The Lager Jacket

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Interesting. Pretty steep on the price but what should I expect. Would definitely want to hear a lot of reviews during all seasons before dropping 130 bucks to try it. And of course I would need 6 of them so maybe they aren't that cool after all.
 
Its weird how they are using it as a chiller too....

It would probably be a good product for people w/ limited space and large wallets
 
Interesting. Seems steep, but then a used mini fridge and controller would run you $130 easy. And when not in use I'm guessing this takes up less room.

Of course you can't put a corny keg in and dispense from like you can a fridge. Probably not for everyone, but certainly useful for many.

Would be interesting to see if this would mount to a 14g conical somehow. Would save the expense of peltier cooling unit mods or purchase of full sized fridge.
 
ack! if you ferment warm, you could DIE!

"Fermenting in too warm and variable temperatures will cause your yeast to produce compounds that are both bad for beer and bad for your health"
 
I don't think that's a bad price if it works. Seems like it only goes to 50F, which isn't low enough to make it worth it for me. If it went to 40 I would definitely consider it.

It would be a nice piece of equipment to allow me to ferment one lager while anotrher is lagering in the fridge.
 
BendBrewer said:
Interesting. Pretty steep on the price but what should I expect. Would definitely want to hear a lot of reviews during all seasons before dropping 130 bucks to try it. And of course I would need 6 of them so maybe they aren't that cool after all.
Click to expand...

Where did you get the $130 ? The site says $99.95 + free shipping. Did they drop the price in the last 1 1/2 hours? Maybe they read your post complaining about the high price. :)
 
motobrewer said:
how does it work?

$200 could buy a decent chest freezer.....but it does look neat.
Click to expand...

I haven't been able to find much info on this but I'll take a guess that it uses a Peltier cooler. They use them in battery powered pop coolers and small coolers you see in the newer Vans and SUV's

I should see if Peltier cells are cheaper now and try and build a test unit. That might be fun to play with. Definately wouldn't be hard. That unit has a small micro controller in it I would imagine to handle temperature control and digital display and settings.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thermoelectric_cooling
 
Well a whois search suggests that the site was just created on January 30th by somebody named Aaron Walls in Atlanta, GA. The order page just goes to a "notify me when this is available" email entry form. I'm guessing he's still working out the pricing...
 
When you go to the site, it sets a cookie and directs you to a random page that has different prices - hence reloading the page will always yield the same price. Opened up three different browsers, and got three different prices.

If it is a serious product, this does not make sense. If someone has a product and doesn't know what price it is going to sell out, it would logically err high and adjust down or not list a price at all.

My opinion is that if it is real, the person behind it does not know how to instill confidence into potential customers. ;-)
 
sad because if it worked well and was under $100 I think it would sell well. Hell.. I'd buy one and forget about building my fermentation chamber. PRobably wind up buying 2. But the randon price.. crap ass site smells like either a scam or somebody just plain doing market research. probably tracking clicks on the order or info button to see what price gets the most clicks before deciding what price to intro the product at for real or even if the product is feasable.

who is search lists the site owner as:

admin-c-firstname: Aaron
admin-c-lastname: Walls
admin-c-street1: 896 Charles Allen Dr NE
admin-c-street2: Apt 1
admin-c-pcode: 30308
admin-c-state: GA
admin-c-city: Atlanta
admin-c-ccode: US
admin-c-phone: +1.7062017136
admin-c-email: [email protected]

Anybody know this guy?
 
Hey everyone,

Aaron with Lager Jacket here, sorry for the confusion on the price, we're using google web optimizer to test the reaction to different price points. The jacket is still in its testing phases and we're seeing which price and feature set are most popular. We essentially have two different jacket designs, a lower powered jacket that has a lower temperature delta and would be good for stabilizing ales, and a higher powered variant for lagering. It's pretty neat tech, and we're excited about getting it out there.

Aaron

theonetrueruss said:
sad because if it worked well and was under $100 I think it would sell well. Hell.. I'd buy one and forget about building my fermentation chamber. PRobably wind up buying 2. But the randon price.. crap ass site smells like either a scam or somebody just plain doing market research. probably tracking clicks on the order or info button to see what price gets the most clicks before deciding what price to intro the product at for real or even if the product is feasable.

who is search lists the site owner as:

admin-c-firstname: Aaron
admin-c-lastname: Walls
admin-c-street1: 896 Charles Allen Dr NE
admin-c-street2: Apt 1
admin-c-pcode: 30308
admin-c-state: GA
admin-c-city: Atlanta
admin-c-ccode: US
admin-c-phone: +1.7062017136
admin-c-email: [email protected]

Anybody know this guy?
Click to expand...
 
aaronwalls said:
Hey everyone,

Aaron with Lager Jacket here, sorry for the confusion on the price, we're using google web optimizer to test the reaction to different price points. The jacket is still in its testing phases and we're seeing which price and feature set are most popular. We essentially have two different jacket designs, a lower powered jacket that has a lower temperature delta and would be good for stabilizing ales, and a higher powered variant for lagering. It's pretty neat tech, and we're excited about getting it out there.

Aaron
Click to expand...

Thanks for the information Aaron. Couple of questions, since we have your attention?

