Bru Gear

[MtnHiBrewin]

[Do you know if you got the "new style or the "old style?]

tjr3000, it must be the "new" style. It reaches nearly to the valve, with the coils wound closer together at the bottom so more will be in the water when the level is lower.

I had e mailed Phil at Bru Gear using the address I had in the past when I was trying to get an answer about my kettle problems. After 8 days and no answer, I tried again through the Bru Gear web site, and got a response the next day. They opened a "case number" and told me the sight glasses are pre-fit to test they attach correctly. Mine doesn't. They were going to look for the e mail I sent with pictures. On their web site there was no way to attach pictures to a message. I tried taking the sight glass apart to see if there was any way to adjust the length and alignment, but that didn't work. The sight glass is a real pain to get apart. I certainly wouldn't want one on anything other than a HLT.

They also said "It's possible the kettle was put out of shape in shipping. We've had this issue a couple of times and rolling the kettle on carpet has generally resolved out of round issues." I don't see rolling on carpet resolving out of round issues when the tri clamp fittings and handles stick out so you can't effectively do that.

AleForce1, I've been wondering what I was going to use for a dip tube. Thanks for researching ideas. I was hoping I wouldn't have to passivate, but I guess I will just to be safe. It's going to be a while before I get this system finished and put it to use.

I agree that Bru Gear has been focused more on Craft Brewery sales than on homebrew. There is obviously more money to be made selling bigger equipment. I was glad to get my kettles (3@20 gallons) at the lower kickstarter price. I'm on a low budget and I've been trying to build an electric all grain set up for a while now. Bru Gear is a new company, though, and have much to improve on. I expect them to get better with more experience.

 

[AleForce1]

Just received the Stout's Dip Tube. Below are some photo's. I'll test it with water shortly. The Stout dip tube comes in 2 pieces, the TC fitting and then the tube. The length from TC to tip is just a hair over 6". Again keep in mind the Bru Gear Racking arm was trimmed by 2".

 

[AleForce1]

Just tested the Stout's dip tube with water. Filled the kettle with 5 gal of water, hooked up a 1/2" silicon tube and let it drain. It leaves about 2 qts of water in the kettle. As the water level gets under the TC port the flow does reduce down quite a bit but it does drain. Going to test again.. and then trim the 2nd BG racking arm that measures @ 7" down a little bit more and try that out. You do need to tip the kettle a bit to get to 2 qts also.

At this time I would recommend the Stout's dip tube only because no modification is required.

 

[Ihop2many]

The second one I had trimmed to 2" and a straight cut... This was too close to the bottom of the kettle and the flow was not enough.

If you cut some (4-6) 1/8" deep notches perpendicular to the opening with a hacksaw, would this aid in flow? I like the idea that you are close to the bottom but possibly need some more "space" to draw the wort.

The Bru Gear tube does look wider than the Stout if you measure horizontally as opposed to vertically, any thoughts about potential blockage?

Many thanks for your experiments.

 

[AleForce1]

The Bru Gear tube does look wider than the Stout if you measure horizontally as opposed to vertically, any thoughts about potential blockage?

I don't think blockage will be an issue in either option. I am more concerned with using a pump and having a consistent flow during recirculation. Something I need to do some testing on... If only I would have received the kettle is say August or September it would be more appealing to do all of these tests in my garage...

 

[AleForce1]

If you cut some (4-6) 1/8" deep notches perpendicular to the opening with a hacksaw, would this aid in flow? I like the idea that you are close to the bottom but possibly need some more "space" to draw the wort.

The Bru Gear tube does look wider than the Stout if you measure horizontally as opposed to vertically, any thoughts about potential blockage?

Many thanks for your experiments.

Definitely an option to try. The 2" version needs to be trimmed just a little more. I think a straight cut @ 2 1/4" off the tip of the Bru Gear racking arm would be best. The 2 1/4" version I tried had an angle cut, so it was like having a tube @ 2 1/2".

 

[AleForce1]

Many thanks for your experiments.

If anything I hope it saves everyone some $ from having to search out and purchase these options. @ $35 each + shipping and handling + paying a welder to cut off metal it wasn't cheap to do all of this.

 

[AleForce1]

Did another test of the Stout dip tube. This time I refilled the Bru Gear kettle with 5 gallons of water and let I sit for an hour. I just opened the ball valve and was able to get all water out of the kettle except 1 1/2 qts... and with no tipping of the kettle. The flow rate was much stronger too. Probably some hydraulic or fluid dynamic thing...

