# 65 litre RoboBrew Thread



## TwoCrows (28/11/18)

I cannot find a dedicated page for the new 65 ltr Robobrew. 

If there is one then this is thread starter is mute.

I am thinking of getting this version, if it is possible to fill two 20 ltr cubes. The cubes total volume is 22 ltrs each, so I need to get 44 litres post boil any loss to trub and dead space is extra.

If not then double brew days on the 35 ltr or a second unit for Chrissy


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## wide eyed and legless (28/11/18)

Its called a Brewzilla, not a Robobrew, someone bought one and started a thread on the other side.


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## altone (28/11/18)

And to answer your question it is possible to get 2 cubes but may be difficult with a very high gravity beer.


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## Lionman (28/11/18)

TwoCrows said:


> if it is possible to fill two 20 ltr cubes



That is pretty much the whole point of the device.


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## TwoCrows (28/11/18)

Quote That is pretty much the whole point of the device.

Yeh, double is the intention, but is it possible. That is the question. Not 40 or 42 maybe , actual 44 ltrs.


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## SponsorSFC (28/11/18)

Yeah I did it with my 65L last weekend with room to spare. You could easily get 50L of standard full strength ABV beer out of a brew. 

There is a Brewzilla facebook group up an running with a few bits of feedback from people's brew days.


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## pokolbinguy (2/12/18)

Has been way too many beers between posts and even more between brews. As such I am looking at possibly buying a "Brewzilla".

Anyone here have one and have any feedback?

Cheers Pok


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## Lionman (3/12/18)

pokolbinguy said:


> Anyone here have one and have any feedback?



A mate has one. He managed to break the bottom screen of the malt pipe on the first brew. Keg land are sending out a replacement.


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## fdsaasdf (3/12/18)

Lionman said:


> A mate has one. He managed to break the bottom screen of the malt pipe on the first brew. Keg land are sending out a replacement.


I'd be interested to know how it broke as mine feels like it is built like a tank. Did the threaded mount separate from the screen?


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## sixfignig (4/12/18)

Brewing two batches on Thursday on one, happy to provide feedback.


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## wide eyed and legless (4/12/18)

The only concern I have, as with all the concealed elements for the single vessel breweries is the burning out of one of the elements, Brewzilla has 3 elements so a 50% increase in the chances of an element burning out over a 2 element unit. I don't know how the concealed elements in the Crown urn are fitted but I have seen them on their spares list so they must be replaceable.


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## Lionman (4/12/18)

fdsaasdf said:


> I'd be interested to know how it broke as mine feels like it is built like a tank. Did the threaded mount separate from the screen?



Yep, Had some poor welds on it I think. It broke while he was emptying the spent grain.


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## enoch (10/12/18)

A bit of a stream of consciousness from first brew yesterday...

Physically is a great looking unit and quiet.
Camlock and valve on the recirculating arm are good. 
Silicon hose supplied is ridiculously short. Another metre or so would make pumping into fermenter easy. First thing I swapped out. 

Lack of instructions! 
On the 35 litre you only use the 500w for mashing. Does twice the volume means use the 1000? 

Mash water volume guidance? 
45 litre strike water and 10kg of grain put the mash over the bypass pipe. Thankfully I had solved this with the GF in the past. Divert some of the recirculated liquid into a bucket until the pipe is visible, put on top filter and bypass thingy and pour bucket back on top. 
A smarter person would have held back some of the strike water and added it after mashing in...

Throttle the recirc or go flat out?
Started with the former and then figured higher flow meant less chance of scorching so let the bypass earn its keep and switched to 1000w element. 

The boil went ok with some switch flipping. I used FermcapS to prevent boilover - worked a treat with 55 litres in the boiler.

Immersion chiller is under powered. Takes a long time to chill. That said...
Actually over chilled significantly as the temperature measurement point is down below the screen and the screen became fully caked with hop and break material. I use ice water to get the last 10C but when it said 20 it was down to 13 or so. In hindsight the slowing of the whirlpool from the pump return was evident - do get a secondary temperature monitor!

Over all a good brew day.


