Unibrau V3

[augiedoggy]

I can get behind that. I just think this is a case of "Apple Computers" like I stated before. I knew going into what I was buying that DIY would be cheaper and probably "better", but that's not why I made my purchase. I most certainly don't feel like I've been taken advantage of as well.

But I can see your viewpoint. And again, to clear up any confusion, my Bayou kettle is not comparable to the Unibraus in any way. I've seen that claimed in a few threads.

I will keep that in mind. The reason I made the reference to the Bayou kettles was the comparison between the two was made on the older system between someone who had both a bayou Kettle and stated they both seem to be from the same maker. It would be easy enough to tell because a Bayou Classic title is not 304 stainless and is magnetic and works with induction.
Brau could easily have changed suppliers as well since then.

 

[DevilsCups]

It would be easy enough to tell because a Bayou Classic title is not 304 stainless and is magnetic and works with induction.

Gotcha. Yeah, my Bayou is tri-ply and induction capable (and works very well with induction). But the Unibrau is most certainly thicker with a way different finish to it.

Ultimately, at the time, it was this or the Grainfather for me. I didn't like that the Grainfather was an 8gal capacity (necessitating a sparge for pretty much everything I would brew) and that it wasn't nearly as modular. I was thinking long-term, if the element would crap out or something. It's internal, so the whole unit would have to be replaced. I'd like to think I would trust they would do the right thing post-warranty, but you never know.

 

[augiedoggy]

Well even the non triclad bottom Bayou kettles work with induction I own a few myself
Bayou used to advertise them at 304 stainless which of course was a lie because induction doesn't work well with 304 stainless.

 

[DevilsCups]

Well even the non triclad bottom Bayou kettles work with induction I own a few myself

I've heard rumor of that as well. At the time when I bought mine I needed one that definitely worked, and I tracked the price of the 10gal tri-ply on Amazon. It dipped to $75 one day and I snatched one up.

 

[augiedoggy]

I picked up my three 16 gallon Bayou kettles as open box buys off Amazon and eBay they came complete with ball valves for $125 shipped each.
It makes no difference that they are not 304 stainless to me because for home brewing applications they are fine we are not using the caustic or strong acids that are Brewery would use to clean them and that's the whole point behind the 304 stainless.

 

[DevilsCups]

I picked up my three 16 gallon Bayou kettles as open box buys off Amazon and eBay they came complete with ball valves for $125 shipped each.

Can't beat that. Drilling mine for the ball-valve was a slightly unpleasant experience.

Anyways, to get the thread back on track. I'll be brewing again next weekend using this system and I'll see how I fare second go around. My concerns are : a recipe with more hops and seeing how the handle and setup handles it, revisiting my boil temperature and trying to figure out a good way to whirlpool/hopstand.

 

[cheesebach]

Appreciate all the input/feedback here. I’ll be taking a closer look at clawhammer’s product as well.

Let us know how the whirlpool/hopstand goes. I’m not sure how I’d feel about having to use a hop basket on IPAs, so I’m curious how these systems handle high quantities of loose hops.

 

[DevilsCups]

Appreciate all the input/feedback here. I’ll be taking a closer look at clawhammer’s product as well.

Let us know how the whirlpool/hopstand goes. I’m not sure how I’d feel about having to use a hop basket on IPAs, so I’m curious how these systems handle high quantities of loose hops.

Being that the pump is powerful on the UBV3 I'm pretty confident that you can push a good amount through the pump and plate chiller. I'll try risking that at some point in the future maybe to try. Just not right now haha.

 

[augiedoggy]

Most of you already know this but regardless of the pump used, if you pump that trub through a plate chiller your kinda asking for trouble down the road. at least thats my understanding from the countless threads on that subject. The pump used in this system is still a bit weaker than the most common March and chugger pumps which most use.. Even in the probrewing community its an issue and why so many of those chillers can be disassembled and cleaned periodically.
I use a couple stainless hop spiders and even bought and tried the larger TC inline filter and the hop spiders work best for me to keep my plate chiller clean and not waste a lot of beer. I find that now that the hop spiders are only like $30 I can use both of them and this way I have less of a chance of hop utilization loss. made a scaulpin ipa clone which came out very well with them so...