 

[AleForce1]

next thing to do is trim one of the holes on the stand so that the dip tube will fit thru and the TC fitting can be locked down.

 

[msjulian]

Should be getting my Bru gear 15 gallon kettle tomorrow. I got an email from Kathy at Bru Gear stating that they are working on a pickup for the kettles but no ETA.

I am about ready to pull the trigger on the 1" pickup from Brewers Hardware. Does anyone have any dimensions on that pickup? I was also wondering how far up the center of the hole is from the bottom of the Bru Gear kettles? Reading what AleForce1 has been testing it sounds like it should be apron 2" - 2.25" from the bottom

 

[brian4508]

next thing to do is trim one of the holes on the stand so that the dip tube will fit thru and the TC fitting can be locked down.

any progress with this? I just received my 20 gallon kettles and am trying to figure out the dip tubes now. Especially regarding the FB.

 

[msjulian]

Just got my 15 gallon. Waiting on BrewGear to get an ETA on their pickup tube. If not soon, I'm ordering the pickup from Brewers Hardware. Theirs looks really close to being right. I want it as close to the kettle wall as possible.

 

[tomCT]

I had followed brugear with the intention of purchasing a 15 gallon kettle, but waited until they had a complete package with pickup and possibly a whirpool solution. They emailed me two months ago that their pickup tube was a couple of weeks away.

You might check this out - they do not list any specs:
http://www.cobrewingsystems.com/collections/hardware-fittings-8/products/1-5-pick-up-tube

 

[AF1HomeBrew]

any progress with this? I just received my 20 gallon kettles and am trying to figure out the dip tubes now. Especially regarding the FB.

Yeah I modified it with a Dremel tool. You need to modify one of the openings about 1/2" to get a diptube/racking arm thru it. Also tested it with some 3/4" TC tubing that I purchased from Still Dragon and Chugger pump and the flow is great.

 

[AF1HomeBrew]

I had followed brugear with the intention of purchasing a 15 gallon kettle, but waited until they had a complete package with pickup and possibly a whirpool solution. They emailed me two months ago that their pickup tube was a couple of weeks away.

You might check this out - they do not list any specs:
http://www.cobrewingsystems.com/collections/hardware-fittings-8/products/1-5-pick-up-tube

Thanks for the link. They look very similar. I wonder if the kettles are induction ready. Great price too.

 

[msjulian]

I had followed brugear with the intention of purchasing a 15 gallon kettle, but waited until they had a complete package with pickup and possibly a whirpool solution. They emailed me two months ago that their pickup tube was a couple of weeks away.

You might check this out - they do not list any specs:
http://www.cobrewingsystems.com/collections/hardware-fittings-8/products/1-5-pick-up-tube

Specs on the cobrewingsystems pickup sent from Tim...

From the tri-clamp connection to the start of the 90 degree tube is 3 3/4" (4 1/4" to center of tube). From the bottom of the tube to center of the horizontal tube is 2". Its designed to be 4" overall length into a kettle when connected to the tank ferrule. The tube OD is 1" and will fit through a 1 1/2" tri-clamp ferrule. I believe the thickness is .065.

Waiting on Derrin to reply with the specs of the pickup from Brewers Hardware.

 

[MtnHiBrewin]

[Originally posted by msjulian
I am about to pull the trigger on the 1" pickup tube from Brewers Hardware. Does anyone have the dimensions on that pickup? I was also wondering how far up the center of the hole is from the bottom of the Bru Gear kettles? Reading what AleForce1 has been testing it sounds like it should be apron 2" -2.25" from the bottom. ]

I saw the pickup tube you're talking about as well. The Brewers Hardware SKU is TC10PICKUP. It looks like it might work well. I'm waiting for an answer from Brewers Hardware about how far down the drop reaches.

The center of the valve hole on my 20 gallon Bru Gear kettles are 1 3/4" to 2" from the inside bottom of the kettles.

 

[msjulian]

Measuring to scale (a little tough to be exact with a pic on the web) it looks like the Brewers hardwear pickup will sit at around 2" from the inside wall of the kettle. It also looks like it might be a bit long and need a small amount cut off the bottom. I think it will be perfect. I can cut the bottom to get it exactly the way I want from the floor of the kettle.

