BeerBorg

[quote="mashani"]@Banjo-Guy, I think you have to ship them back your old Picobrew to get that $600 discount on the new Z, so I don't think the market will be flooded with old Picrobrews for $600 from original owners who upgrade. Unless Zymatic refurbs them and re-sells them at a discount or something.

At least that's how I read the fine print.[/quote
It’s true that I have to ship it back to to get the 600.00 refund from PicoBrew. I think many people are plan on selling it on the open market and applying that money towards the new Zymatic.

There is a topic on one of the Facebook Pico pages that is connecting buyers and sellers of Zymatics. If you are looking to buy a used Zymatic it’s a great time.

One group is called Pico Brewers and the other is called Zymatic Pico Brewers.

I don’t know how to link to the Facebook group but here is the heading.
Group Buy/Sell thread for Zymatic units. If you are looking for one or selling, please post here with details. We have several people looking for used Zymatics.
#forsale #zymatic

When they first came out, I was concerned about Service, and repairability after warranty ended, plus stability of the company. A company that has to do fund raising for every product launch is concerning.

Sending a unit back 3 times in 2 1/2 years to me would be totally unacceptable, I'm assuming you haven't made 52 brews a year?

I am planning an upgrade to all grain from extract brewing at some point, currently working on depleting my inventory which has aged too much due to lower consumption with no 25 year old in the house any longer. I plan on doing 2.5 gallon batches via BIAB to start and see how we do with the smaller, fresher batches.

I do have a dream someday of brewing with fancy equipment having spent a year just doing that with 7 barrel batches, but if I can't consume it then it doesn't make much sense.

A agree that 3 returns is too many. That’s one of my main reasons for either upgrading or bailing.
They were using the first rollout to stress test the machines. That’s why I said we were beta testers.
It’s a very complicated device with many mechanical and electrical parts. Things will surely fail over time.
It is user serviceable. I fixed a couple of things on my own. This involved taking the Z apart. I have no trouble doing that but it’s annoying to become a Z technician. From what I’ve read the new unit will be easier to self service and it should be more reliable.

I’m seriously thinking about an all in one electronic BIAB. The ones that allow us to program the mash temps and steps should give the level of repeatability that the Z has. I know that the Grainfather has a delayed start which is a really nice feature.

The moisture from the boil would mean installing an exhaust fan.I need to figure that out.
I might just keep using my Z until it dies or upgrade if I see any significant improvements in the new one.
I think I could sell my Z instead of trading it in.
I’m still undecided about what’s next.

Swing and a miss! Two grand for 2.5 gallons and four grand for 10 gallons, on sale? I'll stick with what I got, maybe spend a couple hundred to upgrade kettles to electric so I can brew inside in miserable Cleveland winters.

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Dawg LB Steve wrote:Swing and a miss! Two grand for 2.5 gallons and four grand for 10 gallons, on sale? I'll stick with what I got, maybe spend a couple hundred to upgrade kettles to electric so I can brew inside in miserable Cleveland winters.

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It may be miss but they had over 2 million dollars in sales the first day. I’d call that a hit assuming people follow through on their orders. I have a feeling that there are a lot of people like me who have ordered but will back out before shipping date.
If that’s the case they have just borrowed millions of dollars for no interest.

Yep I can see that.

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Banjo-guy wrote: I’m still undecided about what’s next.

I don't want to tell anyone what to do and however anybody wants to brew is good with me. I really like my eBIAB system I am using now and getting better at it all the time. 77 efficiently on the last batch and is ok with me. A lot of hands on, but I like that anyways. I like the Grainfather and was very close to getting one. Yes I understand your circumstances with the smell and steam, but wouldn't have to boil hard if not wanted. Although I do.

berryman wrote:

Banjo-guy wrote: I’m still undecided about what’s next.

I don't want to tell anyone what to do and however anybody wants to brew is good with me. I really like my eBIAB system I am using now and getting better at it all the time. 77 efficiently on the last batch and is ok with me. A lot of hands on, but I like that anyways. I like the Grainfather and was very close to getting one. Yes I understand your circumstances with the smell and steam, but wouldn't have to boil hard if not wanted. Although I do.

I really nervous about moisture because I had a very expensive mold remediation in my basement. I’ll be installing a venting system of some sort if I go with the Grainfather.

What system are you using Berryman?

Banjo-guy wrote: What system are you using Berryman?

This https://www.williamsbrewing.com/BREWERS ... P4216.aspx it works for me. El-Cheapo and has its flaws but getting it dialed in. Not trying to sell you one, but have been getting good numbers and good beer with it.

berryman wrote:

Banjo-guy wrote: What system are you using Berryman?

This https://www.williamsbrewing.com/BREWERS ... P4216.aspx it works for me. El-Cheapo and has its flaws but getting it dialed in. Not trying to sell you one, but have been getting good numbers and good beer with it.

That’s an amazing price. I’ve seen the Robobrew before. It looks like it does everything you need. They don’t include a chiller. That’s a good thing for me.I don’t need a chiller. A lot of the other systems make you buy a chiller which is a waste for me.

@Banjo-Guy, this one is even cheaper ($199) if a 4 1/2 gallon volume is big enough for you to mash in for the kinds of 2.5 gallon batches you make (or you willing to add some dme to make up the difference). That is if it ever comes back in stock.

You would need a BIAB bag for it, it doesn't have a basket like the one above. Otherwise it's basically a smaller version. I might get one of these if they ever come back in stock, it would do what I want.

http://www.northernbrewer.com/gigawort- ... oil-kettle

After reading about these two inexpensive systems I think it wouldn’t be too hard to diy one of these.
The Northern Brewer model looks like its based on a coffee maker and an STC temperature conroller.
If you were to add an electric element and a valve you have done it.

How about building a higher quality version of this with a good boiling kettle and one or two elements? I think the STC controller would still be good enough.
If I had the skills I’ll bet an arduino could be set-up to program step mashes, boiling temperature and a delayed start.

https://ebrewsupply.com/collections/com ... a-biab-kit

I think this looks like a possible route.