Brewzilla query....

[Hackman]

I'm struggling with temperature control. Does anyone have some PID settings for Gen 4 BZ?

 

[Frisp]

Sounds interesting @Frisp ! You should start a thread so we can follow along on your plans if you can find the time, I'm sure there would be many who would be interested

I intend to take pics as i go and put up a post once she is built

 

[Frisp]

I'm struggling with temperature control. Does anyone have some PID settings for Gen 4 BZ?

Switch it off and use a rapt thermometer. Would be my advice.

 

[Davegase]

I'm struggling with temperature control. Does anyone have some PID settings for Gen 4 BZ?

I think the consensus is turn off pid.
This is a very useful video.

 

[Hackman]

Switch it off and use a rapt thermometer. Would be my advice.

I'm using a rapt thermometer and it still overshoots. I'll try manual mode. I'm still learning this machine after previously using a 3.1.1. Wish I'd kept it now

 

[Davegase]

I'm using a rapt thermometer and it still overshoots. I'll try manual mode. I'm still learning this machine after previously using a 3.1.1. Wish I'd kept it now

Using the G4 in combination with the Rapt Bluetooth thermometer gives you more control to dial in the settings.
I found it good enough straight out of the box, I do find tune it to get closer to my target numbers.
As Gash says in the video, as homebrew as we seem to be obsessed with getting everything spot on.

 

[The Baron]

Do you reduce the temp percentage down when mashing with the hysteresis and overshoot all reduced if you leave it at the same settings for heat up it will overheat the wort and overshoot.

 

[MashBag]

Sounds interesting @Frisp ! You should start a thread so we can follow along on your plans if you can find the time, I'm sure there would be many who would be interested

Second that

 

[fury_tea]

I have had a V3 for almost 4 years, it is very reliable but it has it's idiosincrasys as well,i removed the overflowpipe and blanked the hole with a bolt, i don't use the top plate and hops go in a bag due to the bottom plate no longer being a good fit, the good stuff is it makes good beer would i buy another yes, from what i read the differences are the dead space under the malt pipe on the v3 it is 6.75L but a lot smaller on the v4, the wifi and i think you can power it down on the v3 it's 2400w on full or 1500w and 900w i use full for the boil and 900 for the mash, i use it manual mode which i find easy, i am not going to slate the v4 as i have never seen one or used one but i am certain v4 owners will be along shortly

I have some spare stainless steel bolts to blank the bottom plate. If you need one hit me up and I will post you one

 

[Hackman]

Do you reduce the temp percentage down when mashing with the hysteresis and overshoot all reduced if you leave it at the same settings for heat up it will overheat the wort and overshoot.

As I'm new to this machine I (naively) thought the idea was as the temp nears mash the pid reduces power to stop the overshoot.

 

[Davegase]

As I'm new to this machine I (naively) thought the idea was as the temp nears mash the pid reduces power to stop the overshoot.

Brewzilla PID does not have an automatic tuning feature; you need to manually adjust the PID settings on the device to optimize temperature control for your specific brewing needs.
It may be useful to advanced users but I would turn it off.
If you follow the advice in the video you will find it much easier.

 

[The Baron]

I would follow to advice of Davegase and use the machine in manual mode until you understand how the machine works before using the PID.
You will see a large improvement straight away.
I have used PID but prefer to use it in manual mode most of the time as it suits my brewing style.
Edit once you have done a few brews in manual then there are several videos on youtube to watch that will help you with PID settings as Davegase said they need to be adjusted to your brewing and are not one setting for all.

 

[Rodcx500z]

As I'm new to this machine I (naively) thought the idea was as the temp nears mash the pid reduces power to stop the overshoot.

Cheers for the offer i should have said it is stainless

 

[The Drunken Spaniel]

As others have said, I use it in manual mode and don’t use the PID. I tried it but found it too complicated for my simple mind . My personal settings are (once up to mash in temp), hysteresis 0.3, temp diff 1 and heat setting 55%. I find this gets me very close to the set temp, within the mash, and very steady. I then ramp up the temp diff to 6 and power to 100% to get to mash out. I, like others, enjoy being involved in the brew day rather than setting and leaving so I don’t feel the need to use a lot of the features on the system. If anyone has this system and isn’t enjoying using it I would say, be patient, start simple and I believe you will grow to love it.

Cheers all

 

[Hackman]

I think the consensus is turn off pid.
This is a very useful video.

excellent video - thanks for posting and thanks to all who replied!

 

[The Baron]

As others have said, I use it in manual mode and don’t use the PID. I tried it but found it too complicated for my simple mind . My personal settings are (once up to mash in temp), hysteresis 0.3, temp diff 1 and heat setting 55%. I find this gets me very close to the set temp, within the mash, and very steady. I then ramp up the temp diff to 6 and power to 100% to get to mash out. I, like others, enjoy being involved in the brew day rather than setting and leaving so I don’t feel the need to use a lot of the features on the system. If anyone has this system and isn’t enjoying using it I would say, be patient, start simple and I believe you will grow to love it.

Cheers all

I use very similar settings to The Drunken Spaniel in manual mode also depending on your strike water volume the pump will need throttling with the blue control knob during mash.
I personally use the strike volume equal to the volume I require in the keg and a smaller sparge amount.
So 19l brew to keg would require 19ltrs in the kettle with a sparge of approx 5/6 lltrs for sparge to give me 20ltrs to the FV and 1ltr transfer loss to the keg approx