Why are Tilts so expensive and can you justify the cost of buying them

[The Baron]

As the title says why are they so expensive as all they are are a hydrometer that sends upto date readings via a App/mobile phone. Surely this technology is not cutting edge compared to some of the things we can buy nowadays it seems to be that they know that quite a large amount brewers are hobbyists and as with most hobbies they have a larger disposable income. Do people think the same as me and yes I know they do a good job for brewers but I can not justify £130 plus for a hydrometer as really that is all it is

 

[Brewnaldo]

I want it but camt justify it currently

 

[The Baron]

I understand that but what I am trying to say is for £130 plus you can buy a lot of technology in these times so why something that really is quite simple as modern technology goes is so expensive after all it is a hydrometer. I suppose the techno's with plenty of disposable income will always want the latest new gadget. I can afford one but will not pay that for it

 

[JonBrew]

There're loads of guides online for building DIY digital hydrometers for a fraction of the cost. Pretty sure I saw a guy selling DIY Tilt copies for £30 on ebay. Could be poorly made I suppose. Even if I was minted I wouldn't spend the money on a Tilt.

It's a bit like the Grainfather vs Robobrew/Brew Monk/Klastein thing. £300 price difference for what? Wi-Fi and the ability to store/upload recipes or something. I'm sure there's more to of course but I suspect a chunk of what you're paying for is the Grainfather brand.

 

[Ben034]

As the title says why are they so expensive as all they are are a hydrometer that sends upto date readings via a App/mobile phone. Surely this technology is not cutting edge compared to some of the things we can buy nowadays it seems to be that they know that quite a large amount brewers are hobbyists and as with most hobbies they have a larger disposable income. Do people think the same as me and yes I know they do a good job for brewers but I can not justify £130 plus for a hydrometer as really that is all it is

You can get similar called an Ispindel which you need to put together yourself. The parts cost about £30. I guess the 4x markup for something already made for you is labour, profit (manufacture and resaler), import fees potentially, warranty etc.

I bought an Ispindel from someone on Jim's forum already made for about £40. Can see the appeal, but ultimately hated itcleaning it after and didn't like the possibility of infection as krausen soaked into the lid threads on mine. Also had some technical issues and it was too much faffing about for me with calibration.

 

[Brewnaldo]

I understand that but what I am trying to say is for £130 plus you can buy a lot of technology in these times so why something that really is quite simple as modern technology goes is so expensive after all it is a hydrometer. I suppose the techno's with plenty of disposable income will always want the latest new gadget. I can afford one but will not pay that for it

I was generally agreeing with you. I am a wee bit obsessive about monitoring fermentation currently as I am new to this and want to know whats going on. It's right up my street, but given the alternative (sample from the tap or lid off and manual reading) which is hardly laborious, I agree that I will not shell out 130 notes. Its simply too expensive for a handy but not essential gadget

 

[The Baron]

It would be interesting to see how many of the buyers of said equipment answer honestly on the poll or answer because they have bought one

 

[stevey]

I've had the ispindel, I now have a tilt. You can check your brew from anywhere with the ispindel as it connects to the internet, however, they are a pain in the arse to calibrate and you have to use a 3rd party website to connect. The £30 ones you have seen on ebay are just for the components, often without the tube. The Tilt is expensive, but easier to set up. Connection is by bluetooth, so you have to be closeby. The tilt is half the size of the ispindel. I think it's great for monitoring fermentation (and temperature) without having to open the fermenter, and speeds up my process as I know precisely when fermentation is finished

 

[MonkeyMick]

I bought the iSpindel just before Christmas for £34 and just got round to building it last weekend.

For around 20 soldered connections it took me in excess of 3 hours to work out what connector went where, which pins to cut, etc. I'm still only halfway through assembly, and still have to program then calibrate it.

If it works it'll be worth it, but don't expect clear instructions at all. I'm currently trying to translate German instructions to work out what to do next!

