Kegland Digiboil

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Looks good to me!
Of course w only 1500w it
will be slow to heat and produce a minimally vigorous boil.

For 139 bucks your brewing indoors this winter as opposed to outdoor propane.... that’s a big win!

Would make a nice BIAB unit, I wouldn’t put too much confidence in the temp controls, but simply doughing in and insulating w a blanket works well.
 
Looks good to me!
Of course w only 1500w it
will be slow to heat and produce a minimally vigorous boil.

For 139 bucks your brewing indoors this winter as opposed to outdoor propane.... that’s a big win!

Would make a nice BIAB unit, I wouldn’t put too much confidence in the temp controls, but simply doughing in and insulating w a blanket works well.

I do mainly smaller batches (3 - 4 gals) so I'm thinking it might not be too bad. I've been thinking of going to BIAB too so this might work out pretty well.
 
It’s like a bare bones grain father without bells and whistles that you really don’t need anyhow jmo

Unless you have to have the blue tooth link jk
 
+/- 5°F accuracy isn't optimal for mash temperature control but I reckon it'd still work ok as long as it doesn't tend to scorch the bottom...

Cheers!
 
+/- 5°F accuracy isn't optimal for mash temperature control but I reckon it'd still work ok as long as it doesn't tend to scorch the bottom...

Cheers!

True agreed....I think that’s pretty typical for most of these type counter top units, even those at higher price points.

Seems to me like honest up front disclosure.

Hit strike temp accurately, perhaps even using a digital hand held, dough in, unplug and wrap the unit w a blanket, or a winter coat and take a 60 minute nap lol rdwhahb
 
I saw that yesterday as well. It looks like a good price for what it is. I do wonder if it's powerful enough, and how long it takes to get to mash temperature and then boil temperature.

It's also a shame they don't make it a little bigger. I use a 9.5 gallon kettle for BIAB and there's not a ton of extra space when the grains go in. It would be pretty tight doing it with 8 gallons
 
I’m assuming everyone has read this already, but for those just passing through please make sure to read this. Have to say my enthusiasm dropped when I read the following.

Note: The Digiboil is primarily designed for boiling, distilling, and heating sparge water. It is not designed for Brew In Bag or mashing directly in the unit. If you suspend a large grain bag in the unit or add mash directly to the unit, it will throw a thermal protection error, because the grain or the grain bag will cover the thermostat, which will then shut off the heating element.
 
I’m assuming everyone has read this already, but for those just passing through please make sure to read this. Have to say my enthusiasm dropped when I read the following.

This same thing could be said about almost any electric kettle with a thermostat controlling the heat, without a means to distribute the heat throughout the mash.

Without recirculating or stirring the mash, most any kettle electric or gas fired kettle will “overheat”

Simple work around is to either stir if the heat is on, or shut the unit off and insulate.

This is kinda like saying propane is not suited for BIAB because heating the kettle with a mash will cause scorching.

Ok, the thermostat will not control your mash temp, that’s obvious by the simplicity of the unit, and will require manual mash temp control.

Alternatively spend many times more on a countertop unit that does a marginal job at controlling mash temps.

If your goal is indoor electric brewing on a tight budget, I would suggest an electric turkey fryer. Only 1650w so heating times will also be slow. Due t the wider top opening, you may need to boil with the lid 1/2 on.

Upside is they can be found on Craigslist for peanuts.

 
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So, I decided to buy one. I just got it and here are my first impressions. Opened the box and and unpacked it and was (considering the price) fairly impressed with the quality. I installed the spigot, put about 4 gallons of warm water (~100F) in it and turned it on. The temp was displaying in celcius so had to change that. Discovered that any time you turn the unit off you have to redo that. Bit of a pain but not that big a deal. I set the target temp to 160F and left it for about 20 minutes. When I came back to check it I discovered it was already at 160F!. I checked the temp with another thermometer and it was right on. I increased the target temp to 216F and left it for about 20 min. When I checked it it was just starting to boil. In about another 5 mins it was at a full rolling boil. This was in a room of about 60F and I hadn't installed the insulating blanket on it yet. I'll do a more controlled test tomorrow with the insulating blanket installed but based on what I saw today I'm pleasantly surprised.
 