I have never used the lwd? 120v elements in question here so I cant comment on whether scorching is more likely to occur with all those solids in the wort or not. texaswine or wilser should have experience in that regard.

 

[brausupply]

The older plastic pump that used to come with the Uni brau system is not food grade. I found the manufacturer and ask them on Alibaba where they sell those pumps for $15 a piece they responded that it is not food grade and that they are mainly designed to be used as utility pond pumps. I mentioned this in a thread and a couple weeks later those pumps were no longer being sold by Brau.. you can still buy them on eBay though for $15-20 you would think a company like that wouldn't sell something that obviously might not be safe considering the plastic that they were made out of was never designed to be used 4 food grade applications at that temperature.

I just don't like it when people get taken advantage of. I edited my post above and explained my reasons for bringing it up. I feel it's a valid thing to mention.

I just came across this thread and being the owner of Brau Supply, allow me to introduce myself. I absolutely respect Augie's perspective that DIY is a valid option, and I'm happy to support that. However there have been untruthful statements made by Augie about us, and I'd like to address this particular one, and add in a comment about our new system.

1. Our old plastic pumps we sold were in fact food grade pumps that were rated to 100ºC. They are not the same $15 pumps sold on Alie Express. Believe it or not, there are several plastic pump manufacturers in China.
2. Our new V3 system has many good reasons for us to charge $1199. We are not using an Inkbird or an STC-1000 controller, but a controller that is similar in looks but has upgraded internals to handle the power of the brewing element. This controller is outfitted with a 30A Hongfa (Japanese) relay inside, and also we use a custom made temperature probe which is tri-clamp instead of the cheap probes used. Temperature sensing is more accurate than the STC-1000, and the reason we went away from the PID and EZboil for control was simplicity. I cannot overstate how important it is to use a simple controller, and it just makes things more enjoyable. There are lots of fantastic PID's out there that can maintain temperature accurately, but the challenge of programming, and the need to re-tune them every time you switch recipes is inconvenient. When brewing 120V there just isn't much overshoot, and tight control is possible with our new design. If in fact, you actually were to go part by part through our V3 build, you would see that you will spend more than $1200 to get the same (and by that I mean apples to apples comparisons, not substitutions). Our kettle is made of 5mm tri-clad bottom with 1.2mm thick walls. Yes, these are better quality than our competitors kettles, and adding tri-clamp ferrules makes them even more so. I can go on, but I'd rather you all read to the end of this post, and you all can feel free to email me through my site if you have any more questions.

Finally, Augie, this is a personal and public appeal to you to cut it out. We've never met, and I agree it seems you have an axe to grind with our company, yet you haven't taken the time to introduce yourself to me. I'm not sure if you realize that your negativity affects others, and that there are human beings behind all of the companies who are just trying to make a living. The people behind these brewing solutions aren't trying to rip people off, or 'take advantage of others' as you eloquently put it, but we're trying to make products to be consumed by people who want to spend the money and who appreciate good design. I'll say again, I understand your perspective of DIY, but trashing those who try and produce good solutions isn't the answer.

Defamation is a serious thing, it's ugly, and it hurts people and their business. I think you can rise above it Augie, and I hope after this it will stop. Instead of posting untruths, I encourage you to email me personally about anything you think I've done and allow me to personally rectify it. I'm sure you know how to find me, and I'll be sure to respond.

