New Product Announcement From SPIKE!

[Csesock0131]

The advantage I see in replacing the spunding valve on my SS Brewtech unitank with this combo from Spike is versatility.

I'm thinking that mounting this combo on top of the tank (in place of the existing 1.5" TC PRV & vacuum breaker) would combine those functions plus add pressure gauge, gas 'in' QD, spunding, pressure dump, etc., into a single device. That would eliminate the need for the existing vertical manifold and free up a 1.5" TC port on top of the tank for a hop dropper.

The downside of this would be that it creates a single point failure potential if the top TC port ever got blocked, though I think it would be a very low probability that krausen could reach that high even in the most vigorous fermentation.

What‘s interesting is I made my comment thinking I would mount in a similar location to my current spunding valve. But yes you’re right…why would I not place it where the current SS pressure gauge is on top.

I am one of those bad people that does have a hop dumper with butterfly valve but this is why I have two PRVs. Even with this on top I think I would want to keep both.

I also often fumble around to hookup my gas post connection to my blowoff cane as well and this takes care of that.

 

[Broothru]

What‘s interesting is I made my comment thinking I would mount in a similar location to my current spunding valve. But yes you’re right…why would I not place it where the current SS pressure gauge is on top.

I am one of those bad people that does have a hop dumper with butterfly valve but this is why I have two PRVs. Even with this on top I think I would want to keep both.

I also often fumble around to hookup my gas post connection to my blowoff cane as well and this takes care of that.

Were talkin' from the same page, especially the fumble-farting around to port gas in through the blow-off line. My unitank is the 7 gallon version, so the set-up is a bit different from the 14 gallon. The PRV is mounted on a reducer on top of the 6" cooling coil TC, and the blow-off line pipe serves as a manifold for the pressure gauge and the spunding valve. Purpose and function are all the same, but the geometry is a bit different. Agree also about having a secondary PRV even though the design of both the Spike and SS Brewtech devices look to be pretty safe as stand-alone relief valves.

From what I understand of the PRV function of the Spike device, the pressure relief point is always somewhere between 0 psig and 15 psig (maximum), so you can't build a home-grown bomb with it. You will always be between wide open (unpressurized) and 15 (release point), so no 'Murphy' mistakes are possible. It will never exceed a pressure greater than the maximum "Normal Operating Pressure" of ~ 1 BAR. SSBT advertises their tanks at 15 psi "operating pressure" and 30 psi "maximum pressure". There are times when I want to bump up the pressure in excess of 15 psig to the 18-20 psi range prior to cold crashing where the pressure will drop as the gas volume decreases with temperature. Now I'll just have to hook up a pressure regulated CO2 tank to the gas-in port of the combo spunding valve set at 15 psi to compensate, but it's a small price to pay for safety's sake.

 

[Nate R]

Sale is live now for the new aio prv! I got one! Whoo hoo! Thanks @SpikeBrewing !!

 

[SpikeBrewing]

We're live!!!!​

https://spikebrewing.com/products/all-in-one-prv

​

 

[bailey mountain brewer]

Got mine!!! Plus some extra dip tube orings for the push to connect fittings cause I'm down to my last spare... can't wait to use this bad boy!!

 

[Broothru]

Got mine!!! Plus some extra dip tube orings for the push to connect fittings cause I'm down to my last spare... can't wait to use this bad boy!!

Ordered mine at a little past 11 this morning as soon as I could get to my computer after receiving the 'push' message announcement. Great innovative piece of gear, like the offspring of a SS Brewtech spunding valve with a Spike manifold!

 

[Nate R]

Sale is live now for the new aio prv! I got one! Whoo hoo! Thanks @SpikeBrewing !!

Update- it's already on the FedEx truck! Delivery on Tuesday (west coast here).
Thanks @SpikeBrewing that was fast!
Can't wait to get this baby up on ebay and here for a nice tidy profit! Ha ha j/k- this is going right on the cf5 tuesday!

 

[Broothru]

Update- it's already on the FedEx truck! Delivery on Tuesday (west coast here).
Thanks @SpikeBrewing that was fast!
Can't wait to get this baby up on ebay and here for a nice tidy profit! Ha ha j/k- this is going right on the cf5 tuesday!

