Brew devil set up & test

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dan125

BIAB brewer
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After 108 brews I'm retiring my 50L pot and gas burner as my 50L brew devil arrived yesterday.
I've been cleaning and testing it today and am hoping some experienced all in one brewers can help with some questions I have.

The element only seems to heat a horseshoe shape strip around the outside of the central circle at the bottom, and seems to have tarnished quite badly after just a few minutes boiling water. Is this normal??

It came with this tiny bazooka filter that isn't mentioned in the destructions. Any idea where it's intended to go? It fits (fairly loosely) in the pump inlet hole
 
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After 108 brews I'm retiring my 50L pot and gas burner as my 50L brew devil arrived yesterday.
I've been cleaning and testing it today and am hoping some experienced all in one brewers can help with some questions I have.

The element only seems to heat a horseshoe shape strip around the outside of the central circle at the bottom, and seems to have tarnished quite badly after just a few minutes boiling water. Is this normal??

It came with this tiny bazooka filter that isn't mentioned in the destructions. Any idea where it's intended to go? It fits (fairly loosely) in the pump inlet hole
I think would always get a bit of burn in on something like that. And SS does go rainbow colour as it’s been heated.

It’s all about dialing in your numbers on a new kit. It’ll take a while but you’ll find the quickest and best way to get a beer through after a few brews.
 
I have the 30ltr version of this with the ACE brand and yes it is as Hoddy says just the rainbow colours coming out of the heated metal. Generally you may get some light burnt on grist in this area but it will wipe off with a sponge very easily. I have done 50 plus brews with my machine and only once had a darker burnt patch which I had to clean off more vigorously. I would not swap my machine as it has and still does serve me well it may not be fully programmable as it is the first version of these machines so you can tell contrary to some what grainfather owners says it has been and still is reliable but I can still put in my mash, mashout and boil all in one and then just let it run. Good luck I think you will not be disappointed with it as there are not many bad one brew machines nowadays as they have gone through the first few years of prototypes and been improved
 
I have the 30ltr version of this with the ACE brand and yes it is as Hoddy says just the rainbow colours coming out of the heated metal. Generally you may get some light burnt on grist in this area but it will wipe off with a sponge very easily. I have done 50 plus brews with my machine and only once had a darker burnt patch which I had to clean off more vigorously. I would not swap my machine as it has and still does serve me well it may not be fully programmable as it is the first version of these machines so you can tell contrary to some what grainfather owners says it has been and still is reliable but I can still put in my mash, mashout and boil all in one and then just let it run. Good luck I think you will not be disappointed with it as there are not many bad one brew machines nowadays as they have gone through the first few years of prototypes and been improved
Thanks - that's reassuring.
What sort of brewhouse efficiency have you been getting?
And do you use one of the funny little bazooka filter in the pump inlet? Was hoping to pump the wort out of the machine and not sure if this will be a help or a hindrance.
 
I get nothing less than 70% Dan and usually 75ish. I believe from what I was told by other people that just about all of the all in one brew machines use a bonded heating element Including the Grainfather so I have been told and the best advise I can give you is not to use the heating elements in any of the bonded element types at full whack. I generally use mine at 1900 and not at 2500 it takes a little longer but is kinder on the elements for longevity. The bazooka that came with mine was the standard 6 inch type for the tap and I have not seen the smaller one you have for the pump. I have never had a stuck pump anyway I just use a hop spider and it stops any blockages for me. Good luck I think you will be well happy with it
 
I get nothing less than 70% Dan and usually 75ish. I believe from what I was told by other people that just about all of the all in one brew machines use a bonded heating element Including the Grainfather so I have been told and the best advise I can give you is not to use the heating elements in any of the bonded element types at full whack. I generally use mine at 1900 and not at 2500 it takes a little longer but is kinder on the elements for longevity. The bazooka that came with mine was the standard 6 inch type for the tap and I have not seen the smaller one you have for the pump. I have never had a stuck pump anyway I just use a hop spider and it stops any blockages for me. Good luck I think you will be well happy with it

Great, thanks - can't wait to get a brew on next weekend.
The Beersmith profile has the BH efficiency set to 74% and I thought this might be a bit optimistic, but like @Hoddy said I'll have some better numbers after brew 1 on the system.
Was planning on bagging/spidering the hops so will hopefully avoid any clogging
:cheers3:
 
I have a one concept brewing kettle and the filter that looks like the one in your pics screws onto the tap inside the boiler.
Although that one looks alot smaller.
 
