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  • Colorado brewing systems

    Does anyone have any feedback on the 100 gallon dual nano system from Colorado Brewing Systems? Specifically, is a 240v 100 amp enough to run this system? Is it robust enough to brew 3x a week?

  • #2
    From their website: You will need to provide a 208V or 240V 100A (80 and 100 gallon versions) or 150A (200 gallon version) GFCI circuit (separated into separate 50A/60A circuits)

    If you are limited to 100 amp of total electric service; sounds like a problem. If you have 100 amps to dedicate to the system; no problem.

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    • #3
      I just received my 100 gallon system last month and had 100 amp...big problem...I had to get a 200 amp serviced dropped which was my bad. The guys at CBS have been awesome though. The first stand that I got was extremely warped from the ss pulling and I had a new one in just a couple of weeks. I will start brewing on the system in a couple of weeks when the service is Completed and will let you know more...I had been using a Braumeister system.



      Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

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      • #4
        Any feedback on brewing with this system?

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        • #5
          I too am also curious on anyone who is up and running brewing on this system? I am looking at possibly purchasing one of their nano brewing dual 200 gallon systems...anyone?

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          • #6
            I just received the 100 gallon system, but like the others it isn't yet in use.

            Tim has been super easy to work with. The quality of the equipment seems in line with the price. Like mentioned above, mine arrived missing a part or two and they were super quick to send out a replacement with no hassle at all.

            I'll update once I get a few brew days completed.

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            • #7
              Originally posted by pc2cr View Post
              I just received the 100 gallon system, but like the others it isn't yet in use.

              Tim has been super easy to work with. The quality of the equipment seems in line with the price. Like mentioned above, mine arrived missing a part or two and they were super quick to send out a replacement with no hassle at all.

              I'll update once I get a few brew days completed.
              Thanks! Appreciate the update...

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              • #8
                After 2 months my electrician finally got the system hooked up for me... Just like pc2cr there were some items missing and some issues with things being warped but so far any issue we have had Tim has taken care of it. When we did our dry run yesterday a couple of addition issues popped up but none are big deals...as soon as they are fixed we will be good to go and I will post photos!
                Luke Sevigney
                Theory Brewing Co.


                Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

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                • #9
                  Originally posted by Luke7e View Post
                  After 2 months my electrician finally got the system hooked up for me... Just like pc2cr there were some items missing and some issues with things being warped but so far any issue we have had Tim has taken care of it. When we did our dry run yesterday a couple of addition issues popped up but none are big deals...as soon as they are fixed we will be good to go and I will post photos!
                  Luke Sevigney
                  Theory Brewing Co.


                  Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
                  Awesome thanks Luke, look forward to the pics! Cheers

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                  • #10
                    Originally posted by Luke7e View Post
                    After 2 months my electrician finally got the system hooked up for me... Just like pc2cr there were some items missing and some issues with things being warped but so far any issue we have had Tim has taken care of it. When we did our dry run yesterday a couple of addition issues popped up but none are big deals...as soon as they are fixed we will be good to go and I will post photos!
                    Luke Sevigney
                    Theory Brewing Co.


                    Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
                    Any updates on this? thanks!

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                    • #11
                      CO Brew Systems Update

                      So we've put a few dozen brew days on the system. Overall I'm happy with the functionality and flexibility.

                      Here are a few things I've noticed:

                      The good
                      - I love the flexibility to brew two beers at once, especially at our size.
                      - Mashing and boiling in the same vessel really does cut the time down. Being able to remove the grain all at once is convenient.
                      - The price is great.
                      - All electric at this size is awfully easy to get set up.
                      - Tim is easy to work with and he has been quick to address any questions or issues.
                      - We've been in the 80-83% effeciency range, which is a bit lower than I like. I'm sure with more experience we can expect to see this go up a little bit. Considering the convenience of the system we aren't too fussed.

