| Author |
Message |
    
Gary Muehe (205.188.208.73)
| | Posted on Friday, September 26, 2003 - 03:16 pm: | 
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Let's play "What's wrong with this picture!".
Has anyone seen the piece in BYO about this nifty new gadget? |
MrPivo (63.161.86.254)
| | Posted on Friday, September 26, 2003 - 03:28 pm: |
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Do you mean this picture?
 |
MrPivo (63.161.86.254)
| | Posted on Friday, September 26, 2003 - 03:38 pm: |
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The obvious "error" is the missing water lines and "wort-in" line. I think they only wanted to show a suggested assembly for the Thrumometer. The other items were eliminated for clarity.
I was so impressed with this item that I went out and got one. I haven't had a chance to use it though. |
Belly Buster Bob (142.177.99.4)
| | Posted on Friday, September 26, 2003 - 03:45 pm: |
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with a CFC why do you care about the input wort temp?? Looks like a gadget specifically designed to be sold to sit on a brewers shelf. My opinion only |
PalerThanAle (65.168.73.62)
| | Posted on Friday, September 26, 2003 - 03:52 pm: |
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I agree with BBB 100% (but don't tell him that, I think he thinks I'm a meanie). It also seems like another place to make sure to clean and sanitize. I'm basically lazy and the less cleaning the better.
Wort temp in doesn't make any difference, I think MrPivo was just stating that, in the picture, the wort line in and the water lines in and out are missing.
PTA |
MrPivo (63.161.86.254)
| | Posted on Friday, September 26, 2003 - 03:54 pm: |
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The Thrumometer is put on the line that is exiting the chiller and entering the fermenter. You notice that the big silver thing says "Fermentator" on it? That thing is a conical fermenter. Of course you'd want to monitor the temperature of the wort entering the fermenter. This device does just that. |
Walt Fischer (24.221.196.114)
| | Posted on Friday, September 26, 2003 - 04:16 pm: |
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Yea guys.. you b looking at this thing backwords..;>
That temp reading is for the OUTPUT into the fermentor, which of course you would care about..;>
Its just not all hooked up.. missing the water connections and the wort IN connection...
Course its way more then i would use as well.. im just a IM kinda guy.. 
Walt
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Belly Buster Bob (142.177.80.244)
| | Posted on Friday, September 26, 2003 - 04:47 pm: |
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I only said that to see if PTA would fall for it. I knew that all along. I R SMRT |
Kent Fletcher (206.170.107.30)
| | Posted on Saturday, September 27, 2003 - 12:50 am: |
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Here's another:
What's wrong with this one? (it's from Brewtree) |
PalerThanAle (24.223.211.140)
| | Posted on Saturday, September 27, 2003 - 01:05 am: |
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There is no kettle.
The on/off are in the wrong position.
There is no beer flowing out of it.
It's not made by Zymico.
PTA |
Pacman (68.51.78.225)
| | Posted on Saturday, September 27, 2003 - 01:49 am: |
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Here's my version of a Thrumometer...
 |
Gary Muehe (152.163.252.67)
| | Posted on Saturday, September 27, 2003 - 01:56 am: |
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OK. The function of the Thrumometer is in fact to moniter the temp of the wort exiting your chiller. I know you can make a device to do this. But when I saw this thing I thought it looked pretty ducky! Why reinvent the wheel. Plus by the time I bought a thermometer and all the other stuff, I would be pretty close price wise anyway. Also, this thing looked easy to keep clean and sanitary.
Now for page 2.
I asked my freindly LHBS to order the damn thing and got it yesterday. Guess what. As some of you have noticed, they have it hooked up to the wrong end of the friggin chiller. I have this exact same cfc. Chillzilla. The instructions that came with it are clear. "The smooth wort outlet at the bottom of the Chillzilla enables you to slip a length of 1/2 inch tubing over it to enable wort to flow into your fermentor."
The thrumometer has what appears to be 3/8 inch ends.
You can see my problem, I'm sure.
Unless I rig up some type of Rube Goldberg gizmo (which I don't want to, nor should I have to, that's why I bought this thing to start with)I can't use it as designed.
This is the longest post I have ever done. Have I missed anything?
I plan to contact the mfg.
Thank you all for your patience,
Gary |
Gary Muehe (152.163.252.67)
| | Posted on Saturday, September 27, 2003 - 02:01 am: |
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D'oh! double post! |
chumley (216.161.217.85)
| | Posted on Saturday, September 27, 2003 - 03:25 am: |
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I use an immersion chiller in my brew pot, and after 20 minutes, I pull out the floating thermometer and based on its reading, either call it good, or let it run another 10 minutes, in which case it is always good.
Am I missing something here? |
Kent Fletcher (206.170.107.30)
| | Posted on Saturday, September 27, 2003 - 03:36 am: |
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Yeah Chumley, you're missing a CFC! ;) |
Gary Muehe (205.188.208.73)
| | Posted on Saturday, September 27, 2003 - 03:41 am: |
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I got the cfc when I started brewing 10 to 13 gallon batches. At the time I thought my immersion chiller would take way too long to do the job. Am I missing something? |
Pacman (68.51.78.225)
| | Posted on Saturday, September 27, 2003 - 03:42 am: |
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haahhahaaha Kent.... Too true... |
chumley (216.161.217.85)
| | Posted on Saturday, September 27, 2003 - 04:07 am: |
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sniff...ok..I see now that if you're brewing bigger batches, say 10 gallons instead of 5 gallons, you need to spend 10X more than that on gadgets...I apologize for being so obtuse...sniff... |
Pacman (68.51.78.225)
| | Posted on Saturday, September 27, 2003 - 04:10 am: |
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5 is bigger than 10?????? |
Gary Muehe (205.188.208.73)
| | Posted on Saturday, September 27, 2003 - 04:20 am: |
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Don't be hard on yourself Chumley. How we spend our time and money is our own choice.
