Brew Stuff product review

[zbrian]

I purchased this system from Don and received the tanks early February. There is not much detail on the site so here are some specifics. The tank walls are 2mm thick, and the burners are set to mount a max of 5 inches from the bottom of the tank (just be careful not to scorch your wort). All ports are threaded 1 inch outlets and the Lids are solid piece SS with 1/4 inch handles. The kettle has a trilamp port on the lid. The false bottom in the mash tun has some large gaps around the sides that I am a little concerned about but I bought a screen gasket to help hold back any grain. These tanks are made in a warehouse next to other equipment that is not SS. All three tanks had substancial rust on them that I had to scrub off. The HLT came with a random ring welded around the inside about 1 inch from the base. It doesn't bother me that it is there but there was rust on top and on the bottom of it, it was annoying to have to get in there and clean it off seeing as how it is an unnecessary piece to begin with. It has been 6 weeks and I am still waiting on the temp probes. The hose is 1" spectra hose by Goodyear and is not food grade and only rated to 200 degrees. If anyone has any questions please PM me.

[AnthonyB]

Can you post more pictures but less close up?

[zbrian]

I agree

Hi brian
if there is something missing please call me and i will send to you if you dont like the hose i will replace with silicone i would also like to see some rust pictures those look like scratch marks against some regular steel
don

Howdy Don,
I think we finally agree on something, those DO look like scratch marks against some regular steel. I have included some more pictures to show where on the tank they are. I have plenty of more pictures of rust (though not like these scratches) from all 5 of the tanks you sent. If you would like me to post some more pictures please let me know.
I have spoken with you 11 times over the phone and twice written since my tanks were delivered 6 weeks ago regarding the missing pieces. I am not sure how many times you require contact but it was costing me too much money to wait any longer and I was forced to buy the following equipment. 3 temp probes, brewers hose, food grade pump, 2 cip arms for the brite tanks, 2 pressure gauges that are NPT, various caps for the ports on the brite tanks, and most recently a propane burner because one of the replacements you sent me was missing a jet (you should look these over before you ship them). You also still owe me $200 for the HERMs coild we dropped from the order back in December.
No. Silicone hose will not be acceptable due to the overwhelming amount of extra cash I have already had to put into your "complete system."

I understand that contacting you publicly like this is unprofessional but your insistence in ignoring me has left me no choice.

[zbrian]

Tank size

Here is a pic of the nut on the sight level tube. Also, I realized yesterday that the HLT on my 5bbl system was only large enough to hold 4.1 bbls if it is filled to the brim. If you have already ordered a system from Don, you might want to call and ask how big the tanks are. Don't assume anything when you are dealing with Brew-stuff.

[Natrat]

I think I speak for most of us here, when I say that I feel bad for you, bro.

We recently bought a mash tun from a company here in the USA...only after $4g in remediation is it usable. Not round, not square, MIG instead of TIG, discolored welds, manway installed improperly, screens were useless...there was even welding spatter all over the tank, inside and out.

I hope you get satisfaction, dude. And I hope anyone else buying from these bozos gets to see this before they fork over anymore money.

Nat

[YSBrewer]

I think I speak for most of us here, when I say that I feel bad for you, bro.

We recently bought a mash tun from a company here in the USA...only after $4g in remediation is it usable. Not round, not square, MIG instead of TIG, discolored welds, manway installed improperly, screens were useless...there was even welding spatter all over the tank, inside and out.

I hope you get satisfaction, dude. And I hope anyone else buying from these bozos gets to see this before they fork over anymore money.

Nat

Nat, curious of who you were buying from? I've not seen any company try to produce a product as you describe? PM me if you like, I'd love to see pics of this! The Chinese equipment I've bought has been leaps and bounds better than what i've seen lately on here.

[SharkTank]

Update

Any update or have your issues been resolved by the vendor?

[zbrian]

