Robobrew V3 vs Guten

[Vazerhino]

so WEAL teased a R3 v Guten thread - here it is

I’ve been using Robobrew V2 for eighteen months. Very happy overall. Two recent issues have caused me to start the dreaded process of should I or shouldn’t I. The rocker switch is loose, but still functional. The + temp button died a couple of brews ago, and now the - button takes some finessing. OTOH, very happy with my results thus far.

I was considering RB V3, obviously. Don’t actually need the new bells and whistles other than delayed start as I usually hover on brew days anyway. Read through the Guten thread(s) in their entirety. WEAL is clearly experienced with the unit and is going to back that up with a buy of the bigger unit. However, gluten seems to have had many more issues than I have had on the Robobrew.

Why not the RB V3?

 

[goatchop41]

I've got a Guten myself, and am part of both Guten and RB groups on FB.
From my own observations, there are waaaayyyyyyy more people in the RB groups constantly complaining about failure of the electronics and circuit boards, overheating, and even a few recent examples of swarf (metal shavings from machining) being in the pump after purchase and blocking it...the quality control unfortunately doesn't sound too great.
I'm yet to see anywhere near the level of complaint about issues with the Guten/Ace/Klarstein (if anyone knows of any widespread issues, I'd love to know what they are/be pointed to a forum discussing them, so that I can be prepared with my unit).

 

[wide eyed and legless]

Definitely going to have a Robobrew 3 V Guten we can also throw the Grainfather into the mix, maybe we can put forward some likes and dislikes about all three,and what modifications any of the three would benefit by. But to be fair and to stop any hijacking of the thread maybe those with experience of the three units mentioned should be the only ones to post and answer questions.

 

[tanked84]

I’ve got a Robobrew v3.
First impressions were not great as it blew up on the first boil.
It was fixed that week and returned.
Brewed 5 beers since without a problem. It’s great when it works.
The programmable steps are pretty useless. Time needs to start from when it hits the temp, not ramping up aswell.

 

[wide eyed and legless]

I’ve got a Robobrew v3.
First impressions were not great as it blew up on the first boil.
It was fixed that week and returned.
Brewed 5 beers since without a problem. It’s great when it works.
The programmable steps are pretty useless. Time needs to start from when it hits the temp, not ramping up aswell.

Hold your horses we haven't started yet.

 

[Fro-Daddy]

But to be fair and to stop any hijacking of the thread maybe those with experience of the three units mentioned should be the only ones to post and answer questions.

If you mean someone who has used all 3, this will be a very short and boring thread.

I own a Robo V2, only had one issue which was it cut out when coming to a boil once. It was likely that it was because I was using an old crappy extension cord (apparently that's kinda common).
Since putting in a new power point outside I've had no dramas.

I'm yet to see anywhere near the level of complaint about issues with the Guten/Ace/Klarstein (if anyone knows of any widespread issues, I'd love to know what they are/be pointed to a forum discussing them, so that I can be prepared with my unit).

I'm not in that group, but are there a similar amount of active members to the Robo group?

 

[wide eyed and legless]

If you mean someone who has used all 3, this will be a very short and boring thread.

Someone with first hand knowledge of any of the units,

 

[Leyther]

I've got a Guten myself, and am part of both Guten and RB groups on FB.
From my own observations, there are waaaayyyyyyy more people in the RB groups constantly complaining about failure of the electronics and circuit boards, overheating, and even a few recent examples of swarf (metal shavings from machining) being in the pump after purchase and blocking it...the quality control unfortunately doesn't sound too great.
I'm yet to see anywhere near the level of complaint about issues with the Guten/Ace/Klarstein (if anyone knows of any widespread issues, I'd love to know what they are/be pointed to a forum discussing them, so that I can be prepared with my unit).

The pcb/pump switch on the Guten is problematic, I know myself, WEAL and Magic Pancake have all had to replace this, its only a cheap component to replace so not the end of the world but they should improve the quality there.

My only other issue with it is the original bazooka, as a hop filter its as useful as a chocolate teapot however I now use it when doing larger brews to slot over the overflow pipe to give some more height, just be careful with it as its sharp on the edges and I've managed to stab myself a few times with it!!

As an enhancement it would be good if they provided an extra piece to extend the overflow pipe so you can still use the top plate when doing larger brews, I'm sure its something you can probably knockup yourself I just havn't got around to doing it yet, next thing on my list for the machine.

 

[wide eyed and legless]

Also on the switch, standing at the front of the machine the pump switch is behind the on/off switch. as the pump switch is used the most during the brew it is better to have the pump switch as the foremost switch to save accidentally switching off the machine during the brew. When I replaced my switch ($7)
I put the pump switch to the front, hell of a lot better.

Going full volume is tricky but there are ways to get more into the malt pipe, as Leyther says the central overflow pipe is to short but can be extended with some silicone hose, I think I used 25 mm ID cut it with a box cutter down the length and it folds in on itself. The problem then is the handle holes where the grains can get through.

Another piece of silicone through both holes and another litre or two of liquor can go in.
Funny thing is, any grain that has left the malt pipe has just been pumped up and back into the malt pipe. Grainfather has the same pump but a number of complaints that the pump gets blocked, so really the only issue I have had was the switch.

 

[goatchop41]

The pcb/pump switch on the Guten is problematic, I know myself, WEAL and Magic Pancake have all had to replace this, its only a cheap component to replace so not the end of the world but they should improve the quality there.