Be aware, testing your kettle with insulation and water is a different test than testing your kettle with a mash and insulation...

A mash will hold temps better, a water test is invalid in my opinion...
 
Be aware, testing your kettle with insulation and water is a different test than testing your kettle with a mash and insulation...

A mash will hold temps better, a water test is invalid in my opinion...

I totally agree as far as holding temp but I was really testing to see how long it took to heat the water and to see if it would get to a full boil. Anyway, I did a more controlled test today and here are the results. I installed the neoprene jacket and started with 5 gals of water at 60F and ambient temp of 55F. It took 51 minutes to get to 170F and 114 minutes to get full rolling boil. I'm a happy camper so far but the real test will be doing a batch of beer. Unfortunately, I won't be able to do that for a couple of months, but I will report back when I do.
 
That seems like a good deal. They have three different options. One problem (to me) with the original one is that it was only 8 gallons, which is on the small side for 5 gallon BIAB. Morebeer has a 9.25 gallon option (both 110 V with 1600 watts, and 220 V with 2400 watts), and that seems like a better size for the 5 gallon BIAB.

The 17 gallon version has 3500 watts.

It's something to think about for me. The 110 V version isn't much more expensive than a kettle and burner, although 1600 watts would get on my nerves. If I upgrade my garage to 220 V, the 17 gallon version would be fantastic.
 
It must be the same size as the brewzilla. hopefully the parts fit ;)
 
For what it's worth this looks exactly like my Robobrew with simpler software. So I personally have not liked the "malt pipe" process so far, but for extract etc it's fine and you can use it just about anywhere. It is slow to heat but you don't have to hang out and watch it and it will stop at temp so it's less of your time kettle watching. If you can find a false bottom that fits you should be able to do BIAB. The scorch part is that you would be sitting directly on the element and blocking the temp sensor. A false bottom should solve both issues. The malt-pipe in the RB is essentially a BIAB process with a built in false bottom. I would certainly have gotten one of these over the RB if it had been available because it really does all I was looking for.

Since the heat is at the bottom these things really want recirculation to keep the temp even while mashing. But if you do not have a pump you can get a "solar hot water" circulation pump on Amazon for around $25 that works fine for recirculating. It's a little weak for general brewing use but I used one with the RB and it was fine.

Also the spigot on this looks exactly the same as the RB so I suspect it has the same "issue" and that is that while it's called a 1/2" port it's really more like 3/8" or 1/4" internally so it's kind of constricted and clogable plus it does not work with standard pipe fittings. I replaced mine with an actual 1/2" valve so I could use Cam-Lok fittings and get better flow. For the solar pump probably not an issue but for a brewery pump you will have to throttle the output a bunch to compensate for the valves constriction.

And a mod. I haven't made yet but am planning on doing pretty soon, is to add a heat stick on a second circuit to boost boil speed and strength. One you can add through the side wall runs about $35. Which looks like it's out of stock. But the Same at More Brew is $40 so...
 
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Thought I'd resurrect this thread. I just ordered the 3500watt 17gal digiboil. Seems like a raised false bottom would keep the thermostat from tripping. How well does this hold heat? I plan to biab in this kettle despite the manufacturer saying not to.
 
I would heat to strike, mash in the grain, unplug the unit and insulate w/ a coat or blanket during the mash rest, eliminating any fear of tripping the thermostat.

If I screw up and need to add heat I would constantly stir while doing so...

