All in one system!

[canairyman]

Hi
Could I have opinions on the Grainfather s40 please? Thinking of purchasing one, if not what else would you suggest at the same ball park figure?

 

[Chippy_Tea]

What budget do you have?

 

[Galena]

What budget do you have?

I believe he already answered that in his opening question "Same ballpark figure"

 

[Chippy_Tea]

"Same ballpark figure"

I did notice that but I thought it would be easier for members to give their view if they had a maximum figure to work with.

 

[MashBag]

Having seen a couple in use, I would recommend the klarstein kit. Build quality is good. You can choose you level of automation.

The only issue with all units in this price bracket is the bonded heating element.
When this goes pop, the unit is pretty much a rightoff, which seems to be about 5 years (ish).

 

[hoppyscotty]

Personally I think these all in one systems are all much of a muchness. Each have their own pro's and cons. I have a brewzilla but have never been tempted to 'upgrade' to either the latest version of the Brewzilla or pony up even more cash for the latest and greatest Brewfather because I'm not sure that an alternative system will produce better results for you once yo've got used to its pro's and cons. And I'm not tempted by the 'smart' features which seem a bit pointless really. Personally I'd prefer to put the money into fermentation and packaging.

 

[The Baron]

My unit was the ACE also known as the Klarstein, Brew Monk, Angel Brew etc as they are all the same just re-badged. It has the bonded elements as does all the lower end Grainfathers too so as Mashbag said that is the only down point but mine lasted over 5 years and I will be buying another as I knew it had a limited life and have been happy with the usage I got out of it over 250 brews.
I have just put a Peco style element in mine so that I can use it until I get around to buying a new unit. I have used it with this element in it and just had to mash manually as the programmes do not work with a foreign unit in it but everything else still worked so I used the pump to re-circulate while mashing and the temperature scale still registered so just lost the programmability.
This will eventually just be a back up unit or I could do 2 brews together.
Ps I only paid £280 for mine nearly 6 years ago so £1 a brew seemed good value to me and as I have said I can still use it albeit manually.
Hope this helps

 

[canairyman]

I believe he already answered that in his opening question "Same ballpark figure"

Around £350 mark

 

[Leon103]

Around £350 mark

Can you get a grainfather for £350?

 

[Agentgonzo]

Can you get a grainfather for £350?

The S40 model is quite a bit cheaper than the G40.

 

[Galena]

Can you get a grainfather for £350?

£339

 

[canairyman]

Can you get a grainfather for £350?

Yea! My local brew shop quoted me £325 for the S40

 

[MrJay83]

I have a Brewzilla 3.1.1 and really like it. As mentioned above I have no interest in all the automatic functions and bells & whistles of more expensive kit. The most I get out of the programmes is if I'm doing an early brew I'll set it so my water is up to temp when I get up.

 

[RoomWithABrew]

I started with a robobrew 3 and it worked well. New model brewzilla 4 seems to have " issues " as if it's being evolved in use rather than pre production.
I'd go for one of these again and spend the savings on things like whirlpool arm, modified flow to whirlpool and recirculate during the mash, these things really help temperature control and efficiency.

 

[MrJay83]

I started with a robobrew 3 and it worked well. New model brewzilla 4 seems to have " issues " as if it's being evolved in use rather than pre production.
I'd go for one of these again and spend the savings on things like whirlpool arm, modified flow to whirlpool and recirculate during the mash, these things really help temperature control and efficiency.

I've given up on the BZ whirlpool arm. I just trap the hose beside one leg of the chiller and it does the same job. I really liked it previously but having to sanitise my hose arm just for transferring after using the whirlpool arm is a pain in the ****. I honestly think it's an unnecessary gadget.