The Stasis - A glycol system designed for homebrewers - Pre-Order now for $599

[jjjjfrench]

are you saying that "cool" is quantifiable?

Actually yes, to 'cool' is to lower the temperature from ambient....

 

[jjjjfrench]

You seem rattled and confused.

Companies are responsible for sales hype and untrue statements. At least this company was documented with their promises to a reporter, promises on their website and promises on this thread. They knew about the loud noise level before production and decided to do nothing. Their "engineers" have not found a solution.

I can tell you haven't read this entire thread or other threads involving glycol chillers. Otherwise, you would not have made the comment "For God's sake, do you (sic) homework!" Why do I say that you ask? Because as been posted in many threads, I did my homework and bought an Icemaster 100 glycol chiller!

Maybe you did read that in a post somewhere, but in your rush to reply, you forgot. Personally, I think for some reason you were rattled. It happens to all of us.

Not rattled and confused (maybe just confused, like when you step into a rattlesnake den?)
I have followed the thread all the way through to its sad and seemingly unending conclusion.
All I'm suggesting is that consumers bear some responsibility. I'm sure I will be scolded for this. But when Jack came home with a handful of magic beans, I'm pretty sure his mom was not happy.

 

[CodeSection]

Not rattled and confused (maybe just confused, like when you step into a rattlesnake den?)
I have followed the thread all the way through to its sad and seemingly unending conclusion.
All I'm suggesting is that consumers bear some responsibility. I'm sure I will be scolded for this. But when Jack came home with a handful of magic beans, I'm pretty sure his mom was not happy.

I don't think you are going to win many friends by insinuating consumers are stupid or greedy and should bear some responsibility. It wasn't that they were being offered something soooo cheap that they should have been alerted there were problems.

I'm guessing when you write the consumers bear some responsibility you are referring to them believing the marketing hype and you are not blaming the consumers for the high amount of noise some owners are experiencing. As a reminder, the company, not the consumers, made public assurances to correct the noise/loudness problem before production.

I believe blaming the consumers is so naive. If one follows your logic, that the consumer should bear some responsibility, then the consumer should simply ignore any communication or assurances from the company. Especially those communications from the company that were reported in Posts #184 & #204 in order for the consumer to avoid being blamed from someone like you. So, going forward, as strange as it sounds, according to you and your logic, the consumer should not believe anything. Talk about killing company sales!

At the end of the day, the consumers, or buyers in this case, did not cause these problems. It is a futile attempt to try to redirect focus away from the company and of the company's communications and unacceptable actions that many have expressed frustrations with.

 

[birzzz]

Actually yes, to 'cool' is to lower the temperature from ambient....

Oh I see. So an AC that would be able to cool from 90f to 89f in summer would be perfectly fine and acceptable.

Great thinking my friend.

 

[hootowl]

I've been posting on forums literally for 25 years. Different hobbies, radio control helicopters, diesel trucks, corvette forums and such. You learn a certain etiquette when it comes to posting about vendors and products, especially early on. We usually keep our ranting to private conversations and allow the smoke to clear. Continually trashing a company in public on a very well known forum before they have a reasonable chance to take care of things was a no-no but not everyone cares. I've seen this type of behavior before and it just makes me cringe.

 

[ajbosley2015]

The real question for Craft a Brew is when they are going to design a lid with incorporated hop charge so you don't have to worry about the lid and gasket when you dryhop. Fatal flaw

 

[hootowl]

I had the Catalyst and would dry hop through the airlock.

 

[ajbosley2015]

I had the Catalyst and would dry hop through the airlock.

Yeah definitely, but that doesnt enable you to put your hops in something like a depth charge to reduce the amount of residue in the beer. We all want to increase yield, and Catalyst hasn't followed suit with any of the big guys. Hell, attach another butterfly valve to the lid and allow for minimal oxidation as well.

Instead of offering Stasis (which lets face it, doesnt tailor itself to the large market because those willing to glycol chill dont buy cheap 200 dollar plastic fermenters (I have two), how about you offer a design change that tailors to almost all brewers. Replacement lid with attached butterfly valve and enclosed sightglass, with hop charge on the bottom. Hell, maybe I'll make one now. great idea I have

 

[hootowl]

I like the way you think.

