Forum Member Brewing Equipment Reviews. (Unlocked)

[Chippy_Tea]

If you have bought something new or have something you couldn't do without please review it here.

.

The Little Bottler - http://www.thehomebrewforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=58393

Bucket Clip/Syphon Clamp - http://www.thehomebrewforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=58710

Digital Kitchen Scale - http://www.thehomebrewforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=58632

Cool Brewing Fermentation Bag - http://www.thehomebrewforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=58966

Brupaks Immersion Wort Cooler (Old Style) - http://www.thehomebrewforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=58400

Brewferm Stainless Steel Brew Kettle Boiler - http://www.thehomebrewforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=58399

SS Brewtech Chronicle 7 US Gal Conical Fermenter - http://www.thehomebrewforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=58853

Fast Ferment Plastic Conical & Stand - http://www.thehomebrewforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=58536

.

 

[Chippy_Tea]

Gas burner Advice (Propane or Butane) http://www.thehomebrewforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=59280

Inkbird 308 - http://www.thehomebrewforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=61773

Inkbird temp controllers (post 3) - http://www.thehomebrewforum.co.uk/showthread.php?p=565365#post565365

Bench Cappers - http://www.thehomebrewforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=52993&highlight=bench+capper

Digital Thermometer - http://www.thehomebrewforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=61093

 

[Chippy_Tea]

Inkbird ITC 310T Review (part 1) - http://www.thehomebrewforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=62031

Inkbird ITC-308 Temperature Controller Review - http://www.thehomebrewforum.co.uk/showthread.php?p=573999#post573999

 

[Chippy_Tea]

Grainfather http://www.thehomebrewforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=62532

 

[Chippy_Tea]

What process / technique / piece of equipment has improved your beer the most? http://www.thehomebrewforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=62608

 

[Chippy_Tea]

Geterbrewed have got the Cool Brewing Bag in (Don't forget the discount code in the sponsors forum) review - http://www.thehomebrewforum.co.uk/showthread.php?p=602894#post602894

 

[Chippy_Tea]

Inkbird 308S review - http://www.thehomebrewforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=66471

 

[Chippy_Tea]

I have the DJ cleaner and it works a treat.

I got mine on Ebay.


Carboy / Demijohn / Bottle Cleaner Clean Bottle. Drill Cleaning Brush Beer Wine

 

[Chippy_Tea]

Inkbird ITC-308 temperature controller - Review - http://www.thehomebrewforum.co.uk/showthread.php?p=669436#post669436

.

 

[Chippy_Tea]

This thread is now unlocked feel free to add your reviews. :thumb:

.

 

[chewie]

Brewferm Stainless steel malt mill.

Just bought this today and a few things hit me about it almost right away.

The hopper is 4 pieces of aluminium, disadvantages of that are that it is extremely easy to damage so care will be needed during it's lifetime to prevent it going badly out of shape from even minor knocks. Aluminium is also very prone to corrosion by salt so keep it well away from any. On the plus side it is also easy to put back into shape just don't do it to often.

Instructions are all but non existent though it isn't hard to fathom out from the small pics.

The hopper nuts are minute and of no known size, 5mm socket is to small and 6mm socket is to big, good luck finding a 7/32th spanner or socket to hand, if you don't mind gurrying the crap outta the nuts with vice grips or something similar fine but really for something supposedly made in Belgium is it that difficult to use a bog standard metric nut and bolt of a semi decent size instead of a piss poor fiddly awkward sized nut which has a thread lock incorporated.

Another poor feature is the location of these nuts and bolts inside the hopper, they face each other across the short side of the hopper, if the hopper walls had been manufactured in such a way as to have the nuts and bolts facing each other across the wide side of the hopper then it would be so much easier to tighten them up especially the bottom 4, they may have a threadlock built in but if you intend to use a drill to wizz thru a batch of grain then you want these as tight as you can get them as i certainly don't fancy a bolt coming lose and falling into rollers at 100rpm. This is why i put the nuts to the outside instead of inside as they are small enough to jam into the rollers.

On the good side the rollers are quite heavy and adjustment for crush is straight forward. I bought this from GEB and it came supplied with a bucket for catching grain in.

