Brewzilla Gen4 Discussion/Tips Talk

[rtstrider]

Reporting back. I received the Brewzilla Gen 4.1 and finally got a brew day knocked out with it over the weekend The main changes I noticed are the malt pipe only has one row of feet at the bottom, the lid clamps are adjustable and coated in a rubber coating, it comes with the sight glass (which is a plastic resin deal), and that's about it. Now I will say the brewday was uneventful and went extremely smooth! Once this was over, and the unit cleaned, I did take the pump head cover off the unit to make sure it was clean, which it was, and it definitely spun more freely than the 2nd Brewzilla unit. I really enjoyed the sight glass! It neat to be able to visually see the wort go from cloudy to crystal clear! Also it was a huge help in not having to shine a light down in the boiler itself to make sure the preboil volume was where it should be (25L/6.75 Gallons) in my case. Going to get a few more brews in on the Gen 4.1 and will report back again. Hopefully the next brews are just as uneventful

 

[jdubdvdt]

Reporting back. I received the Brewzilla Gen 4.1 and finally got a brew day knocked out with it over the weekend The main changes I noticed are the malt pipe only has one row of feet at the bottom, the lid clamps are adjustable and coated in a rubber coating, it comes with the sight glass (which is a plastic resin deal), and that's about it. Now I will say the brewday was uneventful and went extremely smooth! Once this was over, and the unit cleaned, I did take the pump head cover off the unit to make sure it was clean, which it was, and it definitely spun more freely than the 2nd Brewzilla unit. I really enjoyed the sight glass! It neat to be able to visually see the wort go from cloudy to crystal clear! Also it was a huge help in not having to shine a light down in the boiler itself to make sure the preboil volume was where it should be (25L/6.75 Gallons) in my case. Going to get a few more brews in on the Gen 4.1 and will report back again. Hopefully the next brews are just as uneventful

The sight glass seems like a nice feature to add.
I have a late model gen 4.0, not sure if they called it anything else. It has adjustable lid clamps with rubber, but not a coating, more like a heat shrink wrap. It also only has one row of a feet at the bottom which I am still frustrated about.

What does the sight glass read up to? I make 6.5 gallon post boil volume batches in my gen4. Wonder if I can buy an upgrade kit to get the sight glass?

Also, a small update on mine. My pump went out, not sure why. It was quickly replaced under warranty, but sad that it failed in under 10 brews. They were adamant it was clogged. They hushed up quickly when I told them it failed when making a seltzer and I went to pump the liquid out.

 

[theredviper]

The Gen 4.1 has a new stronger pump so weird that it failed like that. I was thinking about upgrading the pump for my 4.0, but maybe I'll wait.

 

[cfrazier77]

I believe the stronger pump is only in the 65 liter unit.

 

[jdubdvdt]

The Gen 4.1 has a new stronger pump so weird that it failed like that. I was thinking about upgrading the pump for my 4.0, but maybe I'll wait.

I'm considering upgrading to the pump they offer on the 65L. Maybe if mine fails again I'll ask for a discounted upgrade. It seems to be more robust. Obviously I use my pump to chill my wort and the standard one does not seem to be rated for it

I believe the stronger pump is only in the 65 liter unit.

I believe it is on the 65L and the 100L unit.
Per this kegland video they mention you can upgrade (not sure if that applies in the USA since we already get cucked on the malt pipe)

 

[theredviper]

If somebody has retrofitted the new pump onto a 35L (120V at that) I'd love to see a video.

Although, if the stronger pump doesn't solve any problems, that's moot. The flow rate of the 4.0 pump is fine, clogging is the issue.

 

[rtstrider]

The sight glass seems like a nice feature to add.
I have a late model gen 4.0, not sure if they called it anything else. It has adjustable lid clamps with rubber, but not a coating, more like a heat shrink wrap. It also only has one row of a feet at the bottom which I am still frustrated about.