Update

After 8 weeks Don agreed to send the missing temp probes and my refund of $200 for a HERMs coil that we ended up not going with. The temp probes had to be welded because the threads were free floating and provided no seal ($40) and the check was Canadian (30 days to get it processed and about $30 fee). Don offered me a settlement that was less than enough for me to break even and I declined in order to leave these posts up for other brewers to be warned and to force Don to improve his customer service. Through all of this Don has remained very civil and even tempered but I don't think that I would have ever received anything if I had not gone public with the experiences that I had.
I have used the system 3 times now and have had stuck mashes every time. There is about a 1/4 inch gap all the way around the false bottom on the tun that I am going to try getting fixed. The last brew took 2 hours to get 4bbls into the kettle using a grant system. I was very surprised when I realised that the HLT on my 5 bbl system only held 3.9 bbls overflowing. I called Don and he said that was expected and that the kettle should be used for excess water to be heated. I am going have to use a second HLT (more expense) because my Pale Ale is mashed using 4lbs grain to one gallon of water and there is not enough water storage to accomodate this style. I use peracetic acid as my sanitising rinse and it always gets the tanks rusting again. I have noticed new rust spots showing up after each wash. It has become part of my cleaning routine to grind down new spots.
Reading other posts from customers from Don it seems that the parts that are missing vary from order to order.
This is my concluding advise to anyone that still wants to do business with Don and Brew-stuff...
1. Get everything in writing. Everyone seems to agree that Don is really bad at email but will always talk on the phone, this is true, but do not give him any money until he gives you a complete parts list IN WRITING, this should include the volume of each tank (in order for my preboil volume to be what it needs to hit 5 bbls final, my wort is dangerously close to the top and boils over). He lied to me about the triclamps and as mentioned before, missing pieces happen.
2. If something is missing when you receive your order, just write it off and buy it from someplace else. Don fooled me for 1.5 months saying numerous times that he was sending pieces and "it is going in the mail tomorrow" when in fact if never was. He delayed my production by 1.5 months. Don't trust him, don't wait on him, just buy it somewhere else.
3. The complete systems come with, homebrew style pumps (about $150 each, mine came with pond pumps), brazen HX ($180), 320000 btu burners ($40 each, he sent me 6 total and only 2 of them work, the first three were for the wrong gas and then one of the three replacements was missing a jet completely and had a hole in the side that shoots out gas), and the system does not come with hose that is rated for 212 degrees.
4. The tanks showed up with rotting cardboard in them, rust, and organic matter (blossoms and leaves) all over. I didn't know if it was normal for suppliers to just pass equipment on from the shipyard but after seeing some other breweries get equipment that was clean and almost ready to use I realised how lazy Don was. Don't be surprised if this happens.
5. The brite tanks do not come with CIP arms (be sure to include the cost of adding them when you look at the lower cost per tank Don offers). There was some sort of sticky substance on the inside of one of my brite tanks that 45 min of 180 degree caustic and 1 hr of acid cip would not remove so I had to crawl in and scrub it with a SS brush.
6. If you are reading this before you buy, do some more research, knowing what I know now, I could have have bought a better quality 10 bbl system, bought the pumps, HX, burners and hose separately all for less then I paid for this 5 bbl system that still is not complete and still battling poor quality.
As of this point, I am done dealing with Don directly. If there is anyone that feels Don misrepresented himself or is still trying to get missing parts from a previous order, please contact me, I am interested in discussing any options we might be able to work together on.

If anyone has any further questions please feel free to call.

Don, if I have said anything that is false, please let me know and I will edit this post. I am trying to provide an honest review while at the same time leaving you an opportunity to improve your customer service and quality of your equipment.

Brian
BS Brewing
(830)660-8124

[Montanaandy]

Thanks For The Taking The Time...

Really sorry about your negative experiences but many thanks for taking the time to write and warn others. It is greatly appreciated. Andy

[zbrian]

crunching the numbers

I have been crunching the numbers and I will have to go with a maximum ratio of 1gallon of water to 2.3 pounds of grain just to hit a preboil volume of 5.6 bbls. Usually I would use 4 pounds per gallon. Also, with this pre boil volume, I will only be 5 inches from the top of my brew kettle...if I use the full drain valve. If I use the valve above it, the tank can not physically hold enough liquid to get a 5 bbl batch. Well it can hold it but there would only be an inch of head space so I would imagine there would be a lot lost to boil over. Everyone, please check my math and let me know if I am wrong or if you can think of a solution.
Hlt holds 3.9 bbls overflowing
Mt holds 5.35 bbls overflowing
Bk holds 6.7 bbls overflowing and subtract out 5 gallons an inch when allowing for head space/ boilover
I am assuming grain absorption in bbls = .0064*lbs grian used
I use 341 lbs of grain (5 bbl) for one ale and 410 lbs for the other recipe.
Thanks everyone for your help
Brian

[brewmaster 2011]

have you thought about splitting the beer into 2 brews?

[zbrian]

10 bbl

All of my fermenters and brite tanks are 10 bbls. I would really like to avoid brewing more batches to fill them. I jumped from the 3.5 bbl system to the 5 bbl for that reason.
Thanks for the suggestion though.

