Ace micro brewer

[billmcc]

Hiya mgkpancake does it alarm at the end of each stage please.
PS great post

 

[mgkpancake]

Hiya mgkpancake does it alarm at the end of each stage please.
PS great post

Hey Bill. Not sure to be honest as I have not gone through it. When I took the control board cover off I did not see a peizo (sound making device) soldered or otherwise. I don't see it featured but when I do a batch, I'll update on here :)

 

[galaxian]

Guys, I noticed the heating element appears to be permanently welded to the bottom, do these elements ever fail, and if it did would it be able to be repaired ?

 

[soupdragon]

Can't say I've noticed the element but you have a very good point

Cheers. Tom

 

[BeerCat]

Yes, I asked the question because soupdragon has been discussing how to clean the burnt residue off the boiler mask, so presumably he's getting a bit too much heat near the grain at some stage.

The basic ACE boiler has enough insulation to maintain mash temp to within a degree anyway, I'd assumed that this would too.

I have had this problem and made scorched beers. Bad thing is i didn't even notice until i sent one of to the comp.

It was because there was too much silt on the bottom during the boil. Since i started recirculating i got cleaner wort and does not burn. I literally had to scrape it off with a paint stripper and then use wire wool. I have done step mashes since and no problem.

 

[mgkpancake]

I have had this problem and made scorched beers. Bad thing is i didn't even notice until i sent one of to the comp.

It was because there was too much silt on the bottom during the boil. Since i started recirculating i got cleaner wort and does not burn. I literally had to scrape it off with a paint stripper and then use wire wool. I have done step mashes since and no problem.

My kettles back home that used propane would develop a scale on the bottom. No amount of PBW or soap would remove it. I was able to find a solution just soaking it in white vinegar for 10-30 minutes. The stuff would come right off. :thumb:

Since it DOESN'T have an exposed element, I see this as a benefit for cleaning. Unfortunately I don't think you'd be able to replace it without considerable effort (ceramic paste or hardening agent soft welded element to bottom plate)

 

[BeerCat]

My kettles back home that used propane would develop a scale on the bottom. No amount of PBW or soap would remove it. I was able to find a solution just soaking it in white vinegar for 10-30 minutes. The stuff would come right off. :thumb:

Since it DOESN'T have an exposed element, I see this as a benefit for cleaning. Unfortunately I don't think you'd be able to replace it without considerable effort (ceramic paste or hardening agent soft welded element to bottom plate)

Vinegar has so many cool uses, will remember that. Best thing to do is try and get your wort as clear as possible. Even wash the boiler out before you start the boil. I used to get a lot of blockages as well when i mashed in the bag. The pump really takes it up a whole new level as recirculating acts as a filter.

 

[appositive]

Hi All,

I ordered one of the micro brewery units mid-january (it's a Klarstein branded one, but identical to the ace unit). When I was considering the purchase, this thread was one of the few sources of information I could find online (along with the youtube videos posted by people on this thread, and the 'IPA' brewday thread on another forum). I just finished my second brew with the unit and thought I'd scribble down my general impression and a few specifics.

Full disclosure: I'm new to brewing... before recent brews on the Klarstein have made about 6 extract or partial mash batches.

General impression when I received the brewer was pretty good... it's a little on the flimsy side of things (not a braumeister), but that was expected at the price point. And has it's advantages... the kettle is pretty easy to manhandle. One minor complaint: the recirculation faucet didn't fit into the glass lid when the lid was closed. Had to bend it a little to make it fit, which is a little harder than you'd think. Not a big deal, but sort of a sign of low quality control. Again, no surprise; I bought it for less than half the price of the grainfather.

When I got the unit I did a mock run, just to make sure everything worked. Had no troubles. But first brew was a disaster. After mashing in, for some reason it kept blowing an internal breaker... the unit would switch off after some random amount of time before turning itself back on some 15 seconds later. I couldn't for the life of me figure out why. It made for a rough brew day... didn't want to waste the batch, so spent a few hours lying on the floor in order to reach the not-so-convenient control panel and reset temprature etc. after each reset. Didn't hit my target SG by a longshot (but topped up with LME, effectively brewed a partial mash batch that should be ok).

Ran another mock brew the next day, did everything as per real brew except mash in. Had no troubles. Did a real brew today, holding my breath the whole time. Went smooth as butter.

No clue what the trouble was, but I'm hoping it's gone. Perhaps something was blocking the pump, blowing the breaker? Or maybe power was particularly badly conditioned that day, caused the electronics some grief? (this is not unheard of in my area)

If anyone else has had this trouble, I'd love to hear about it.

That all said, the brew today - the 2nd brew - was wonderful. Prepped to 72 degrees, mashing in brought it to target of 68. Started with recirculation tap at about 50%. Noticed that temperature at top of mash was about 1.5 or 2 degrees below indicated value... opened the tap to about 80%, this reduced down to almost nothing. So thermometer seems good, reasonably well calibrated.

As mentioned earlier in the thread (maybe elsewhere) the thermostat seems to operate in 2 degree units. So if you set for 68, mash will sit at 67 the majority of the time (a little bit at target of 68, then a lot of time at 67 before temp drops to 66 and the element kicks in). I may consider setting target 1 degree higher than nominal value in next run.

