Brewzilla thread to share knowledge, experiences and good practice

[RGeats]

The problem is had with the overflow pipe is when the clip engages I can't get it to release without pushing hard on it and I'd be worried I'd be worried id end up breaking something! So I usually just run with the overflow pipe fully extended every time, and just monitor the liquid level by eye. Probably not the best bit seems to work.

 

[Stonedhouse]

Hmmmmm, maybe your clip is a bit more "clippy" than mine . I'm using the V 3.1.1 now. It doesn't take much force on the top pipe to pop the clip and slide down.

It's a bit of a faff but maybe from the start position the top section of the pipe slightly lower with the clip already disengaged

 

[RGeats]

Yeah it's strange, it was easier when I first got the unit, seems harder now! I'll have to have a look and see if I can work out why. Otherwise yes just use it in the lower position. To be honest I didn't have any overflow on the last couple of brews so I'm contemplating going down the removing the overflow pipe route to make things simpler.

 

[hoppyscotty]

Only done 2 brews with the Brewzilla so far. The first one I made the mistake of leaving the pipe clip engaged and had to leave it fully extended throughout the mash so not ideal and had to monitor the level and the clip engagement was too strong to just push it down. Second time around I disengaged the clip so could push the pipe down in the early part of the mash which worked well and meant I felt I didn't have to constantly monitor it.

Has anyone fashioned something to attach to the end of the pump recalculation hose to spread out the wort recalculation? Even though the top screen is in place I do worry about grain channeling beneath the screen and an attachment on the end of the hose might be useful...something like they have on the Brewtools machine. Maybe I'm over thinking it. There seems to be two schools of thought, to reduce the recalculation flow to match the flow through the grain bed, or to run it full blast and let the overflow tube do its thing. I've not decided which is best for me, but with the latter I'd be worried about channelling.

 

[RGeats]

Only done 2 brews with the Brewzilla so far. The first one I made the mistake of leaving the pipe clip engaged and had to leave it fully extended throughout the mash so not ideal and had to monitor the level and the clip engagement was too strong to just push it down. Second time around I disengaged the clip so could push the pipe down in the early part of the mash which worked well and meant I felt I didn't have to constantly monitor it.

Has anyone fashioned something to attach to the end of the pump recalculation hose to spread out the wort recalculation? Even though the top screen is in place I do worry about grain channeling beneath the screen and an attachment on the end of the hose might be useful...something like they have on the Brewtools machine. Maybe I'm over thinking it. There seems to be two schools of thought, to reduce the recalculation flow to match the flow through the grain bed, or to run it full blast and let the overflow tube do its thing. I've not decided which is best for me, but with the latter I'd be worried about channelling.

I don't believe there is any reason to use the overflow, it is a safety feature. Any wort overflowing is doing nothing, so I'd suggest matching the flows as you suggest.

I've seen people with various ways of distributing the wort, but personally as long as you have got a level above the grain bed it won't matter, the wort will go where it wants to. Gravity works equally on all points of the top of the grain bed, so even if you squirt wort at one side, it'll spread out across the whole top of the bed. Equally if you spread or across the whole top, that won't affect any channelling.

 

[Stonedhouse]

I don't believe there is any reason to use the overflow, it is a safety feature. Any wort overflowing is doing nothing, so I'd suggest matching the flows as you suggest.

I've seen people with various ways of distributing the wort, but personally as long as you have got a level above the grain bed it won't matter, the wort will go where it wants to. Gravity works equally on all points of the top of the grain bed, so even if you squirt wort at one side, it'll spread out across the whole top of the bed. Equally if you spread or across the whole top, that won't affect any channelling.

Agreed - I was about to say that I adjust the low flow circulation to maintain about 1cm depth of wort spread across the whole of the top plate, therefore giving confidence the wort will drain down through all holes in the plate. I even rotate the plate slightly every now to reposition those hole slightly, just for peace of mind..... which I know I don't need

 

[buddsy]

Glad you guys brought this up. I had watched the guy on the homebrew network youtube show how he starts with a very low flow then up it as the mash allows.

Ive done this like you said have a level of wort sitting on the bed. I wondered what I should be doing with the over flow? Upping the depth so it just starts to trickle over? Ive chosen to have the wort sitting below. So far Ive been able to increase to quite a good rate of flow over the bed.

buddsy

 

[RGeats]

Agreed - I was about to say that I adjust the low flow circulation to maintain about 1cm depth of wort spread across the whole of the top plate, therefore giving confidence the wort will drain down through all holes in the plate. I even rotate the plate slightly every now to reposition those hole slightly, just for peace of mind..... which I know I don't need

Whatever keeps you happy
I'm sure we all do things we probably know don't make a difference but it's what we do anyway! It gives you something to fiddle with when mashing. I like keeping an eye on my temp using a hand held thermometer, and if the temp drops by 0.1degC I'll bump the BZ up 1 degC until it comes back! The fact I'm only measuring near the top of the mash with a thermometer which at best is 0.5degC accuracy doesn't matter!

 

[RGeats]

Glad you guys brought this up. I had watched the guy on the homebrew network youtube show how he starts with a very low flow then up it as the mash allows.

Ive done this like you said have a level of wort sitting on the bed. I wondered what I should be doing with the over flow? Upping the depth so it just starts to trickle over? Ive chosen to have the wort sitting below. So far Ive been able to increase to quite a good rate of flow over the bed.

buddsy

I think if you can't get a decent flow it suggests something else is wrong. Either the malt crush is too fine or the bed is compacted. When I've had this I will give the mash a stir to try and resolve. Some people suggest letting the grain bed settle for 15mins after mashing in before starting recirculation, which is great if you get your strike temp right so the mash temp is right after mash in.