My only other issue with it is the original bazooka, as a hop filter its as useful as a chocolate teapot however I now use it when doing larger brews to slot over the overflow pipe to give some more height, just be careful with it as its sharp on the edges and I've managed to stab myself a few times with it!!

As an enhancement it would be good if they provided an extra piece to extend the overflow pipe so you can still use the top plate when doing larger brews, I'm sure its something you can probably knockup yourself I just havn't got around to doing it yet, next thing on my list for the machine.

Where did you get the new switch from? (Again, so I know when I need one).

I have done as WEAL does, and just use a piece of silicone tubing to extend the overflow pipe.

WEAL, do you find that you get better efficiency with a fuller volume mash and therefore smaller sparge? I have seen some on the RB groups claim that they get better efficiency with a smaller volume mash and larger sparge!

 

[goatchop41]

I’ve got a Robobrew v3.
The programmable steps are pretty useless. Time needs to start from when it hits the temp, not ramping up aswell.

This appears to be a point scored for the Guten - the timer on it only starts once the temp has been reached

 

[Leyther]

Where did you get the new switch from? (Again, so I know when I need one).

I have done as WEAL does, and just use a piece of silicone tubing to extend the overflow pipe.

WEAL, do you find that you get better efficiency with a fuller volume mash and therefore smaller sparge? I have seen some on the RB groups claim that they get better efficiency with a smaller volume mash and larger sparge!

WEAL got me a couple of singles from Jaycar, you just need to file the plastic sides down to get them to fit into the original cut out, I also picked up a couple of dual gangs from ebay that I have as spares, these should be a straight replacement but came from China so took about 6weeks to get here.

Personally I find much, much better efficiency with a sparge, I've been very low when doing full volume boils, I switched to full vol for convenience but I'll be switching back on my next brew.

 

[FarsideOfCrazy]

This appears to be a point scored for the Guten - the timer on it only starts once the temp has been reached

The timer function is pretty unreliable, i've found that it also stops when it gets below set temp then starts again when it reaches temp. Found this by having a timer in my phone just incase it turned off. By the time the boil was finished on my phone the timer still had a few minutes to go.

I'm going to get the smart pid controller to replace the stock controller then when the guten craps out I'll use the controller on a new single vessel.

 

[andyt23]

Both Gutens are in store now

 

[wide eyed and legless]

Where did you get the new switch from? (Again, so I know when I need one).

I have done as WEAL does, and just use a piece of silicone tubing to extend the overflow pipe.

WEAL, do you find that you get better efficiency with a fuller volume mash and therefore smaller sparge? I have seen some on the RB groups claim that they get better efficiency with a smaller volume mash and larger sparge!

According to J Palmer the efficiency drops so more grain is required, I haven't found this to be the case, in his first book there wasn't the RMT's around then like there is now, but when Leyther said his efficiency was lower and I mentioned the longer mash time and the crush, something else came to mind and I was going to send him a PM. For the life of me I can't remember what is was but I will, one thing for sure was the efficiency was the same as the BM and logically that shouldn't be the case because the BM has pump breaks so the grains actually fall then lift, much like giving it a stir.
The switches I got from Jaycar.

 

[wide eyed and legless]

Come on Robobrew 3 users, don't be embarrassed or shy, a problem shared is a problem halved.
Be good to hear from Grainfather users too.

 

[nifty]

Also on the switch, standing at the front of the machine the pump switch is behind the on/off switch. as the pump switch is used the most during the brew it is better to have the pump switch as the foremost switch to save accidentally switching off the machine during the brew. When I replaced my switch ($7)
I put the pump switch to the front, hell of a lot better.

Going full volume is tricky but there are ways to get more into the malt pipe, as Leyther says the central overflow pipe is to short but can be extended with some silicone hose, I think I used 25 mm ID cut it with a box cutter down the length and it folds in on itself. The problem then is the handle holes where the grains can get through.
View attachment 113361
Another piece of silicone through both holes and another litre or two of liquor can go in.
Funny thing is, any grain that has left the malt pipe has just been pumped up and back into the malt pipe. Grainfather has the same pump but a number of complaints that the pump gets blocked, so really the only issue I have had was the switch.

So a question and observation from an ex 4 vessel brewer who has been using a Guten 50lt system for a while now (done my time on the multi pots, guten is so much easier to use and clean).

When I was using the herms on my old system I would be aware of channelling, eg the liquid taking the path of least resistance through or around the grain. I noticed in the photos that the wort has free flow down the central pipe, would this affect your extraction? I always keep the return flow to a level where it stays under the overflow pipe with the guten.

cheers
nifty

 

[Abird89]

Nifty - on my robo v2 I also do they same. Set the pump rate so it’s a cm or 2 above the screen but not actively flowing down the pipe

 

[karrathabrewer]

I'm currently not an owner but am following following the thread closely as I'm having a serious look into purchasing one of these systems, hope this is not considered kijacking but I believe it's a relevant question...... what's the quality of the beer these systems are producing? Do they all brew good beer?

 

[patto]

So a question and observation from an ex 4 vessel brewer who has been using a Guten 50lt system for a while now (done my time on the multi pots, guten is so much easier to use and clean).

When I was using the herms on my old system I would be aware of channelling, eg the liquid taking the path of least resistance through or around the grain. I noticed in the photos that the wort has free flow down the central pipe, would this affect your extraction? I always keep the return flow to a level where it stays under the overflow pipe with the guten.

cheers
nifty

I never Liked the wort going down the overflow so got rid of it on mine.