Customer service @ SSB (poor)
SSBrewTech - SVBS
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Customer service @ SSB (poor)
I have found that to be the complete opposite. I had an issue with my mash basket and lid and they shipped a new one out immediately. I’ve always had great customer service from them.
do you have a story to tell? I'd love to hear all, I'm considering.
So here is my first brew on the SVBS. Things didn't go as planned. Be warned you will learn very little about the SVBS or even see very much of it.
Haha, I like you more now. That was a good video, well done. Of course, I want more SVBS, but I was entertained nevertheless.
Loved your video. Keep up the great work.
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calandryll
Well-Known Member
Did my first brew on the system yesterday. I did a crush size of 0.035" on Mighty Mill 3, well that's what the label indicates so it's probably slightly larger. With that, I got a 72% mash and a 73% brewhouse efficiency. Water drained out really quick with that, my previous system, I'd have to "squeeze" the basket to get most of the wort out.
A few things I had to figure out mid-brew. The rubber piece on the malt pipe shouldn't be pushed down all the way. If you do, the top plate blocks the recirculation since it's coming through the middle hole. The pump is pretty strong because when I removed the top plate, a nice stream shot up about 8 inches. Lol. I did not use the whirlpool side of the pump during the mash, which I may try next time to see if I can bump that mash efficiency up.
Boil at 75% had a good boil going. I think I'll be modifying the lid to add on a steam slayer setup for my basement. Did almost have a boil over as I set it to 100% and turned away to weigh out hops, I'm use to 120V system taking a while to get to the boil.
Overall, very happy with the system. I know some complaints of in a few of the review videos was lack of online access, which for me is not a big deal and really I don't need another thing connected to our home network. I know some of the other issues people had trub filter and hops, since I was using the hop basket, didn't notice any major issues. I may try it without next time since it was a tight fit with the chiller, which I also bought.
A few things I had to figure out mid-brew. The rubber piece on the malt pipe shouldn't be pushed down all the way. If you do, the top plate blocks the recirculation since it's coming through the middle hole. The pump is pretty strong because when I removed the top plate, a nice stream shot up about 8 inches. Lol. I did not use the whirlpool side of the pump during the mash, which I may try next time to see if I can bump that mash efficiency up.
Boil at 75% had a good boil going. I think I'll be modifying the lid to add on a steam slayer setup for my basement. Did almost have a boil over as I set it to 100% and turned away to weigh out hops, I'm use to 120V system taking a while to get to the boil.
Overall, very happy with the system. I know some complaints of in a few of the review videos was lack of online access, which for me is not a big deal and really I don't need another thing connected to our home network. I know some of the other issues people had trub filter and hops, since I was using the hop basket, didn't notice any major issues. I may try it without next time since it was a tight fit with the chiller, which I also bought.
Yea, I really don't care about wifi, bluetooth, and online recipe storage. I prefer manual manipulation of the equipment, and recipes are all beersmith for me. I'm buying.
"The rubber piece on the malt pipe shouldn't be pushed down all the way."
I can't find it now but I remember reading that the rubber piece should be adjusted according to the level of the liquid.... something like two inches above. The first time I used it I trusted that the trub filter would do its job so I put hops in loose. I wasn't happy with the results so I'm going back to my hop spider again. I agree with the need for a port on the lid for adding a steam slayer. I had already decided that is a mod I would do in the future. The one thing I really miss that my Anvil Foundry had was a delay start feature so I could fill the unit up the night before brewday and have it turn on to reach strike temp in the morning.
I can't find it now but I remember reading that the rubber piece should be adjusted according to the level of the liquid.... something like two inches above. The first time I used it I trusted that the trub filter would do its job so I put hops in loose. I wasn't happy with the results so I'm going back to my hop spider again. I agree with the need for a port on the lid for adding a steam slayer. I had already decided that is a mod I would do in the future. The one thing I really miss that my Anvil Foundry had was a delay start feature so I could fill the unit up the night before brewday and have it turn on to reach strike temp in the morning.
Mine is on the way. If it makes beer, I'll be happy. I used to sit next to a turkey cooker and a gas flame, I bottled haha, and I was happy. It didn't even have bluetooth - imagine! This can't be worse than that.
After building up a capable 3V brewery with a lot of kettles, bling, electronics, etc, I'm ready to regress. I guess I'm in the sunset years of the hobby.
After building up a capable 3V brewery with a lot of kettles, bling, electronics, etc, I'm ready to regress. I guess I'm in the sunset years of the hobby.
calandryll
Well-Known Member
You've just decided to make it easier on yourself.