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## wide eyed and legless (10/12/18)

There are those who would say choke back on the return, 1) more chance of scorching with choke fully open. 2) The liquor going down the overflow isn't going through the grain bed.


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## Fro-Daddy (10/12/18)

wide eyed and legless said:


> more chance of scorching with choke fully open


How does that increase the chance of scorching?

I run mine enough to keep it constantly 10mm above the grain/top plate and don't use the centre overflow.


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## wide eyed and legless (10/12/18)

Fro-Daddy said:


> How does that increase the chance of scorching?
> 
> I run mine enough to keep it constantly 10mm above the grain/top plate and don't use the centre overflow.


Fully open the bottom of the kettle is emptying, less liquor more chance of scorching, keeping the liquor from going down the overflow means it is going through the wort extracting the sugars, I do full volume and have found it doesn't make a lot of difference as the grain is suspended in the liquor, but I do try to prevent using the overflow.


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## enoch (10/12/18)

Fro-Daddy said:


> How does that increase the chance of scorching?
> 
> I run mine enough to keep it constantly 10mm above the grain/top plate and don't use the centre overflow.


Agree. More flow means more liquid through the heating “chamber” beneath the screen so less chance of scorching.

While the liquid going down the pipe isn’t going through the grain bed it isn’t reducing the amount that does either as the liquid on top of the grain bed is effectively the “head” as the pump doesn’t force liquid through the grain bed.


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## wide eyed and legless (10/12/18)

enoch said:


> Agree. More flow means more liquid through the heating “chamber” beneath the screen so less chance of scorching.
> 
> While the liquid going down the pipe isn’t going through the grain bed it isn’t reducing the amount that does either as the liquid on top of the grain bed is effectively the “head” as the pump doesn’t force liquid through the grain bed.


Gravity versus the pump, if you have a compact grain bed the pump wins, common sense, the least amount of liquor in the bottom of the kettle = scorching or worse still an element burn out.


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## sixfignig (10/12/18)

I've now done two brews on the 65L unit, which I bought as an "upgrade" to capacity compared with my Grainfather.

The unit is absolutely great value for money and works as expected. Compared with the GF it's obviously a much poorer build quality, with sharp edges on the screens/malt pipe, and a few fairly obvious weld marks on the handles.

As far as operation is concerned, it pretty much worked flawlessly. Decent enough ramp times with all 3 elements switched on, good efficiency (52L of 1.058 wort). I'm also a bit suspect on the recirc arm assembly so will be swapping it out with something in the near future. Clean up was a breeze as well.

Hopefully the unit continues to perform well, as I've easily smashed out 100+ brews on the Grainfather without a hiccup.


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## Lorenzo99 (11/12/18)

wide eyed and legless said:


> Gravity versus the pump, if you have a compact grain bed the pump wins, common sense, the least amount of liquor in the bottom of the kettle = scorching or worse still an element burn out.


The overflow is there to ensure the bottom does not run dry if your grain bed is compacted. The pump can not pump the bottom dry as any extra liquid will return to the bottom through the overflow. This will also maintain a much more even mash temp, especially when you have a slower flow through the grain bed. My 2 cents.


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## wide eyed and legless (11/12/18)

Exactly, the overflow is a precautionary measure, not for the wort to be flowing down the overflow and not through the grain bed, the whole idea is to set the choke so that the wort maintains a steady level just below the overflow the wort then has to g through the grain bed extracting sugars as it goes. They can and do get the level to low so the bottom is scorched, it depends on the grist and the liquor to grain ratio. As I said before, for me it isn't a problem as I do full volume mash.Others can do as they please.


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## ABG (9/2/19)

wide eyed and legless said:


> Its called a Brewzilla, not a Robobrew, someone bought one and started a thread on the other side.


I'm thinking of getting a Brewzilla. What's the other side? Can you provide a link?


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## wide eyed and legless (9/2/19)

ABG said:


> I'm thinking of getting a Brewzilla. What's the other side? Can you provide a link?


I think I will pass on that.