 

[Stonedhouse]

Personally I like keeping only around 1cm depth above the top plate and not going over the top overflow. I gives me the feelgood factor there is not too much of a void beneath the grainbed, giving a bit more of a margin for error in avoiding scorched wort.

 

[foxy]

The problem is had with the overflow pipe is when the clip engages I can't get it to release without pushing hard on it and I'd be worried I'd be worried id end up breaking something! So I usually just run with the overflow pipe fully extended every time, and just monitor the liquid level by eye. Probably not the best bit seems to work.

Nothing wrong with that, that's why I made mine obsolete, once you are used to your SVB, whichever is being used, it' hardly worth installing something when we spend time choking the tap to prevent it from being used!
What I used to do when using mine was put the bazooka over the end of the top of the return pipe. A dip tube works better than a bazooka on the end of the tap.

This is on the 60 litre Hopcat

 

[buddsy]

Great information!

Would it not be simpler to just blank off the overflow tube at the bottom where it joins the bottom mesh?

Dip tube? Is that the slightly angled pipe to allow you to leave a bit more sludge in the bottom?

Thanks again

buddsy

 

[Stonedhouse]

Great information!

Would it not be simpler to just blank off the overflow tube at the bottom where it joins the bottom mesh?

Dip tube? Is that the slightly angled pipe to allow you to leave a bit more sludge in the bottom?

Thanks again

buddsy

I'd say the best approach is to only mod your gear once you have settled on your preferred process (eg circulate or stir during the mash) and as Foxy above particularly points out "once you are used to your SVB" which is key.

I use my overflow tube religiously as I prefer to continuously circulate during the mash - and the overflow gives me peace of mind. In the early days I once had the circulation flow too high for a slightly stickier mash and had left the overflow pipe at full height. I turned my back for a while only to return to find the wort had risen to near the top of the vessel and the sizzling sound of my precious wort dripping on to the hot heating element area where the pump had sucked the area dry with no overflow flowback to replace it.

If you are not recirculating a lot then this won't be an issue and yeah it might be advantageous to take the tube out the equation somehow.

 

[Benfleet Brewery]

A lot of the processes I use with the BZ have been brought over from when I did BIAB. eg, I leave the top screen off so I can stir the mash a few times like I did previously. Also, the first few brews I did with the BZ I found I was losing about 5 litres of water in grain retention. I only used to lose 4 with BIAB as I was able to squeeze the hell out of it at the end of the sparge. So, last time I used the BZ I put the top screen back on towards the end of the sparge when I moved the malt pipe to another bucket. Then, when it had almost stopped draining, I just applied some gentle pressure to the top screen. Got me at least another 1/2 litre or so

 

[buddsy]

I'd say the best approach is to only mod your gear once you have settled on your preferred process

I use my overflow tube religiously as I prefer to continuously circulate during the mash

Yes you are probably right.

I have always circulated during mash. Luckily so far Ive had good flow. Start with it very low and up to as the mash progresses.

buddsy

 

[foxy]

Great information!

Would it not be simpler to just blank off the overflow tube at the bottom where it joins the bottom mesh?

Dip tube? Is that the slightly angled pipe to allow you to leave a bit more sludge in the bottom?

Thanks again

buddsy

I do have a 1/2" plug with a lock nut through the hole in the bottom screen, even though it is a locking screen I have secured the screen in place with a strap across the bottom of the malt pipe.

 

[hoppyscotty]

How are people finding the temperature reading on their Brewzilla's? Did the third brew on ours today and when chilling it seemed to take an age to register the Wort cooling. Was still saying 71 degrees when a thermometer was down at 35 degrees and it never caught up by the time the wort cooled to the temp we transferred into the fermentor. Seems to be OK when heating up to mash temp and to the boil. Not really an issue as I'd always check with a separate thermometer anyway but just wondered if it is normal. Thanks.

 

[Joc9410]

How are people finding the temperature reading on their Brewzilla's? Did the third brew on ours today and when chilling it seemed to take an age to register the Wort cooling. Was still saying 71 degrees when a thermometer was down at 35 degrees and it never caught up by the time the wort cooled to the temp we transferred into the fermentor. Seems to be OK when heating up to mash temp and to the boil. Not really an issue as I'd always check with a separate thermometer anyway but just wondered if it is normal. Thanks.

I did my first brew with BZ this week and was surprised how quick it cooled. BZ temp matched a thermometer check.
I used whirlpool arm while cooling not sure if that made the difference as first time.

 

[Gerryjo]

I did my first brew with BZ this week and was surprised how quick it cooled. BZ temp matched a thermometer check.
I used whirlpool arm while cooling not sure if that made the difference as first time.

The arm would make a big difference circulating the wort around and cooling the base giving a more accurate reading.

 

[RGeats]

How are people finding the temperature reading on their Brewzilla's? Did the third brew on ours today and when chilling it seemed to take an age to register the Wort cooling. Was still saying 71 degrees when a thermometer was down at 35 degrees and it never caught up by the time the wort cooled to the temp we transferred into the fermentor. Seems to be OK when heating up to mash temp and to the boil. Not really an issue as I'd always check with a separate thermometer anyway but just wondered if it is normal. Thanks.

Are you circulating when cooling? Makes a big difference to the reading on the BZ. Still not the same as a thermometer but a lot closer.