Brewzilla Robobrew question

[Moe]

Hi,
On a whim I have ordered a Robobrew. One of the refurbished units from BKT, so hopefully will arrive soon.

I have read about some peoples’ experiences with stuck sparges and not having too fine a crush. my issue is I have already ordered my ingredients for my next few brews- all with a fine crush!
Am I asking for trouble by brewing these on the Brewzilla? Would I be better off sticking to my peco boiler and bag, or will it be worth the risk in the Brewzilla?

i think I already know the answer to be honest, but I’ll struggle to have the Brewzillaarrive and not be able to use it.
thanks

 

[foxy]

Hi,
On a whim I have ordered a Robobrew. One of the refurbished units from BKT, so hopefully will arrive soon.

I have read about some peoples’ experiences with stuck sparges and not having too fine a crush. my issue is I have already ordered my ingredients for my next few brews- all with a fine crush!
Am I asking for trouble by brewing these on the Brewzilla? Would I be better off sticking to my peco boiler and bag, or will it be worth the risk in the Brewzilla?

i think I already know the answer to be honest, but I’ll struggle to have the Brewzillaarrive and not be able to use it.
thanks

You can still use your Robobrew, just make a more fluid mash. For myself I would use your peco. The reason being when you remove the basket of the Robobrew you will spend some time with a fine sieve getting all of the fine bits out of the wort before the boil. I just hate doing a procedure which would have been unnecessary.

 

[cheeseyfeet]

Get in there with the robobrew!

I always use 20l of strike water and let beermsith calculate the sparge (usually about 12l), one or two times I have milled my grain too fine and have never had a stuck sparge.

I do use rice/oat hulls to make things more fluid but this is a more recent thing.

I also came from a peco boiler and bag years ago, went to a 3V system but missed the simplicity, loving the robobrew.

 

[Matt_W]

I always order fine crush from Malt Miller for my Brewzilla and I’ve not noticed significantly more making it through the screen then when I’ve had a normal crush.

If the water is backing up just restrict to pumps flow a little or turn it off.

I’ve regularly hit my target numbers with the pump off when I’ve had to leaving it for a while or go out.

 

[Brianbrewed]

I have a brewmonk and never an issue with stuck sparges.

There's a spreadsheet on this facebook group to calculate your strike water and sparge

https://www.facebook.com/groups/1324257024320596

 

[Brianbrewed]

Here's that worksheet, just use it on google sheets.
I find it great on my Brewmonk

 

[Moe]

Here's that worksheet, just use it on google sheets.
I find it great on my Brewmonk

That looks absolutely brilliant, thanks

 

[Moe]

I always order fine crush from Malt Miller for my Brewzilla and I’ve not noticed significantly more making it through the screen then when I’ve had a normal crush.

If the water is backing up just restrict to pumps flow a little or turn it off.

I’ve regularly hit my target numbers with the pump off when I’ve had to leaving it for a while or go out.

That’s what I wanted to hear! I’ll fire it up this week and get a brew on. Thanks

 

[geigercntr]

I don't use the ultra-fine mesh on mine. To minimise grain wriggling through into the wort, i line the grain pipe with a BIAB bag. Works a treat

 

[Hop_it]

I don't use the ultra-fine mesh on mine. To minimise grain wriggling through into the wort, i line the grain pipe with a BIAB bag. Works a treat

I also brew with a Robobrew Brewzilla, and have had my share of problems with slow filtering through the mash, and a blocked pump on one occasion. I mill my own grains, so I've been able to experiment with different grain crush, and I've also used rice hulls several times. Fortunately I think that I am now close to a workable solution whilst retaining a reasonable efficiency. I have had my best result so far using moisture conditioned grain and a mill gap of 1.2mm, together with a water to grain ratio of ~3.8l/kg. However that said, I am interested in your suggestion to use a BIAB bag inside the malt pipe to catch the smaller particles of grain. Do you remove the central overflow pipe, or have you made a small hole in the centre of the base of the bag?
The reason I ask is that I have this theory that the central overflow pipe plays a significant role in maintaining the mash temp at a consistent level because it helps to keep a good circulation of hot liquid going through the centre of the mash. This together with what actually filters through the grains helps to maintain the temperature of the grain bed at (more or less) the set temperature. When I first started using the Brewzilla I noticed that the temperature inside the grain bed (measured with a decent digital thermometer) was a couple of degC lower than the set temperature for the mash. . . . . . I appreciate that my pet theory may be total rubbish, but I do seem to get better mash temperature control when I have as much wort circulating as possible.
PS - I also insulate the circulation arm with foamed pipe insulation to reduce heat loss. This has a noticeable benefit when brewing outside in the cold weather.