What does the sight glass read up to? I make 6.5 gallon post boil volume batches in my gen4. Wonder if I can buy an upgrade kit to get the sight glass?

Also, a small update on mine. My pump went out, not sure why. It was quickly replaced under warranty, but sad that it failed in under 10 brews. They were adamant it was clogged. They hushed up quickly when I told them it failed when making a seltzer and I went to pump the liquid out.

I wonder if it would be counterintuitive to remove that spindle right in the middle of the pump head? It seems like that could be a huge cause for clogging. Is that "spindle" with three arms actually needed?

 

[agentbud]

I wonder if it would be counterintuitive to remove that spindle right in the middle of the pump head? It seems like that could be a huge cause for clogging. Is that "spindle" with three arms actually needed?

Sounds like the subject of a Far Side cartoon. "Marvin wondered aloud if he should remove the spindle thingy and he was never seen or heard from again."

 

[mashdar]

Hmm. Was prepping strike water last night and noticed a little puddle under the unit when I moved it. The silicone elbow from the bottom drain into the pump has degraded and was slowly dripping.

I tried to replace it with a straight 1/2" segment, but it kinks. I unmounted the pump for now.

Anyone know where to buy such a beast? 1/2" food grade silicone 90? I'm also open to reworking it, although with the out-of-the-box configuration, there's not much room for tube - stainless elbow - tube.

I'm not sure why it rotted out. I run oxiclean sometimes, but no acid sanitizers etc. It may just be heat + vibration.

 

[Willy]

Hmm. Was prepping strike water last night and noticed a little puddle under the unit when I moved it. The silicone elbow from the bottom drain into the pump has degraded and was slowly dripping.

I tried to replace it with a straight 1/2" segment, but it kinks. I unmounted the pump for now.

Anyone know where to buy such a beast? 1/2" food grade silicone 90? I'm also open to reworking it, although with the out-of-the-box configuration, there's not much room for tube - stainless elbow - tube.

I'm not sure why it rotted out. I run oxiclean sometimes, but no acid sanitizers etc. It may just be heat + vibration.

Here's a link. https://www.morebeer.com/products/r...HYDBjJyeVvg_OdMwqnevhPLR-4EFHuVhoCZGUQAvD_BwE

 

[mashdar]

Here's a link. https://www.morebeer.com/products/r...HYDBjJyeVvg_OdMwqnevhPLR-4EFHuVhoCZGUQAvD_BwE

My hero! Unfortunately I don't use the other pieces (I removed to spigot and tee, and pump-to-recirc needed a longer tube), but it'll do.

 

[BandonBrewingCo]

The more I use it the more I like it. I've added as accessories the heat exchange plate and Bluetooth temp probe with great results.

I also got the Brewmonk CFC and got the idea from David Heath to hook up a wort in tube with a camlock so I can easily swap it out without trying to get the recirc tube over the chiller's barb. And now the pump isn't having to push the wort so high.

Im finding the CIP not to be great though tbh. It seems like it would take forever to remove the ring of crud from the boil.

 

[jmstone617]

How are you doing CIP? With the low pressure head from KegLand or something else?

 

[razzman]

The more I use it the more I like it. I've added as accessories the heat exchange plate and Bluetooth temp probe with great results.

I also got the Brewmonk CFC and got the idea from David Heath to hook up a wort in tube with a camlock so I can easily swap it out without trying to get the recirc tube over the chiller's barb. And now the pump isn't having to push the wort so high.

Im finding the CIP not to be great though tbh. It seems like it would take forever to remove the ring of crud from the boil.

It’s much faster to clean with BKF and a sponge than CIP.

 

[BandonBrewingCo]

How are you doing CIP? With the low pressure head from KegLand or something else?

Stock pump on the 35L.

 

[BandonBrewingCo]

Think I need to see the cip as more of an extra wash on top of my scrubbing of the visible crud.

I'm sure if I let it run long enough it'd get there eventually but a sponge will get the crud off in a few seconds

 

[jmstone617]

I usually rinse off the heavy stuff and then CIP with the low pressure head for ~20 min, then rinse.