 

[Thorrak]

So, after the fiasco with the noise of the Stasis, I ended up getting a Blichmann glycol chiller based on this post:

View attachment 677013

Not in the same range...

The chiller arrived yesterday and is sitting behind me - my glycol arrived today, but was apparently stolen from our apartment complex's lobby. If I had to choose between the two packages, I'm glad they managed to get the Glycol - but I'm certainly annoyed that I won't have a chance to test out the Blichmann noise level until tomorrow at a minimum. Fingers crossed this review measured the noise level accurately, and I won't end up having to find out if MoreBeer's return policy is better than Craft-a-brew's!

 

[CodeSection]

So, after the fiasco with the noise of the Stasis, I ended up getting a Blichmann glycol chiller based on this post:

The chiller arrived yesterday and is sitting behind me - my glycol arrived today, but was apparently stolen from our apartment complex's lobby. .....Fingers crossed this review measured the noise level accurately, and I won't end up having to find out if MoreBeer's return policy is better than Craft-a-brew's!

Sorry to hear about the theft. I wonder what they thought they were stealing as glycol has limited uses....maybe they thought it was hand sanitizer or they were going to use it to make hand sanitizer.

Rest assured, MoreBeer firmly stands behind their warranty......period.

 

[Nate R]

Agree.
Morebeer customer service is awesome.
Also, Blichmann customer service seems awesome.
It sounds like CraftABrews return policy is non-existent according to a backer above.

 

[Adam Zerwick]

Have any of you had problems with the Stasis running but not actually chilling? I sent out an email to CraftABrew but wanted to check here as well to make sure I'm not doing something boneheaded. This morning I set the Stasis to 36F to start cold crashing and it's been cycling on and off and hasn't dropped the temperature at all. It's maintaining a temp of 62F in a room that is about 70F. This is the first time I'm using my Spike Flex+ as well so it's possible I've got the in/out on the cooling coil swapped but I'd imagine the Stasis should still drop the temp.

 

[hootowl]

When I first set up I accidentally used the wrong probe.

 

[Adam Zerwick]

I'm definitely using the correct probe Good suggestion though.

I definitely hear the pump spinning. The only thing I can think of is the pump is struggling with height of the fermenter... I have the Stasis on the ground and the fermenter on a workbench above the Stasis. The way I've got things setup, the Stasis would need to pump the glycol 4 feet above it to the coil input.

When I first set up I accidentally used the wrong probe.

 

[hootowl]

I'm definitely using the correct probe Good suggestion though.

I definitely hear the pump spinning. The only thing I can think of is the pump is struggling with height of the fermenter... I have the Stasis on the ground and the fermenter on a workbench above the Stasis. The way I've got things setup, the Stasis would need to pump the glycol 4 feet above it to the coil input.

I think I read a height difference is not good. Pumps have what's called a maximum head. Try putting them on the same level.

 

[Adam Zerwick]

Yup that was it! I put the Stasis level with my fermenter and all is well now. Lesson learned

 

[hootowl]

Yup that was it! I put the Stasis level with my fermenter and all is well now. Lesson learned

Awesome

 

[jjjjfrench]

I am having another issue with my Stasis, but I am working with Craft-a-Brew to get it resolved. Once the issue is resolved I'll post explaining the issue and how they handled it. So far the experience has been reasonably positive.

Issue is now resolved, and as I promised, I'll post the outcome.
My first Stasis, ordered through kickstarter, sat in my basement in its box for about 3 weeks. When I finally pulled it out and and set it up, it did not chill. I had it hooked up to my fermenter and in ran straight for 12 hours and brought the temperature down only about 2-3 deg below ambient.

To ensure there wasn't an issue with the level of the stasis compared to my fermenter, I retested by hooking a small section of the 'out line' straight back to the 'in one', left the thermometer open to the environment and set the chiller to 45 deg. The I used a long temperature probe to measure the temperature of the glycol bath. Sure enough, it only cooled a few degrees.

