Sabco Brewmagic

[ricardo]

Hi,

Does anybody on her have one of these? i have one currently in transit from the USA and am a little nervous about using it. I've been reading mainly US forums and come accross stories of stuck mash, airlocks, sparging difficulties etc. I have to say that the positives of the system from what i have read far outweigh the negatives but i'd really appreciate any advice for a beginner from anybody who has used one before.

Cheers

 

[Batz]

Ross @ craftbrewer has one.

 

[ricardo]

Ross @ craftbrewer has one.

i believe he sold it a while ago, still would be a good contact though,

thanks

 

[goomboogo]

A forum member by the name of Clutch had one. I'm not positive but I think it may be the one Ross used to own.

 

[sp0rk]

Murrays use one as their pilot system
and someone else here bought one not long ago
it should be in the brew rig thread

 

[beersom]

Hi, I brewed regularly on one as the pilot system at Murrays. Great little rig and never ever a problem with stuck run-offs etc...
Good luck and happy brewing.

 

[breakbeer]

yeah, I've heard they're really **** & you'd be better off giving it away for free.............to me :beerbang:

 

[mikec]

Seven grand though!

 

[Truman42]

It's a bit late now if the bad story's about them are true. Why didnt you research more and post this before you spent $7k plus shipping to get one?

I hope it works as you expect it to. Sounds like it will.

Personally though I'd rather spend $7k on something else. I'm sure my 3v herms rig will make just as good a beer as the Sabco brew magic at a fraction of the cost.

Each to his own though.

 

[hsb]

If it's a recirculating set-up (figuring it must be) then my tip is to let the mash sit for 10 minutes once you dough in. That'll greatly reduce the likelihood of a stuck mash. It'll let the grain bed settle naturally and avoid the pump pulling grain down into a plug = classic way to get a stuck mash. I tend to make this the Protein rest, then begin recirculation for saccharification rest(s).
That's from my own experiences with a homegrown HERMS setup, no specific knowledge of the SABCO beyond a quick squizz at the link, and no specialist knowledge whatsoever, suck it and see brewers inc.

Good luck, sure it'll be all right once you get to know your 'new girl', plus you have SABCO themselves and the US homebrew forums for tons of first hand feedback.
Get what you're saying Truman but it's akin to telling a new Ferrari owner that your Datsun 'still gets you there' even at the same speed in traffic, of course it does but...

 

[hellbent]

$7000????? splutter splutter! Quick pass me the brandy bottle Ethel! I think I'm gonna have a stroke!!!.........$7000??? ... with great respect you must have more money than I got! Hope it goes well for you.

 

[Bribie G]

Ross sold his to Clutch about maybe 8 months ago?? Anyone seen Clutch recently?
Rosscoe brewed many an award winner on his system, as did I on my bag and urn :lol:
However I believe they are a joy to operate.

 

[Goose]

hey fella, I've had one of these for more than a year now, what you want to know ?

pm me if you dont want it public, easy either way.

 

[Clutch]

Good timing.

Haven't been on here much as I've actually been doing some work. As well as cranking beers out on my Sabco.
It's great, I'm glad I ponied up the dough for it.

I've never had a stuck mash, and I've had an airlock once, and I just opened the tap under the box to run some liquid out and it came good.

Forget anyone looking down on you for spending the cash.
If you're like me you had the coin, and can't/don't want to build something of your own.
I've had great beers from mine (in my own, low-educated opinion), and I've had some awesome beers from my old BIAB setup.
One of the best beers I've ever had was Goomba's house ale, and that wasn't brewed on anything fancy.

I fill from the bottom up of the mash done after I've dumped the grain in, and let it rest for 10 to get any air bubbles out, then on it goes. It defaults to 67 degrees, which is a pain sometimes, but nothing you'll lose sleep over.
I have the chill wizard, but in the six months I've owned it, I've never used it. (Need to get another step-down transformer for it, stupid Yank 110v.)
The only downside is doing back to back brews, and then bottling 80 litres of beer...
I've just a newb too, so if you've got any questions, PM me.

 

[ricardo]

Cheers for everybody's advice, hopefully everything goes fine

 

[Goose]

Good timing.

Haven't been on here much as I've actually been doing some work. As well as cranking beers out on my Sabco.
It's great, I'm glad I ponied up the dough for it.

I've never had a stuck mash, and I've had an airlock once, and I just opened the tap under the box to run some liquid out and it came good.

Forget anyone looking down on you for spending the cash.
If you're like me you had the coin, and can't/don't want to build something of your own.
I've had great beers from mine (in my own, low-educated opinion), and I've had some awesome beers from my old BIAB setup.
One of the best beers I've ever had was Goomba's house ale, and that wasn't brewed on anything fancy.

I fill from the bottom up of the mash done after I've dumped the grain in, and let it rest for 10 to get any air bubbles out, then on it goes. It defaults to 67 degrees, which is a pain sometimes, but nothing you'll lose sleep over.
I have the chill wizard, but in the six months I've owned it, I've never used it. (Need to get another step-down transformer for it, stupid Yank 110v.)
The only downside is doing back to back brews, and then bottling 80 litres of beer...
I've just a newb too, so if you've got any questions, PM me.

agree on the $ criticism.... the price is quickly forgotten, but the quality is not ..

one question, why didn't you specify the 240v when you ordered it ?

and you gotta get that chill wizard going, works a charm...

 

[Clutch]

I bought mine used from Ross @ Craftbrewer.
Chill Wizard will be sorted this weekend, might buy a US double adaptor and plug them both into the step down transformer.

 

[Goose]

am presuming ross would have used the stepdowns with no issues...

these guys will gladly do 240 electrics on order but with UK plugs which is no big deal esp where I am.. yankee garden hose fittings on the water in and out on the chill wizard are also a pain but you can get around that with a aload of teflon tape and plastic hozelock male fittings

so how have you been running it to date without the stepdowns ? the main unit is already 240v ?

 

[Clutch]

I have one stepdown at the moment. I also have a brand new, never been used, Chill Wizard. (Even Ross never used it.)
I might test drive it this weekend.

 

[Goose]

you should find you can achieve a wort out just a couple of degrees above cooling water feed temp... pretty impressive.

am sure you will figure out a way to sanitise it properly, some flush with starsan, some disassemble and bake it in the oven, but I just recirc back to boiler, bring it back to boil and circulate for 5 mins... you might want to remove hops prior else your calcs go out (I use a hopsock)... plenty to think about, have fun