Peace,
Steven

 

[augiedoggy]

The pumps were the same as the ones you sold. Same label painted on them and same model number I'm fully aware of the many different pumps that are made in China. I was comparing "apples to apples" this ip68 pumps here
https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https://www.ebay.com/ulk/itm/121211769990

if you would like me to I will purchase one and post the pics here along with the Alibaba email response I got from the manufacturer? This way someone who has one of your pumps can chime in on whether is the same one? If the bare magnet inside is exposed and cooled by the wort which I believe it is, it's not a food grade pump at all. Just because it's designed to stay running at high temps has nothing to do with how stable and foodsafe the plastic is at those temps. Even food coolers are only foodsafe to 170 degrees.

As far as the probes go I was commenting on what type they were and not how they mount in the kettle. They are same thermister as the STC uses and not the superior performing rtds that your older ezboil panel uses. Or is that not the case?

Also curious What purpose does a triclad bottom serve on an electric kettle? I would think it would actually more as a heatsink and hurt that help?

No defamation here. just pointing out some things others and myself noticed about the off the shelf components and type of controller you use in your systems. You claim what I'm saying isn't true but I really don't believe that's the case. What exactly isn't true? The cost of most of your components separately? The fact that I stated your old plastic pumps were not food grade when everyone else who sold the exact same model number pump advertised them as utility/pond pumps or at the least hot water solar pumps?
You yourself commented on Facebook that your new controller was a modified STC 1000 with the relay swapped for the SSR. I never said anything about your controller being an inkbird controller... There at least a half a dozen companies making stc1000 variants. I own a couple dozen of these and many are different.. My opinion as well as I'm will to guess many others is none of these hysterisis temp controllers work as well at holding exact temps as a pid would. Others came to the same conclusion..

 

[DevilsCups]

Well, all I can say is I'm very happy with the finish and functionality of the V3. All the other secondary stuff like this controller is better than controller, thermostats etc. etc. I don't care to speak towards. I set my mash temp, recirc'd and it held where I wanted it to. Not rocket science and I couldn't ask for much more.

 

[cheesebach]

Temperature sensing is more accurate than the STC-1000, and the reason we went away from the PID and EZboil for control was simplicity. I cannot overstate how important it is to use a simple controller, and it just makes things more enjoyable. There are lots of fantastic PID's out there that can maintain temperature accurately, but the challenge of programming, and the need to re-tune them every time you switch recipes is inconvenient. When brewing 120V there just isn't much overshoot, and tight control is possible with our new design.

Hi Steven, I appreciate you dropping in to help clarify a few points on the new system. I'm sure I could ask this question directly through your website, but since you made the comment here, I was wondering if you'd explain a little more on this decision to switch to this new controller?

I don't personally have experience in using the EZboil, but I do have a couple STC-1000 variants that I use for fermentation which look to have a similar interface to the new controller. In what way(s) do you see the new controller as being easier to use than the EZboil? From what I can see, it looks like the main difference is using a dial vs. buttons to edit settings. In my experience, holding the up/down button to make an adjustment of say 10-15 degrees or something can be somewhat of a nuisance. The buttons require a firm press, and it can take a bit of time holding the button to make changes at 0.1F increments. From what I know about the EZboil, it seems like a dial would make step mash temp adjustments a bit easier, plus it has the convenience of throttling down the power as it nears the boil if I happen to not be paying attention. I realize some of these things are probably just personal preference, and not necessarily deal breakers for me.

Secondly, it appears you sell the EZboil controller with the tri-clamp probe on your website still. Could the EZboil controller be offered as an upgrade option for the unibrau V3, or is there another reason that you don't currently offer that controller as part of a system? (Feel free to PM me if you'd prefer not to answer this last question in this thread).

 

[NewJersey]

has anything changed since this thread started?
i was looking at this system and am unsure.
I'd love to hear more about the different temp controllers and 240v 5500w element.

 

[DevilsCups]

has anything changed since this thread started?
i was looking at this system and am unsure.
I'd love to hear more about the different temp controllers and 240v 5500w element.

I've been using mine for a little while now. Upgraded to the dual element setup with 2x1600w elements. It's a must IMO if anyone plans on brewing on 110/120v. The single element works, but the dual elements are just so much better with heating times and boil.

