Brewzilla Gen4 Discussion/Tips Talk

[Brewtallica]

Mine had a bit of discoloration like that but I've since cleaned, brewed, and cleaned again and the blemish is gone. Mine also fired up the elements as soon as I plugged it in. I quickly unplugged it and filled it with a few gallons of water. That gave me enough time to set up RAPT and shut the elements off. You can either lower the set temperature or shut the elements off under settings.

 

[jtrainer]

Thanks @jtrainer . Can you point me to where you read about that issue?

I believe it was on one of the Facebook forums. I took 20 minutes but couldn't find the exact thread. But I had it in my head to put a gallon in when I first power it up just in case...

 

[rtstrider]

Looks like the neoprene jacket and arm cover is now available through Morebeer! Will be putting in an order this Friday

https://www.morebeer.com/products/35l-brewzilla-gen-4-neoprene-jacket.html

 

[agentbud]

Mine had a bit of discoloration like that but I've since cleaned, brewed, and cleaned again and the blemish is gone. Mine also fired up the elements as soon as I plugged it in. I quickly unplugged it and filled it with a few gallons of water. That gave me enough time to set up RAPT and shut the elements off. You can either lower the set temperature or shut the elements off under settings.

unfortunately I did not realize the elements were on in mine for a solid 1-2 minutes and the temp was showing as over 100. maybe it did no harm but I would hate to find that out a year down the road when the elements fail and I have no recourse

 

[reuliss]

Received my Gen 4 a few days ago. Right out of the box, before I even plugged it up, I noticed what "appears" to be heat stains on the metal at the seam where the upper and lower sections meet. See picture below. I put it together and plugged it up. Did not press any buttons. Was prompted to set up rapt and wi-fi so I got my laptop and started that. After a minute, I noticed the temp was rising. Heat indicator on the screen was not on. It reached over 100 before I realized the elements were on and unplugged it. Waiting to hear back from Kegland on whether this is normal or not. I'm thinking not. Anyone else see stains like these are their Gen 4?

View attachment 785072

The issue with the elements turning on is EXACTLY what happened to me right before my controller died on me (see my post above).

 

[rtstrider]

My elements turned on as soon as the unit was plugged in for the first time. I caught it when the temps were around 90f and cut the heat then immediately added water to help dissipate any heat. May be a tad overkill but didn't want there to be any damage.

 

[Gunkleneil]

Looks like the neoprene jacket and arm cover is now available through Morebeer! Will be putting in an order this Friday

https://www.morebeer.com/products/35l-brewzilla-gen-4-neoprene-jacket.html

I'm a little upset about this. I pre ordered my gen 4 65L 220V a month ago and clicked to neoprene jacket in the checkbox on the main page. They already sent me the old one. I have to reach it to them and see if they are gonna do anything about it

 

[reuliss]

Has anyone successfully swapped out the plug that comes on the unit? If not, does anyone know if it would work to splice off the plug that comes with it and replacing with a NEMA L6-30P male? Something like this:

https://www.homedepot.com/p/AC-WORK...ug-with-UL-C-UL-Approval-ASL630P-BK/312562511

 

[CleanEmUpIves]

Has anyone successfully swapped out the plug that comes on the unit? If not, does anyone know if it would work to splice off the plug that comes with it and replacing with a NEMA L6-30P male? Something like this:

https://www.homedepot.com/p/AC-WORK...ug-with-UL-C-UL-Approval-ASL630P-BK/312562511

Yes, the plug that comes with the 220V unit is NEMA 6-30P which has L1, L2, G. The L6-30P also has L1, L2, G. Therefore that particular configuration will work as would any L1, L2, G plug or receptacle made for US 240V such as 10-50P.

You may want to wire in a GFCI PigTail for protection.

https://gfcistore.com/20-amp-inline-gfcis.html

 

[jtrainer]

I'm sure I'm not the only one, but has anyone who ordered the Gen4 2+ months ago not seen their order fulfilled as of yet?

