Brewzilla Gen4 Discussion/Tips Talk

[Yooper]

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.

Mine is super loose. Doesn't leak. It's a Gen 4, purchased in May 2025.

 

[DuncB]

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.

 

[BandonBrewingCo]

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.

 

[Zadkiel]

Update: So I was kinda wrong about the raised part being missing. it is there, just a lot less pronounced than it was in the picture - the issue was just that the bolt was really hard to tighten to the body, and I guess when I was putting it together I gave up on it. The bolt is huge, I didn't have any spanner that would fit it, even my mulgrips and my adjustable spanner were too small, and for some reason you can't tighten it beyond a certain point by hand. Also one of the 'feet' of the unit gets in the way. Eventually after quite a bit of struggle I was able to use a pair of pliers to get it mostly tight, it no longer wobbles/rattles but it does still spin round (I mean the tap rotates against the body, like a plastic tap on a plastic bucket fermenter does), I'd need more tightening than a pair of pliers can do on a huge nut like that in order to stop the spin.

 

[razzman]

You maybe able to put a tube socket over it.

 

[Yooper]

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.

It is- but I only drain it at the very end and it fills a small cup so I'm not really that annoyed by it!

 

[DuncB]

It is- but I only drain it at the very end and it fills a small cup so I'm not really that annoyed by it!

Yes an issue but not a leak.

 

[jordanfrenzy]

After initially suffering a few badly 'stuck' mashes in BZ g4, I now always leave for 15 - 20min before starting recirculation (and then recirculate slowly for 10min).

When searching for solutions, I found the G.Wheeler advice on avoiding a compacted grain bed. Which is to gradually add grain (after premixing dry), stirring just enough to break up dough balls, without knocking off any trapped air. This air increases grain buoyancy, and gives a more open grain bed.
Then allow a grain bed rest (of 15-20min) for the grain (and flour) to hydrate and swell. After the swollen grain interlocks, it shouldn't then collapse when recirculation starts.
Early recircilulation can wash through the flour, to settle on (heater) base, and can squeeze the grain tightly together.

Grain bed compaction, is more likely to be an issue in malt pipes with a tall narrow profile, such as the BZ G4 (rather than with wide shallow profiles).
I often mash with sticky grains, eg 60% malted wheat. But since changing method, never get stuck mashes.

Whirlpools works by forming a centre cone of trub.
The basic BZ g4 has a center drain hole. So trub cone forms over drain.
The HED is a solid central plate (with gap to allow flow around the perimeter). So trub cone shouldn't affect flow.
So agree, HED great / only way to whirlpool in g4.

Have had up and down issues with gravity on the BZ4.1. I understand what you guys are getting at with less recirc but I'm curious how you handle any heating during the mash. If I'm not recirculating pretty briskly I know there is a huge temp delta between the top and bottom of the mash. I've measured as close as I can get with a probe and have seen 160f towards the bottom while the top of the mash is 150f. Are you just getting right at your mash temp before adding grains and not running the heater?

 

[Willy]

Have had up and down issues with gravity on the BZ4.1. I understand what you guys are getting at with less recirc but I'm curious how you handle any heating during the mash. If I'm not recirculating pretty briskly I know there is a huge temp delta between the top and bottom of the mash. I've measured as close as I can get with a probe and have seen 160f towards the bottom while the top of the mash is 150f. Are you just getting right at your mash temp before adding grains and not running the heater?

During my first year of using the BZ, if I wanted to mash at 149° F, I would set the mash temp to about 151-152.5° due to the temp differential (top vs bottom). It worked fine.

Basically - about a 2° F difference. Kegland also makes a add-on Bluetooth/wifi thermometer that allows a reading for the top of the mash pipe. That info can be included in how one determines temperature handling. Never used one. So I don't know.

 

[jdubdvdt]

During my first year of using the BZ, if I wanted to mash at 149° F, I would set the mash temp to about 151-152.5° due to the temp differential (top vs bottom). It worked fine.

Basically - about a 2° F difference. Kegland also makes a add-on Bluetooth/wifi thermometer that allows a reading for the top of the mash pipe. That info can be included in how one determines temperature handling. Never used one. So I don't know.

I bought the kegland Bluetooth thermometer and I won't brew without it now. I disabled the PID controller and use the two to control the mash temperature. Sickening to see how far off the built in thermometer compared to the Bluetooth one. Especially when doing step mashes. Either that or the Bluetooth one is really far off. Need to check the accuracy against my instant thermometer again.

 

[Willy]

I bought the kegland Bluetooth thermometer and I won't brew without it now. I disabled the PID controller and use the two to control the mash temperature. Sickening to see how far off the built in thermometer compared to the Bluetooth one. Especially when doing step mashes. Either that or the Bluetooth one is really far off. Need to check the accuracy against my instant thermometer again.

And a lot depends on the mash bed (also milling) and amount of recirculation going on.

When you get it dialed in the PID is really helpful in cycling heater/temp process to minimize variations in temp. At least for me. I like it.

 

[hungupdown]

I bought the kegland Bluetooth thermometer and I won't brew without it now. I disabled the PID controller and use the two to control the mash temperature. Sickening to see how far off the built in thermometer compared to the Bluetooth one. Especially when doing step mashes. Either that or the Bluetooth one is really far off. Need to check the accuracy against my instant thermometer again.

I found the BT thermometer pretty accurate (though haven't t checked for a while now).

A quick check is to compare in built, with BT, with water only. Once the temp is stable, or when has just gone in, and with fast recirculation.

 

[Zadkiel]

Basically - about a 2° F difference. Kegland also makes a add-on Bluetooth/wifi thermometer that allows a reading for the top of the mash pipe. That info can be included in how one determines temperature handling. Never used one. So I don't know.

Hate to break it to you but your numbers are off. Smallest delta I generally see between the middle of the mash and the inbuilt thermometer is 2C, and it's usually more in the 3-5C range, that's 5-8F