Brewzilla Sight Glass

[MrJay83]

I've ordered the sight glass upgrade kit and the instructions seem pretty straightforward but would appreciate any tips from anyone that has previously done it.
My plumbing skills are somewhat lacking

 

[Rwilts]

No help I am afraid but I would be interested in how it works out , where did you get it from?

 

[MrJay83]

Seen it on BrewKegTap and ordered it straight away. Trying to shine your phone torch in the side while sparging has to be the most annoying thing about the BZ so for £23 I think it's well worth it.

 

[Rwilts]

Seen it on BrewKegTap and ordered it straight away. Trying to shine your phone torch in the side while sparging has to be the most annoying thing about the BZ so for £23 I think it's well worth it.

Yep...was doing that on Thursday

 

[MrJay83]

Guess I'll be creating a thread in the "how to" section when I get it.
While I was looking for tips I came across another forum and the guy said when he installed the sight glass that the water levels were very uneven. He even suggested this might be due to the boiler being conical in shape. I'm guessing he forgot to open the valve

 

[private4587]

I made my own on my brewzilla, removed the tap and fitted a BSPP Tpiece Replaced tap and the then fitted a 1/2”BSPP x 15mm compression fitting. Then using 15 OD polycarbonate tubing to length required. Removed the ferrules from fitting and used 3 O rings these give a leak tight joint. The top of tubing held in place by an Eyebolt (6mm). Then set levels by measuring amounts of water and marking on sight glass with marker pen. Remember levels have to be hot as will be used with hot wort

 

[MrJay83]

Remember levels have to be hot as will be used with hot wort

Cheers. I would have forgotten about expansion.

 

[Empty bottle]

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/400...316670761584836769e523a!10000014498269542!rec
I fitted this type on my buffalo 40ltr hot water urn and it works a treat.

 

[Mash Monster]

Just be careful when tightening up the fittings and use plenty of ptfe on the threads. Mine split after 3 or 4 brews and although I bought a replacement I never fitted it before I sold my BZ.

 

[MrJay83]

Done this last night. Actually very simple to do. I think the biggest thing to watch out for is the pump pipe at the bottom when tightening the new lower nut. The pipe wants to bend with the sight glass nut so a bit of opposition with your thumb is needed.
I only used a couple of wraps of the PTFE as the original nuts were surprisingly loose. I'm guessing the internal washer gasket only needs a bit of compression to make a good seal. I noticed that the polycarbonate is nowhere near as sturdy and am a bit worried about the camlock, inline thermometer I'll be ordering soon.

 

[RoomWithABrew]

I'm pretty sure on the US robobrew and brewzilla thread there's been a lot of discussion about this modification. Many breakages and failures, probably worth a read. It's the heat that contributes to the failure and poor design. A separate sight glass is very easy to fit, the one on the guten is robust plastic about 4mm wall thickness.

One excerpt from the thread which is very long.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/threads/robobrew-brewzilla-discussion.681856/post-9297179

 

[MrJay83]

I'll agree that it seems a bit flimsy but if I cracked two in the very same place I'd be asking questions about myself (i.e. is hanging the lid on top of the recirc arm a good idea now or something like that). This is why I mentioned the inline thermometer. I'm not sure I'll put it on now because I don't think the polycarbonate could take much mass above it + lateral stress.
If it does fail I'll have a go at a DIY with a thicker tube.

 

[MrJay83]

So it has cracked already. Seen other people say the same. Thank jaysus it didn't give way during today's brew.

 

[Mash Monster]

I had exactly the same problem it was replaced free of charge but I didn’t bother using it!

 

[MrJay83]

I didn't notice anything leaking but I'm pretty sure I heard it split (could see anything at the time). I bet it would have been a disaster on the next brew if I didn't spot it while cleaning.