According to the website I can pick up tomorrow but no word on fulfilling my pre-order.

 

[warx]

I'm sure I'm not the only one, but has anyone who ordered the Gen4 2+ months ago not seen their order fulfilled as of yet?

According to the website I can pick up tomorrow but no word on fulfilling my pre-order.

I emailed them but have not heard back. On the FB group there was talk of these pre-orders getting lost.

 

[jtrainer]

Which of the plethora of groups do you recall that from?

Losing orders is not good.

 

[warx]

Which of the plethora of groups do you recall that from?

Losing orders is not good.

 

[warx]

I'm actually considering canceling my pre-order at MB. It is obviously NOT too late Thinking about sticking with my Anvil 10.5 - at least for the meantime. See how the gen4 goes in the general populous for a bit.

 

[warx]

I did actually cancel my pre-order. I like my Anvil 10.5 and my "issue" with big grain bills not so huge since I stick to English style beers. My desire for larger batches (to get some beer for whiskey) is valid but I can just do another batch. I mean I only fire the thing up once or twice a month. At least for the moment I can do this. I am sure I will look at larger all-in-ones again soon.
NOTE: they do have one or two 65L gen4 in stock in PA.

 

[jtrainer]

OK, looks like I found a discussion on it. Seems the units that are shipping are coming from the PA warehouse. I specifically requested will-call pickup in the Riverside location. So I'll just hang around and wait it out a little longer.

My LHBS said they can get it for me in a few days at the same price, so maybe I'll cancel and order via them so they make $20...

 

[stealthfixr]

Just picked up my Gen4 65L yesterday at my LHBS in Tucson AZ (BrewYourOwnBrew.com)! I am actually running the water test and cleaning now with 13.75g in it--jumped from 77F to 154F very quickly. Used the David Heath PID settings, but it seems to be bracketing *below* the set temp, not around it. Going to have to play with the PID settings...

 

[Gunkleneil]

Keep checking my order status on More Beer and it has been "in warehouse not picked" for a few days now. Also says it's coming from California and I'm in Connecticut

 

[Sherpa FE]

For some reason all the 220v systems went to the Cali location first.
Subsequent shipments should be distributed to both locations at MB.

 

[stealthfixr]

Just picked up my Gen4 65L yesterday at my LHBS in Tucson AZ (BrewYourOwnBrew.com)! I am actually running the water test and cleaning now with 13.75g in it--jumped from 77F to 154F very quickly. Used the David Heath PID settings, but it seems to be bracketing *below* the set temp, not around it. Going to have to play with the PID settings...

Follow up: once the PID 'learned' my situation/setup, it kept the water test exactly on target. Amazing accuracy--so much better than my Gen3 Brewzilla. I tried with and without the neoprene jacket, and the jacket made a definite difference in the temp drop rate & stability. Get/use the jacket!

Now to get the RAPT Bluetooth thermometer when available and measure the mash from the middle, which will be a more accurate and repeatable mash regimen than (I think) any other mash equipment going.

 

[CleanEmUpIves]

Follow up: once the PID 'learned' my situation/setup, it kept the water test exactly on target. Amazing accuracy--so much better than my Gen3 Brewzilla. I tried with and without the neoprene jacket, and the jacket made a definite difference in the temp drop rate & stability. Get/use the jacket!

Now to get the RAPT Bluetooth thermometer when available and measure the mash from the middle, which will be a more accurate and repeatable mash regimen than (I think) any other mash equipment going.

The two factors at play are the max temperature of the wort during the temperature step (and maintaining that temperature) and the overall temperature of the grainbed. In any modern recirculating system (AIO, RIMS, HERMS, eBIAB, etc..), the two should eventually equalize with difference being the grainbed temperature shouldn't exceed the step temperature though the heated wort temperature may exceed the step temperature during a heating cycle.

IMO most modern AIOs Grainfather, Braumeister, BrewTools, Anvil, etc... all operate pretty much the same.