 

[Neldog0]

It’s much faster to clean with BKF and a sponge than CIP.

I agree. The CIP created more work; not less.

 

[Barão]

I have a BZ gen 4 35 ltI .... I want to brew beer with total water ....without sparge ... BIAB type...BUT WITH THE BASKET OF GRAINS Question: Should I consider the dead space of the pan under the false bottom

 

[jmstone617]

The Gen4 profile in Brewfather has the deadspace set to 0.66 gal / 2.5 L. I haven't personally adjusted that but my volumes come out close enough that I haven't felt the need to mess with it.

 

[mashdar]

I measured:

• 1.3L below base plate with HED
• 2.24L below malt pipe bottom
• 11-7/8" main body dia
• 10-17/32" malt pipe dia

These measurements were by weight of H2O, but since the bottoms aren't perfectly flat, the choice of level was approximate.

Based on the diameter of the malt pipe vs kettle, I ended up with a 127% adjustment to account for the dead space around the pipe.

E.g. if I am using the malt pipe and I want an apparent thickness of 1.25L/lb for 10 lbs, I need
2.24L dead space + 1.27 * 10lb * 1.25L/lb = 18.12L

 

[Barão]

O perfil Gen4 no Brewfather tem o espaço morto definido para 0,66 gal / 2,5 L. Eu pessoalmente não ajustei isso, mas meus volumes saem próximos o suficiente para que eu não sinta necessidade de mexer neles.

obrigado

The Gen4 profile in Brewfather has the deadspace set to 0.66 gal / 2.5 L. I haven't personally adjusted that but my volumes come out close enough that I haven't felt the need to mess with it.

thanks

 

[agentbud]

Are we talking about the recoverable deadspace or the deadspace losses? The way I understand it, for the 35L version, I believe the recoverable deadspace is .66 gal but the deadspace loss is 0 (or close to it). Since it has a center drain, the only deadspace loss would be what is left in the tubing

 

[Barão]

Are we talking about the recoverable deadspace or the deadspace losses? The way I understand it, for the 35L version, I believe the recoverable deadspace is .66 gal but the deadspace loss is 0 (or close to it). Since it has a center drain, the only deadspace loss would be what is left in the tubing

thanks...perfect...that's what I wanted to know...consider 0 loss...when calculating the total volume

 

[Pan_Kotsky]

Are we talking about the recoverable deadspace or the deadspace losses? The way I understand it, for the 35L version, I believe the recoverable deadspace is .66 gal but the deadspace loss is 0 (or close to it). Since it has a center drain, the only deadspace loss would be what is left in the tubing

Actually, I think 2.5L is a misconception. I own both standard and extended malt pipes and they measure 24L and 31L respectively. Simple math should give 35 - 24 = 11L and 49 - 31 = 18L. 2.5L is only possible if the space between the basket and the kettle is equal to zero.

 

[hungupdown]

If you have a 35litre brewzilla it's not really a big deal lifting it all up as it's not that heavy......

No. But with bottom part of malt pipe wall, being perforated. Lifting all the way at once, can shower hot wort everywhere. With a free draining mash bed, even too rapid a sparge can do the same.

 

[hungupdown]

Actually, I think 2.5L is a misconception. I own both standard and extended malt pipes and they measure 24L and 31L respectively. Simple math should give 35 - 24 = 11L and 49 - 31 = 18L. 2.5L is only possible if the space between the basket and the kettle is equal to zero.

If you do 'outer recirculation', by diverting part of recirculation, down a a malt pipe lift hole. Then the water in that space, dilutes the mash and increases efficiency.
Much better than having it mostly 'stagnant' during the mash. Then being mixed in, simply diluting the wort, when the malt pipe is lifted.

 

[hungupdown]

Not sure if Kegland is watching this or not, but I am looking for a synopsis of software updates that the machine auto downloads.

