New Wireless Keg Monitor: Kegtron

[GoeHaarden]

knowing what I have in the keezer across seven kegs

I guess you have too many kegs to be able to adequately keep track of your quantities. I'd gladly help you out and take some off your hands...

On a serious note, I guess it's easier to lose track of how much you have in each keg with that many on tap. But on the lower apprx. price point ($75) you're still talking > $500 to track all taps. Maybe its just me, but I just don't see the value for that price. Get it down to ~$30 a pop, and I might be able to justify it.

I can do it from anywhere in the world, including my lhbs..

But why????? Do you show up at your LHBS without any plan and pull up your keg monitor to see if you should buy ingredients for the next brew?

 

[Kegtron]

For my particular situation, the remote monitoring would have value. My son is 11 now, and a good kid. But he'll be a teenager soon enough, and have teenager friends, so it would be nice to have this feature.

Jtk78:

In the interest of full transparency, the initial product launch will be based upon Bluetooth technology so real-time remote monitoring will not be available out the gate (more performance data in the FAQ). This is something that we may consider adding in the future (i.e. without having to replaced your initial gear) if there is sufficient interest.

Having said that, you can always check your stats after your out-of-town trip and lay down the law.

 

[day_trippr]

I guess you have too many kegs to be able to adequately keep track of your quantities. I'd gladly help you out and take some off your hands...

More like pry them out of my cold dead fingers while beating back The Spousal Unit

On a serious note, I guess it's easier to lose track of how much you have in each keg with that many on tap. But on the lower apprx. price point ($75) you're still talking > $500 to track all taps. Maybe its just me, but I just don't see the value for that price. Get it down to ~$30 a pop, and I might be able to justify it.

I'm not here to justify the cost of the proposed device, only the comparable functionality expressed by a home-brewed solution. In my case the cost happened to benefit from the serendipity of finding SF800 meters for $20 each a few years ago, so my all-up cost to monitor 6 kegs was right around $300 to start.

But why????? Do you show up at your LHBS without any plan and pull up your keg monitor to see if you should buy ingredients for the next brew?

That has actually happened a few times over the years. My lhbs is between my home and the local Home Depot 15 minutes away, I've known the owner for over a decade, so I tend to pop in just to see what's up if I'm over that way. A quick check on my phone to remind myself where my cold-side is, another check of my inventory via BeerSmith, has caused me to buy ingredients for a brew on the spot...

Cheers!

 

[GoeHaarden]

More like pry them out of my cold dead fingers while beating back The Spousal Unit

Hah! I like the dedication! Can we be friends!?

You make some valid points. I guess if you had someone house-sitting, you could send them a bill for what they consumed!

Either way, I am curious to see where development takes Kegtron and what it will actually offer once released...

Cheers!

 

[DU99]

Hate websites that don't put a price on the page...

 

[lablover]

That's really neat

Yea, they work quite well. You can also buy one main kit for $20 and they have cheaper expansion kits to add. That's how I got all my kegs outfitted.

 

[Kegtron]

For those of you still watching this thread, we just announced a dual tap version of our wireless keg monitor. Same features, same app, lower cost per tap. Mix & match the single & dual tap monitors to best fit your setup.

More details on the new dual tap keg monitor are here. Both single, dual and combos will be available during our Kickstarter campaign. If that's of interest, hop on our newsletter to get the first announcements.

Cheers!
-Steve

 

[yowzers]

Why the Kickstarter campaign? I've seen too many of these that flop or early investors wait months and months for product.

 

[Kegtron]

Why the Kickstarter campaign? I've seen too many of these that flop or early investors wait months and months for product.

A fair question.

Why would someone launch a Kickstarter campaign? For the creator it has several compelling draws: 1) Validation of interest in a product 2) Obtain critical mass before building it (for hardware, it's all about volume) 3) Increased exposure vs. going it alone

Why would an individual back a campaign? First and foremost it would need to be a compelling & exciting story/solution/product that isn't readily available elsewhere. There's also the cool factor of participating in the launch of something new that is actually meaningful to you.

Having said all that, as a potential backer you have to go into things with your eyes wide open: not all creators are, um, created equal. There have been some fantastic KS projects that have come to life and then there are the horror stories <cough>GrowlerWerks<cough>.

If your considering backing any project, ask the following questions:

• What experience does this person/team have building similar products?
• How real is the product? How much work has been accomplished before the campaign has started and what remains?
• If the creator goes belly-up after you get your reward, will your product become a brick or it is still useful to you?

-Steve

 

[Jag75]

For me they would have to compete with this - https://www.ballandkeg.com/ at $20.00

Ok this is cool

 

[yowzers]

Ok this is cool

Yes indeed, I can confirm that they work quite well.

 

[day_trippr]

Ok, having witnessed some utterly failed outcomes wrt Kick-Started products, and not finding pertinent answers on the Kegtron website, let's do this.

- What experience does this person/team have building similar products?

- How real is the product?

- How much work has been accomplished before the campaign has started and what remains?

- If the creator goes belly-up after you get your reward, will your product become a brick or it is still useful to you?

Cheers!

 

[Konadog]

Are the barbed fittings the only ones your going to offer? Are they removable, can they be changed out to something else, like john guest fittings?

 

[Jtk78]

Ok, having witnessed some utterly failed outcomes wrt Kick-Started products, and not finding pertinent answers on the Kegtron website, let's do this.

- What experience does this person/team have building similar products?

- How real is the product?

- How much work has been accomplished before the campaign has started and what remains?

- If the creator goes belly-up after you get your reward, will your product become a brick or it is still useful to you?

Cheers!

I did find it a bit odd that he suggested asking these exact answers wrt kickstarters, but didn't take the time to answer them for this company.

 

[Kegtron]

For those still following this thread, we are now live on Kickstarter.

Cheers!