I think you may have missed the point in my original post. The thing I bought does not meet my needs. Did I misunderstand the description or was it misrepresented? |
chumley (216.161.217.85)
| | Posted on Saturday, September 27, 2003 - 04:33 am: |
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Sorry, Gary. Pacman's picture started all these Schwartzeneggar-futuresque images in my Luddite brain, and I retracted to my simplistic stance on the immersion vs. CFC debate. I apologize.
I often order the wrong thing, so I am of no help at all. (But that floating thermometer sure gives me good data). |
Kent Fletcher (206.170.107.30)
| | Posted on Saturday, September 27, 2003 - 04:46 am: |
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Gary,
Go to Home Depot and get a 1/2" Comp. x 3/8" Comp. coupling. Tighten the 1/2" Compression onto the outlet of your Chillzilla. Cut a 2" piece of 3/8" tubing, insert it into and tighten the 3/8" Comp. fitting. Then you can attach 3/8" plastic tubing onto the copper and connect to your thrumometer. |
Mike Huss (192.136.16.3)
| | Posted on Saturday, September 27, 2003 - 10:24 am: |
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PTA, look a little closer through those Belgian clouded eyes. The on/off aren't in the wrong position, they just assembled it a$$ backwards before they took the picture. If that was installed in a pot they would have one hell of a time getting the valve fully open before the handle hit the pot.
But yes, the biggest problem with it is it's not from Zymie! |
Gary Muehe (152.163.252.67)
| | Posted on Saturday, September 27, 2003 - 01:14 pm: |
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Kent, in the end I may end up doing what you describe. I was trying to avoid something like this. I wish I had seen Pacmans version sooner.
Chumley, no need to apologize! By the way, I stopped using my floating thermo when I found out it was about 5°F low. |
Walt Fischer (24.221.196.114)
| | Posted on Saturday, September 27, 2003 - 04:26 pm: |
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Mike is right on the money...
The valve is on backwards..
Whats wrong with these people?
They charge out the butt for parts you can buy at HomeD3po, and cant even put a few pieces together right...
Zymie wouldnt put em together backwards..;>
Thats a some scary sh1t..;>
Walt
Lama Brewery
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Gary Muehe (152.163.252.67)
| | Posted on Saturday, September 27, 2003 - 06:27 pm: |
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Here's what John Blichmann had to say...
Gary, thank you for the feedback. You are correct that the Chillzilla in
the photo is connected for a pump. It should be connected the other
direction for gravity feed as you indicate. In all cases, the flow should
be countercurrent.
About the hose size.....as you can appreciate, design is a series of
comprimises. Nearly all homebrewers use 3/8" ID hoses, so that is why we
selected the size we did. Most counterflow chillers are the "3/8" copper
tube in a garden-hose" variety....you have a top-of-the-line chiller
compared to most brewers. With the high costs of precision aluminum
extrusion dies producing more than one size was not a financial option.
Fortunately, it is not an issue. All you need to flow through the
ThruMometer is a PORTION of the flow to accurately control the temperature.
Connect your 1/2" hose to the ChillZilla and connect a Y or T in the 1/2"
line branching into a 3/8" hose which you'll connect to the ThruMometer.
Discharge both hoses to your fermenter. Another option would be to adapt
the 1/2" copper tube on the chiller down to a 3/8" hose with a brass barb
adapter fitting. Which choice you use is really dependant on the available
head pressure you have and if you can flow fast enough through the chiller.
The manufacturer of the ChillZilla uses a ThruMometer (they were one of my
field testers) and they gravity feed through a 3/8" hose without any
trouble.
I hope I have given you some acceptable options and a better understanding
of why the ThruMometer is designed the way it is. I am glad to hear that
you are excited about the product and encourage you to let me know how it
works for you. Again, I appreciate the feedback you have given me.
Sincerely,
John Blichmann
Blichmann Engineering
809 S. 10th St.
Lafayette, IN 47905
ph: 765-423-1498 |
Pacman (68.51.78.225)
| | Posted on Saturday, September 27, 2003 - 08:09 pm: |
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wow, guess I had a little too much Tripel last nite... I was reading Chumly's post backwards apparently... that's where the "5 is bigger than 10?????? " came from...
The Thrumometer sure looks like a nifty gadget to have and the other option with the compression fittings sounds good too but a piece of hose with a hole in it is quick and cheap.... |
Belly Buster Bob (142.177.86.202)
| | Posted on Saturday, September 27, 2003 - 08:56 pm: |
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nice recovery Pacman |
chumley (216.161.218.82)
| | Posted on Sunday, September 28, 2003 - 12:13 am: |
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Hehe, Pacman...I was having too much O'fest last night myself, saw your "5 is bigger than 10" post, and went back and edited mine when I saw what my inebriated fingers had typed...I did have the numbers transposed in my original post - thank God for the edit command. |
Pacman (68.51.78.225)
| | Posted on Sunday, September 28, 2003 - 05:57 pm: |
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Hahahahahah chumly... I guess I could of had more Tripel then... |
davidw (209.107.44.126)
| | Posted on Wednesday, October 01, 2003 - 07:46 pm: |
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Bump for Andrew. |
Brews and Views Archive 2003