The reason why I ask is that I went to brew two days ago, and the 65L Gen4 downloaded an update. Following this update, the way the PID worked changed and significant P value tinkering was needed to make mash step jumps. I brew every two weeks, so I know how the previous setup was working, and it was stable & effective before this update.

It would be nice to get a heads-up on updates and what they are affecting.

Some option to accept, or dismiss, new updates (like on phones) should be offered.

Updates, have caused me brew day issues, a couple of times now.
First time (early 2024) it decided it wanted to update, just after I'd started a brew. Tried ignoring prompts, but had to give in once I couldn't see a part of screen I needed, and accept (just after mash started).
Last Sunday (17th Nov 24), found my BZ had started implementing the 'advanced Rapt profile' features from brew profiles.
After seeing that advanced Rapt control features, could now be entered in profiles. The evening before brew day, I checked if the BZ was using these new settings.
That evening, they were inactive, but the next morning they took effect! There hadn't been any prompts.

Profile step control, from BZ panel, also had big changes.

 

[jordanfrenzy]

Looking for anyone electrically inclined to chime in...

I just bought the 10gal 220v model with the NEMA 6-30P plug on it. I can't figure out how I can safely use it without wiring an entirely new receptacle in my house.

I was thinking I would use the existing dryer plug, however that is the old school 3 prong NEMA 10-30P (which I believe is now out of code and may need to be replaced period out of safety).

I can easily find an adapter to connect the Brewzilla to the 3 prong dryer plug, but this is not a GFCI receptacle and neither is the breaker. From my brief research, this seems very dangerous to do.

It seems that my only option is a totally new NEMA6-30 receptacle run with a new GFCI breaker installed on the circuit breaker end. This was quoted to me around $1k by a local electrician. At that cost I think I'd rather return the unit and buy the 110v unit and plug it into an existing GFCI outlet in my kitchen.

Am I thinking about this right? I can't see any other options. Is everyone using a GFCI protected circuit with this or am I being paranoid?

 

[mashdar]

Very strongly recommend GFCI. Beer + liquid + electricity = hazard.

6-30R and 10-30R are not equivalent. One has a ground and the other has a neutral. What that means would depend on how your wiring is configured. E.g. if coming from a service panel, they may land on the same bus. It sounds like something to get an electrician involved with if you're not certain.

ps A dryer will not work on a 6-30R with a GFCI breaker. Not sure if you use it, but when selling the house, might be worth attention.

 

[jordanfrenzy]

Very strongly recommend GFCI. Beer + liquid + electricity = hazard.

6-30R and 10-30R are not equivalent. One has a ground and the other has a neutral. What that means would depend on how your wiring is configured. E.g. if coming from a service panel, they may land on the same bus. It sounds like something to get an electrician involved with if you're not certain.

ps A dryer will not work on a 6-30R with a GFCI breaker. Not sure if you use it, but when selling the house, might be worth attention.

Yeah that matches a lot of what I have read. I naively thought that since these things were sold everywhere they would be mostly plug and play even at 220v. I appreciate the feedback.

 

[Willy]

Brewzilla repair update - I got a Gen 4 Brewzilla in Feb 2024 and a few batches ago, I had a stuck mash the caused some wort to splash over the side onto the display. While it wasn't "totaled" - it did ruin a small corner of the screen (lower left, could see the requested temp setting). I made a few more batches without a problem using my phone as rhe controller, but decided I needed a new display and circuit board.

Super easy fix! Swap out the board and put in the plug, seal it up, and rebook up wifi . $30 bucks from more beer.

I now use a ziplock baggie over the display but like the idea of an externally mounted display/controller and see it as a future upgrade.

Really enjoy using the Brewzilla and have made about 175-200 gallons in 2024.

 

[hungupdown]

Brewzilla repair update - I got a Gen 4 Brewzilla in Feb 2024 and a few batches ago, I had a stuck mash the caused some wort to splash over the side onto the display. While it wasn't "totaled" - it did ruin a small corner of the screen (lower left, ........