FedEx update says mine will be here (Central MD) on Saturday, which, coincidentally is Brew Day! May 1, brewing a Maibock.

 

[bailey mountain brewer]

I'm brewing a dopplebock on may 1st, hope mine is here by then. Haven't checked the tracking.

 

[Parkeexant]

This is the best product that ever existed

 

[Broothru]

FedEx update says mine will be here (Central MD) on Saturday, which, coincidentally is Brew Day! May 1, brewing a Maibock.

I've been using a Spike combo manifold (PRV, Gas-In port, pressure gauge) on my SS Unitank and have been very impressed with the innovation and quality build of the piece. The plan is to use the Spike all-in-one spunding valve to replace three things on my Unitank: spund cup, PRV, and vacuum breaker, while also adding the gas-in QD and pressure dump features. It will free up a number of TC ports so I can safely install a butterfly valve for a pressurized hop dropper on top of the tank to do oxygen-free dry hopping. I'll reposition the existing PRV/vacuum breaker on the Unitank to the SSBT side blow-off manifold for redundant safety backup protection, and still have an additional free 1.5" TC port on the side manifold.

It may be an over-used phrase, but if this device does everything I'm hoping it will do for me, it will truly be a game changer. If it matches the quality I've seen in other Spike products it will certainly be worth the expense. I'm really psyched to get this thing installed!

 

[Broothru]

I've been using a Spike combo manifold (PRV, Gas-In port, pressure gauge) on my SS Unitank and have been very impressed with the innovation and quality build of the piece. The plan is to use the Spike all-in-one spunding valve to replace three things on my Unitank: spund cup, PRV, and vacuum breaker, while also adding the gas-in QD and pressure dump features. It will free up a number of TC ports so I can safely install a butterfly valve for a pressurized hop dropper on top of the tank to do oxygen-free dry hopping. I'll reposition the existing PRV/vacuum breaker on the Unitank to the SSBT side blow-off manifold for redundant safety backup protection, and still have an additional free 1.5" TC port on the side manifold.

It may be an over-used phrase, but if this device does everything I'm hoping it will do for me, it will truly be a game changer. If it matches the quality I've seen in other Spike products it will certainly be worth the expense. I'm really psyched to get this thing installed!

So the package arrived early afternoon (Saturday) just as I was knocking out the boil on my Maibock. Cleaned, sanitized and assembled it during the chill and whirlpool. Ended up hitting all my numbers and the WLP835x Andechs yeast is starting to do its thing.

The small jar next to the Reflexit wrapped kegmenter is a sample taken from the Maibock. Extremely clear and dead nuts on all the predicted numbers. I'm a happy sailor.

As you can see, I've got a few projects going besides the Maibock. There's a Key Lime cider, a Blonde ale with Citra and Trident (great combo if you can find the Trident), a session IPA (Simcoe, Citra, Centennial, CTZ), and a 2 gallon batch of leftovers from the Session and Blonde I'll just call Heinz.

"Work, work work," as Mel Brooks said in Blazing Saddles.

 

[natmartin]

So the package arrived early afternoon (Saturday) just as I was knocking out the boil on my Maibock. Cleaned, sanitized and assembled it during the chill and whirlpool. Ended up hitting all my numbers and the WLP835x Andechs yeast is starting to do its thing.

View attachment 767572

The small jar next to the Reflexit wrapped kegmenter is a sample taken from the Maibock. Extremely clear and dead nuts on all the predicted numbers. I'm a happy sailor.

As you can see, I've got a few projects going besides the Maibock. There's a Key Lime cider, a Blonde ale with Citra and Trident (great combo if you can find the Trident), a session IPA (Simcoe, Citra, Centennial, CTZ), and a 2 gallon batch of leftovers from the Session and Blonde I'll just call Heinz.

"Work, work work," as Mel Brooks said in Blazing Saddles.

I'm curious why you have the second pressure gauge on your blowoff tube.

 

[Broothru]

That's the OEM pressure gauge, no longer necessary with the new Spike spunding valve. Since the valve arrived after I had already set up the Unitank for the current brew session, the original gauge was already mounted. I could have capped the port when I swapped the spunding valves but figured I just wait till this beer is done and I break things down for cleaning. The beauty of having a 3-in-one combo spunding valve is that it now frees up two TC ports.