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## ABG (9/2/19)

wide eyed and legless said:


> I think I will pass on that.


Why? Is there a problem with genuine discussion here? I didn't think we were living in totalitarian state...


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## wide eyed and legless (9/2/19)

ABG said:


> Why? Is there a problem with genuine discussion here? I didn't think we were living in totalitarian state...


That is something you will have to address to admin.


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## ABG (9/2/19)

Can we get a response from one of the moderators here please? This seems absurd when a 'Pro' level member is afraid to post a link to a discussion on another site that would be helpful to the wider AHB community.

Also, could someone who owns a Brewzilla let me know whether you can lift the malt pipe out by hand when doing a double batch, or do you need to rig up a pulley and hoist it out?


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## FarsideOfCrazy (9/2/19)

Keg king do the 50 litre guten. I've got the 40 litre one and it works well. Most of the things I've heard about the brewzilla seem that it's an ok unit aswell. It's a bit bigger capacity but you'll need a 15amp plug to run it at full power. I'm not sure about the 50litre guten plug size, it's elements can go to 3000w but it doesn't mention anything about a 15 amp plug (standard power points are only rated to 2400w)

As far as hoisting, i don't have any trouble lifting 5 kgs of wet grain but depending on how you've got the vessel setup, ie. on a bench or on the ground, it could be easier to rig up a pulley.


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## malt and barley blues (9/2/19)

I upgraded to the 50 litre Guten run it on 2400 w no problem has the insulating jacket I am going to try it at 2300 w next brew, plus I have the 2 year warranty, also bought the hoist for $12 I think it was.


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## ABG (9/2/19)

FarsideOfCrazy said:


> Keg king do the 50 litre guten. I've got the 40 litre one and it works well. Most of the things I've heard about the brewzilla seem that it's an ok unit aswell. It's a bit bigger capacity but you'll need a 15amp plug to run it at full power. I'm not sure about the 50litre guten plug size, it's elements can go to 3000w but it doesn't mention anything about a 15 amp plug (standard power points are only rated to 2400w)
> 
> As far as hoisting, i don't have any trouble lifting 5 kgs of wet grain but depending on how you've got the vessel setup, ie. on a bench or on the ground, it could be easier to rig up a pulley.



Thanks mate. I'm well aware of the Guten and had the opportunity to see one in action over the holiday period. I've got a Robobrew already and have a slight preference towards that. Plus the Brewzilla is 65 litres v 50 litres for the Guten and gaining extra capacity is my main motivation.

Lifting 8 kilos out of the Robobrew is not a problem for me. I'm wondering whether 16 Kg might be a bit of a challenge.


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## SponsorSFC (9/2/19)

16kg (even double that) isn't really that much weight to lift for most men.

I can lift my 65L malt pipe with one hand without too much strain. You are not lifting it very high or very long.


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## enoch (10/2/19)

SponsorSFC said:


> 16kg (even double that) isn't really that much weight to lift for most men.
> 
> I can lift my 65L malt pipe with one hand without too much strain. You are not lifting it very high or very long.


It might not be a big lift but it’s an awkward lift with the wet grain plus a fairly slow drain making it quite a bit more than 16kg. I may just be soft though.


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## AussieBrew (15/2/19)

I have mine setup on a stand so it is very awkward lifting even 6kg grain bill as it is too high. If it was on the ground it would be easy so therefore it depends a lot on the setup. I have installed a pulley.


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## Abird89 (15/2/19)

AussieBrew said:


> I have mine setup on a stand so it is very awkward lifting even 6kg grain bill as it is too high. If it was on the ground it would be easy so therefore it depends a lot on the setup. I have installed a pulley.



Likewise, 10+ kg of grain when it’s alresdy raised off the ground can be tricky, and I’m not a small bloke.
Pulley in the garage is on the to do list


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## wide eyed and legless (16/2/19)

Would there be any interest in a 60 litre SVB?


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## enoch (16/2/19)

Abird89 said:


> Likewise, 10+ kg of grain when it’s alresdy raised off the ground can be tricky, and I’m not a small bloke.
> Pulley in the garage is on the to do list


I’ve got mine on a diy trolley with a pulley on an overhead bar. It makes for a lot less excitement.


