thermowell. I’ll just insulate an Inkbird temp probe to the side of my fermenter. I’m thinking it will be nice to have the built in blow off tube.

 

[jfrode]

I really like mine. Done a lager and several ales. I have had great customer support from them. I have done a lager and several ales. I am about to see how far I can push it to the upper limits brewing a PA with Kveik. This will ferment (ideally) in the 95-100F region. For ales, I find that I don't even need the jacket (i screwed up the insulation on mine and haven't got around to fix it yet). I just put an old duvet around it, or toss the fermenter into a sleeping bag. It as worked as a charm. It is much more expensive than a cheap fridge with a temp controller, but wife would go ballistic if a got one more for my brewing. Get the sleeves if you can. No I am sanitizing with boiling hot water just before I put the unit inside the fermenter (no one sells Iodophor in Norway).

 

[doogster]

I really like mine. Done a lager and several ales. I have had great customer support from them. I have done a lager and several ales. I am about to see how far I can push it to the upper limits brewing a PA with Kveik. This will ferment (ideally) in the 95-100F region. For ales, I find that I don't even need the jacket (i screwed up the insulation on mine and haven't got around to fix it yet). I just put an old duvet around it, or toss the fermenter into a sleeping bag. It as worked as a charm. It is much more expensive than a cheap fridge with a temp controller, but wife would go ballistic if a got one more for my brewing. Get the sleeves if you can. No I am sanitizing with boiling hot water just before I put the unit inside the fermenter (no one sells Iodophor in Norway).

How did the fermentation with Kviek go? How high were you able to get the temp?

 

[jfrode]

Yeah, but no need for it though because this was the hottest summer ever in Norway, and I ferment in the room where my oil burner that heats tap water sits. It was at 35 degrees already. Actually the unit at some point started to cool because I was going above the set temp at 40 degrees C. Crazy.

 

[Richard Van Eck]

I have brewed one batch with the immersion pro and LOVE IT! For those questioning the need to heat, I would say only that the key is actually to maintain fermenting temperatures, and that temperature varies with different parts of the fermenting process. In the beginning phases, temperature rises due to yeast activity--the cooling would keep the temperature consistent through cooling in that case. Later on, the temperature may cool, potentially to lower than your target rate--heating would prevent this. Finally, for those (like me) who raise fermentation temps during the last three-four days of primary fermentation in order to help the tired yeast chew up more sugars, the heating is a great feature--just come out and set the temperature up by 5-8 degrees (depending on your initial fermentation rate).

So for me, the key is consistent control of fermentation temperature (within .3 degrees), the ability to start low and jump up near end of primary while still staying under 70 degrees, and the fact that I brew in my garage and can keep the heat lower during winter without impacting the beer temp. Set it and forget it.

FYI--I use IO San and just have a second bottle mixed up and ready to go. My calculations suggest 1 ml to 21 ounces of water, so either get a 24 ounce spray bottle or, as I do, mix up a batch of 21 ounces and dump the 4 ounces that don't fit in your 16 ounce bottle. I use a graduated cylinder to get 1 ml (plus or minus .5ml is not going to make a big difference, IMO).

I'd welcome any other thoughts on this or a check of my math--I was an English major, after all!

My initial 2 cents-

I ordered 3 immersion pros in late June or early July 2017 as well as some fermenter lids- 2 fermonster lids and 1 bucket lid. Buying 3 priced the units at about 200$ a pop so it defrayed the cost a bit. The estimated delivery date was late August. All 3 units arrived mid August ahead of expected delivery by a week or so and in excellent condition.

I use the immersion pros with new ported 7 gallon fermonsters from morebeer. Prior to this I was using plastic buckets that I shuttled up and down stairs based on temp and then in a temp controlled spare fridge that has since been reclaimed by SWMBO. I was initially concerned about 3 things with my new setup- 1. the smallish blowoff tube, 2. the amount of rod submerged in the beer not being adequate for heat exchange, and 3. the port getting caught up in the brewjackets and causing a leak.

None of my fears have been realized...
1. The 7 gallon fermonsters provide ample head space so that krausen has not even come close to the lid despite pitching over 200 billion cells from a yeast starter per fermenter and very healthy fermentations;
2. Temps can adjusted and maintained without issue despite about 1/3 of the rod being above liquid level; and
3. I just make sure to press out a little pocket of space in the brewjacket where the port faces before inserting the fermenters, slide them in carefully, and slip my hand in after to feel that the ports have a little room.

One minor thing I don't love is that the head units rest on the blowoff elbows and tip the head unit a bit. This wouldn't be an issue if using plastic carboys with the blowoff in the neck or buckets. Regardless, it hasn't yet caused any issue as far as I can tell. Out of curiosity, on my last batch I left one unit a little higher in the bung collar so that it sits above the elbow and a little rod (~1/4") is exposed. That unit displays a 0.1 degree difference in temp compared to unit with it pushed all the way in and resting on the elbow. The temp differential may or may not be related and it could be causing the unit to cycle the fan more often but I haven't noticed it.

All told I have fermented 33 gallons of NEIPA with them in my basement; three 11 gallon batches split between 2 fermenters. I live in central Massachusetts and my brew dates were in late August, early October and mid November (November batch is on day 9 now in the fermenters).

Overall, so far I have to say that they have performed as well as expected and I am very pleased with my purchase. That being said, my basement has been in the 50 to 65 degree range so I am not asking a lot of the units. I have been fermenting at around 66 and then ramping up to the mid 70s after primary winds down. The units have been responding well and I find their simplicity of use to be great. I bumped temp from 68 to 74 in the morning just yesterday and they had hit 74 by the time I got home from work about 9 hours later. I cold crash in kegs in a kegerator so I cannot comment on how they would handle that function and cooling demand.

The only other thing I don't love so far is the fact that you can't use starsan directly on the rods. The first time I used the rods I made 5 gallons of IO and hated dumping it after because it seemed wasteful. The last 2 brew days I made a gallon of IO (easier to measure by the gallon) then filled a spray bottle and dumped the rest but it still seems wasteful. I see on the brewjacket website that they sell a 10-pack of baggies that slip over the rods so you can sanitize the baggies with starsan so I like that they responded to that consumer demand.

Compared to other more expensive or complicated options, I am very pleased with my set up so far. My brew buddy covets them whenever he sees them and wants to buy the 3rd unit from me. I am going to try a lager in the summer and see how they hold up to those demands but until then I dig them and have had no issues other have complained about on other posts.

 

[Richard Van Eck]

But does your Inkbird plug into the immersion controller? The nice thing about the probe they have is that is controls the temp automatically as it fluctuates during early and late stages of primary fermentation...

Alright just ordered mine. I got the unit without the thermowell. I’ll just insulate an Inkbird temp probe to the side of my fermenter. I’m thinking it will be nice to have the built in blow off tube.

 

[lablover]

But does your Inkbird plug into the immersion controller? The nice thing about the probe they have is that is controls the temp automatically as it fluctuates during early and late stages of primary fermentation...

My submersible pump plugs into the inkbird controller. The probe reads the fermenter temp and starts and stops the pump to hold within one degree of the setpoint. I've done one lager and two ales. All in all I'm very happy with the Ballandkeg unit. It works as advertised.