 

[Big_D]

So the package arrived early afternoon (Saturday) just as I was knocking out the boil on my Maibock. Cleaned, sanitized and assembled it during the chill and whirlpool. Ended up hitting all my numbers and the WLP835x Andechs yeast is starting to do its thing.

View attachment 767572

The small jar next to the Reflexit wrapped kegmenter is a sample taken from the Maibock. Extremely clear and dead nuts on all the predicted numbers. I'm a happy sailor.

As you can see, I've got a few projects going besides the Maibock. There's a Key Lime cider, a Blonde ale with Citra and Trident (great combo if you can find the Trident), a session IPA (Simcoe, Citra, Centennial, CTZ), and a 2 gallon batch of leftovers from the Session and Blonde I'll just call Heinz.

"Work, work work," as Mel Brooks said in Blazing Saddles.

Nice!

Unfortunately, I’m still waiting on mine to ship. Seems like most folks got shipping notifications within 24hrs, I haven’t heard anything from them since they sent the receipt. Hopefully they didn’t oversell.. maybe I shouldn’t have ordered 2.

 

[bailey mountain brewer]

Nice!

Unfortunately, I’m still waiting on mine to ship. Seems like most folks got shipping notifications within 24hrs, I haven’t heard anything from them since they sent the receipt. Hopefully they didn’t oversell.. maybe I shouldn’t have ordered 2.

I messaged spike about mine and they responded immediately, naturally they got hit with a ton of orders, I gave them my order number and asked for an update as I plan to brew this Saturday and would like to use it, they got it shipped out, FedEx shows expected for tomorrow. Gotta love that service from @SpikeBrewing

 

[Big_D]

I messaged spike about mine and they responded immediately, naturally they got hit with a ton of orders, I gave them my order number and asked for an update as I plan to brew this Saturday and would like to use it, they got it shipped out, FedEx shows expected for tomorrow. Gotta love that service from @SpikeBrewing

I messaged them today, received an interesting reply...

"I'm sorry but there has been a slight delay in our testing process with these. We should be shipping this out next week! Thank you for your patience here."

Not sure what that means.. I would've assumed all of the testing had been completed by now

 

[bailey mountain brewer]

Yeah, that is interesting

 

[Big_D]

Oh well.. guess it’s back to my brewtech for now.

 

[Broothru]

I messaged them today, received an interesting reply...

"I'm sorry but there has been a slight delay in our testing process with these. We should be shipping this out next week! Thank you for your patience here."

Not sure what that means.. I would've assumed all of the testing had been completed by now

I just got off the phone with Spike (think it was "Mike" I was talking with) about a small issue I'm having with my all-in-one spunding valve. It's on my unitank right now with a Maibock about six days into fermentation. The tank has been unpressurized since the yeast was pitched, venting through a blow-off line. The all-in-one is mounted next to an existing OEM pressure gauge. Since the gravity readings indicate that it will soon be time to cap the fermentation and start spunding, I decided to run a live low-pressure test at around 5 psig. So I closed the blow-off valve and started monitoring pressure, waiting for the telltale bubbling to begin.

After about 20 minutes, there were no bubbles and the pressure gauge still read zero. But the OEM pressure gauge was reading approximately 3 psig. I backed off the spund adjustment until I started getting bubbling in the cup, so I knew I was getting pressure in the tank. Then I readjusted it to a higher release point until I registered 5 psig on the OEM gauge. The Spike gauge now showed ~1 to 1½ psig. In some ways it might not seem like a 'big deal' discrepancy since low-end pressure readings can sometimes be off a bit. However, the OEM gauge is a 0-60 psi scale and the Spike is 0-30 psi. The scaling and instrument fidelity should favor the Spike gauge for accuracy, even at the low end of the scale. I cross-checked the tank pressure with a gas-in QD pressure gauge and two different gas-in QD 'spunding' valves, two of which were 0-30 psi gauges and one was 0-15 psi readout. They all agreed with the OEM gauge +/- 0.5 psi. I then cross-checked the hand-held gauges against the pressure reading on an identical Spike gauge that I have mounted on a Spike manifold on a kegmenter. All the hand-held gauges agreed with that gauge as well.

