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Keg King ROBOBREW 35L SINGLE VESSEL BREWERY

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Robobrew arrived yesterday, got to say it looks like a good bit of kit for the price. I filled it with water and played around with the controller and it does everything it's supposed to. No instructions were included but I probably wouldn't have read them anyway. setting temps was pretty straight forward and it scrolls through numbers really quick, a lot faster than an stc1000.

looking forward to using with a pump but I am going to try as it was designed (without the pump) first to see how it goes.
when I add the pump I'll just throw a grain bag in to allow the wort to overflow the malt pipe but keep the grain under control.

size wise I reckon it will be fine for single batches and as I keg my batches are generally less than 20l anyway.

just wish these came out a few years ago before I spent all that money on my other ebiab setups
 
yeah like I said it's pretty straight forward. I think the instructions are more aimed at a first time all-grainer.
saying that I think that is the target market considering its size
 
Looks like I'll be getting back in to brewing much sooner than I expected.

Coming from a 50L Brau this seems to be a great bang for your buck system.

Was always planning to move to a smaller system and brew different beers more often.

At this price point, whilst it certainly isn't a Braumeister, it has me thinking about my options.

Keen to hear people's experiences with this system.
 
Add a kaixin pump and some silicone hose/fittings for some recirculation , and you still come in well under the price of a grandfather. Immersion chiller wouldn't be that efficient but i guess thats a trade off you could live with at this price
 
anyone here own a grainfather? I am looking at turning my robobrew into one and wanted to get some dimensions. I'm looking for the outside diameter of the lower part of the overflow pipe and the inside diameter of the top part of the overflow. also how does the top part telescope? On the GF website you can buy the top part for $25. am I right to assume it's the little clips on the bottom that give it a little bit of friction?

I also gave the robo its first run yesterday. went pretty well but there are a few opportunities for improvement. I'll do a full write up sometime this week
 
What kind of efficiency are people getting on these things without recirc?
 
I got 20l at 1.048 into the fermenter from a 5kg grain bill. not sure what that works out to be.
I also recirculated using a jug every 20 min. also mashed for 90min
 
it was my first run so after playing with the crush you could probably do better
 
dropbear85 said:
I got 20l at 1.048 into the fermenter from a 5kg grain bill. not sure what that works out to be.
I also recirculated using a jug every 20 min. also mashed for 90min
Click to expand...
Sounds like about 70% efficiency
 
dropbear85 said:
I got 20l at 1.048 into the fermenter from a 5kg grain bill. not sure what that works out to be.
I also recirculated using a jug every 20 min. also mashed for 90min
Click to expand...
How much water were you recirculating each time?
 
probably not enough. I didn't want to sit there all mash sparging so probably only 3-4 liters each time. I will be adding a pump but I thought I would give it a go the way that it was designed to see how it went.
 
Have you thought about how you plan to use the pump? For instance are you going to introduce a top screen or use another method? I have purchased a unit also and would be interested in an operational method.

I thought just running the hose to the top of the grain bed via a control valve to manage the flow of wort. I would guess the flow would be quite slow so the grains do not end up in the kettle.

Cheers

Elz
 
I have a system similar to QldKevs and after a few runs I found that it worked better using a biab bag and having two 1/2 inch holes at the very top of the malt pipe for overflow. That way you can run the pump full throttle and walk away. the down size is you still have to hose out a bag at the end of the day.

For the robobrew I am still tossing up if i should go top plate and overflow pipe or no top filter and use a bazooka screen on top. I think I might try the bazooka and see how it goes, if im not happy ill put together a filter plate. The only thing that im a little iffie about with the bazooka and no top plate keeping the grain down is there will be some disturbance to the top of the grain bed from the return. it really isn't an issue and thats what happens with my other system but it does look nice on the grainfather having that inch of nice clear wort above the filter.

Damn I like to over-complicate things. :chug:
 
I'm just about to pull the trigger on one of these. A brew shop near me has them in stock, and it seems like such a good deal. Any more feedback from people who have used them?
 
Could try something like this instead of a top plate:
http://aussiehomebrewer.com/gallery/image/9402-elaborate-return-arrangement/
Does need a bypass spear up the middle but works for me.

Elz said:
Have you thought about how you plan to use the pump? For instance are you going to introduce a top screen or use another method? I have purchased a unit also and would be interested in an operational method.

I thought just running the hose to the top of the grain bed via a control valve to manage the flow of wort. I would guess the flow would be quite slow so the grains do not end up in the kettle.

Cheers

Elz
Click to expand...
 