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## awfulknauful (16/2/19)

Is that a 60 litre Guten?


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## wide eyed and legless (16/2/19)

No, a new one on the market, I have been asked to give a review, I asked to make more than one available, maybe 3 or 5 units to get a fair review, waiting to hear back.


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## awfulknauful (17/2/19)

PM sent.


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## wide eyed and legless (17/2/19)

awfulknauful said:


> PM sent.


No good jumping the gun until he decides how many reviewers he wants. Definitely not much cop having one. Duly noted though.


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## Cian Doyle (23/4/19)

I don't have a Brewzilla or Robobrew, my mate has the 65 litre Brewzilla he sent me this pic from the Brewzilla Robobrew users group and he tells me his Brewzilla ended up the same.
Seems to be quite a few who has encountered the same problem so just be aware of the danger.
The pic will not download so best to check it out on facebook.


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## Fro-Daddy (23/4/19)

I went through the Brewzilla & Robobrew Users Group and didn't see anything recent.
What are you talking about?


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## Cian Doyle (23/4/19)




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## wide eyed and legless (23/4/19)

Now that is dangerous.


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## fdsaasdf (23/4/19)

looks nasty, what are they claiming has happened?


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## wide eyed and legless (24/4/19)

Seems like it has happened to a lot of folk, either they are all clumsy and dropped them, been dropped in transport or worst of all it has happened when full of liquor due to the pressure, as in the picture.


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## Cian Doyle (24/4/19)

When a company wants to have the cheapest products on the market, it comes at a price.
It doesn't bare thinking about what could happen with a child around and 50 litres of hot or boiling wort goes over them.


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## TwoCrows (24/4/19)

True, car companies , airlines and trips to the moon. All are made possible by the lowest price base.


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## Cian Doyle (24/4/19)

TwoCrows said:


> True, car companies , airlines and trips to the moon. All are made possible by the lowest price base.


But it isn't done by cutting the quality of the machine to a dangerous level.


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## Outback (24/4/19)

Cian Doyle said:


> But it isn't done by cutting the quality of the machine to a dangerous level.


I could point you in the direction of a few hundred families of Boeing patrons who would be disagree.


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## Cian Doyle (24/4/19)

Outback said:


> I could point you in the direction of a few hundred families of Boeing patrons who would be disagree.


So you think they deliberately, cut costs on aircraft making them unsafe?
The Brewzilla for a few dollars more could give a better circuit board and a stronger base.


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## wide eyed and legless (24/4/19)

Cian Doyle said:


> So you think they deliberately, cut costs on aircraft making them unsafe?
> The Brewzilla for a few dollars more could give a better circuit board and a stronger base.


Your forgetting that would be a couple of dollars less profit for KegLand


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## sp0rk (24/4/19)

wide eyed and legless said:


> Your forgetting that would be a couple of dollars less profit for KegLand


BUT MUH BARGAINZ


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## ABG (24/4/19)

Cian Doyle said:


> I don't have a Brewzilla or Robobrew, my mate has the 65 litre Brewzilla he sent me this pic from the Brewzilla Robobrew users group and he tells me his Brewzilla ended up the same.
> Seems to be quite a few who has encountered the same problem so just be aware of the danger.
> The pic will not download so best to check it out on facebook.


What's the issue? I don't have a FB account and have zero interest in opening one. I've had my R3 for just over a year and run 36 batches on it, all problem free with the exception of one stuck sparge. I've only had my Brewzilla 65 for a few weeks and have run 2 batches - likewise problem free (apart from me farking up the dimensions in Brewfather and ending up 14 points higher than expected on my first brew). Sadly the B65 doesn't come with an idiot alert, but maybe that's a mercy, otherwise it would be going off all the bloody time.
Edit - just saw your photo. That looks like it's been dropped at an angle onto the base or something similar. The rubber feet on mine extend right to the outside of the tank (as it does on the unit in the photo). The base is also rolled into a lip which mates into the side of the unit - there's no way that could happen with the Brewzilla just sitting there. The lip on the base has pulled away from the edge of the tank in that photo.