Brewed my second beer over the weekend, Alsatian Pilsner, brew day length was ~4 hours including clean up. I had the chiller in the entire time and hung my hop basket off of the middle bar. I ground a bit finer than last time but had a lot of gunk from the grain on the bottom and through the trub filter. But didn't seem like any went into my fermenter. I might try without the hop basket next brew, I typically only use about 2 oz. Not much of an IPA brewer. Also, hit 72% for both mash and brewhouse efficiency so at least I'm consistent.
Brewed my second beer over the weekend, Alsatian Pilsner, brew day length was ~4 hours including clean up. I had the chiller in the entire time and hung my hop basket off of the middle bar. I ground a bit finer than last time but had a lot of gunk from the grain on the bottom and through the trub filter. But didn't seem like any went into my fermenter. I might try without the hop basket next brew, I typically only use about 2 oz. Not much of an IPA brewer. Also, hit 72% for both mash and brewhouse efficiency so at least I'm consistent.
Received mine today (plus brew cube and shelf, immersion chiller, etc). It's very, very nice. It's essentially my 4th system, and the first system that wasn't kludged together by yours truly, so I guess I was impressed by the lack of kludge.
I got the brew cube assembled, fired up the SVBS. Heated water to 150. Played with the pump and various ports (recirc to the top RIMS waterfall, whirlpool. Tested the timer feature. All with water of course.
First impression: it's freaking awesome. I can't compare it to anything else except my monstrous 3 vessel 15g system. But for me, it's perfect. Brewday this weekend, I'll post here again with pics galore.
I got the brew cube assembled, fired up the SVBS. Heated water to 150. Played with the pump and various ports (recirc to the top RIMS waterfall, whirlpool. Tested the timer feature. All with water of course.
First impression: it's freaking awesome. I can't compare it to anything else except my monstrous 3 vessel 15g system. But for me, it's perfect. Brewday this weekend, I'll post here again with pics galore.
Don't forget you can also calibrate the thermo probe in the SVBS by matching it to whatever trusted thermometer you already have. Takes away the uncertainty of wondering if your strike & mash temps are really what is shown on the display.
I'm a manual reader haha. It was in there. I don't know if I have a thermometer that I trust, but I'll at least poke one in there tonight and see how well they agree. Tonight I'm going to do another dry run. I'm going to export the graph points (csv). I'll plot in excel and pop an image in this thread when I do.
I've been holding onto a RIMs tube for soooo long. Always meant to integrate it into my 3-vessel system, but never did. Gonna be sweet to have it built into this AIO. In case anyone looking at this thread decides they must have a large 3V system, take a look at what I'm selling below:
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/thread...chiller-stainless-glory.726292/#post-10246398
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/thread...chiller-stainless-glory.726292/#post-10246398
Well, actually I'll be updating the firmware first. I've got 18, and they released 19 in January. Coincidentally, one of the changes they made was to fix something with the CSV export. Wish me luck... firmware updates always make me anxious.
[edit] on second thought, I think I'll do the export with v18, then updated and do the same again. That way I can see what they changed.
https://www.ssbrewtech.com/pages/svbs-software
[edit] on second thought, I think I'll do the export with v18, then updated and do the same again. That way I can see what they changed.
https://www.ssbrewtech.com/pages/svbs-software
Thankfully, firmware upgrade was uneventful. Quick and painless. I did not notice any difference in the before and after exports. With v18, I ramped the temperature of 8.5g of water from ambient to 150F. Then, with v19, ramped from 150F to 199F.
About 20m to mash temp. About 15 from there to boil
About 20m to mash temp. About 15 from there to boil
One thing I really like about this AIO is that it all stores so neatly. They even supplied a neoprene storage hood for it. With the hood and lid removed, you can see that the mash basket, immersion chiller, and knock-out tubing/TC are all in there.
Your ramp up to mash temperature started at a higher temp than mine. I went from about 55F to 162F in 30 minutes. Ramp up to boil was about the same as yours. It reaches temp faster than my old Foundry 10.5 and I am really impressed with the chiller. The first brew used the IC from the Foundry and by the second brewday the SVBS chiller had arrived and chilled to pitching temp nearly twice as fast as the Foundry chiller.
I have a blichman therminator. I was considering plumbing it in (mounting on bottom shelf of cube). But based on your comment, I think I'll just stick with the immersion chiller. Not really sure yet though.
First brewday on the SVBS today. Went really well, but also some areas for improvement. Generally, brewing on it was a complete joy.
This thing does a great whirlpool, collecting all the crap in the middle. I'm still figuring that out, but I think the key is: start the chilling, divert the pump flow to the whirlpool for a few minutes, turn off the pump and let it settle.