                      The less-than-good
                      - I've spent a few days hunting down poorly crimped terminations in the control panel. Somehow a few of the wires worked their way loose.
                      - Dialing in the flow rate during recirc takes a little bit of focus. It's easy to miss the mark and pull wort too fast for it to drain through the basket.
                      - The condensation that drips from the hoist/structure above the kettle can be annoying, especially after the boil.
                      - It took a few brews to dial in the temp drop after adding grain. Our normal calcs didn't quite match real life results.
                      - The biggest obstacle I face is the temperature stratification through the kettle during mash. I've found a pretty wide variation between the top and bottom of the kettle. To combat this I started using custom cut poly cutting boards as a lid during the mash. It helps to keep the heat in the top.


                      We haven't done any huge beers or stepped mashes, so there are a few things I can't comment on. I'm not sure how manageable a big oatmeal stout mash would be. Any temp adjustments once the mash is underway seem to be difficult. Personally I chalk this up to the use of a basket - with only one direction of flow through the basket, I feel it's tough to nail a precise temp throughout the mash. Sure, I can move the temp up or down, but getting within a degree without shooting past a few degrees is pretty tough.

                      Overall, for the price, I would say it's a good piece of equipment at a good value. It's not perfect, but where else can you get a nano system capable of brewing 2/2.5BBL with all fittings, pumps, chillers, and valves for this price?

                      Cheers

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                      • #12
                        Originally posted by pc2cr View Post
                        So we've put a few dozen brew days on the system.
                        are you on the dual 50 kettle setup or the single 100 gallon?

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                        • #13
                          We are on the dual 50

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                          • #14
                            Originally posted by pc2cr View Post


                            - We've been in the 80-83% effeciency range, which is a bit lower than I like. I'm sure with more experience we can expect to see this go up a little bit. Considering the convenience of the system we aren't too fussed.


                            - The biggest obstacle I face is the temperature stratification through the kettle during mash. I've found a pretty wide variation between the top and bottom of the kettle. To combat this I started using custom cut poly cutting boards as a lid during the mash. It helps to keep the heat in the top.

                            I've actually wondered about this as well. We have been brewing on the 200 Nano Dual. I've found that we've had quite some temp variation as well, but we have been having pretty low efficiencies on this system, sometimes in the 60's. We do have many brews with flaked adjuncts, but I've been really struggling to dial in the grain crush for this system. We do buy pre-crushed grain, but it seems like the line is very fine line between good efficiency, and stuck sparges on this system.

                            Have also been having a little issue with our water to grist ratio on this system. It seems as if there is about 18 gal of water below the basket, and I'm wondering if this is causing a mis-calculation of water needed in our process and lowering our efficiency.

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                            • #15
                              Anything lower than .042 mil gap and you start seeing problems with runoff. Another issue is keeping the mash basket hot while you drain. I do mash out near 170 with the recirc still going slowly while i drain. Nice long hose on the recirc arm. I raise tun up about 4-6 inches at a time, basically one good bump on the winch. Then let it rest a bit while the water level in the kettle comes back up towards the level in the tun. Repaeat until you are either ready to add sparge water or the tun finally is above the kettle water level. I find that the recirc and keeping contact bewteen the tun and the wort in the kettle keeps those temps up and makes run off faster. I learned the hard way that the tun hanging high by itself loses heat rapidly due to the solid sides which radiate heat. Stuck sparge with a ton of cold sticky oats was a nightmare. This method takes about 40-60 minutes with 25-30 gal of sparge added to water level. But if i recall the hang and drain alone took like 30 minutes so not much more time overall.

                              Our temp range from under tun to top of tun is like 8 degrees. So we add 4 to whatever our intended mash temp is as to make an average. Seems to be ok. Adding a lid to trap heat is a great idea, something we keep meaning to get around to doing.

                              As for sticky stuff and adjuncts, i got some samples of mash/lauter aids and we just did a 33% wheat berliner that ran with no issues whatsoever. Glucan rest was worthless. Enzymes are your friend. Looking forward to a 50% rye. Unfortunately they seem to only come in large sizes. Might have to find a bigger brewery that uses them and ask to share a bit. We used like 20 ml per batch. Smallest product size is a kilo. And enzymes have limited shelf life.

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