Adding a temp probe to the mash is nothing new and doesn't make this system more accurate or repeatable than any of the other AIO's on the market. What it does do is contribute to and correct the accuracy and repeatability of the Brewzilla itself, which with only one (poorly placed?) temperature probe was not designed properly to begin with. Thus the addition of the mash thermometer and the new "heat exchanger dish" or "diversion plate" false bottom.

 

[DuncB]

Seems upgrades to get your equipment to work "properly" is development at the cost of first users.
PID controllers work really well when given relevant data for the algorithm. It seems the presence of grain and current design confounds the algorithm.

 

[earachemyeye69]

Made 4 batches in my 65L now and temp overshoot is a problem in my mind.
My biggest complaint is that the damn recirculating pump got clogged on two batches. Never had an issue on my Gen 3 35L. Guess I need to go back to using a hops bag.
Note, if you do get stuck it’s not too hard to tilt the machine and squeeze the drain tube a few times to help unblock the pump line.

 

[Teufelhunde]

Made 4 batches in my 65L now and temp overshoot is a problem in my mind.
My biggest complaint is that the damn recirculating pump got clogged on two batches. Never had an issue on my Gen 3 35L. Guess I need to go back to using a hops bag.
Note, if you do get stuck it’s not too hard to tilt the machine and squeeze the drain tube a few times to help unblock the pump line.

I use a 35L 3.1.1 and in those instances where the pump does get clogged, I just grab the hose(with pump off, of course), make sure it is not hot, then blow into it, pushing the crap in the pump out of the pump. No worries with sanitation as long as I am above 170 which I always am, as the only time I ever get a clog is at the end of the boil when I am putting on the whirlpool arm for chilling and WP(still at 200+).

 

[earachemyeye69]

Tried that, perhaps my lung power just isn’t that great

 

[DuncB]

I use a 35L 3.1.1 and in those instances where the pump does get clogged, I just grab the hose(with pump off, of course), make sure it is not hot, then blow into it, pushing the crap in the pump out of the pump. No worries with sanitation as long as I am above 170 which I always am, as the only time I ever get a clog is at the end of the boil when I am putting on the whirlpool arm for chilling and WP(still at 200+).

I've started to do the sanitation of the whirlpool and counterflow on the way up to the boil, this way I don't have to remember / fiddle with it at the end and have avoided the airlock or ingress of hop matter that occurs during the boil. Worth a try.

 

[rtstrider]

I received the Neoprene jacket in the mail today. It's an extremely tight fit. Almost did not get it set with the velcro it's so tight. Hoping a few days and a few brew cycles in the Brewzilla stretches this out just a bit. Will be brewing Saturday morning and will post the results of the heat up times.

 

[Teufelhunde]

I received the Neoprene jacket in the mail today. It's an extremely tight fit. Almost did not get it set with the velcro it's so tight. Hoping a few days and a few brew cycles in the Brewzilla stretches this out just a bit. Will be brewing Saturday morning and will post the results of the heat up times.

I no longer use mine as it is such a PITA to try to get it installed.....

 

[agentbud]

I received the Neoprene jacket in the mail today. It's an extremely tight fit. Almost did not get it set with the velcro it's so tight. Hoping a few days and a few brew cycles in the Brewzilla stretches this out just a bit. Will be brewing Saturday morning and will post the results of the heat up times.

Agree 100%. Thought I was gonna break something trying to get it on. They should've put the velcro seam somewhere other than right behind the pump return pipe and then just made the cover for that pipe a separate piece if neoprene that velcro'd on top instead of it being an attached flap. My first brew on it will be tomorrow.

 

[chop249]

Does anyone know if you get the 240v BZ gen 4 you can run it on 110v? I've heard the GrainFather (I think it was GF) can if you flip a switch and do a dance you can switch to 110. LOL! I have 240 already for other things, just wondering if I don't go 110 just because if I want to go brew somewhere without 240 then I can. But if it's easily convertible then I'd prefer the time savings when at the house.