I am considering upgrading to the 65 from the 35L ... Anyone done this? What were the big differences?
Do you use the HED or the false bottom ... Or both.
Do you use the HED or the false bottom ... Or both.
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Hit 90% after doing a 4 hour floating sparge in my BZ G4 35L. After having to pause the brew day.First I did some experiments while evaluating a 3-roller grain mill. I iterated through a couple different sparge processes using a 2-3 vessel system, utilizing a recirculating mash RIMS system. I did this with multiple batches of grain from the same sack to try to minimize grain variation contribution. Then I just did the mash, collected the data, and made the following tables noting the time for the "transfer time from mash end to full boil volume of wort collected".
These were done about a year apart, so the grain batches weren't the same between the 2-roller and 3-roller mill. But all of the 2-roller trials where from the same sack of grain, and all of the 3-roller trials were from its own sack of grain.
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Hey Bobbi M, I'd love to see that white paperI use the neoprene jacket, and now that the weather is cooling here, I drape a dish towel over the recirc arm to limit deltaT on arm and lid.
I find the center of the mash bed is pretty stable even with slow flow.
One option for better stability might be to divert some flow around the malt pipe, to kind of jacket the grain bed? (edit: credit bobby for this idea. He has a white paper somewhere describing his solution.)
Not sure about Bobbi, but I've always used the 'outer recirculation mod', since I described it in 2023Hey Bobbi M, I'd love to see that white paper
Using a different name cunning, thought it was my recirc mod on the guten for a moment.Not sure about Bobbi, but I've always used the 'outer recirculation mod', since I described it in 2023
https://www.thehomebrewforum.co.uk/threads/bz-gen4-outer-recirculation-mod.103895/
You will want to get the HED, heat exchanger disk - that sits on the bottom above the drain hole. It disperses the heat better and makes a nice bed for the floating hops sinking after a whirlpool.So yesterday I got delivery of my Brewzilla 4.1 35L, and today I was testing and cleaning it, including the whirlpool arm.
And i got to wondering, why does this have a whirlpool arm? As I understand it, whirlpooling makes the trub settle into a cone in the center of the vessel, but on the Brewzilla the drain hole is in the middle, so surely whirlpooling is bad? or does the trub only form on the false bottom and not over the drain?
At the end... The HED will be covered in a cake of hops. It doesn't get everything, but don't sweat it. Just let those stray hop flakes go to the fermenter with the wort. It should foculate out with the "clean" yeast for your recipe.I have that. OK so it doesn't cover the drain, thanks, that answers the question.
I'm not trying to encourage you to keep using the bag. I'm just wondering... If you were to turn the bag inside out and shake the grains out, then let it dry, I would think that after it's dry it should be easy to get the rest off with another good shake or maybe brushing it off.Plus, everyone says using a bag provides easier cleanup, but I beg to differ. Washing the bag is a total pain in the butt.
You're right. I'm a stickler about cleaning. I usually turn it inside out, bunch it up with some soap and then rinse it out while brushing grain/husks away. I rinse probably 98% of the material off it. Then I place it over my malt pipe in my drying area and then shake it out once completely dry. It's not terrible, but I just don't like dealing with it.I'm not trying to encourage you to keep using the bag. I'm just wondering... If you were to turn the bag inside out and shake the grains out, then let it dry, I would think that after it's dry it should be easy to get the rest off with another good shake or maybe brushing it off.
I'm assuming that your pain is with getting all the grain matter out.
I can appreciate that.It's not terrible, but I just don't like dealing with it.
I also had a problem clogging the pump the first time with the BZ gen 4... I use a grain bag OUTSIDE the grain tube... there is no problem with dirt in the bag.Plus, everyone says using a bag provides easier cleanup, but I beg to differ. Washing the bag is a total pain in the butt. Plus you still have to rinse and wash the malt pipe anyways. It's really more to clean, but it does provide a nice little bit of insurance to avoid any grain getting clogged in the pump.
Hop bags I give a good rinse to and then put them in the washing machine inside out.You're right. I'm a stickler about cleaning. I usually turn it inside out, bunch it up with some soap and then rinse it out while brushing grain/husks away. I rinse probably 98% of the material off it. Then I place it over my malt pipe in my drying area and then shake it out once completely dry. It's not terrible, but I just don't like dealing with it.
A minimal stir regime, has done wonders to my BZ g4 performance.I've been brewing on my BZ Gen 4 for the past 3 years now. I seem to be hitting 70% mash efficiency pretty consistently which sounds about right given the complexities and limitations of the narrow malt pipe. I incorporated using a brewing bag INSIDE the malt pipe like others which has allowed me to grind more aggressively.
One thing that's been a pain for me is stirring. I use a massive whisk. Because the malt pipe is so narrow, it's hard to really get leverage. Plus, with the bag on the inside of the malt pipe, the bag can sometimes start to twist or fall, so I have to kind of hold that up while stirring the mash.