This machine is built like a tank and worked great the whole way. The ONE issue I had is that you cannot toss the hops into the boil. They WILL clog the trub filter on the bottom of the thing, leaving a bunch of wort that doesn't get out of the tank (in theory, all of the wort should get out of the bottom drain. It's not really a big deal - hop spiders, hop bags are pretty common.
My efficiency SUCKED. 55%. Not sure what to attribute this to. I hope to brew a lot with this thing and figure it out.
Cleanup is something I was hoping to ease. With this machine, I'm using a wee battery-operated wetvac (DeWalt) to suck out all the trub/hop matter. Then it's a matter of PBW and the hose sprayer. Never tilted it, worked great.
The grain basket and trub filter are very easy to clean if you spray them with a hose. For basement brewers, I think you really at least a utility sink and a sprayer of some sort.
This thing does a great whirlpool, collecting all the crap in the middle. I'm still figuring that out, but I think the key is: start the chilling, divert the pump flow to the whirlpool for a few minutes, turn off the pump and let it settle.
This machine is built like a tank and worked great the whole way. The ONE issue I had is that you cannot toss the hops into the boil. They WILL clog the trub filter on the bottom of the thing, leaving a bunch of wort that doesn't get out of the tank (in theory, all of the wort should get out of the bottom drain. It's not really a big deal - hop spiders, hop bags are pretty common.
My efficiency SUCKED. 55%. Not sure what to attribute this to. I hope to brew a lot with this thing and figure it out.
Cleanup is something I was hoping to ease. With this machine, I'm using a wee battery-operated wetvac (DeWalt) to suck out all the trub/hop matter. Then it's a matter of PBW and the hose sprayer. Never tilted it, worked great.
The grain basket and trub filter are very easy to clean if you spray them with a hose. For basement brewers, I think you really at least a utility sink and a sprayer of some sort.
calandryll
Well-Known Member
Yeah, that's why I'm trying to figure out the best way to do a hop bag or spider.
What crush size did you use? So far 72% for both brews, so you might be able to go with a finer crush.
I've got a SS hop spider that I'm going to use. I think it's better than bags because I can remove the hops at the end of the boil, and 1) they won't get in the way of the whirlpool while cooling / dropping in my immersion chiller, 2) won't slow the cooling, and 3) won't add 5 IBU because I whirlpooled settled for 30m post-boil. If I'm making an IPA, #3 it doesn't matter so much, but for a pilsner (or similar), you really want to get your bitterness ratio correct.
So really, the spider is better than freeballing the hops in there.
I had my newish mill set to 0.035", but did not verify that. The crush looked right.
Clean up is one of the things I really, really don't like so far about this unit. Especially when using loose hops. After the first brew I went back to using my hop spider and I'm considering punching a hole and adding a 1.5" TC fitting for a CIP ball.
calandryll
Well-Known Member
That's about what I had my mill set at. Really interesting that big of a difference in efficiency between the two.
In the lid or a different area? I'm waiting to plumb my new sink before I decide on what to do with the lid/steam slayer. Steam wasn't so bad on the second batch.
@kevin58 @calandryll what chiller are you using?
I thought the immersion chiller did a pretty good job. My therminator would be much quicker, but I'd have to deal with the return to the kettle for the 10 minutes of sanitation and I don't feel like adding any further plumbing.
I thought the immersion chiller did a pretty good job. My therminator would be much quicker, but I'd have to deal with the return to the kettle for the 10 minutes of sanitation and I don't feel like adding any further plumbing.
I exported the temperature data and annotated. I was in no hurry. Next brew I'll probably shorten the mash period. I'll also be attempting some sort of sparge.
I’ve been crushing finer and have hit 72% on my last few brews, I think I was in the 50’s on my fist one . I’ve just used the Ss brewtech mill at my LHBS at +2 and that’s working great.
I’ve been throwing hops in loose also and just build up my loss by .25 gals and that has been working.
Steam slayer Has been awesome to use with it. The lids pretty thin so be careful if using a hole saw.
Cleaning has been my biggest gripe but I’ve got it down now. I take the basket outside and blast it with a high pressure hose fitting right on the basket. A quick hose down with the trub filter removed and the knockout open to get the gunk out and then a PBW soak takes care of the rest.
I’ve been throwing hops in loose also and just build up my loss by .25 gals and that has been working.
Steam slayer Has been awesome to use with it. The lids pretty thin so be careful if using a hole saw.
Cleaning has been my biggest gripe but I’ve got it down now. I take the basket outside and blast it with a high pressure hose fitting right on the basket. A quick hose down with the trub filter removed and the knockout open to get the gunk out and then a PBW soak takes care of the rest.
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That's almost exactly what my cleaning process is.
I'm thinking in the lid. I would use it for both a steam slayer and CIP ball.
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