I did get an email from BruGear today stating theirs will be about 1-2 weeks out. I emailed back to see if they could provide dimentions.

 

[MtnHiBrewin]

msjulian, Stainless cuts easily with a grinder and a cut off wheel. Also, the tri clamp connectors on the kettles are 1 1/8" from the inside kettle wall to the outside connector, so you'll lose some of the length of the tube there.

 

[msjulian]

msjulian, Stainless cuts easily with a grinder and a cut off wheel. Also, the tri clamp connectors on the kettles are 1 1/8" from the inside kettle wall to the outside connector, so you'll lose some of the length of the tube there.

The 2" inside the kettle was calculating from the Tri-clamp flange as well as the ferrel length welded to my kettle. I have had very good luck making pickup tubes in the past just using my pipe cutter I use on copper pipe. Takes a little longer but makes a very clean cut.

 

[AF1HomeBrew]

[Originally posted by msjulian
I am about to pull the trigger on the 1" pickup tube from Brewers Hardware. Does anyone have the dimensions on that pickup? I was also wondering how far up the center of the hole is from the bottom of the Bru Gear kettles? Reading what AleForce1 has been testing it sounds like it should be apron 2" -2.25" from the bottom. ]

I saw the pickup tube you're talking about as well. The Brewers Hardware SKU is TC10PICKUP. It looks like it might work well. I'm waiting for an answer from Brewers Hardware about how far down the drop reaches.

The center of the valve hole on my 20 gallon Bru Gear kettles are 1 3/4" to 2" from the inside bottom of the kettles.

A BruGear backer/friend has a Brewerr's Hardware Pickup tube and he indicated that it would require some trimming to work correctly with the BG kettle. If you DO NOT want to do any modifications then get the Stout's pick tube.

 

[AF1HomeBrew]

Did a first brewsession today using the BruGear Kettle as a mashtun. I had an induction plate to heat the mashtun + a RIMS's assist since it's Freakn' cold in the flyover state of Illinois right now... Anyway we doughed in @ 159 with 22 lbs of grain. The false bottom worked great with my BG modified BG Racking Arm and Chugger pump for recirculation.

One issue - The Falsebottom is a pain in the keester to clean!

 

[MtnHiBrewin]

AF1HomeBrew, I wondered about the false bottoms when I got mine. What makes it a pain to clean? I'd assume it's getting the grain husks out of it? During the mash/sparge, did much get through around the outside edge of the false bottom?

 

[AF1HomeBrew]

AF1HomeBrew, I wondered about the false bottoms when I got mine. What makes it a pain to clean? I'd assume it's getting the grain husks out of it? During the mash/sparge, did much get through around the outside edge of the false bottom?

I should have mentioned that I was comparing it to a Blichmann Falsebottom. Yes grain gets caught up in the holes more - also on the falsebottom stand portion. Sorry I didn't take a picture of it as I was too busy trying to clean up everything. For recirculation & sparging purposes I rigged up a pizza pan & colander that was held up by Copper wire that was suspended 2-3" from the grain bed. The copper wire was secured to the kettle handles. This allowed me to keep the kettle lid on during recirculation. You can see the grain that made it thru during recirculation. Not in the picture was a tube that was connected to the displayed racking arm... it was placed in the colander also just like the tube coming out of the HLT which is displayed.

 

[chigundo]

I got a 15g as a kickstarter backer, and received the kettle quickly once he finally got them in stock.. condition was great. Unforutnately I haven't had any success in contacting them regarding the dip-tube since I let me know about the reddit site. (http://www.reddit.com/r/Homebrewing/comments/2h8ugg/got_my_bru_gear/)

I emailed a couple weeks ago about the dip-tube status, no response.

 

[boganll]

Wanted to add that I've been thinking of yet another use for my HLT lid.

With the price of a conical fermenter as high as it is, I haven't thought the benefits would outweigh the price after having success with glass and plastic for so long.

I'm planning to buy a dip tube for the lower TC port on my HLT and ferment in it, using the ports on the lid for an airlock and/or blowoff. This will make for a very large fermenter that will have all the same benefits of a conical (SS, collection valve, dip tube, thermowell, etc.) with exception of a lower dump valve and lower yeast cake surface area in contact with beer ratio.