I've been thinking about investing in a drill attachment mash stirrer like this:
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https://www.morebeer.com/products/p...-powered-mash-stirrer-mixer-14-hex-drive.html
The biggest question is how do I use this in conjunction with the bag? It seems like the minute this touches the bag, it'll get all twisted up and turn into a nightmare.
Move the bag to the outside of the malt pipe? Ditch the bag altogether? I'm not necessarily looking for an improved mash efficiency - just an easier dough-in process since stirring is kind of difficult.
I never use the top plate during mash, to avoid extra weight on grain bed.My sample size is a fraction of yours, at only 1 single brew compared to your 40, but I suspect that the largest contribution is the low recirc flow, I also did a very slow recirc, based on what I had read in several places (using the valve to control it, not the pump strength), to the point that the wort was slowly dribbling out of the pipe. I was stirring every 15 minutes.
If you think about it, the recirc pump is forcefully pumping the wort out from the bottom, which at high 'speed' is going to create a suction force pulling down, which could cause the compacted grain bed, rather than it being caused by a wort level rise.
Another point of possible comparison is using the top grain cover vs not using it. I didn't use it, because I realised at the last moment that I had messed up and put a handle through the hole that's intended for you to put the temp probe through, AND I'd read in a few places not to use it so I was 50/50 anyway, but kegland themselves are really very insistent that you should use it, and that it greatly improves recirculation.
To get rid of the dust...flour...dry mix the grains in a bucket...then gradually add them to the basket...the dust will be underneath the bucket...then lift and hit the basket well on a table...the dust will come out from underneath and you will be free of them...slowly place the basket in the pan with water...stir slowly...let it rest for 15 minutes and turn on the pump ...low flowI never use the top plate during mash, to avoid extra weight on grain bed.
As I go for a fairly thin mash, the malt is always covered with a layer of wort. Which is going to evenly spread recirculation anyway.
I do use it for sparging.
Can't work out why people would want to stir during mash.
I did stir, after getting a stuck mash, on first few brews in BZ. But still could only manage a slow recirculation rate.
Malt is a mixture of coarse and fine particles, and flour. Stirring frees the flour from the grain bed filter. At a slow flow rate, a lot of flour will settle out on the base, rather than be recirculated.
It does sound like it's a manufacturing issue, but it's not a big deal. I would get a washer or two and put it in there. Maybe send the info to Kegland so they can check on their design.I can't right now, my wife is currently still in bed after a night shift at work and my kit is all stored in a room directly behind the bed, but I've been looking again at the installation instructions and I think mine might have a manufacturing issue, although I can't imagine how it could have possibly happened.
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This is from the tap installation instructions at https://docs.rapt.io/equipment/rapt-brewzilla/setup-and-assembly
You see between the wall of the kettle and the bolt there is a raised area of the kettle wall, that the nut tightens against? Well I'm pretty sure mine doesn't have that raised area., meaning my bolt has to tighten against the main kettle wall but the thread of the bolt doesn't go that far.
I can't check for sure until SWMBO wakes up, but I'm pretty sure that's my problem. Huh, how the hell did that happen.
If that's it, then I have to decide whether to return it as faulty, or just add myself a plastic or silicon washer there to replace it.
I can't right now, my wife is currently still in bed after a night shift at work and my kit is all stored in a room directly behind the bed, but I've been looking again at the installation instructions and I think mine might have a manufacturing issue, although I can't imagine how it could have possibly happened.
View attachment 883742
This is from the tap installation instructions at https://docs.rapt.io/equipment/rapt-brewzilla/setup-and-assembly
You see between the wall of the kettle and the bolt there is a raised area of the kettle wall, that the nut tightens against? Well I'm pretty sure mine doesn't have that raised area., meaning my bolt has to tighten against the main kettle wall but the thread of the bolt doesn't go that far.
I can't check for sure until SWMBO wakes up, but I'm pretty sure that's my problem. Huh, how the hell did that happen.
If that's it, then I have to decide whether to return it as faulty, or just add myself a plastic or silicon washer there to replace it.
Can I ask, is the ball valve tap on the bottom loose for anyone else? Mine 'works' fine, there's no leak or anything, but it isn't bolted tight to the body and is loose and rattley. I can't see any other way to interpret the installation instructions, but the nut that goes on the inside just doesn't tighten all the way to the body of the kettle, the thread stops short, so the tap ends up having a lot of play - I just want to know if that's 'normal' or if mine has a fault that that nut can't be tightened more.
That's not surprising given that the leak point would be where the hose attaches to the tailpiece of the tap. The kettle attachment of the tap doesn't have to seal anything. But must be irritating with that wobbliness.Mine is super loose. Doesn't leak. It's a Gen 4, purchased in May 2025.
Mine too. Doesn't bother me as much as it should. Probably because I use it exclusively for draining during washing and I'm very zen after pitching and closing up the fermenter.Mine is super loose. Doesn't leak. It's a Gen 4, purchased in May 2025.
That's not surprising given that the leak point would be where the hose attaches to the tailpiece of the tap. The kettle attachment of the tap doesn't have to seal anything. But must be irritating with that wobbliness.