Brewzilla Robobrew question

[buddsy]

Another tip is use a 20 litre pail with water in, this will put pressure on the grain in the grain basket when draining.

Hi Foxy.

Ive been interested to hear yours and others comments about the overflow pipe.

When you say you dont use the overflow pipe, looking your picture of your gain tube with the bucket on it looks like you leave the over flow pipe completely out. Do you screw in a blank into the hole in the bottom screen or not bother?

So far Ive used the pipe and even on my last brew when I went to stir I remembered Id put on the top screen so wasnt able to.

From my first brew I had copied how the chap on homebrewnetwork done it. Starting the flow slow them upping as the mash goes on. I had wondered what exactly the point of the over flow was for? Was I meant to set the height of the liquid to be just running into the cone? I never have just set it somewhere below. Also whats the point of the top screen? Is it there just to set the height of where the overflow cone sits above the grain bed which would give a max depth of wort above the grain bed? Is it just a safety feature to stop people boiling dry at the bottom by setting the flow too fast?

cheers everyone.

buddsy

 

[foxy]

Hi buddsy, I just use a plug and a nut, it is a lock in screen but I don't like to take a chance so made a strap to keep it secure.

Some top tips here.
I have done two brews on the Brewzilla now- what a great bit of kit!

Water was continuously pouring down the overflow pipe and out of the two holes at the top of the mash bucket. Didn’t seem to cause any problems though as I had the top screen on. The sparge was fine, if a little slow.

I don't do a sparge, just put all the water in, saves time not only sparging but heating sparge water and also water adjustments too. I use all thread for a handle this stops any grain going through the handle holes. Best not to have to much debris going into the boil, especially grain husks. Just spend a minute or 2 with a fine strainer to get out any large pieces before the boil.

 

[hoppyscotty]

I just use the overflow pipe as an overflow, so see the flow rate at a stable rate so the level is below the overflow. This means I don't have to constantly monitor the mash and can leave it for 10 mins or so at a time knowing that if something changes and the level starts to raise the overflow will prevent the level coming up too high.

I'm always wondering when its safe to turn the pump on after the boil is done. Are the pumps rated to 100 dogs C? I sometimes put the pump on straight after turning off the elements and although I can hear the pump buzzing it is not working. If I leave it for a few mins and turn it on again it works fine. Not sure if there is a temperature cut out to protect the pump or if there is some hop debris that blocks the pump. I like to run the pump as soon as I can to aid cooling and sanitise the pipework ready for transfer to the fermenter.

 

[Benfleet Brewery]

I run my pump for a couple of minutes before the end of the boil to sanitise it. It works fine.

 

[Kye]

I'm 3 brews in to my Brewzilla journey, the last time I brewed I heard a huge amount of sloshing around throughout the boil towards the bottom of the vessel, sounding a bit like a washing machine! I used my metal paddle to have a feel around and I think the false bottom was being pushed off the bottom possibly by the force of the boil.

Has anyone else experienced this? The brew turned out completely fine but it was a bit disconcerting to hear all that action going on and I dont think should be happening.

Also - does anyone sanitise the whirlpool arm and pump arm by having the pump on in the boil for c 10 mins towards the end? And does this cause any issues for the pump?

Cheers!

 

[Mash Monster]

Hi kye
The only time I’ve had the bottom screen move is when using a whirlpool paddle too aggressively
Do you have both elements on during the boil ?
As to running the pump to sanitise the whirlpool arm for the last 10 minutes of the boil I do it all the time without any issues so far. Hope that helps
MM

 

[hoppyscotty]

Neve had the sloshing sound you mention but I brew in the garage so maybe the coldness of the surrounding environment is hampering the vigorousness of the boil. But once at boil I'll turn off one of the elements. I tend to only use both elements together when ramping up to temp.

As per my note below I like to run the pump on to sanitise the pipework prior to transfer to fermenter. I've just bought the whirlpool arm but not used it yet so not sure how I'm going to balance the sanitising of both. Think I'll just use stars to sanitise the whirlpool pipe, so use boiling wort to sanitise the recirc pipework.

 

[Kye]

Hi kye
The only time I’ve had the bottom screen move is when using a whirlpool paddle too aggressively ☹
Do you have both elements on during the boil ?
As to running the pump to sanitise the whirlpool arm for the last 10 minutes of the boil I do it all the time without any issues so far. Hope that helps
MM

Thanks MM, just the 1900w element on when boil is going. Found the 500w wasn't enough to keep a good rolling boil

 

[Kye]

Neve had the sloshing sound you mention but I brew in the garage so maybe the coldness of the surrounding environment is hampering the vigorousness of the boil. But once at boil I'll turn off one of the elements. I tend to only use both elements together when ramping up to temp.

As per my note below I like to run the pump on to sanitise the pipework prior to transfer to fermenter. I've just bought the whirlpool arm but not used it yet so not sure how I'm going to balance the sanitising of both. Think I'll just use stars to sanitise the whirlpool pipe, so use boiling wort to sanitise the recirc pipework.

Thanks, as mentioned to MM just the 1900w at boil for me. I have been sanitising for last 15 mins of boil, half of that time with the pump arm and then the other half with the whirpool arm so it's ready for the whirlpool hop additions. I then just hang the pump arm over the side of the kettle and keep it there til ready to transfer to fermenter. Has been fine so far, but I'm sure I heard somewhere that the pump doesn't like being used at boil, so was worried I might be doing damage or something. Sounds like others are doing it ok though!