I'm not concerned with that ratio or dumping the yeast, and when I collect yeast I like to top crop making the large lid advantageous.

If this works well, I see myself buying more kettles for fermentation with modified lids and dip tubes. I'll post the results.

 

[brrman]

I had my cart full with three kettles about a month ago and came across a couple reviews like yours. I did not pull the trigger. The logos alone are ridiculous and self promoting beyond reason, but I could forgive that if not for all the other issues reported.

My current setup has a herms coil dropping down from the lid (of a 10g round cooler) and it is something I want to get away from.

Thanks for the review, boganll. You have validated my decision to buy three 20g Concord pots and convert them to my needs.

 

[ndinh]

I recently bought a 15g kettle from them and am pretty happy with it so far. By looking at it and picking it up, you can tell it's definitely a high quality kettle, at the level of Stout, Blichman, etc. Unlike your experience, I knew exactly what I was getting because of the pictures and emails back and forth. Yes, it does come with NPT valves but they are the 3-piece ones and you can always change over to TC ones later. Realistically, for $275 for the kettle + valve + thermometer, it's a great deal. I'm about to pull the trigger on another one with a sight glass. The logo doesn't bother me (i.e. Blichman). It did arrive with a small dent on the bottom but every kettle I've ever mailed order came with a dent also (must be my bad luck) so it's not a big deal.

 

[boganll]

I recently bought a 15g kettle from them and am pretty happy with it so far. By looking at it and picking it up, you can tell it's definitely a high quality kettle, at the level of Stout, Blichman, etc. Unlike your experience, I knew exactly what I was getting because of the pictures and emails back and forth. Yes, it does come with NPT valves but they are the 3-piece ones and you can always change over to TC ones later. Realistically, for $275 for the kettle + valve + thermometer, it's a great deal. I'm about to pull the trigger on another one with a sight glass. The logo doesn't bother me (i.e. Blichman). It did arrive with a small dent on the bottom but every kettle I've ever mailed order came with a dent also (must be my bad luck) so it's not a big deal.

I think you've missed my point.

I'm not unhappy with my kettles and the quality of the product I recieved isn't necessarily what's in question. My experience as a customer was not pleasant. Keep in mind that I placed my order nearly a year ago before Bru Gear's product had evolved into what it is today.

My order was for three 20g kettles, one false bottom, and one HERMS coil, which for me (and I'm sure the vast majority of the HBT community) accounted for a substantial investment. For that reason I am at liberty to scrutinize a company for sending a different product than what I saw originally, for failing to communicate those changes to me, for failing to communicate the numerous push-backs in production, for not addressing specific points in my attempts to communicate with them, and for failing to provide hardware that is compatible with their own product without adaptors.

Granted, Bru Gear did provide adaptors, but the explicit purpose of investing in equipment with TC fittings is to avoid threads and adaptors. After the communicative hassle and the immense wait, it was pretty disappointing to find that purpose defeated and realize the necessity for further investment that I shouldn't nor was expecting to have to make.

Everything considered, I was then (and still am) in support of a more competitive market for advanced home brewing equipment, which is why I put the money up in the first place. Bru Gear was already manufacturing professional scale equipment when it decided to expand into the home brewing market, so this is only the beginning for them and for the benefit of the home brewing community they should keep it up. Obviously their early stages were high pressure because of time, money, production errors and a highly scrutinous customer base, but now that they have successfully launched their line of home brewing equipment I hope and expect they will get better.

The Blichmann logo's size pales in comparison to the giant, bold Bru Gear logo and was well put by brrman:

ridiculous and self promoting beyond reason

 

[Scriv]

I recently bought a 15g kettle from them and am pretty happy with it so far. By looking at it and picking it up, you can tell it's definitely a high quality kettle, at the level of Stout, Blichman, etc. Unlike your experience, I knew exactly what I was getting because of the pictures and emails back and forth. Yes, it does come with NPT valves but they are the 3-piece ones and you can always change over to TC ones later. Realistically, for $275 for the kettle + valve + thermometer, it's a great deal. I'm about to pull the trigger on another one with a sight glass. The logo doesn't bother me (i.e. Blichman). It did arrive with a small dent on the bottom but every kettle I've ever mailed order came with a dent also (must be my bad luck) so it's not a big deal.

I don't see a sight glass on their website. Also does the kettle come with a dip tube?