Ace Brewing System?

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The Baron

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Hi
my Peco gave up the ghost the other day and probably now is a opportune time to renew my system. I have seen so many post regarding the Ace system and want to know if anybody has had any problems with the system i.e the heating element lasting, problems using it etc any input would be welcome to aid a decision on whether to buy or refit the Peco
Thanks Pete
 
Haven't had any roblems with mine, but it looks like they have made some improvements on the6 step mash. One of the guys on AHB just received his new one last week and it has a hop timer and a nine recipe memory as well as the temp going up in .1 degree increments. But the best thing is you are getting something as good as a GF at half the price, cos your not paying for any marketing.
 
same as foxy I wished I have come across this system long time ago
go ahead and get one you won't be sorry
 
Haven't had any roblems with mine, but it looks like they have made some improvements on the6 step mash. One of the guys on AHB just received his new one last week and it has a hop timer and a nine recipe memory as well as the temp going up in .1 degree increments. But the best thing is you are getting something as good as a GF at half the price, cos your not paying for any marketing.

The ACE is good for the money I agree but not as good as the Grainfather.
The Grainfather is more reliable, has a better programmer and the counterflow chiller comes with it and works very well.
 
same as foxy I wished I have come across this system long time ago
go ahead and get one you won't be sorry

Hi Thanks and Foxy
Guess what bought it a hour ago direct as they are only a mile and half away
will test it soon
Pete
 
The Ace is good for the money because it isn't loaded to the hilt with advertising as I said on the other post they have both had the same issues, they both have the same pump the same knock out switch, the same warranty both do the same job, though the Ace has a bigger capacity. We don't have a distributor here so we have to buy direct from the manufacturer. The 50 litre is US $189 with a 300 watt element and the 30 litre is US$160 with a 2500 watt element so that will give you some idea of how much of the GF cost goes towards advertising.
 
i will be using mine tomorrow
this will be about the 30th brew I done with out any problems
always done a full 30lt brews each time
 
glad to hear you've done 30 full brews no problem that what I was trying to get to the reliability
Not taken it out of the box as yet but will do tonight have 3 brews to do in the next couple of weeks
Thanks Lads
 
The Ace is good for the money because it isn't loaded to the hilt with advertising as I said on the other post they have both had the same issues, they both have the same pump the same knock out switch, the same warranty both do the same job, though the Ace has a bigger capacity. We don't have a distributor here so we have to buy direct from the manufacturer. The 50 litre is US $189 with a 300 watt element and the 30 litre is US$160 with a 2500 watt element so that will give you some idea of how much of the GF cost goes towards advertising.

So the only thing they share really then is the pump.
Thermal cutout will be common to all similar water boilers, 12 month warranty is normal for most domestic appliances.
Hardly interchangeable parts and rolling off the same production line then is it?

The new controller on the Grainfather has -
Complete control over the heater power using a modified PID algorithm, gives more accurate temperature control and removes the need for the Element Variation Switch. No longer is the element simply on or off.

In plain English it predicts the power required and regulates it to avoid overshooting.
 
So the only thing they share really then is the pump.
Thermal cutout will be common to all similar water boilers, 12 month warranty is normal for most domestic appliances.
Hardly interchangeable parts and rolling off the same production line then is it?

The new controller on the Grainfather has -
Complete control over the heater power using a modified PID algorithm, gives more accurate temperature control and removes the need for the Element Variation Switch. No longer is the element simply on or off.

In plain English it predicts the power required and regulates it to avoid overshooting.

Good point but, and I have a GF, the Bluetooth controller on its own can be bought for around £110.00, it makes me wonder weather it could some how be retro fitted to the ACE ?? my point is though is that the GF costs around £700 if you deduct the price of the controller it still puts it at £600 which for a boiler, pump and counter flow chiller is still expensive and I often find my self still trying to justify the cost of the GF. I think if my GF were to go faulty after the warranty has expired I would be looking at cheaper options and maybe as i said, try to retro fit the Bluetooth controller to make a Hack Father.
 
The element in the Ace and the GF are from the same manufacturer, the Ace has a 2500 watt and the G F a 2000 watt the Ace wattage is also variable, when setting the steps the time, temp and wattage for each step is entered on the controller. The new Ace as I mentioned now has a 9 recipe memory base and the temperature is set in point 1 degree increments, both new features totally unnecessary.
The Achilles heel on both units is the cemented in element, once that goes it is not replaceable, I would much sooner that instead of Ace having the unnecessary extra features that they make the element replaceable.
But when it comes back to value fo money the Ace takes some beating.
 
Didn't @mgkpancake replace the element and post a video showing how to do it on the ACE microbrewery thread?
I may be mis-remembering as I've had a couple of drinks and can't find it. Certainly replaced something.
 
They replaced his unit. The elements are cemented in so they are both a throwaway unit, seems a shame that neither models come with an element that can be replaced.
 
I seem to recall seeing a video of someone replacing the element as they had to cement the new element in. I remember thinking that it looked difficult for someone like me to do. I'll see if I can find it later

Edit: can't find the video - I thought I'd saved it somewhere but its not on my phone or pc. I definitely remember watching someone removing the old cement and replacing a part (I thought it was the element) and having to cement the new part in.
 
This is what you're thinking of, he got a new unit and had to fit all the bits and pieces to it, if the element goes the unit is rooted.
[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LP0YnJ50keM[/ame]
 
The Ace is good for the money because it isn't loaded to the hilt with advertising as I said on the other post they have both had the same issues, they both have the same pump the same knock out switch, the same warranty both do the same job, though the Ace has a bigger capacity. We don't have a distributor here so we have to buy direct from the manufacturer. The 50 litre is US $189 with a 300 watt element and the 30 litre is US$160 with a 2500 watt element so that will give you some idea of how much of the GF cost goes towards advertising.

Do you know what sort of pump they use? I ask as been trying to make one using th original ace boiler and a solar pump. The pumps are a nightmare though as they keep stopping and need taking apart to get them going again. Might have to start a thread see if anyone else is having the same problems. Cheers.
 
Good point but, and I have a GF, the Bluetooth controller on its own can be bought for around £110.00, it makes me wonder weather it could some how be retro fitted to the ACE ?? my point is though is that the GF costs around £700 if you deduct the price of the controller it still puts it at £600 which for a boiler, pump and counter flow chiller is still expensive and I often find my self still trying to justify the cost of the GF. I think if my GF were to go faulty after the warranty has expired I would be looking at cheaper options and maybe as i said, try to retro fit the Bluetooth controller to make a Hack Father.

I believe there is some backup with GF, even after the warranty runs out, so spares can be obtained.
As for the controller, being that it is set up for a 2000w element, it would be unlikely to control something different.
I would like to think there is some way of replacing elements in both, be it soldering or cementing is required.
 
Do you know what sort of pump they use? I ask as been trying to make one using th original ace boiler and a solar pump. The pumps are a nightmare though as they keep stopping and need taking apart to get them going again. Might have to start a thread see if anyone else is having the same problems. Cheers.

Try Sandy, this is her email GutenKitchenEquip <[email protected]>
Explain what you want, she is really helpful.
 

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