Ace micro brewer

[appositive]

I've got another five or so batches on the replacement unit without trouble. It remains very nice to use...

Bleh don't take it to heart quite yet. You gotta think that it's a numbers game. Every product is going to have it's % of failure and lots of people are brewing with no problems whatsoever. I'll admit I have just accepted that I got a bad one but have worked through it and replaced things which would otherwise never contribute to the knowledge base other users. It's nice that is something does fail, you can just Youtube it on how to replace it :)

 

[terragady]

I am pretty sure I have seen somewhere beersmith profile file for Ace/Klarstein 30L but can't find it now. Just found some outdated one. Can you guide me to the right place? :) I finally bought Klarstein for those who followed my topic.

 

[chor808]

Bit of advice needed. I've had mine under a year and for the first time it started tripping out on the boil. This has not happened before, I run it always at 2500w and make sure it is clean after use. After each brew there is always a little burnt on wort where the element is. I'm just boiling water now to see if it trips with just water. I contacted Klarstein (hifi tower) and to be fair to them it has a two year cover and they want me to send it back for 'repair'. Now I'd rather they don't start messing with it if this is just burnt on wort.

Anyone had this issue and had it resolved by repair/replace or is this just normal function due to burnt on wort causing the trip out.

Thanks!

 

[foxy]

Just normal to trip with burnt wort sticking on the bottom, I use half a grape fruit to clean mine but white vinegar will get it back shiny again. But no scouring.

 

[Davemc]

Bit of advice needed. I've had mine under a year and for the first time it started tripping out on the boil. This has not happened before, I run it always at 2500w and make sure it is clean after use. After each brew there is always a little burnt on wort where the element is. I'm just boiling water now to see if it trips with just water. I contacted Klarstein (hifi tower) and to be fair to them it has a two year cover and they want me to send it back for 'repair'. Now I'd rather they don't start messing with it if this is just burnt on wort.

Anyone had this issue and had it resolved by repair/replace or is this just normal function due to burnt on wort causing the trip out.

Thanks!

People had problems using 2500w for boil if you look through posts its advisable to use a lower wattage to prevent issues. I use 1800w and have no issues so far.

 

[connor7932]

Just normal to trip with burnt wort sticking on the bottom, I use half a grape fruit to clean mine but white vinegar will get it back shiny again. But no scouring.

i use lemon juice from £ shop and a green scouring pap:thumb:

 

[soupdragon]

People had problems using 2500w for boil if you look through posts its advisable to use a lower wattage to prevent issues. I use 1800w and have no issues so far.

You run the risk of the circuit thingy breaking. All that cycling of the element on and off doesn't do it any good. At least that's what I've been told, makes sense though. Would be better if there was actually some way to reduce the power rather than it going on and off every few seconds.

Cheers. Tom

 

[terragady]

You run the risk of the circuit thingy breaking. All that cycling of the element on and off doesn't do it any good. At least that's what I've been told, makes sense though. Would be better if there was actually some way to reduce the power rather than it going on and off every few seconds.

Cheers. Tom

I think you are wrong, in boiling relay is not turning on and off. It is just on all the time at specified wattage (by reducing duty cycle)

 

[foxy]

There is one more thing which I have yet to try to see if the power stops switching off and back on again, and that is to put 500 gram of rice hulls in with the mash according to Gordon Strong this will insulate the mash and give a more even temperature. In saying that his rig does not recirculate but I am now interested to know what it will do in the Ace.

 

[mgkpancake]

Bit of advice needed. I've had mine under a year and for the first time it started tripping out on the boil. This has not happened before, I run it always at 2500w and make sure it is clean after use. After each brew there is always a little burnt on wort where the element is. I'm just boiling water now to see if it trips with just water. I contacted Klarstein (hifi tower) and to be fair to them it has a two year cover and they want me to send it back for 'repair'. Now I'd rather they don't start messing with it if this is just burnt on wort.

Anyone had this issue and had it resolved by repair/replace or is this just normal function due to burnt on wort causing the trip out.

