GrainFather v other systems.

[SmallSpacesBrewing]

Really?! My wife seems to have a lot of viking influence...! Is yours Norwegian?

Yes she is (and she's got that Viking thing also), so am I. We live in the rainy city of stavanger

 

[Alastair70]

If your partners read this you may soon find out how accurate those statements are.

Ordered the Grainfather tonight while the good lady is a work. I'll gauge the mood carefully before breaking the news!

 

[SmallSpacesBrewing]

Ordered the Grainfather tonight while the good lady is a work. I'll gauge the mood carefully before breaking the news!

Im sure you and your Grain Father will have a nice life together in your soon to be one bedroom apartment

 

[Chippy_Tea]

Ordered the Grainfather tonight while the good lady is a work. I'll gauge the mood carefully before breaking the news!

I wish you good luck.

 

[David Heath]

Ordered the Grainfather tonight while the good lady is a work. I'll gauge the mood carefully before breaking the news!

Great, first rule of homebrew....it was half the price you paid if you are married!

 

[Rich]

Recently bought the Chinese one mentioned here branded as hopcat v2, which is a recently improved version.
I’m really pleased with it, seems good quality peice of kit, and came as a bundle with whirlpool attachment, insulation, hop spider and stainless steel immersion chiller, personally I wouldn’t use another style of chiller at this scale due to sanitation issues and the wort spend longer at Isomerisation temps.
I don’t find the control panel being at the bottom an issue as I don’t have it on the floor. And at £400 all in quite a bit cheaper than the grainfather.
Support through the hopcat brand that i bought is nonexistent, but angel homebrew sell them under the brewdevil brand and there support is very good, also a Facebook group with lots of advice and support.

 

[David Heath]

I think it is fair to say that the GF enjoyed a good honeymoon period with not many cheaper viable alternatives for some years but now some of the cheaper systems are catching up.
I really comes down to what your budget and expectations are.

 

[foxy]

Robobrew price just went up from £320 to £350, I guess because there is no longer a wait. Get one quick before this batch sells out! https://brewkegtap.co.uk/products/robobrew-v3-all-grain-brewing-system-with-pump-35l

Just noticed on that Robobrew which allegedly has CE compliance, I see it has a Chinese Export logo which is also CE has anyone checked the compliance?

 

[kelper]

CE and Chinese CE logos are very similar. but for most goods the CE is not a proof of safety since the manufacturers or importers self-certify. The CE logo is based on interlocking circles, while the Chinese copy has a slight overlap. The Robobrew logo with a number is probably genuine and involves certification from a third party. The Chinese claim that their symbol stands for 'China Export' is a blatant lie.

 

[Clint]

It might stand for Catastrophic Electrics...

 

[pms67]

I would love a Robobrew and my heart sunk a little further yesterday when I ordered some grain and my newest system, another £10 mash bag
One day...........

 

[pms67]

This might be of interest to someone

 

[pms67]

Or this, with a pump

 

[Clint]

You know what...I keep delaying buying an electronic system...I just KNOW it would break down...not because they're rubbish but because it would be mine...

 

[David Heath]

Any company importing equipment needs full documentation be it from China or anywhere else.

 

[David Heath]

You know what...I keep delaying buying an electronic system...I just KNOW it would break down...not because they're rubbish but because it would be mine...

Haha, well there is the warranty. If you stick with medium/high price point stuff then it should last around 10 years.

 

[Clint]

You're probably right Dave...on both. Show me one that isn't made in China..or has Chinese components.

 

[kelper]

Just noticed on that Robobrew which allegedly has CE compliance, I see it has a Chinese Export logo which is also CE has anyone checked the compliance?

The number next to the CE mark belongs to ZENITH INTERNATIONAL COMPLIANCE SERVICES CO.,LTD of China. It seems to be legitimate. Their website does not accept https connections but I was able to access it after tuning of some filters applied by BT internet. See https://www.zics.cn/

I would trust Robobrew. And that is not a China Export thingy, it's the real McCoy.

 

[kelper]

Any company importing equipment needs full documentation be it from China or anywhere else.

Importers should have such documentation available. But who is policing it? I bet most of the cheap, unbranded phone and laptop chargers you see on eBay or not compliant. I bought a replacement charger for my laptop; whenever I plugged it into my laptop the mouse froze. When I unplugged it my mouse worked again. So I binned it.

 

[David Heath]

You're probably right Dave...on both. Show me one that isn't made in China..or has Chinese components.

I don't know of any , no matter how budget or premium they are that are not made in China. Just because something is made in China that does not make it bad. It just makes it price efficient.