My current pump program

0-30 min no pump. stir every 5 minute

30-60min, 5 pump- 10 rest. a stir before pump because...

60-90 pump on. very little goes through the over flow even with the pump valve fully open.


I get better flow through the bed, clear wort and far less trub. I suspected that pumping too soon was leading to compaction before the proteins had been made soluble/broken down.My top fed system doesnt have the potential to force the liquor through like a BM.
 
enoch said:
Could try something like this instead of a top plate:
http://aussiehomebrewer.com/gallery/image/9402-elaborate-return-arrangement/
Does need a bypass spear up the middle but works for me.
Click to expand...
Hi enoch
Thanks for the info, this idea will be my second port of call. First I will try a sieve and via a control valve slowly recirculate the wort. If this does not work I will give the above idea a whirl (little nervous about drilling a hole through the malt pipe).

Before turning to all grain I still have one extract brew to practice with. However the system has on the on whole worked fine. I'm using beersmith 2 and will download the Grainfather profile to see how it correspondes with Robobrew. Probably pretty close I reckon
Cheers
Elz
 
The bazooka hasn't had any wort down it in the first two brews as the false bottom arrangement has enough drainage to match the pump. It's there to set a maximum level if he mash sticks.
The whole project was to see if I could do a cheap and big version of my Grainfather. Most bits were recycled bar pots but $500 is plausible from new.
 
So I picked up a Robobrew on Saturday morning and just finished my very first all grain brew. It all went very well, and I was really impressed with this unit. All up my total brew time was just under 4.5hrs but I was really taking my time and making sure I got everything right so I'm pretty confident I could get it under 4hrs once I have a few more brews under my belt. I only had one mishap where my homemade hop spider fell in the brew during the boil, but I was able to fish it out with the mash paddle and it seems there is no harm done. My first brew was a Stone & Wood Pacific Ale clone - nice and easy with only one hop and late additions.

A few observations on the unit and the process:

  • As others have said, a magnetic drive pump and recirculation pipe will really complete this unit and make it just about "set and forget". It's strange Keg King didn't incorporate recirculation given they make and sell an affordable pump.
  • I did find some evidence of scorched grain on the bottom when cleaning the kettle, but I am certain this came from over-milled grain that fell through the holes in the malt pipe. Whether it will have any effect on the taste I don't know - time will tell.

  • I used the 500W element to maintain 63deg for the mash, and recirculated manually every time I saw the element come on. Roughly 4 litres each time and I poured it gently over a slotted spoon to sprinkle it over the surface.

  • I used about 15L for sparge by heating it in my 15L pot over the stove. I'm gonna need a bigger pot I think. I only got 19L from this brew.

  • The malt pipe is indeed difficult to lift up onto the trivet when loaded up with a mash. It's not the weight but the fact that you need to use one hand on the pipe and the other to position and hole the trivet in place. I have a pulley that I was using to hold a kayak in my garage so will set this up for future brews.

  • The unit heated up to the boil quite quickly (forgot to time it).

  • I was similarly impressed with the immersion chiller. From flame out I was able to get the wort down to 28deg in just under 40min but stirring it every few minutes. I then transferred to the f/v and let my fridge do the rest of the work.

  • Clean up was quite simple and I'm sure I can make it even quicker with a little more organisation next time.
Overall it was a great experience for my first AG brew. Sure, gone are the days where I can put a quick brew down on a weeknight, and I can definitely understand the notion that 35L might be too small for some (time spent vs amount of wort generated) but if I start my brew a little earlier I can still have some time left in my day.

I am absolutely stoked with this purchase, and I'm already planning a Feral Hop Hog clone for my next attempt. Next items to look for will be a pump, recirc pipe and a mill so that I can start buying grain in bulk and saving some of the hard earned cash I just spent on this rig.

Cheers
 
I agree, 103c is a gentle simmer at best. A rolling boil needs to produce a decent bulge in the surface.
 
Drick said:
I agree, 103c is a gentle simmer at best. A rolling boil needs to produce a decent bulge in the surface.
Click to expand...
or any movement on the surface... that 'boil' looked like it wasnt even distrubing the surface
 
yeah mine has no problems holding a rolling boil. I filled it up with water to record what the boil looks like. it took 56min to go from 21deg to a rolling boil. about what you would expect from a 2400w element
http://youtu.be/8_Q2oUVqiCE
 
I think I've decided to take a punt on the RoboBrew to get myself back in to AG brewing at what seems like a very reasonable $ outlay.

Someone talk me out of it.

Go...
 

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