I emailed Craft-a-brew back and forth over the course of about a week, sent them a short video, and they agreed that either the compressor wasn't working properly or the refrigerant had leaked out (or was never properly filled..). New Stasis arrived Thursday. I tested it this weekend and took 12 gallons of water at 77 deg to 45 deg in about 2.5 hours. It maintained 45 deg for 24 hours, so I thinks its now good enough for its first brew.

Overall, my experience with Craft-a-brew was positive. Sure its a bummer to get a bad unit out of the box, but they made it right.

-Jeff

 

[birzzz]

So, after the fiasco with the noise of the Stasis, I ended up getting a Blichmann glycol chiller based on this post:



The chiller arrived yesterday and is sitting behind me - my glycol arrived today, but was apparently stolen from our apartment complex's lobby. If I had to choose between the two packages, I'm glad they managed to get the Glycol - but I'm certainly annoyed that I won't have a chance to test out the Blichmann noise level until tomorrow at a minimum. Fingers crossed this review measured the noise level accurately, and I won't end up having to find out if MoreBeer's return policy is better than Craft-a-brew's!

So, did you have the chance to test the Blichmann unit yet? I'm really curious about the difference in noise level.

Thanks,

 

[Thorrak]

So, did you have the chance to test the Blichmann unit yet? I'm really curious about the difference in noise level.

Thanks,

I did!

The Stasis clocked in at 69 dB at 3 ft
The Blichmann clocked in at 57 dB at 3 ft, so about ~1/3-1/2 as loud

For another data point, @chucknorris101 was kind enough to pull a noise reading off the IceMaster 100 - At ~3 ft. he was getting a reading that was right around 55 dB at 3ft.

Unfortunately for me, all of those are too loud for my apartment, but all of them are a LOT quieter than the Stasis. I'm a bit upset that the measurement the guy in the video pulled from his Blichmann must have been with the compressor off, as 46 dB would have been perfect (and now I'm stuck with return shipping on something that weighs 70lbs+) but c'est la vie.

As a side note - the Blichmann chills like a beast, and is incredibly well insulated. The fact that it has a 7.5 gallon reservoir helps.

 

[Nate R]

I did!

The Stasis clocked in at 69 dB at 3 ft
The Blichmann clocked in at 57 dB at 3 ft, so about ~1/3-1/2 as loud

For another data point, @chucknorris101 was kind enough to pull a noise reading off the IceMaster 100 - At ~3 ft. he was getting a reading that was right around 55 dB at 3ft.

Unfortunately for me, all of those are too loud for my apartment, but all of them are a LOT quieter than the Stasis. I'm a bit upset that the measurement the guy in the video pulled from his Blichmann must have been with the compressor off, as 46 dB would have been perfect (and now I'm stuck with return shipping on something that weighs 70lbs+) but c'est la vie.

As a side note - the Blichmann chills like a beast, and is incredibly well insulated. The fact that it has a 7.5 gallon reservoir helps.

I'll happily send you a prepaid shipping label for your Blichmann right to me, and then, uh... drop you a check for the unit once I get it, yeah. Just DM!

 

[Thorrak]

I'll happily send you a prepaid shipping label for your Blichmann right to me, and then, uh... drop you a check for the unit once I get it, yeah. Just DM!

The sad thing is that if you were interested in a CF5, I might take you up on that. The end result of all of this is that I now have a Flex+ and CF5, but can't use the CF5 until we move and I can get a glycol chiller. Until then I have a monument to Kickstarter sitting in the corner of my room

 

[Nate R]

The sad thing is that if you were interested in a CF5, I might take you up on that. The end result of all of this is that I now have a Flex+ and CF5, but can't use the CF5 until we move and I can get a glycol chiller. Until then I have a monument to Kickstarter sitting in the corner of my room

View attachment 681009

Actually, i AM looking for another cf5! Ha! Are you really planning on selling it? The problem is I am in Cali, you are in NY. Shipping is outrageous! But I bet you can sell your cf5 in about day on here, maybe less!

 

[Thorrak]

Actually, i AM looking for another cf5! Ha! Are you really planning on selling it? The problem is I am in Cali, you are in NY. Shipping is outrageous! But I bet you can sell your cf5 in about day on here, maybe less!