I will add more to this when i start to use it and get an idea of how it performs.

http://www.geterbrewed.com/brewferm-adustable-roller-malt-mill-bucket/

 

[Hop_Head]

I'm on my third brew with the Fermentasaurus, and after trying out just about every type of homebrewing fermenting vessel known to humanity over the last 40 years, I can say, hand on heart, that it is the best I've used to date. For me, it's simply next-level fermenting. And so much fun! (So much so that I now have two!)

My observations so far are thus:


It’s well made and easy to put together, light, and easy to carry even when full thanks to the carrying handles.


It is pretty tall though, so if you like to ferment in a fridge you’ll need a tall larder fridge (mine are 145cm tall, which is the minimum height you need).
It’s great to be able to observe your fermentation as it progresses, and it works brilliantly under airlock and pressure. However, to deny yourself the pressure kit means missing out on the key advantages of this FV.


One of these key advantages for me is the ability to ferment and transfer with minimal (or zero) exposure to oxygen. And no more racking cane! Another is the ability to take samples for tasting or gravity testing with a picnic tap, and another is the ability to carb and serve from the FV, should you feel the need.


But as said above, the really big game changer for me is being able to ferment and transfer with minimal to no exposure to oxygen and no messing about with a racking cane. The Fermentasaurus remains in situ in the fridge, and after cold crashing I simply connect my transfer tubing to the liquid out and in posts on the FV and (purged) keg, and as long as you maintain a slightly higher pressure in the FV than the keg, it works beautifully. Takes a little longer, but that’s not an issue for me.


Things I don’t like?


Not much. I’m not a fan of dropping trub and harvesting yeast, so don’t use the collection vessel. (I’d much rather overbuild a starter than harvest.) It can be used for dry hopping, but the manufacturers recommend only adding 30g at a time. As I regularly dry hop with anything from 150 – 300g, that’s a no-no. Much better to release the pressure, spin the lid off and add dry hops the traditional way, from the top. Screw the lid back on and purge with CO2 a few times, repressurise, and job done. Takes mere seconds. That seems to me to be more sensible than having oxygen bubbling up through the beer via the collection vessel method.


Overall though, I’m delighted with it. By far the best fermenter I’ve ever owned.


Check out this review to see it in action: [ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y_RQKeFlwfA&t=1512s[/ame]

 

[mgkpancake]

The Ace microbrewery/Klarstein/Easybrew, etc whatever you want to call it is a good all in one system. I personally have had a terrible experience with it regarding reliability. Considering I was one of the first ones to receive it, this is not a coincidence. Since however the systems have been developed with some 'upgrades' that make them robust including:

- New heater element supplier with better casting
- Updated controller
- 'Legs' on the grain basket to keep it from slipping
- etc.

I have had these issues affect me:

- Melted switch
- Failed temperature sensor
- Bad element

I have replaced literally everything except for the pump and original ball valve and save a few wires and screws I ended up recycling for the PID replacement of the stock controller.

There are some things that need to be done to the 'Guten' as we will call it to make it reliable. You definitely 100% need a separate way to monitor temperature- another thermo pen, gauge, whatever. This is so you can calibrate if it's off. The lauter helix works much better than the stock 'strainer' so don't overlook that!

Hindsight is always 20/20 and maybe a grainfather would have been a better choice for me if I was wanting reliability/time savings(it's tried and tested) But also considering where the Guten is now, it may be a real viable choice with it's price point and updates.

 

[Chippy_Tea]

Heat Pad.

I found one going cheap on ebay turns out they sell them in Wilko and at £25 they are the cheapest i have seen. http://www.wilko.com/homebrew-gifts...Vg73tCh2TjgBSEAQYAyABEgLEx_D_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

I put my FV on the pad at 6 o'clock last night and its reading 23c this morning (its 15c in my kitchen) this is not the mat type pad i was expecting (because of the price i paid) it is the more expensive plastic tray type.


Edit 9/2/18 the heat maxed out at 26c and it stayed there.

Easy to use.

Maintain the perfect temperature for fermentation

Great value

This heat pad can be used to maintain the fermentation temperature of your home brew. Providing an ideal temperature for brewing. Simply plug in and go!

£25.00