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## fdsaasdf (24/4/19)

still not sure what the photo-taker claims has happened, assuming it has been dropped or damaged and they didn't notice until they'd already filled it up with liquid


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## Outback (25/4/19)

Cian Doyle said:


> So you think they deliberately, cut costs on aircraft making them unsafe?
> The Brewzilla for a few dollars more could give a better circuit board and a stronger base.



No, I'm not claiming that. However the families may assert the software installed on the new planes was rushed into being released instead of the slower more expensive alternative and this caused two planes to crash.


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## wide eyed and legless (25/4/19)

fdsaasdf said:


> looks nasty, what are they claiming has happened?


Reading what the user said the mash cycle was on when it suddenly started to lean where the base plate was buckling. Looking at the picture, on the right and left of the foot which collapsed there are the base plate retaining screws where the bracket sits underneath, those brackets aren't load bearing, but could quite easily have been pressed out with a strengthening gusset and the rubber feet would have been better fitted there instead of in between the brackets. 
Seems to have happened to a few users whether they had been damaged previously I don't know, but the damage wouldn't have happened if the feet had been placed over a strengthened bracket.
But having the air flow coming from underneath hasn't solved the problem of the burnt out circuit boards one even catching fire it needs a better circuit board.


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## Reg Holt (26/4/19)

Cian Doyle said:


> View attachment 115556


Now that looks bad, is there four or three legs on those units?


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## KegLand-com-au (26/4/19)

This has already been updated with all the stock we have in Australia. We have thicker stainless steel than our competitors and the base design has changed so the brewer can be top loaded with 100kg.

So with the BrewZilla 3.1 model units I am to the understanding this has already been resolved.


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## KegLand-com-au (26/4/19)

SponsorSFC said:


> Yeah I did it with my 65L last weekend with room to spare. You could easily get 50L of standard full strength ABV beer out of a brew.
> 
> There is a Brewzilla facebook group up an running with a few bits of feedback from people's brew days.



Yes that's correct. You can easily get 50L and we have had some customers going even higher. With that said the chance of boil overs is much higher over 50L so we would not recommend it.


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## KegLand-com-au (26/4/19)

wide eyed and legless said:


> The only concern I have, as with all the concealed elements for the single vessel breweries is the burning out of one of the elements, Brehttps://www.kegland.com.au/catalogsearch/result/?q=brewzillawzilla has 3 elements so a 50% increase in the chances of an element burning out over a 2 element unit. I don't know how the concealed elements in the Crown urn are fitted but I have seen them on their spares list so they must be replaceable.



The element watt density is one of the main selling points of the BrewZilla and this is not something that we have spoken about much. The watt density than other similar single vessel breweries. The major benefit of lower watt density is that you can brew very light beer styles without the same amount of caramelisation and maillard effect. This upgrade came at a significant expense and was one of the main reasons for the delay of the BrewZilla 65L and it's probably a selling point that we should be pushing a lot more. One of the secondary benefits of the lower watt density is they are MUCH less likely to burn out. Even if you boil dry (not that I am recommending you do this) it will be hard to burn out the elements. As you get lower and lower watt density the longevity of the elements also increases greatly.

Even with the older models of Robobrew (and Turbo boilers that used the same element) I think we saw less than 1 in 1000 units that had a element burned out. So now with the much lower watt density this will be even less.


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## wide eyed and legless (26/4/19)

KegLand-com-au said:


> This has already been updated with all the stock we have in Australia. We have thicker stainless steel than our competitors and the base design has changed so the brewer can be top loaded with 100kg.
> 
> So with the BrewZilla 3.1 model units I am to the understanding this has already been resolved.


So the design has changed since a week as yesterday? The post put up with the buckling base was posted on Thursday the 18th April and it was his first brew.