Also, these temp units appear fixed... that is, 1 temp unit is from 66 to 68 degrees, another from 68 to 70... so if you set for 69, you'll probably stay pretty close to that temperature, say 68.5, as it cycles between 68 and 69. But if you set for 70, you'll spend most of the time at 69, as it cycles from 68 to 70. Hope this makes sense.

The recirculation pump is very 'clean'... there's no aeration of the wort, the recirculated fluid reenters the mash with very little splashing.

The grain pipe worried me at first... some gaps where the filter fits into the pipe. But in the end, I've found very little grain in the wort... seems to work pretty ok.

The 2500 watt heater is great. Makes for a quick start to brewday... mash temperature achieved quickly. And boils the **** out of the wort.

The manual is garbage, not even worth looking at.

In spite of nightmare first brew (I almost threw the whole thing off the balcony) after this second brew, I like the unit a lot. I hope the gremlins don't return... if they don't, I'll be very pleased with the purchase. Haven't calculated my efficiency on the brew today, but I painlessly hit my target.

One last thing: on their website Klarstein included a wort chiller in the list of parts, but no wort chiller was provided. I don't think this thing ever shipped from China with a chiller... someone made a mistake. I've asked for a partial refund, just to see what happens. I already had a chiller, so wasn't a problem... but perhaps they'll refund me a few euro that I can put toward grain. :)

Thanks to all who have posted earlier in the thread, and particularly those who put up youtube videos... helped a lot both in deciding to buy and in setting up for first run.


Edit 14/2/17 to add - see post 158 for explanation?


.

 

[IainM]

Hi All,

I ordered one of the micro brewery units mid-january (it's a Klarstein branded one, but identical to the ace unit). When I was considering the purchase, this thread was one of the few sources of information I could find online (along with the youtube videos posted by people on this thread, and the 'IPA' brewday thread on another forum). I just finished my second brew with the unit and thought I'd scribble down my general impression and a few specifics.

Full disclosure: I'm new to brewing... before recent brews on the Klarstein have made about 6 extract or partial mash batches.

General impression when I received the brewer was pretty good... it's a little on the flimsy side of things (not a braumeister), but that was expected at the price point. And has it's advantages... the kettle is pretty easy to manhandle. One minor complaint: the recirculation faucet didn't fit into the glass lid when the lid was closed. Had to bend it a little to make it fit, which is a little harder than you'd think. Not a big deal, but sort of a sign of low quality control. Again, no surprise; I bought it for less than half the price of the grainfather.

When I got the unit I did a mock run, just to make sure everything worked. Had no troubles. But first brew was a disaster. After mashing in, for some reason it kept blowing an internal breaker... the unit would switch off after some random amount of time before turning itself back on some 15 seconds later. I couldn't for the life of me figure out why. It made for a rough brew day... didn't want to waste the batch, so spent a few hours lying on the floor in order to reach the not-so-convenient control panel and reset temprature etc. after each reset. Didn't hit my target SG by a longshot (but topped up with LME, effectively brewed a partial mash batch that should be ok).

Ran another mock brew the next day, did everything as per real brew except mash in. Had no troubles. Did a real brew today, holding my breath the whole time. Went smooth as butter.

No clue what the trouble was, but I'm hoping it's gone. Perhaps something was blocking the pump, blowing the breaker? Or maybe power was particularly badly conditioned that day, caused the electronics some grief? (this is not unheard of in my area)

If anyone else has had this trouble, I'd love to hear about it.

That all said, the brew today - the 2nd brew - was wonderful. Prepped to 72 degrees, mashing in brought it to target of 68. Started with recirculation tap at about 50%. Noticed that temperature at top of mash was about 1.5 or 2 degrees below indicated value... opened the tap to about 80%, this reduced down to almost nothing. So thermometer seems good, reasonably well calibrated.

As mentioned earlier in the thread (maybe elsewhere) the thermostat seems to operate in 2 degree units. So if you set for 68, mash will sit at 67 the majority of the time (a little bit at target of 68, then a lot of time at 67 before temp drops to 66 and the element kicks in). I may consider setting target 1 degree higher than nominal value in next run.

Also, these temp units appear fixed... that is, 1 temp unit is from 66 to 68 degrees, another from 68 to 70... so if you set for 69, you'll probably stay pretty close to that temperature, say 68.5, as it cycles between 68 and 69. But if you set for 70, you'll spend most of the time at 69, as it cycles from 68 to 70. Hope this makes sense.

The recirculation pump is very 'clean'... there's no aeration of the wort, the recirculated fluid reenters the mash with very little splashing.

The grain pipe worried me at first... some gaps where the filter fits into the pipe. But in the end, I've found very little grain in the wort... seems to work pretty ok.

The 2500 watt heater is great. Makes for a quick start to brewday... mash temperature achieved quickly. And boils the **** out of the wort.

The manual is garbage, not even worth looking at.