 

[Doublediamond]

I try not to let the liquid overflow in to the pipe to avoid particles entering the pump. However if it's not causing issues, I can see the advantages regarding mash temperature.

 

[Hop_it]

I try not to let the liquid overflow in to the pipe to avoid particles entering the pump. However if it's not causing issues, I can see the advantages regarding mash temperature.

Thank you. . . . . Yes, I learnt that very early on. That was how I managed to block the pump when I wasn't paying enough attention. I didn't mention it in my previous post, but I now use a dome shaped wire mesh teapot strainer/filter, which I put over the open end of the central pipe. This stops particles of grain from getting into the pipe. So far it seems to be working quite well.
PS - Did you ever have the misfortune to drink "DD"? Back in the olden days that and "Watney's Red Barrel" played a big part in my decision to start brewing my own. Even mediocre home-brew was better than that muck

 

[DocAnna]

Before purchasing the robobrew I’d read all about stuck spares and rice hills, and was prepared to have to go down this route. Having been brewing on it for much of last year I can honestly say it’s not been an issue and at the moment not looking at using rice hulls even with a fine crush. I did have a stuck pump briefly when running it with the chiller and loose hops, but not since. With my last two brews I put the fine mesh on the base filter rather than in the mash pipe, with the idea of limiting what reached the pump and it’s been fine. I do like it as a piece of cooking equipment too - used at Christmas to sous vide the turkey .

it would be nice to have more headspace for high OG mashes and I’ve yet to tackle a stepped mash, but it’s been fun to work with.

Anna

 

[Doublediamond]

Thank you. . . . . Yes, I learnt that very early on. That was how I managed to block the pump when I wasn't paying enough attention. I didn't mention it in my previous post, but I now use a dome shaped wire mesh teapot strainer/filter, which I put over the open end of the central pipe. This stops particles of grain from getting into the pipe. So far it seems to be working quite well.
PS - Did you ever have the misfortune to drink "DD"? Back in the olden days that and "Watney's Red Barrel" played a big part in my decision to start brewing my own. Even mediocre home-brew was better than that muck

Haha, yes it was awful stuff but happy memories of drinking it though.
I have thought about lagging the outside pipe. On a cold day in my garage the liquid exiting the circulation tube can easily be a couple of degrees lower than the unit's set temperature.

 

[foxy]

I also brew with a Robobrew Brewzilla, and have had my share of problems with slow filtering through the mash, and a blocked pump on one occasion. I mill my own grains, so I've been able to experiment with different grain crush, and I've also used rice hulls several times. Fortunately I think that I am now close to a workable solution whilst retaining a reasonable efficiency. I have had my best result so far using moisture conditioned grain and a mill gap of 1.2mm, together with a water to grain ratio of ~3.8l/kg. However that said, I am interested in your suggestion to use a BIAB bag inside the malt pipe to catch the smaller particles of grain. Do you remove the central overflow pipe, or have you made a small hole in the centre of the base of the bag?
The reason I ask is that I have this theory that the central overflow pipe plays a significant role in maintaining the mash temp at a consistent level because it helps to keep a good circulation of hot liquid going through the centre of the mash. This together with what actually filters through the grains helps to maintain the temperature of the grain bed at (more or less) the set temperature. When I first started using the Brewzilla I noticed that the temperature inside the grain bed (measured with a decent digital thermometer) was a couple of degC lower than the set temperature for the mash. . . . . . I appreciate that my pet theory may be total rubbish, but I do seem to get better mash temperature control when I have as much wort circulating as possible.
PS - I also insulate the circulation arm with foamed pipe insulation to reduce heat loss. This has a noticeable benefit when brewing outside in the cold weather.

Good that you are doing what you are happy with, When I was using the return pipe I put the bazooka over the top and used a helix to filter the wort.
I don't use a return pipe now as for the first half of the mash when the starch is converting I give it a stir and move the grains about this prevents hot and cold spots in the grain. Much the same reason why commercial breweries have a rake in the mash tun. The more fluid the mash, the less chance of a stuck mash, the only time I have had a stuck mash is in the Brau Meister when using oats. If you are going to use rice hulls best to wash them first, they have to be washed for animal feed, and some countries they even have to be washed when being used for chicken litter. Rice is sprayed with pesticides and fungicides, before having their final spray of weed killer to kill the rice.

