Interesting. Might I ask how the issue manifested itself? I've been getting a ton of fatal error #1s when I go to start a brew or clean and I'm getting a seemingly full flow rate. I haven't done nearly as many batches as you.... I've followed all of their trouble shooting tips and last time using keg lube on gaskets seemed to help, but I'm not convinced.
I plan on doing a flow rate test as soon as I get time.
I only received one fatal error -- but that was about 20 batches ago (I did 73 or so on my original machine). I did a lot of demo batches for buddies wondering about the Pico. Oddly, I had no issues up until batch 50 or 51 or so. And then it was usually my own fault: getting grain clogged in the ball valves, not pushing the step filter in far enough, etc.
The first big problem was frequent boil flashing -- I'd start the boil, and I'd see the temps go from 207 to 214 and then back down to 203 and then back up to 214. I aborted a couple batches at this point because I had no idea if the wort was actually flowing -- it sounded like it, but then I'd hear hissing, too. Very strange (and sad to go through an entire mash only to have no idea if the batch is worth saving). I've been working on pale ales lately, so the finished beer was pretty much predicated on hop utilization through the boil and final whirlpool.
Finally, I ended up letting batch of pumpkin ale go through the entire flashing -- 60 minutes of wild, wild temp swings. I had no idea what the finished beer would taste like -- or if the boil was at all successful. I knew I didn't need a 60 minute boil -- I've brewed batches with a 30 minute boil when I was in hurry with my old 3-vessel system -- but I needed *some* kind of flow throughput to approximate a boil.
Anyway, I kegged and cold-crashed this pumpkin batch several weeks ago, and it turned out great. It wasn't a hoppy beer to start out with -- but it was (weirdly) the best pumpkin batch I've ever brewed. Malty, clean, with a nice pumpkin taste from the spices -- a pinch of cinnamon, ginger, allspice, and nutmeg -- in the last few minutes of the boil. I used a can of pumpkin in the mash, too -- but I realize this makes little, if any, difference in the finished beer. (I added the pumpkin because I felt obligated -- but not because it actually added anything flavor-wise.)
But I still had the flashing. Obviously, that was messed up. And then the flashing blew out the seal on my stepper arm. So I had to disassemble the Pico, relubricate the seal, and then try another batch. (And buy a couple of tools on Amazon for taking apart the case.)
Next batch: same flashing, same weird temp swings. I saved the batch -- a pale ale -- and it's aging nicely in my keezer. It tastes pretty good. Not a lot of hop aroma, but the bitterness is there. I skipped the final whirlpool when I had the flashing. I just wanted to get through a 60 minute boil and then cool it down.
At this point, Pico asked me to run some tests on the pump. The flow rates weren't quite right, so they asked me to pack up the machine and send it back for checking and calibration. I did this.
Couple weeks later, the machine arrived back. I did a cleaning and then a couple rinses -- and then I loaded it up with another batch for a pale ale -- and within 20 minutes of the mash starting, I came down to the basement to see a good portion of my wort on my basement floor.
Now, it turns out that the stepper arm wasn't properly flowing water into the mash comparment. I had to shim the left side of the machine with a folded piece of cardboard to force the step filter to move about 3mm to the right so the stepper arm could aim into the plexiglass lid's mash compartment cut-out. This was annoying -- and didn't seem right. But I lost a bunch of wort, so -- once again -- I abandoned this batch. In Pico's defense, they sent me a replacement batch of grain. Really, really nice to do that. But at this point, it was less about the money or the wasted grain (which was painful to say the least) but more the stress of realizing that this machine was messed up in a serious way -- and that I had to watch it through the entire process to make sure nothing went wrong. This was drastically different than my early batches where I could start it, watch the progress graph on the web page, and check on it every so often to make sure all is well. Now, I was beginning to realize that I'd have to watch this thing constantly. This really bummed me out.
Another couple rinse cycles, and I started up what would be my final batch with the machine. I shimmed the step filter to force it right so that the stepper arm would flow into the mash compartment -- and the batch worked. What was weird, however, was that the mash came up literally 1mm short of overflowing. I mean, it was so close to overflowing again that I had my finger on the 'Exit brew' button. I didn't want to clean up more sticky wort from my basement floor. But I let it keep going. It didn't overflow, but it was very, very close. The mash screen was floating, too (even though I had an upturned spoon between the screen the plexiglass step filter top.) Pico customer service said this was normal, but in all my previous batches I had never, ever had this much water in the compartment at any one time.
The mash finished (a relief), and then boil went through fine. I thought everything was okay.
Except when I went to empty the hop compartments. I saw that compartments 3 and 4 were filled with wort. Like, totally filled. That's weird, I thought. Anyway, I went to take the jacket off the keg, and I realized that I'd actually lost a *lot* of the wort due to the hop compartments being filled up. I don't know how much, but the keg was disappointingly light. I mean, maybe I had 1.5 gallons -- maybe a little more. This bummed me out, and I realized that even after sending the machine back for calibration, something was still messed up.
That's what I started to go back and forth with Pico customer service. Something was definitely not right. I spent the better part of the day after the batch finished to run more pump tests, take some iPhone photos, and email back and forth to (the awesome and very patient!) customer support.
The final test I ran show that the stepper arm instead of directing water between the hop and mash compartment was directing the water directly into hop compartment 4 (which was taped at the bottom -- part of the test that Pico has you run through. They asked me to add the tape.). This in turn filled up compartment 3 and then 2 and then 1. So all my water was going through the hop compartments in reverse.
Even now, I'm still not exactly sure what was wrong -- but whatever the machine and stepper arm were doing certainly wasn't right. It was directing water into the hops compartments -- which, in turn, were only allowing the water to flow out very slowly (due the hop screens). I *think* this is why my mash was way, way higher than it had ever been.
Anyway, it was several tossed out batches, many hours of testing, and a bunch of iPhone photos. But, as I say, Pico eventually made it right. No complaints about that.
Well, one complaint: the machine is pretty big and heavy, so sending it back via UPS is definitely a two person job (as is getting the machine packed properly and back into its foam stabilizers). So that's partly why I had to delay sending it back by several days. I had hoped to get it back to UPS yesterday, but it turns out I probably won't be able to send it back until tomorrow or next week. That's really the only issue.
EDIT: BTW, one takeaway from all of this (I have more -- which I'll post later -- but this one is probably the most important): As we see more of these "computerized wort machines" on the market -- Pico, Grainfather, Brewie, etc. -- the key new buyers should ask is whether the customer service and post-purchase support is good (or if there even *is* post-purchase support).
I can't imagine going through all of this -- troubleshooting, packing up machine, sending back, more troubleshooting -- with a company that has poor customer service. The stress level would be incredible -- all this time, all this money. It's almost (not quite -- obviously not the same -- but similar) like buying a new car. Something goes wrong, you want it fixed immediately or replaced outright. You really don't want to hear reasons why they can't fix it -- or why they're not responsible for it -- or why it's your fault for doing or not doing something that they never stressed in the first place.
Picobrew is not like this. Picobrew is fantastic -- absolutely fantastic. I can't speak to Grainfather or to Brewie -- but if I had to this all over again, my pre-sale questions would be less about the machine and more about, "Well, what happens when this heavy, unwieldy machine breaks? Do you fix it? Do you replace it? Do you send me a shipping label so all I have to do is put it in a box and send it back? Because if you don't fix it or replace it ASAP and give me that pre-paid shipping label -- I ain't interested."
Picobrew did all this -- and then some.