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## sp0rk (26/4/19)

KegLand-com-au said:


> This upgrade came at a significant expense and was one of the main reasons for the delay of the BrewZilla 65L


If lower density elements caused a significant expense, your element supplier is fleecing you
designing and producing something to fit in a similar footprint is pretty darn simple unless it's a very convoluted flange/footprint setup, if the element manufacturer is worth their salt


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## Ferment8 (26/4/19)

wide eyed and legless said:


> So the design has changed since a week as yesterday? The post put up with the buckling base was posted on Thursday the 18th April and it was his first brew.



So he bought it and brewed it on the day he posted it?


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## wide eyed and legless (26/4/19)

Ferment8 said:


> So he bought it and brewed it on the day he posted it?


Putting it that way, I think it is far more likely than KegLand reading the post and saying, 'Yes there was a problem but we have changed the design and they are all OK now'. Does that mean the problems with the circuit boards have been addressed too?


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## Ferment8 (26/4/19)

You think it's more likely he bought, brewed and posted on the same day than the manufacturer improving on the design and fixing a defect? FMD....


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## ThirstyFish (27/4/19)

wide eyed and legless said:


> So the design has changed since a week as yesterday? The post put up with the buckling base was posted on Thursday the 18th April and it was his first brew.


T


wide eyed and legless said:


> Putting it that way, I think it is far more likely than KegLand reading the post and saying, 'Yes there was a problem but we have changed the design and they are all OK now'. Does that mean the problems with the circuit boards have been addressed too?



I saw that post on FB... 

There were 3 or 4 people that said they had a similar issue. They were all saying that one of the screws holding one of the feet was loose, allowing some play/movement. The guy that took the pic also said his unit was on a slope, which would've applied additional pressure. All were able to fix easily once they realised what the issue was.

There's a lesson for KL and users to check all screws are tight before use.


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## KegLand-com-au (30/4/19)

sp0rk said:


> If lower density elements caused a significant expense, your element supplier is fleecing you
> designing and producing something to fit in a similar footprint is pretty darn simple unless it's a very convoluted flange/footprint setup, if the element manufacturer is worth their salt



The element doesnt fit into the same footprint which is the reason why it's lower watt density. Element suppliers will charge more for a larger element and this is quite normal. The BrewZilla units have a lower watt density. What makes you think the elements are fitting in the same footprint?


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## KegLand-com-au (30/4/19)

wide eyed and legless said:


> Putting it that way, I think it is far more likely than KegLand reading the post and saying, 'Yes there was a problem but we have changed the design and they are all OK now'. Does that mean the problems with the circuit boards have been addressed too?



Historically we have replaced less than 5 bases in the past 10k or so units that have been sold. So if you want to say there is a problem it would be important to take the actual numbers into consideration. We believe that the BrewZilla is still the best value brewery available and we continue to make constant upgrades wherever we see possible to make sure customers are getting the best possible brewery and deal whenever they purchase one of these.

I have checked the periodic updates that have been done over the past 12 months and when the 65L BrewZilla units came out the stainless in these units were thicker and at the same time we also included rubber legs on the base of the unit.

Looking back at Sam's photo it should be one of the new units that we we have that already has the upgraded rubber feet and the body of the BrewZilla will already be thicker. During the design and testing process of this brewery was top loaded with 100kg(via the handles) and the BrewZilla 65L design can withstand this force. I would imagine that this type of damage could not be caused by ordinary. So we are confident that this should not have happened for Sam unless:

1. The brewery was damaged in transit somehow.
2. The screws on the base for some reason were not tight. If the screws holding the base on are loose then the base can rattle around and it could cause this to happen. I would imagine this is the most likely scenario.

What makes it far easier to determine is if the customer returns the product to us. So if Sam you can bring this in for us to look at I am sure we will be able to determine what happened far easier.


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## sp0rk (1/5/19)

KegLand-com-au said:


> The element doesnt fit into the same footprint which is the reason why it's lower watt density. Element suppliers will charge more for a larger element and this is quite normal. The BrewZilla units have a lower watt density. What makes you think the elements are fitting in the same footprint?


When I say footprint, I mean the same diameter and mounting holes


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## Fro-Daddy (3/5/19)

Now with a 3 year warranty!


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