So, obviously there was something mis-calibrated on the PRV pressure gauge. I gave Spike a call, half-way expecting at least a little pushback. I offered that maybe I'd over-torqued the gauge during assembly or maybe got a little sloppy with wrapping the teflon tape, etc. But, "No," said Mike. "It's probably a bad gauge."

He did suggest that I might try removing the rubber dimple cap on top of the gauge where you add or drain dampening oil in case there was some trapped air pressure that needed equalization with atmospheric pressure, but added that it probably was just a bad gauge. "No problem," he said. "Just give it a try if you want, and let us know. If it doesn't help, we'll ship a replacement gauge out to you right away." That's my kind of customer service!

TL; DR: I'm as impressed with Spike's customer service as I am with the all-in-one PRV. As in, very impressed!

 

[Nate R]

we'll ship a replacement gauge out to you right away."

Well, i guess we know what happened to @Big_D 's unit!!!


I picked mine unit up today from my "damn porch pirates forced me to rent a friggin' ups store mailbox".
This baby is HEAVY! Wow. Speaks to... well, i dunno, really... but my life experience tends to lead me believe heavier is better.

+1 to the Spike customer service.

Hope you get your unit soon Big_D!

 

[Broothru]

Well, i guess we know what happened to @Big_D 's unit!!!


I picked mine unit up today from my "damn porch pirates forced me to rent a friggin' ups store mailbox".
This baby is HEAVY! Wow. Speaks to... well, i dunno, really... but my life experience tends to lead me believe heavier is better.

+1 to the Spike customer service.

Hope you get your unit soon Big_D!

My impression too. That thing has some serious heft to it. I'm also impressed with the machining, especially the fine tuning of the vernier adjustment of the spring tensioner. Just be careful with that pressure dump plunger. Even at just a couple psi, it'll give you a Star San shower. Don't ask me how I know.

 

[bailey mountain brewer]

Brew day complete, I was a little anxious and woke up at 5am and started my brewday, cf15 filled with new prv resting atop in all its glory.

 

[Chorgey]

Brew day complete, I was a little anxious and woke up at 5am and started my brewday, cf15 filled with new prv resting atop in all its glory.
View attachment 768219

I'm interested in your setup. It looks like you have a blowoff tube and the PRV installed at the same time. I was under the impression that the blowoff tube stays on for a few days and then switch it out to the PRV

 

[Nate R]

I'm interested in your setup. It looks like you have a blowoff tube and the PRV installed at the same time. I was under the impression that the blowoff tube stays on for a few days and then switch it out to the PRV

I bet he uses that butterfly valve- he closes it on the blow off line. Then no oxygen exposure by having to switch clamps.
Insert warning- always ensure you have a clear clean dedicated blow off PRV before adding a valve!!!

 

[bailey mountain brewer]

@Nate R nailed it, rather then switching things out I just close the valve that is on the port for the blow off. Then the prv does its thing.

 

[natmartin]

Got the PRV, can't wait to use it on my next batch! I had one question for @SpikeBrewing though. I noticed that if the airlock/cup is filled with water or sanitizer, and you depress the plunger, the liquid drains through the holes down into the fermentor. How are you supposed to relieve pressure in the vessel without letting liquid in?

 

[SpikeBrewing]

Got the PRV, can't wait to use it on my next batch! I had one question for @SpikeBrewing though. I noticed that if the airlock/cup is filled with water or sanitizer, and you depress the plunger, the liquid drains through the holes down into the fermentor. How are you supposed to relieve pressure in the vessel without letting liquid in?

You’ll want to pull off the red and black cap to drain the sanitizer cup.

 

[natmartin]

You’ll want to pull off the red and black cap to drain the sanitizer cup.

That makes so much sense! Thanks!

 

[Big_D]

So @SpikeBrewing … how‘s that “testing” going?

Per the email response quoted below, I was told last week that my order “should“ ship out this week. Haven’t heard anything and this week is just about over?


"I'm sorry but there has been a slight delay in our testing process with these. We should be shipping this out next week! Thank you for your patience here."