[SharkTank]

I saw this from the BA news group:
"I need help from someone. I purchased a keg cleaner from Brew-Stuff and it did not have any operating manual. I have asked Brew-Stuff countless times for this manual and have received nothing."

Doesn't sound like a reputable vendor. Buyer beware!

[maspeter11]

After 8 weeks Don agreed to send the missing temp probes and my refund of $200 for a HERMs coil that we ended up not going with. The temp probes had to be welded because the threads were free floating and provided no seal ($40) and the check was Canadian (30 days to get it processed and about $30 fee). Don offered me a settlement that was less than enough for me to break even and I declined in order to leave these posts up for other brewers to be warned and to force Don to improve his customer service. Through all of this Don has remained very civil and even tempered but I don't think that I would have ever received anything if I had not gone public with the experiences that I had.
I have used the system 3 times now and have had stuck mashes every time. There is about a 1/4 inch gap all the way around the false bottom on the tun that I am going to try getting fixed. The last brew took 2 hours to get 4bbls into the kettle using a grant system. I was very surprised when I realised that the HLT on my 5 bbl system only held 3.9 bbls overflowing. I called Don and he said that was expected and that the kettle should be used for excess water to be heated. I am going have to use a second HLT (more expense) because my Pale Ale is mashed using 4lbs grain to one gallon of water and there is not enough water storage to accomodate this style. I use peracetic acid as my sanitising rinse and it always gets the tanks rusting again. I have noticed new rust spots showing up after each wash. It has become part of my cleaning routine to grind down new spots.
Reading other posts from customers from Don it seems that the parts that are missing vary from order to order.
This is my concluding advise to anyone that still wants to do business with Don and Brew-stuff...
1. Get everything in writing. Everyone seems to agree that Don is really bad at email but will always talk on the phone, this is true, but do not give him any money until he gives you a complete parts list IN WRITING, this should include the volume of each tank (in order for my preboil volume to be what it needs to hit 5 bbls final, my wort is dangerously close to the top and boils over). He lied to me about the triclamps and as mentioned before, missing pieces happen.
2. If something is missing when you receive your order, just write it off and buy it from someplace else. Don fooled me for 1.5 months saying numerous times that he was sending pieces and "it is going in the mail tomorrow" when in fact if never was. He delayed my production by 1.5 months. Don't trust him, don't wait on him, just buy it somewhere else.
3. The complete systems come with, homebrew style pumps (about $150 each, mine came with pond pumps), brazen HX ($180), 320000 btu burners ($40 each, he sent me 6 total and only 2 of them work, the first three were for the wrong gas and then one of the three replacements was missing a jet completely and had a hole in the side that shoots out gas), and the system does not come with hose that is rated for 212 degrees.
4. The tanks showed up with rotting cardboard in them, rust, and organic matter (blossoms and leaves) all over. I didn't know if it was normal for suppliers to just pass equipment on from the shipyard but after seeing some other breweries get equipment that was clean and almost ready to use I realised how lazy Don was. Don't be surprised if this happens.
5. The brite tanks do not come with CIP arms (be sure to include the cost of adding them when you look at the lower cost per tank Don offers). There was some sort of sticky substance on the inside of one of my brite tanks that 45 min of 180 degree caustic and 1 hr of acid cip would not remove so I had to crawl in and scrub it with a SS brush.
6. If you are reading this before you buy, do some more research, knowing what I know now, I could have have bought a better quality 10 bbl system, bought the pumps, HX, burners and hose separately all for less then I paid for this 5 bbl system that still is not complete and still battling poor quality.
As of this point, I am done dealing with Don directly. If there is anyone that feels Don misrepresented himself or is still trying to get missing parts from a previous order, please contact me, I am interested in discussing any options we might be able to work together on.

If anyone has any further questions please feel free to call.

Don, if I have said anything that is false, please let me know and I will edit this post. I am trying to provide an honest review while at the same time leaving you an opportunity to improve your customer service and quality of your equipment.

Brian
BS Brewing
(830)660-8124

Hey,Brian

Brew stuff bought their equipments from a small factory in China,
The factory use the bad material/cheaper materials,and bad welding level.
Their fittings on tanks are cheaper as well,not Stainless steel 304,maybe 201,so that is why there are some rust

Some good chinese manufacturers can make good quality tanks,and some small factories make bad ones.

[Coolhand]

Nat -

Tried to PM you with some questions regarding your post in this thread but your PM box is full Since I'm experiencing a very similar saga, I'm curious if we used the same USA made fabricator.

Justin