Thanks!

I found it to be caused by a faulty temperature cut off sensor. Burnt wort accumulates on the bottom exasperating the heat built up causing the sensor to trip. I found that a sensor from a newer 3000w Guten(hopcat) fixed it right up. Bypass the sensor by unscrewing it from your kettle and zip tie it to a wire if you want to confirm its the issue (never run your kettle without water). A sensor like it can be purchased on ebay just make sure its 150-170c.

A lot of folks recommending to use lower wattage but I think the unit should be more than capable of being at 2500w 100% of the time (not that I recommend it).

I made it a video about it:

https://youtu.be/EWUoY1jfpj0

 

[mgkpancake]

I finally installed a fan to the relay setup (I wasn't having problems). I don't know if I should post in this thread anymore seeing as my Ace is no longer an Ace since I wired it up. But I want to share with you guys :thumb:

 

[soupdragon]

I think you are wrong, in boiling relay is not turning on and off. It is just on all the time at specified wattage (by reducing duty cycle)

I don't pretend to understand the finer workings of the unit but whenever I've set the machine to a lower power setting, the element clicks in and out every few seconds. The lower the setting, the longer it takes to click back on. I'd be interested to hear from someone with an electrical background to clarify the issue.
All I know is that if I set the machine to, say 1800w, it cycles on and off and the vigor of the boil reduces until the element kicks in again.

Cheers. Tom

 

[Bigcol49]

Hi!
I thought the element worked like an electric hob - reducing the setting on the control causes the element to switch off until the temperature range falls below the setting, then it comes on at full power until the range is overshot.

 

[soupdragon]

That's how I'm told it works

Cheers. Tom

 

[terragady]

I do not hear any clicks during boiling, maybe in the newer version that is different? I can hear it on and off when I set a temp like 60C and it is 59.6 it clicks back and when 59.7 it clicks OFF but the element is warm enough to heat water to 60.3C. For boiling it is all the time ON in my case.

 

[soupdragon]

I do not hear any clicks during boiling, maybe in the newer version that is different? I can hear it on and off when I set a temp like 60C and it is 59.6 it clicks back and when 59.7 it clicks OFF but the element is warm enough to heat water to 60.3C. For boiling it is all the time ON in my case.

Do you have your machine insulated? I've got a couple of foil backed foam mats wrapped around mine to reduce heat loss. Maybe that's the reason for the cycling of the element?

Cheers. Tom

 

[Hiphop]

At least in the not-newest controller, each of the two elements are controlled by a relay. So the elements are either on or off. By switching the elements on and off in intervalls the average power over time can be say 1800W. With the large mass of the wort and relatively long time to change temp, I would say this is an okay way to control the power.

 

[terragady]

Do you have your machine insulated? I've got a couple of foil backed foam mats wrapped around mine to reduce heat loss. Maybe that's the reason for the cycling of the element?

Cheers. Tom

No not yet insulated.

At least in the not-newest controller, each of the two elements are controlled by a relay. So the elements are either on or off. By switching the elements on and off in intervalls the average power over time can be say 1800W. With the large mass of the wort and relatively long time to change temp, I would say this is an okay way to control the power.

Yes with relay it can be on or off but during on there can be different duty cycle like additional PWM controller somewhere in the circuit. For example similar to the one in dimmable lamps. I am not sure though as I didn't open mine yet.

 

[chor808]

Quick update after the triping last brew, Brewed today zero issues, no trips at all. Now I noted the temp was showing at 100c when it triped last time, this time it shows 98c on a rolling boil. It has always shown 98c on a rolling boil until the trip boil so I expect as other stated there was a little extra burnt on wort on the element/sensor area which caused the trip. I'll just ensure it is very clean before brewing again, hopefully I won't have the issue again.
Quick question, how many of you use the pump to circulate when cooling and how many use the pump to move the wort to the ferementor?

 

[terragady]

I have used a pump for cooling when the temp dropped to 80, for pumping to fermentor I am not using pump as I want the trub and hops to stay inside the pot :)