In spite of nightmare first brew (I almost threw the whole thing off the balcony) after this second brew, I like the unit a lot. I hope the gremlins don't return... if they don't, I'll be very pleased with the purchase. Haven't calculated my efficiency on the brew today, but I painlessly hit my target.

One last thing: on their website Klarstein included a wort chiller in the list of parts, but no wort chiller was provided. I don't think this thing ever shipped from China with a chiller... someone made a mistake. I've asked for a partial refund, just to see what happens. I already had a chiller, so wasn't a problem... but perhaps they'll refund me a few euro that I can put toward grain. :)

Thanks to all who have posted earlier in the thread, and particularly those who put up youtube videos... helped a lot both in deciding to buy and in setting up for first run.

Cheers for this, and thanks to everyone else on this thread. I'm seriously tempted to get one now.

 

[soupdragon]

Do it, it's the right thing to do.

I'm glad I did

Cheers. Tom

 

[mgkpancake]

I ordered one of the micro brewery units mid-january (it's a Klarstein branded one, but identical to the ace unit). When I was considering the purchase, this thread was one of the few sources of information I could find online (along with the youtube videos posted by people on this thread, and the 'IPA' brewday thread on another forum). I just finished my second brew with the unit and thought I'd scribble down my general impression and a few ...

Wow! Awesome review. :thumb: Just ordered my grains last night from maltmiller and looking forward to having my first brew day in the UK. Reading your review makes me even more excited to brew.

For the love of beer! :mrgreen:

 

[IAmAxford]

Great review appositive! Just got my Klarstein delivered yesterday, as you say the manual is pathetic! I think I've got it all set up correctly, but there are a couple of small pegs in a baggy with the pipe cap that I'm not sure what to do with, do you have any clue? Can't find any set up instructions for the ACE version either! And nope, no chiller in mine either, would be interested to see if they do give you a partial refund!

 

[chor808]

Great review appositive! Just got my Klarstein delivered yesterday, as you say the manual is pathetic! I think I've got it all set up correctly, but there are a couple of small pegs in a baggy with the pipe cap that I'm not sure what to do with, do you have any clue? Can't find any set up instructions for the ACE version either! And nope, no chiller in mine either, would be interested to see if they do give you a partial refund!

That was a good review. I've also picked up one of these. So I can make two brews at once with this and with Klarstein mash boiler or just use that for sparge water.

The two little pegs got me also, I thought they where for the bottom mesh but they are in fact for the top mesh. You fasten them with the screws proved to the top mesh with the two holes in it. When you are brewing you use them to lower the top mesh in position and press down.

Check the pipe from the bottom of the brewer to the top, for recycling wort on the mash. Mine was leaking badly and all it needed was a tighted up. Now it is fine.

Also has anyone worked out if the marking are accurate mine seems to read 2 liters lower than is in it.

 

[IAmAxford]

Ah thanks very much for the help there! Very helpful :) That explains the little holes on the top mesh then :thumb:

 

[chor808]

Ah thanks very much for the help there! Very helpful :) That explains the little holes on the top mesh then :thumb:

No problem, let me know how the level markings are on your when you get time.

 

[mgkpancake]

Great review appositive! Just got my Klarstein delivered yesterday, as you say the manual is pathetic! I think I've got it all set up correctly, but there are a couple of small pegs in a baggy with the pipe cap that I'm not sure what to do with, do you have any clue? Can't find any set up instructions for the ACE version either! And nope, no chiller in mine either, would be interested to see if they do give you a partial refund!

Make sure you screen shot that webpage to indicate that it did say it has a chiller (when it doesn't!)

Those pegs are for the top sparging plate (should have corresponding screw for each peg) to allow you to lift it evenly.

The cap allows you to fill your mash tun with grains without worrying about grains spilling over- it is meant as an overflow (shouldn't need one unless you are doing 90% adjuncts lol :lol:).

 

[Bigcol49]

Hi!
No wort chiller included here: http://www.klarstein.com/Kuechenger...l-Bierbrauanlage-Set-2500W-30l-Edelstahl.html

 

[BrewYaute74]

Hi,

Guys do you have a BeerSmith profile for the ACE Micro Brewery ok Klarstein, very few data about it.

Cheers

 

[grmski]

Hi guys,

I got the klarstein branded version of this system a couple of weeks ago and also noticed the lack of cooling coil or immersion chiller in our lingo, I emailed them and complained that this was a misleading advert and I wouldn't have bought from them if it wasn't included. I went on to say that as these retail for around 50 euro that i wanted that refunded to me. Hats off to the German retailer, hifi, they refunded it without any argument at all. I advised them to change wording on the advert but if you bought one over a week ago then you should contact them asap and demand a refund.

WRT the actual system I've been pleasantly surprised, the pump is good and the recirc flow is smooth. The element gets the full boil on a 30l volume post sparge going very quickly. It's easy to clean and store. I've made one brew and am planning the second now. Efficiency came in at 77% I did a 20litre mash and a 10 litre sparge.

I'd recommend this to anyone considering the investment.

Cheers

 

[galaxian]

Guys, what width are these inside, would a 30cm diameter chiller fit inside ?
Thanks