So far the system has been great. I only have a few small gripes/issues that I'll list below:

- I get a decent amount of husk material in the wort post-mash, even with a pretty standard crush. Hasn't caused any issues with the pump/chiller, and no issues with off-flavors, so I suppose maybe it's just me being a little overly-critical. Maybe finer strain holes in the grain basket would do better? Ultimately, not a huge deal.

- I highly, highly prefer to just dump hop pellets directly into my boils, but I don't do that with the Unibrau in fear of gunking up the chiller with hop matter. Not a worry about flow through the chiller, more of sanitation. I always use hop-baskets, but had to upgrade to the larger basket Brau Supply sells. The smaller one barely gets submerged into the wort in a 6-7 gallon boil. I'd recommend they consider just selling the unit with the bigger basket included.

- Cleanup can be a little challenging when brewing indoors in a small apartment like I have. However, it's doable when you get a little creative. The grain basket just barely fits in my kitchen sink, and cleaning/dumping the kettle with the pump and elements attached can be a gentle procedure.

All-in-all, I'm happy with the system for sure. I rent this apartment, and I have access to 240v at the moment so I can still use my Avantco induction plate and cooler mash tun if needed. If I ever move to an apartment that doesn't have 240v power I'm confident that the Unibrau setup can let me continue to make most of the beers I typically do. I suppose even if I wanted to try a massive imperial stout (20+lbs of grain), I would use the Unibrau to heat my strike water, transfer to mash in my cooler, then boil in the Unibrau. I just wouldn't have the recirculation in that case.

 

[NewJersey]

I'm at a weird point in my brewing life. I have a pretty good setup for 10 gallon batches. Three keggles, two blichman burners on natural gas, and i have a plate chiller that I've come to hate. i think i preferred my old IC serup. (50 ft coil in ice bath feeding 50ft in the wort) I also bought a custom 20 gallon spike V3 that i have yet to use and may never use.
I realize now that I am only ever going to make 5 gallon batches and I want an easier brew day.
What do you guys think of using this without the electric elements and just run it on gas? I'm after a simpler and faster brew day.
Is there an option to buy the kettles, hoses, fittings, and chiller together? (I have a pump that i prefer)

 

[NewJersey]

I've spent all morning reading about various EBIAB setups. (Clawhammer, high gravity, grounded brewing, and blichmann) and have come to the conclusion that I'm really liking the idea of semi-automated electric brewing and not sparging. I've watched all the videos, read a bunch of reviews, and threads on here also. I REALLY like the idea of of 240v 5500w but then convienence and cost are compromised.
the extra 1600w option looks nice, but I like the automated etc more and more. Too bad there isn't an etc that can just control BOTH 1600 watt elements. Sorry for all the thinking out loud here, but I'm very hyped on this system and always want the most feedback i can get. Cheers!

also, do you guys prefer the standard etc or the ezboil and why?
another edit- I'm on their site now and the 240v 5500w option is "unavailable" and a price isn't displayed.

 

[hezagenius]

Too bad there isn't an etc that can just control BOTH 1600 watt elements

I looked into a dual 1600W system at one point (and haven't totally ruled it out at some point in the future) because I think being able to do a brew in the kitchen would be convenient, especially in the winter. The downside to the dual 1600W system if you are doing it in a typically wired house/apartment is that you will need each element on a different breaker. Because of that, I don't think there is an temp controller that would be able to handle it. At full blast, 2 1600W elements would be pulling over 20A on 120V wiring so you would likely need some custom wiring to handle it. And if you are going to do custom wiring, then you might as well just go 240V.

One solution is to have one 1600W at full blast all the time and use a temp controller to manage the other 1600W. I don't know if 1 1600W element generates too much heat for a mash or not enough. If it's too much, then you could use the element on the temp controller to manage the mash temp. If it's not enough, then you go full blast with 1 element and the temp controller could handle the other element. But you would still need separate breakers for each element.