Simple simple ftw
 
Should check out either Zojirushi or Tiger if you want a water boiler with variable temperature settings that will retain heat for an extended period of time
 
That seems like a good deal. They have three different options. One problem (to me) with the original one is that it was only 8 gallons, which is on the small side for 5 gallon BIAB. Morebeer has a 9.25 gallon option (both 110 V with 1600 watts, and 220 V with 2400 watts), and that seems like a better size for the 5 gallon BIAB.
They're probably the same size. The 8 gal mark on mine is actually about 2 1/2" below the rim, which would make it about 9.25 gal to the rim.
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Thought I'd resurrect this thread. I just ordered the 3500watt 17gal digiboil. Seems like a raised false bottom would keep the thermostat from tripping. How well does this hold heat? I plan to biab in this kettle despite the manufacturer saying not to.

Are you using any sort of Wort Chiller with this? I have a 50' immersion chiller that fits my 9.5 gallon pot with room to spare, but I doubt it's tall enough for a 17 gallon pot. I'm wondering what the best option would be to chill the wort quickly.
 
Has anyone on this thread used the Digiboil 9.25G during a brew session? Specifically as the boil kettle? I'd like to know your impressions, timing and if this thing is worth the purchase? Any information you have is much appreciated.
 
Has anyone on this thread used the Digiboil 9.25G during a brew session? Specifically as the boil kettle? I'd like to know your impressions, timing and if this thing is worth the purchase? Any information you have is much appreciated.

I assume you're talking about the 120v, 8 gal version. I recently brewed a 3 gal batch (ended up with almost 3.5 gal). I started with a little more than 4.5 gal of water @ 62F. It took just under 1 hour to heat the water to 167F. After a 1 hour mash (BIAB) with no heat on it took a little under 45 mins to heat the wort from 152F to 212F. I left the lid on for this time and achieved a full rolling, bubbling boil. I removed the lid after the boil started and it settled back to a very slow rolling boil. Because the pot is quite narrow and the boil not very vigorous, the rate of evaporation was fairly low (about 1/2 gal/hr). Lesson learned, start with less water. I don't know how it would be for a 5 gal batch but obviously it would take longer. Overall I am pleased with the pot although I can see there is going to be a bit of a learning curve. Hope this helps.

Dewey
 
Do/did you use a neoprene jacket to better regulate and insulate the heat?

Yes, I use the neoprene jacket. I also put a kids sleeping bag over the whole thing during the mash. Surprisingly, I lost about 5F during the mash though. Need to rethink the insulation
 
Have you seen the warning at the bottom of the linked page that says it is not to be used for BIAB and that the bag getting on the sensor will shut off the element?
 
Have you seen the warning at the bottom of the linked page that says it is not to be used for BIAB and that the bag getting on the sensor will shut off the element?
I've got a folding vegetable steamer basket in the bottom and I don't turn the heat on while the I'm mashing.
 
And a mod. I haven't made yet but am planning on doing pretty soon, is to add a heat stick on a second circuit to boost boil speed and strength. One you can add through the side wall runs about $35. Which looks like it's out of stock. But the Same at More Brew is $40 so...

I'm curious if you've added the heat stick? If so, how does it work? With a second circuit, I'd imagine there are a few options to make this heat water/wort faster. The heat stick you mentioned, if you want to drill through the side. Or a bucket heater for a cheap option without drilling. Or a Hot Rod Heat Stick for a more expensive but higher quality option. Any of these options should give 3000+ watts.

A Sous Vide would heat up as well as help circulate, although I don't know if they'd work with a tall, thin kettle because most models need water close to the top of the kettle.
 
I'm still going back and forth on getting one of these. What are the dimensions of the unit and what is the length of the cord?
 
Last question (maybe) from me. What is the maximum (and minimum out of curiousity) temperature you can set it to? I'd find it strange if it was only 212°F, especially if it's standard deviation is +/- 5°F.
 
Last question (maybe) from me. What is the maximum (and minimum out of curiousity) temperature you can set it to? I'd find it strange if it was only 212°F, especially if it's standard deviation is +/- 5°F.

Not sure exactly, but I have set it to at least 215F. I'll check it out tomorrow and let you know. I do know it boils wort for sure.
 
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