Do you think it was heat from liquid contact, that damaged the display, or liquid getting in somewhere?
Either way, that makes me worry about all the occasional splashes and boil condensation drips, causing problems.

Might try cutting a splasguard, from two walls of a HDPE (5L) container, that could slot behind controller, and make a projecting 'roof'. But some kind of folding arm, that could lift controller out some distance, and into a more horizontal position, might be nice.

Not sure mounting externally would be much good for me, as my BZ (which sits on a dolly trolly), often gets moved during brew.

 

[hungupdown]

Reporting back. I received the Brewzilla Gen 4.1 and finally got a brew day knocked out with it over the weekend The main changes I noticed are the malt pipe only has one row of feet at the bottom, ....

Very sad, and surprising, if they've discontinued the upper row, which allowed the malt pipe to be just part lifted. And which seemed a big improvement, over the BZ 3.1.1
If the pipe wall lower perforations, have stayed, then there's now a high chance of hot wort showers escaping!

 

[Willy]

Do you think it was heat from liquid contact, that damaged the display, or liquid getting in somewhere?
Either way, that makes me worry about all the occasional splashes and boil condensation drips, causing problems.

Might try cutting a splasguard, from two walls of a HDPE (5L) container, that could slot behind controller, and make a projecting 'roof'. But some kind of folding arm, that could lift controller out some distance, and into a more horizontal position, might be nice.

Not sure mounting externally would be much good for me, as my BZ (which sits on a dolly trolly), often gets moved during brew.

It was liquid contact. The seal of the controller has no gasket and liquid can get in. Initially I just covered it with a Ziploc baggie. But considering mounting a mic desk arm that holds the controller to move it away from the kettle.

 

[micraftbeer]

They also sell this 5 ft extension cable for $20. Not cheap, but cheaper than a new controller:

https://www.morebeer.com/products/brewzilla-gen-4-rapt-screen-extension-cable-5-ft.html

 

[agentbud]

Brewzilla repair update - I got a Gen 4 Brewzilla in Feb 2024 and a few batches ago, I had a stuck mash the caused some wort to splash over the side onto the display. While it wasn't "totaled" - it did ruin a small corner of the screen (lower left, could see the requested temp setting). I made a few more batches without a problem using my phone as rhe controller, but decided I needed a new display and circuit board.

Super easy fix! Swap out the board and put in the plug, seal it up, and rebook up wifi . $30 bucks from more beer.

I now use a ziplock baggie over the display but like the idea of an externally mounted display/controller and see it as a future upgrade.

Really enjoy using the Brewzilla and have made about 175-200 gallons in 2024.

I built a stand for my brewzilla out of scrap wood. It has casters so I can roll it around and it gets the unit about a foot or so off the ground. Two pieces of wood stick up in the back, one to hold the CFC and the other to hold the display/controller to keep it away from random splashes. Pic below

 

[hungupdown]

It was liquid contact. The seal of the controller has no gasket and liquid can get in. Initially I just covered it with a Ziploc baggie. But considering mounting a mic desk arm that holds the controller to move it away from the kettle.

Thanks. Must get some form of protection done.
Seems suprising that there's no seal, considering where its operating. Was leak from around edge of display, or the box join?

Was watching during todays brew, and during boil off (under plastic skirt below extractor hood), there's often condensation dribbles running over the controller. Im in the Scottish Highlands,with frost outside now.

 

[Willy]

On the box join

 

[rtstrider]

Very sad, and surprising, if they've discontinued the upper row, which allowed the malt pipe to be just part lifted. And which seemed a big improvement, over the BZ 3.1.1
If the pipe wall lower perforations, have stayed, then there's now a high chance of hot wort showers escaping!

Right? Have to wonder how difficult/cost prohibitive it would be to lower the malt pipe retention ring in the boiler so the perforations are in the kettle...Aka preventing the liquid from spraying out?