I have been told and the best advise I can give you is not to use the heating elements in any of the bonded element types at full whack. I generally use mine at 1900 and not at 2500 it takes a little longer but is kinder on the elements for longevity

I've got a v1 ace, when I knock the power down from 2500 the control circuit just cycles the element on and off. Is yours the same? Can't be good for the contacts surely?

Cheers. Tom
 
View attachment 19165 View attachment 19166 View attachment 19167
After 108 brews I'm retiring my 50L pot and gas burner as my 50L brew devil arrived yesterday.
I've been cleaning and testing it today and am hoping some experienced all in one brewers can help with some questions I have.

The element only seems to heat a horseshoe shape strip around the outside of the central circle at the bottom, and seems to have tarnished quite badly after just a few minutes boiling water. Is this normal??

It came with this tiny bazooka filter that isn't mentioned in the destructions. Any idea where it's intended to go? It fits (fairly loosely) in the pump inlet hole
The tiny bazooka goes into the pump inlet, best not to use it, if you get some grain going directly into the kettle that is where it stays, grain will go through the pump and dumped on the grain bed.
The scorching of the base seems to come from the mash cycle, I used to mash at 2000 watt and now have dropped it down to about 1600 watt for the mash and 2000 watt for the boil. It is important to calibrate your temperature with a good thermometer, that should be in the instructions.
I've got a v1 ace, when I knock the power down from 2500 the control circuit just cycles the element on and off. Is yours the same? Can't be good for the contacts surely?

Cheers. Tom
The circuit board in the Ace, Brew Devil, Guten etc etc etc is far superior than the Robobrew, I cannot recall having read of any relays sticking and burning out where it has been a common occurrence on the Robobrew there is also a double safety switch on the Brew Devil and all the associated vessels.
 
I've got a v1 ace, when I knock the power down from 2500 the control circuit just cycles the element on and off. Is yours the same? Can't be good for the contacts surely?

Cheers. Tom
Hi Tom it doesn't seem to recycle that much @ that temp IMO and I would rather have a longer life from the element which are bonded in just about every one brew system maybe apart from braumeisters but then you are getting into well over a grand. My machine has a variance of + or- 1 degree each way and with good insulation such as a brew jacket it will cut down the recycling and also be more efficient
 
I've got a v1 ace, when I knock the power down from 2500 the control circuit just cycles the element on and off. Is yours the same? Can't be good for the contacts surely?

Cheers. Tom
Mine cycles to keep the correct temperature on what ever power is needed I boil at 2500 and drop it down to 1900w to keep the rolling boil. Its designed to cycle on and off so technically there shouldn't be a problem . For mash out I use 2500w to get the temperature I need and again the power could be lowered once temperature as been achieved.
 
I'll have to have a fiddle next brew day and see how it goes. Since my 1st brew when I had the power set to 1900 once the boil was on it was cycling on and off every couple of seconds. Since then I've just left it on 2500. Be nice to but down on power usage if poss though

Cheers. Tom
 
Does anyone know if the longer of the two overflow pipes, on its own, will be OK for a 6kg grain bill? Although I'm guessing the amount of strike water will also matter?
 
I'll have to have a fiddle next brew day and see how it goes. Since my 1st brew when I had the power set to 1900 once the boil was on it was cycling on and off every couple of seconds. Since then I've just left it on 2500. Be nice to but down on power usage if poss though

Cheers. Tom
Hi Tom My Ace doesn't keep cycling it drops 1 degree before it kicks back and stays on until it heats it up 1 degree above to average the temp out and not every second as yours obviously is more accurate than mine and tries to keep the temp exact as mine drops a degree before kicking back in
 
I may of exaggerated slightly regarding the duration between cycles. If I remember rightly it was about 5-6 seconds between off then back on. Mind you that was before I insulated the beast.

Cheers. Tom
 

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