 

[The Baron]

I openly admit it is a good idea and from what I have read is better than the Ispindel but the question I am asking is can you justify the cost of over £100 as the technology is not in my opinion that expensive and it should be at a far lower price and smacks of profiteering

 

[Drunkula]

It's the size of the user base. Development costs spread over such a small audience. You can't expect them to have worked for nothing just based on the technology that was brought together to make it.

 

[stevey]

I paid £135 for mine iirc, and I plan to buy another soon. I didn't have to justify the cost, as I didn't tell swmbo how much it was. I think it was worth it. If you don't mind opening the fermenter every day, just buy a floating thermometer and leave it in the fermenter along with your hydrometer, that'll do the same job.

 

[Graz]

Couldn't justify anything more than what I have - Plastic Turkey Baster £2-50 eBay, plastic trial jar and hydrometer £6.65 Home Brew Online. Total £9.15

I use it typically twice per brew and it does everything I need it to do. First time, get a sample of what I'm about to ferment and get the OG. It goes into the brew fridge for at least two weeks and then when I'm pretty sure it's done I'll check again for the FG and that it hasn't stuck then it goes into the keg. Job done. I have no desire to monitor the fermentation continuously.

 

[The Baron]

I can not go with the working for nothing argument as they have not developed the technology but just used existing technology to produce a product and you watch the price comedown when they get some proper competition just like the all in one brewing systems have

 

[peebee]

Nope! I can't see how anyone can justify that price for one.

But it's something to muck about with. Can be used to enable bells and whistles and … flip, looks like I did justify the price and have one … by some tangled reasoning one became two. Just so I can watch the progress of fermentation on my PC upstairs without setting foot in the brewery.

But it has taken the best part of a year to get the hang of one. And I'm not sure yet if I have got the hang of it? They are precision instruments capable of reading the SG of the liquid it's in for days on end. Just so long as the liquid isn't fermenting beer generating gas and volumes of sticky yeast. The way gas makes them dance about is just one of those quirks you soon learn to ignore. The way yeast accumulates on them and distorts the readings takes a bit more getting used to (and with some yeasts you don't even see the "distortions"). I think I've got enough idea of them to calibrate out the worst excesses, and can recognise peculiarities as they happen: I'll see over the coming months. As long as you don't rely on them to show "expected" FGs they are fine, and let us face it, people expecting a particular FG will have trouble with whatever instrument they use; at least these things do confirm when fermentation is done, even if the reading might be suspect. They can also be used to draw out some very telling (and pretty) graphs … here's one:

 

[Drunkula]

I can not go with the working for nothing argument as they have not developed the technology but just used existing technology to produce a product

So there's no manufacturing and mounting things on custom circuit boards and stuff? And does it use existing software? I genuinely don't know, I've never seen one.

 

[foxy]

They are cheaper here but there is no way I would buy one, and I could get it at cost, as Graz says 2 or 3 times with a hydrometer and your done. No need for graphs, know your yeast you know how long it takes to ferment out. As for the cheap put it together yourself I don't think I haveseen a good report yet on those.
In the fishing world there is a phrase coined by English anglers, ' tackle tarts' very apt to use here.

 

[parpot]

I can buy a lot of ingredients/ Kits for £130.00

 

[the_quick]

Can't justify one,
- my brewing shed is quite far away from the house, even wifi doesn't get there.
- I use fermentation fridge that keep constant temp
- my fementers have taps, so easily I can pour into test jar
- always ferment for at least 2 weeks, so far every beer finished in that time
- I can buy lots of other kit/grain for £130

It is cool little item and someone develop it and they deserve benefit of their work, but for me it is just a gadget I don't need

 

[Bigjas]

It's a lot of money for a gadget I don't need. I always leave my wort to ferment for 2 weeks before taking a reading and its always finished by then. I have no desire to know what its doing during the two weeks of fermentation. So for me, it's solving a problem that doesn't exist.