  • What is the adjustable range for both models? I ask not just for ales, which I would be interested in, but possibly stabilization at warmer temperatures for red wine. I am assuming the temperature must be set cooler than ambient?
  • What size carboys will it fit over?

Thanks for the info!
 
jmferris said:
Thanks for the information Aaron. Couple of questions, since we have your attention?

  • What is the adjustable range for both models? I ask not just for ales, which I would be interested in, but possibly stabilization at warmer temperatures for red wine. I am assuming the temperature must be set cooler than ambient?
  • What size carboys will it fit over?

Thanks for the info!
Click to expand...

The adjustable ranges would be a maximum of a 15 degree delta on the lower powered jacket, and 30 degrees on the higher powered jacket. So for example in the summer here in Atlanta we get temps of 90-100 outside, with indoor temps ranging from 75 - 80. The lower powered ale jacket would be able to take the fermentation temp down to 60-65 degrees, and the lager jacket would be able to bring it down to 45-50 degrees. The heat exchange is optimized for cooling, but will be able to generate small amounts of heat.

Airborneguy said:
When you say 'lagering' do you mean fermenting lagers or actual lagering temps?
Click to expand...

For lagering, we're referring to ideal lager fermentation temps, so 45-50 degrees.
 
rjwhite41 said:
That would be a primary fermentation temp for a lager. But lagering happens after that at a temp of 32-40.
Click to expand...

+1 I often take my lagers down below 32F during the big sleep. I like this concept, but the price is a little too steep for my budget and I think it would be most useful for ales. Lagers, not so much. I am also curious about the power consumption. IIRC, the peltier devices are not very energy efficient.
 
If it only handled lager primary fermentation, I don't know if it's worth it to me. If you can make it hit lagering temps, you would have a gold mine. To be able to drop a sleeve over a carboy and lager at 32F, without the huge footprint of a freezer would be worth around $200 to me easily.
 
RiverCityBrewer said:
Says $149.95 + free shipping when I looked at it... something seems off... especially with the mocked up pictures.
Click to expand...

What he is doing is gauging market interest, and probably also figuring out what google adwords are working by looking at where people are clicking from to get to his website. When you click on the "order now" that just sends him an email or logs an entry that says "this guy was willing to pay $XX".

Then he will do an analysis after a month or whatever to figure out what price to charge to get the most profit.
 
FWIW Aaron I think it is a cool product and it caught my attention but the price would have to come in under $100 for me to even consider it. Like someone else mentioned you can get a fridge or chest freezer for slightly more that will hold several carboys. I would have to order at least 2 of these if I were to use them.
 
Airborneguy said:
If it only handled lager primary fermentation, I don't know if it's worth it to me. If you can make it hit lagering temps, you would have a gold mine. To be able to drop a sleeve over a carboy and lager at 32F, without the huge footprint of a freezer would be worth around $200 to me easily.
Click to expand...

++ to this

Although, this has me interested in looking into peltier coolers again to see what can be done with current tech.
 
weirdboy said:
What he is doing is gauging market interest, and probably also figuring out what google adwords are working by looking at where people are clicking from to get to his website. When you click on the "order now" that just sends him an email or logs an entry that says "this guy was willing to pay $XX".

Then he will do an analysis after a month or whatever to figure out what price to charge to get the most profit.
Click to expand...

That is correct, we have working prototypes, but before we make the move to manufacture we need to know if it makes sense to even go that far. In which case the feedback here, unless we can get it down to 32F, it won't be as valuable to this community.
 
The pictures on the website are photoshopped! Show us the real thing even if it is in the prototype phase. That might boost confidence in your product.
 
aaronwalls said:
That is correct, we have working prototypes, but before we make the move to manufacture we need to know if it makes sense to even go that far. In which case the feedback here, unless we can get it down to 32F, it won't be as valuable to this community.
Click to expand...

not as valuable, but certainly useful. my basement right now is 55F and doesn't get much hotter than 70F in the summer.

but yes, it's all about price. i'd have a real hard time paying anything over $100. once you start getting into the cost of a chest freezer, it starts to lose its value.
 
For me I'd be willing to pay more, but only because I don't have the space for a chest freezer or refrigerator.

The way this works would make it extremely convenient to just stick the fermenter in a cabinet with a hole drilled in it for access to the power cord. I could just stick it in with the rest of my brewing equipment rather than needing a dedicated fermentation chamber or chest freezer.

However, I don't use carboys, so if I can't get it to fit on a bucket then it's not very useful to me.
 
nm999 said:
The pictures on the website are photoshopped! Show us the real thing even if it is in the prototype phase. That might boost confidence in your product.
Click to expand...

Yes, the picture is an artist rendition of the final design. We'll update the site as we progress.
 
Sounds interesting.
It might be good for ale fermentation during the summer when daytime temps are above 70 degrees.
Probably better than blowing air over ice in a ferm chamber.

Keep us updated!:D
 
where is the temp probe placed?

a provision to have a remote probe with ~5ft lead length so you could send it down a thermowell would be nice
 
Ah I have a technical question:

How does the insulation layer actually benefit the design? Assuming the inner layer is actually a peltier device, it seems like any insulation would keep the heat inside, rather than helping to cool it.
 

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