Robobrew seems dead :-(

[Hammer Brewer]

Hey guys,

I've had my Robobrew for a few months and made some great brews. However, today, my Robobrew panel doesn't turn on. The pump is working fine, but the display is not working.
Created a quick video to demonstrate the issue:

Anyone else had this problem? Any clues?

Cheers!

 

[hunter306]

There's not much to the internals of the robobrew, I have a Gen3 and the first thing I did was inspect the wiring in the base. If you take the few screws off the bottom, the whole plate is removeable to allow you to inspect more closely your individual components. Look for anything that is melted, charred or otherwise cooked first- after that, the digital stuff will get hard to pick out visually.

If I were you, I'd reach out and request a warranty replacement for the panel. Swapping the component should be simple.

Realistically though, if mine fails, I'll probably just buy a cheap replacement pid and re-architect the entire system.

 

[Hammer Brewer]

They agreed to replace the Robobrew under warranty, so all is good.

 

[Boomer]

They agreed to replace the Robobrew under warranty, so all is good.

Very glad to hear this as a new Robobrew owner!

 

[jloxton]

My Robobrew blew out the first time I brewed on it: the temperature got stuck on 120 C. Replaced the circuit board, and that fixed things. However, on our local brewing forum (Nova Scotia, Canada), there are a distressing number of people reporting similar issues. One other guy had the same thing happen as me on his second brew. Another had the pump go on his first brew. And another had the elements go haywire to the point of scorching his beer before smoking out. I don't know if I can post the URL, but if you Google Brewnosers and Robobrew you should find it.

I am honestly getting worried not just about the reliability of the Robobrew, but, given the last guys post about his elements, about the safety.

(Note: I also had two bad welds on my Robobrew out of box.)

 

[jtwittnebel]

I have a Robobrew V3.1. Brewed 5 batches so far. With all the chatter about burned wires and control circuits, I opened mine up the other day to check the wires. Everything looked pristine.
Sticker on the base suggests it was manufactured Nov 2018.
What I noticed on opening the base was
1) the main circuit board is mounted to the base, and connected to the control panel with one of those wire ribbons.
2) there is a thick layer of dense insulation about one and a half inches thick on the bottom of the kettle, presumably to keep the heat away from the control circuitry.
Is this same setup used in the V3 model?

 

[augiedoggy]

The original robobrew was designed for Australian 220v power by kegking If im not mistaken they were never intended for the US market.... Kegking was unaware a few employees had trademarked the brand in the US and Canada and started importing them there...(this is Keg kings explanation anyway)

I think the common failures are resulting from the additional amp load put on certain components and solder traces when running the robobrew on 120v power (it doubles the amp load on this stuff in 120v mode vs 220v) It makes sense to me anyway. I think efforts were made to correct this situation later when the roque kegking employees left and started kegland.. I may not have the story completely right but I think thats the jist of it.

 

[rjhoff]

I blew my board recently after 2 years of use. I’ve always set the unit on a milk crate which I hope improves cooling, maybe that’s why it lasted as long as it did. I’ve read that the 3.1 board kit includes improved relays to avoid damage. So far so good for me..

 

[RePete]

Well, I think my Robobrew bit the dust this weekend. I’ve had it a couple of years, and have over 30 brews on it at least. It was 90* out, and it got about 30 mins into a boil and noticed it had stopped. The display and everything still works. I haven’t opened it up yet to see what woe awaits.

I checked the Williams Brewing website, which is where I bought it. The replacement circuit boards are out of stock. Any other sources?

 

[rjhoff]

Well, I think my Robobrew bit the dust this weekend. I’ve had it a couple of years, and have over 30 brews on it at least. It was 90* out, and it got about 30 mins into a boil and noticed it had stopped. The display and everything still works. I haven’t opened it up yet to see what woe awaits.

I checked the Williams Brewing website, which is where I bought it. The replacement circuit boards are out of stock. Any other sources?

Sorry to hear that, mine quit last spring as I was getting ready to boil. I also bought mine from Williams - suggest you give them a call, I find them very responsive and they may have a stash in the back room. You'll need both boards to make it work...

 

[RePete]

Thanks. I will call.

 

[RePete]

I called Williams today. They said it will be 4-6 weeks. Not sure I can go that long with brewing. Help!