 

[Hop_it]

I do use the overflow pipe but due to careful monitoring and flow control, I have not had any wort go down it. But nobody has mentioned the reason it is there. If the mash turned too thick and the wort did not flow fast enough through the mash you could risk pumping all the wort from the bottom and burning the base or even damaging the elements. So yes, no wort should normally go down, but sooner that than the possible alternatives...

A valid point concerning the purpose/reason for the central overflow pipe. . . . . . Yes, you want as much recirculation through the grain bed as possible, but you need to avoid any risk of having no (or very little) wort in contact with the heaters. Since my blocked pump incident, I now put a stainless steel mesh teapot filter/strainer over the top of the overflow pipe. This stops all of the bits getting into it, and means that I can have the ball valve almost fully open.
Also, It fits my pet theory that maximising the wort circulation (by whatever means) will help to maintain better temperature control. Having hot wort flowing down the overflow pipe will transfer some of its heat to the centre of the grain bed by conduction, after which it will be reheated and recirculated.
However, having now said all of that, I fully accept that there is more than one way to skin the proverbial cat. So, I guess that everybody will find a solution that works best for them.
PS - foxy, I really like your idea using the big bucket to squeeze the last of the juice from the spent grains

 

[Philthebrewer]

I'm 3 brews in to my Brewzilla journey, the last time I brewed I heard a huge amount of sloshing around throughout the boil towards the bottom of the vessel, sounding a bit like a washing machine! I used my metal paddle to have a feel around and I think the false bottom was being pushed off the bottom possibly by the force of the boil.

Has anyone else experienced this? The brew turned out completely fine but it was a bit disconcerting to hear all that action going on and I dont think should be happening.

Also - does anyone sanitise the whirlpool arm and pump arm by having the pump on in the boil for c 10 mins towards the end? And does this cause any issues for the pump?

Cheers!

Hi, I also had false bottom moving problem, so just took it out completely. This also solved my unstable temp measurement problem. Worth a try.

 

[Doublediamond]

Hi, I also had false bottom moving problem, so just took it out completely. This also solved my unstable temp measurement problem. Worth a try.

So you have the malt pipe sitting on top of the pump inlet. Do you get lot more debris settling above the heating elements, possibly scalding the bottom

 

[Philthebrewer]

Hi, the malt pipe is held at the top by its rim, so never goes down far enough to touch the output tap or inlet. I get a little more trub on the bottom, but no problem to clean it off. Trub used to fall through the false bottom anyway, so it is not much different. There should not be much coming through during mashing, it is only boiling which is the problem, so I could put the false bottom back after I remove the malt pipe and before boiling, if I could be bothered. The more I brew the lazier I get

 

[ColinGee]

Hi Robobrew users, can someone tell me the diameter of Robobrew's top mesh screen please?

I'm looking to add a pump & mesh to my DIY setup and these are v.cheap to buy, just want to make sure it fits first.

 

[dave_77]

265mm for the top mash screen

 

[ColinGee]

265mm for the top mash screen

Thanks Dave, including the silicon rim that might just do the job!

Great to read the various real-world accounts of the Robobrew. I'm v.tempted to make the leap to an all-in-one system and Robobrew seems top of the list for VFM.

 

[Moe]

Found a few limits of the Brewzilla (or my skills?) on yesterday’s brewday.

Brewed a big IPA- grain bill was a touch shy of 7kg.
Did pretty much the same as previous similar brews in terms of water additions. Brewfather said to use 20l of strike water, I ended up using 24l. Mashed and recirculated at 65C for an hour, sparged with another 9L.

I used hop bags on my first Brewzilla brew, but didn’t bother with brews 2, 3 or for this one. Haven’t had a problem with the last two brews but this one had 130g of hops in the boil, which I think was too much for the false bottom. The tap blocked completely (not an issue, only used for a sample) and the pump was running very slow.

Once all was cooled and ready for transfer to the fermentor. Efficiency was far below what I have had in my last three brews. I ended up with 23l in the fermentor at1.054 (temp corrected and double checked this morning when sample was at room temp). The recipe predicted 24l @ 1.067, so a huge difference.
Not a big issue, as I’ll probably enjoy a 6% beer more than a 7.2% one.

I did a similar beer for my first BZ brew, this one had 6.4kg of grain and ended up with 23l @ 1.062 into the fermentor so I know that relatively big beers can be done.

differences this time were:
- I used less mash water, last beer I used 27l, the mash was overflowing out of the lifting handle holes and completely covered the overflow pipe. However this caused no problems to efficiency or got any grain in the boil.

- last beer was mashed for nearly 2 hours ( not by plan- distractions). This one dead on one hour.

Of course this is only comparing two brews, weeks apart so the issue might be something completely different.


Just read all that and it’s quite the ramble!
Short version:

Next time I do a biggish beer in the BZ I’ll use a thinner and longer mash.

 

[Doublediamond]

20L for 7kg of grain seems low. I also use Brewfather and it usually indicates 20L for 5 kg.

 

[chillipickle]

Most of the time i use 21ltr strike water for grain bills 6.3 to 6.5kg.If there is a lot of flaked oats flaked wheat etc then i use 22ltrs.

Then 14/13 ltrs sparge, that normally nets just over 30ltrs pre boil, and just over 23ltrs in the fv depending on the hops in whirlpool.

 

[Moe]

20L for 7kg of grain seems low. I also use Brewfather and it usually indicates 20L for 5 kg.

I was surprised at it to be honest, so I used 22L- even then the mash was ridiculously thick so I chucked an extra 2L.

I used this Brewfather Brewzilla profile for the first (and last) time