 

[NewJersey]

From reading here on HBT i was under the impression that the V2 unibrau already had two 1600w elements being controlled by the etc on one circuit. Was that not the case? I cannot actually find any pics of said controller or any other info other than huys on here mentioning it.

 

[NewJersey]

is an etc that controls both elements but uses separate power sources (two power in that you would plug into separate outlets on separate circuits) an crazy idea?

 

[hezagenius]

@NewJersey
The controller that Brau sells controls 1 element. You can add a 2nd 1600 element but you need a separate breaker to run it. Two 1600W elements would draw too much power for a single 15A or 20A circuit to handle.

Could a controller be built that has 2 power sources? I guess? But it would probably be a custom job. Might as well just have 2 controllers, each controlling 1 element.

I assume you are wanting to run this setup on 120V wiring, right?

 

[NewJersey]

yes, that would be preferred.

 

[hezagenius]

@NewJersey
On 120V wiring and assuming you don't have outlets over 20A, you can't have two 1600W elements on the same breaker. Each element will pull 13+ amps so you will trip the breaker. If you want to use two 1600W elements, you will need to plug each one into a separate breaker.

For mashing, you might be able to get by with one 1600W element. That will depend on your water volume and mash temp. If an uncontrolled 1600W element will heat the water higher than your mash temp, then you would want the element plugged into controller to maintain your temp and leave the other one unplugged. If an uncontrolled 1600W element doesn't quite get you to your mash temp, then have one element plugged in uncontrolled and have the other element plugged into the controller to get you the rest of the way there.

For boiling, you will for sure need both elements so you could have one going full blast and the other connected to a controller to control the boil intensity.

Bottom line, if you want two 1600W elements, you will need to plug each one into a separate breaker and you should only need of them to be plugged into a controller.

 

[NewJersey]

I full understand what you're saying and that i would only NEED one element plugged into a controller. I was wondering if there was any way to get what i WANT.
I suppose their current solution would work just fine tho. Can the kettle be modified by unibrau? I think I would like the temp sensor in the kettle as apposed to their solution. (i want one more hole an tc fitting)

 

[hezagenius]

I've never seen a 120V controller that is capable of controlling 2 elements.

I don't even know if a 120V controller is capable of it, but if it can, I suppose it's possible to have one built but it would require 2 sources of power so you'd have to plug it into 2 outlets connected to separate breakers. You could contact a controller builder like Auber or Grounded to see what they can do. Won't be cheap.

 

[DevilsCups]

I heat my strike water with the two elements, one with the controller and one at full-blast plugged directly into an outlet on a separate breaker. When I get to my mash temp I just unplug the full-blast element. The controlled 1600w element maintains mash temps perfectly. When it's time to boil I just plug them both in and fire away with both. It's a vigorous boil at 3200w, but not too much so.

 

[NewJersey]

i understand the process using them seperatley. I was just hoping to have them both controlled. I guess it's no biggy in reality. I'm actually still considering the 240v 5500 watt option. Maybe they'll have a Christmas sale. No rush i guess and I appreciate the OP making this thread and all the comments adressing my concerns. Love this forum

anybody on here actually using the 240v 5500 watt setup? any insight?

 

[DevilsCups]

[QUOTE="NewJersey, post: 8405458, member: 134700"I was just hoping to have them both controlled. I guess it's no biggy in reality. [/QUOTE]

I hear you. In using the dual elements I have not yet wished for a controller for the second element, as I don't need the second element when mashing, and I need it at full blast for the boil. I just have to keep an eye on the strike water heating as it will overshoot if I don't unplug it in time. That's the one drawback.

 

[NewJersey]

Unibrau's own website says the 240v option is "unavailable".

 

[NewJersey]

I thought it would be easy to have two 1600w elements controlled together, but see now it's more difficult than I assumed.