 

[geigercntr]

I also brew with a Robobrew Brewzilla, and have had my share of problems with slow filtering through the mash, and a blocked pump on one occasion. I mill my own grains, so I've been able to experiment with different grain crush, and I've also used rice hulls several times. Fortunately I think that I am now close to a workable solution whilst retaining a reasonable efficiency. I have had my best result so far using moisture conditioned grain and a mill gap of 1.2mm, together with a water to grain ratio of ~3.8l/kg. However that said, I am interested in your suggestion to use a BIAB bag inside the malt pipe to catch the smaller particles of grain. Do you remove the central overflow pipe, or have you made a small hole in the centre of the base of the bag?
The reason I ask is that I have this theory that the central overflow pipe plays a significant role in maintaining the mash temp at a consistent level because it helps to keep a good circulation of hot liquid going through the centre of the mash. This together with what actually filters through the grains helps to maintain the temperature of the grain bed at (more or less) the set temperature. When I first started using the Brewzilla I noticed that the temperature inside the grain bed (measured with a decent digital thermometer) was a couple of degC lower than the set temperature for the mash. . . . . . I appreciate that my pet theory may be total rubbish, but I do seem to get better mash temperature control when I have as much wort circulating as possible.
PS - I also insulate the circulation arm with foamed pipe insulation to reduce heat loss. This has a noticeable benefit when brewing outside in the cold weather.

Interesting theory! I remove the central overflow pipe and just have the grain bag resting on the coarse mesh inside the grain pipe. I'm still trying to figure out the best approach to brewing with the Robobrew, so interesting to read how others are using it

 

[Gerryjo]

Interesting theory! I remove the central overflow pipe and just have the grain bag resting on the coarse mesh inside the grain pipe. I'm still trying to figure out the best approach to brewing with the Robobrew, so interesting to read how others are using it

Try putting the grain bag around the malt pipe with the overflow pipe midway as this will help you reduce obstruction when stirring and stop any grain escaping.

 

[geigercntr]

Try putting the grain bag around the malt pipe with the overflow pipe midway as this will help you reduce obstruction when stirring and stop any grain escaping.

Nice thinking!

 

[Hop_it]

Good that you are doing what you are happy with, When I was using the return pipe I put the bazooka over the top and used a helix to filter the wort.
I don't use a return pipe now as for the first half of the mash when the starch is converting I give it a stir and move the grains about this prevents hot and cold spots in the grain. Much the same reason why commercial breweries have a rake in the mash tun. The more fluid the mash, the less chance of a stuck mash, the only time I have had a stuck mash is in the Brau Meister when using oats. If you are going to use rice hulls best to wash them first, they have to be washed for animal feed, and some countries they even have to be washed when being used for chicken litter. Rice is sprayed with pesticides and fungicides, before having their final spray of weed killer to kill the rice.

Thank you all. There are some interesting ideas coming out of this thread. I have my doubts that there is a "one size fits all" solution to getting the best out of the Brewzilla, but there are some very innovative approaches to dealing with specific/individual problems. I will certainly give a few of them a try in future brews.
One question . . . . what is a "helix", apart from being a 3D geometric shape?

Also, that's a somewhat alarming comment about rice hulls. As it is I do already wash them with boiling water before using them, but only because I read that it was best to wet them thoroughly first. However, I noticed that quite a lot of brown colour comes out in the water, so I now rinse them several times before use. Hopefully that is enough to decontaminate them

 

[Mash Monster]

I’ve been using my Brewzilla for about 8 months now and I’m still having problems with controlling the mash temperature I set the temperature to about 2°c above my ideal temp and things start off really well but after about 30 minutes or so the temperature jumps all over the place.
Today was my first attempt at a 90 minute mash I set the temp to 68°c and the mash stayed around 66°c for about 45 mins or so but then the temp kept dropping and I had to increase the setting eventually ending up at 74°c to keep the mash temperature around 66°c. Am I alone here or does anyone else have the same problems ? I should add that I run the pump after about 10 minutes . And I have also upgraded to the polycarbonate sight tube.