SS brewtech QC is awful now.

[Jtvann]

And now, September 16, 2021, just to rub "salt in the wound"

"Due to the ever-increasing cost of raw materials and a dramatic increase in shipping rates, we will be adjusting the price of specific product lines listed in the link above, as well as some accessories, on October 1st.

We appreciate you all and your support of the brewing industry as a whole during the trying past year. As such, we wanted to give you some notice prior to the price adjustment, so all orders placed by midnight September 30th will be honored at current (lower) pricing.

Cheers and Happy Brewing
The Ss Brewtech Team"

I sure hope Spike doesn’t have to increase their prices any time soon for the exact same reason. I’d hate to see their customer service reputation lumped in with the lowly Ssbrewtech trash.

 

[Vale71]

Just got my SSB Brew Cube from the local reseller. Two out of four top screw are defective and stick after just a couple of turns. The leg extensions are missing the connecting screws but since they did not come in SSB original packaging this could just be the reseller not being careful when getting the order packaged and ready to ship. I must say for the money I paid for the gear I would have expected everything to be flawless out of the box.

 

[Brooothru]

Just got my SSB Brew Cube from the local reseller. Two out of four top screw are defective and stick after just a couple of turns. The leg extensions are missing the connecting screws but since they did not come in SSB original packaging this could just be the reseller not being careful when getting the order packaged and ready to ship. I must say for the money I paid for the gear I would have expected everything to be flawless out of the box.

Sadly, I have to agree.

 

[Golddiggie]

And now, September 16, 2021, just to rub "salt in the wound"

"Due to the ever-increasing cost of raw materials and a dramatic increase in shipping rates, we will be adjusting the price of specific product lines listed in the link above, as well as some accessories, on October 1st.

We appreciate you all and your support of the brewing industry as a whole during the trying past year. As such, we wanted to give you some notice prior to the price adjustment, so all orders placed by midnight September 30th will be honored at current (lower) pricing.

Cheers and Happy Brewing
The Ss Brewtech Team"

That's why I ordered another of their Spunding valves (scaled) yesterday. The order went through (not backordered/unavailable) so I'm hoping it ships out before too far into next week. I intend to use that on a third conical (probably from Brewers Hardware this time). All my current TC fitting items that I use on my Spike CF10 fermenters can also be used on the Brewers Hardware unit (also has a 2" bottom dump port/ferrule). I do like the 2" bottom dump valve size on my Spike fermenters and am glad that the Brewers Hardware also uses those. Means the yeast brinks I'm using for one will be easily used on the other. That size should be 'standard' on all conical fermenters we would use.

 

[matt_m]

That's why I ordered another of their Spunding valves (scaled) yesterday. The order went through (not backordered/unavailable) so I'm hoping it ships out before too far into next week.

I ordered an unscaled one after confirming with them it was in stock. They said if thing are out of stock, the web site won't let you order. I got it in a few days. Feels dirty putting an SS Brewtech spunding valve on my Spike fermenters but that's actually what Spike recommends.

 

[Golddiggie]

I went with the scaled version so that I could easily adjust on the fly. Plus, I can set it without pressurizing my fermenter ahead of things kicking off. The two I already have are of good quality. Hopefully the one I just ordered is as well.

If another maker, like maybe Brewers Hardware, was to offer up a spunding valve with the same features, I'd probably order from them. I like how it's vertical, with the cup to hold liquid (Starsan). Without some kind of cup to pass through, it's difficult to tell IF anything is coming out. With the amount of headspace I typically have in the conicals I don't have any need for a blow off setup. Plus fermenting under pressure helps to further reduce the need for blow off setups.

 

[matt_m]

From what I read the scaling isn't super accurate and its in bar not PSI so I just went cheap. Ben from Spike has hinted they are going to have a spunding valve in the future but no indication of when. There's a bunch of similar ones on Aliexpress but really no savings over the SSB version so not worth the potential hassle. My only Aliexpress purchase ended in a credit card dispute so I shy away.

 

[Golddiggie]

I've never bought form aliexpress and don't plan to change that. I have the gas manifold setup on both of my fermenters, so I use that to confirm my setting. Sure, I could probably do that from the start, but (as I mentioned) I like to have the batch gain in pressure at the start. Not be under pressure from the start. I'll adjust the spunding valve to fine tune it once things are going crazy (typically <24 hours). If it's letting out more, or less, than I want, I simply adjust it. I also keep a bottle of mixed Starsan in that same area to top off the cup as needed. Often it has a blowout overnight and I need to add more in the morning.

I'll be watching to see what Spike offers in the future. Maybe Curtis from Brewers Hardware will make something too.

 

[Brooothru]

I ordered an unscaled one after confirming with them it was in stock. They said if thing are out of stock, the web site won't let you order. I got it in a few days. Feels dirty putting an SS Brewtech spunding valve on my Spike fermenters but that's actually what Spike recommends.

The SsBT spunding valve is the most "pro-like" product in their, or just about anyone's, homebrew scale attachment lineup. I absolutely love mine.