I'm on the fence -- The question is how much it's worth it to me not to have to store it somewhere for an indeterminate amount of time. If we knew we were going to have a house in 6 months, then I'd absolutely keep it. If I knew we weren't going to find a house for ~3 years, then I'd absolutely sell it (knowing full well I'd end up buying it again as soon as I could put it to use)

 

[Trevor Mack]

Have any of you had problems with the Stasis running but not actually chilling? I sent out an email to CraftABrew but wanted to check here as well to make sure I'm not doing something boneheaded. This morning I set the Stasis to 36F to start cold crashing and it's been cycling on and off and hasn't dropped the temperature at all. It's maintaining a temp of 62F in a room that is about 70F. This is the first time I'm using my Spike Flex+ as well so it's possible I've got the in/out on the cooling coil swapped but I'd imagine the Stasis should still drop the temp.

I had this happen to me as well after testing both pumps individually it was only the first pump that was broken and I have a replacement unit that just had a shipping label printed today so likely to have a replacement in a week or so. Initially I also noticed that the pump doesn't have enough power to push against gravity for 4+ feet, and should be stored near the same level as the fermentors it is chilling.

 

[Gruel]

I did!

The Stasis clocked in at 69 dB at 3 ft
The Blichmann clocked in at 57 dB at 3 ft, so about ~1/3-1/2 as loud

For another data point, @chucknorris101 was kind enough to pull a noise reading off the IceMaster 100 - At ~3 ft. he was getting a reading that was right around 55 dB at 3ft.

For what it's worth, the fan on my ~50W Peltier cooler produces 50dB at 3ft (measured with the phone looking straight at the radiator inlet) as per the 'physics tool suite' on my Nexus 6. I don't think I have a good way to calibrate it, but an air filter at 3ft is about 55dB on the third of four levels.

I'm sure you could build a noise baffling enclosure for the Stasis, or any of these units, but it would make them bulkier and heavier and more awkward to use. Fitting bigger slower fans (assuming it's the fans that produce the noise) would be another option, but require real surgery.

 

[birzzz]

For what it's worth, the fan on my ~50W Peltier cooler produces 50dB at 3ft (measured with the phone looking straight at the radiator inlet) as per the 'physics tool suite' on my Nexus 6. I don't think I have a good way to calibrate it, but an air filter at 3ft is about 55dB on the third of four levels.

I'm sure you could build a noise baffling enclosure for the Stasis, or any of these units, but it would make them bulkier and heavier and more awkward to use. Fitting bigger slower fans (assuming it's the fans that produce the noise) would be another option, but require real surgery.

It's the compressor, not the fan that makes the most noise out of the unit. Even if you take out the rattling issue, which is so bad on my unit.

Any of you with the ratlling issue have been contacted since they furst contacted us to loosen 2 screws? This didn't help at all in my case. Since then, I have contacted the m several times, but no reply from them as of yet.

Cheers

 

[CodeSection]

It's the compressor, not the fan that makes the most noise out of the unit. Even if you take out the rattling issue, which is so bad on my unit.

Any of you with the ratlling issue have been contacted since they furst contacted us to loosen 2 screws? This didn't help at all in my case. Since then, I have contacted the m several times, but no reply from them as of yet.

Cheers

Day 312 (July 16, 2019) since it was established by a reporter that the unit had excessive noise.

Day 312 (July 16, 2019) since company told reporter that would be fixed.

Day 52 (April 2, 2020) since first HBT member complained about the high noise.

Day 39 (April 15, 2020) since company "engineers" suggested loosening screws would be a solution.

It appears the company is not taking the noise issue seriously. Maybe in the long run it might be worth selling your Stasis as another HBT member has. Then you can buy from a reputable different manufacturer that has a better functioning and proven glycol chiller. That way you will not have to endure the high noise level (from the compressor, fan noise, and case sheet metal rattling) and low pump head pressure.

 

[StoutNoDoubt]

I posted a quick review of the Stasis glycol chilling system here. Cheers! And subscribe if you like the content.
Craft A Brew's Stasis Glycol Chiller Review