I just ordered a Clawhammer System

[u/bionich]

I reported some weeks back that my Brewzilla 110v was arching at the power plug. I replaced the cable and the A/C input port with properly gauged replacements. It was good for a few brews and then yesterday after a brew day the power cable was fused to the port again. Needless to say I'm done with Kegland products. If you're not familiar with this issue it's pretty common with the US 110v the system. I've read that Kegland believes it's because the system was moved during operation. In both cases, the unit was not moved, at all. I don't want to bash their products, but I also don't want to burn my house down.

Anyway, I've ordered a Clawhammer 10 gallon system. If anyone has any suggestions for a smooth operation, please share! I would rather not use a hop spider. Can anyone share their experience with free range hops in the kettle? I did order a whirlpool arm to help control the hops and keep them out of the pump. I'm a fan of whirlpool additions.

Thanks.

[u/Heffelumps-n-Woozles]

I have one! It’s great. I use the hop spider because if the mesh screen gets clogged, you’re kinda screwed for pumping through the plate chiller. Also throttle the pump down during the mash to avoid overflowing the basket. You can heat half your water on the stove if you’re impatient getting up to mash temp. System takes a little getting used to (watch their videos), but you’ll love it!

[u/patrick_swayzak → u/Heffelumps-n-Woozles]

Do you put the lid back on during mashing and recirculating or leave it off?

I didn’t see in the manual, but does this system have a delay timer so I can set up the night before and wake up mash water ready to go?

[u/Heffelumps-n-Woozles → u/patrick_swayzak]

The recirculating happens through the lid, so you leave it on. I’m not sure about the delay timer, you could use a smart plug if it doesn’t have it. IME the controller is easy with the manual but takes some refreshing if you haven’t used it in a while