 

[soccerdad]

My Robobrew blew out the first time I brewed on it: the temperature got stuck on 120 C. Replaced the circuit board, and that fixed things. However, on our local brewing forum (Nova Scotia, Canada), there are a distressing number of people reporting similar issues. One other guy had the same thing happen as me on his second brew. Another had the pump go on his first brew. And another had the elements go haywire to the point of scorching his beer before smoking out. I don't know if I can post the URL, but if you Google Brewnosers and Robobrew you should find it.

I am honestly getting worried not just about the reliability of the Robobrew, but, given the last guys post about his elements, about the safety.

(Note: I also had two bad welds on my Robobrew out of box.)

You guys tend to use Hydro instead of electricity up there in the land of the Rump's. That might be it. (Unable to turn text green to denote sarcasm)

 

[day_trippr]

[...](Unable to turn text green to denote sarcasm)

Select the text and click the tear drop icon...

Cheers! (hella tough on a phone though )

 

[RePete]

You can see the burnt spot on the circuit board, and the burnt wires. It looks like a fuse there. Maybe the fuse is just blown? The only problem ia that the heati g elements don't work.
At any rate, it has made me wonder about whether I can hook this all up to some other controller if I can't get the circuit boards.

 

[Wayne1]

You might want to get in touch with the SmartPID folks.
SmartPID retrofit kit

 

[rjhoff]

I’m wondering if you could jist use an Ink-bird Controller? I can’t locate a wiring diagram but it would be pretty easy to trace the wires.

I believe the switches are wired in-line with the elements and there’s a relay for each element. If so then you take the 2 relay outputs and connect them to the inkbird SSR output. The elements draw approx. 15 Amp (max) combined. The Ink-bird controller uses a k type thermocouple, not sure what the Robobrew uses but k type is maybe the most common, or you just use the Ink-bird thermocouple. I believe the pump runs independent? You’d have to figure out how to get the leads out and keep water/ wort from seeping into the base.

 

[RePete]

Thanks. I’m not going to do anything right away. Will try to just wait until the new circuit boards become available. But it got me to thinking. What if?

The screen still lights. The pump works. The temperature still displays. But nothing happens with the heating elements. They don’t turn on at all.

 

[RePete]

You might want to get in touch with the SmartPID folks.
SmartPID retrofit kit

Thanks. That looks really nice. My system is 110v, and that looks to be 220v. Not sure if I could convert my system to 220v.

 

[rjhoff]

Thanks. I’m not going to do anything right away. Will try to just wait until the new circuit boards become available. But it got me to thinking. What if?

The screen still lights. The pump works. The temperature still displays. But nothing happens with the heating elements. They don’t turn on at all.

Yeah, that’s what happened to mine. If you were to remove the relays from the board, I’m guessing you’ll see at least one damaged, plus the heat probably destroyed the circuit board traces.

EDIT: looked on Williams- not showing as out of stock?
https://www.williamsbrewing.com/Hom...es/Brewzilla/Robobrew-Gen-3-Upgrade-Board-Set

 

[RePete]

Yeah, that’s what happened to mine. If you were to remove the relays from the board, I’m guessing you’ll see at least one damaged, plus the heat probably destroyed the circuit board traces.

EDIT: looked on Williams- not showing as out of stock?
https://www.williamsbrewing.com/Hom...es/Brewzilla/Robobrew-Gen-3-Upgrade-Board-Set

Thanks. I'll check again. When I called yesterday they told me they had 220v boards in stock, but not 110v.

 

[augiedoggy]

https://www.hoppingrape.com/replacement-main-circuit-board-for-110v-robobrew-b.html
Or if you want to pay 25% more..
https://www.ontariobeerkegs.com/BrewZilla_Circuit_Board_V3_1_p/robobrew-35l-circuit-board.htm
and if you have an older version robobrew this kit should upgrade it. (If williams is out of stock)
https://www.canuckhomebrewsupply.com/products/robobrew-35l-circuit-board-lcd

 

[RePete]

https://www.hoppingrape.com/replacement-main-circuit-board-for-110v-robobrew-b.html
Or if you want to pay 25% more..
https://www.ontariobeerkegs.com/BrewZilla_Circuit_Board_V3_1_p/robobrew-35l-circuit-board.htm
and if you have an older version robobrew this kit should upgrade it. (If williams is out of stock)
https://www.canuckhomebrewsupply.com/products/robobrew-35l-circuit-board-lcd

Thanks. But I think that these are replacement boards for version 3.1.
I need to upgrade Version 3.0.

 

[RePete]

I ordered the upgrade circuit boards from Williams Brewing. It seems to have gone through. Should be here next week.