Mike, it may be because I'm a brand-new member that the system won't let me send direct to you.
Mike, it may be because I'm a brand-new member that the system won't let me send direct to you.
Thanks. I did reply. Have you ever had any indication of where the glycol in the loop is going?
Follow up from glycol topoff
Here is the data from my pre and post glycol topoff in the HEX loop. Chart 1 is before I added the glycol and just prior to getting the Fatal Error #17. It starts at the Heat to 90 step due to several Fatal Error #1's and me having to stop and restart and skip steps. You can see that the difference between the two data lines is quite large at times and the peaks are nearly 30 degrees apart.
View attachment 591080
Chart 2 is after I added nearly 1/2 cup glycol mixture. I added about 1/3 of a cup, then ran the glycol pump for about 5 minutes and then repeated my procedure for getting all of the air into the tube between the sensor and the HEX. While the glycol pump is running, I listen for air bubbles and pump cavitation, letting me know it needs more glycol. Total liquid added was just shy of 1/2 cup.
Here my peak temps are only about 5 - 10 degrees apart and the recipe started and finished without error. Temps were much more stable and there weren't any erratic behaviors that I observed.
View attachment 591081
I use this Heat Cycle recipe I created, originally for testing, but now for two reasons.
First, I continue to use this recipe to check the state of my HEX loop. I download the raw data and have been inputting it into my analysis software to track things like peak temps, time to reach temps, total time for recipe, etc...I've been trying to build a MTBF for the HEX loop and general HEX issues and just alert me to times like this when I need to perform maintenance. I don't have enough data right now to tell me that an error is imminent, but now that I have topped off, the data I collect will show me the degradation ramp and hopefully I can publish a MTBF at that time.
Secondly, I use this recipe to cut off about 30 minutes from my brew day. The first thing I do on my brew day is measure out my water, get it into the keg and start the Heat Cycle recipe. While the Zymatic is heating the water to temp, I grind my grains and measure my hops and perform whatever random tasks I need to. When the recipe alerts me, I add my loaded step filter into the Zymatic and run my brew recipe. Since the water is already around 102F, it goes into "Dough In" almost right away.
Here is the Advanced Editor grab if anyone is interested. Would be interesting to see some folks take this recipe and run it so we can compare behaviors. Heck, it may even help you to understand if you have a HEX issue that might be getting ready to spoil your brew day. If you do want to run this and compare, I use a 5 gallon plastic bucket filled with 34 lbs of tap water. My tap water here in Texas is around 68F - 70F degrees this time of year. If you use any other container or any other amount, your results may be different from what I get. I perform this test in my brewhouse which is usually kept at 68F degrees.
View attachment 591082
It's been my experience that the Heat Loop and Wort temps should track fairly well and be within 10 degrees of each other. Of course, that is just for this test recipe, that data will differ depending upon the target temp and liquid. Besides, in any test you want to control as many variables as you can and why this recipe is important as a verification. Feel free to add a few 5F degree steps before step 0 depending upon what your starting water temp is. The idea is to keep the Zymatic within 5F degrees so the steps are even and consistent.
If you aren't going to brew after this recipe runs, I typically go into Help and run the Circulate for about 10 minutes to let the Zymatic cool down just a bit.
If you have any questions about getting to your HEX loop, let me know through PM and I'll try to help you.
I just wanted to give my deepest thanks publicly to Mike Howard. I PM'd him and he sent me his very detailed instructions for refilling the glycol loop. I ran a clean and it worked beautifully. I had no errors. Previously, I was unable to even get past 2 minutes of the heating cycle during a cleaning session.
I do have another problem and was wondering if anyone has any ideas. While I was running the cleaning cycle, I noticed a steady drip of water coming from the front side of the machine. I used a flashlight to look between the step filter and the step arm. I saw that on the right part of the machine, under the step arm, it wasn't quite over the hole and seemed to be pouring right over the rubber plug. That's where the leak seems to be. I moved the filter to the left a little and that seemed to stop the leak a little. Does anyone have any ideas?
They did not release any firmware for the old Z yet to allow offline brewing
Mike, as a Zymatic owner if they don't release something, a bunch of us will be very mad. Appreciate your work on this. Also, could you please send me your guide on how to fill the glycol? Thanks. email: [email protected]I'm working on that...stay tuned.
So I picked the absolute worst time to bring my Zymatic out of retirement. Fatal Error #1 as soon as I start a clean cycle, and even just running circulate doesn't achieve anything. I can hear the pump trying but no water movement. Does anyone have ideas? @Bob Coco ?
I've checked:
-keg in: the little white mfl gasket's in place, the inline filter is clean (is there a removable gasket here I'm missing? I only see the orange built-in one).
-keg itself: liquid out gasket's in place, keg post has the poppet spring & little widget in place. the liquid out black ball lock disconnect's all good too.
-keg: filled with 1.5gal water
-keg out: line's connected, the mfl gasket's in place
Things I've tried:
-removing the insides of the ball lock disconnect and the keg post seal in order to completely open up the water path for both in and out - no effect
-took the keg out of the equation by swapping in the keg wands for in and out - no effect
-imaginging there really might be a removable gasket missing in the inline filter, i tried swapping the hoses so that the "in" side on the zymatic is the grey (no filter) hose and the "out" side has the inline filter - no effect.
I've also noticed there's some kind of noise constantly audible while the zymatic is on - and it's not the normal whirring sound I remember. Low pitch almost like a gurgle.
I had the same problem about a year ago. I hadn't used my zymatic in awhile and I pulled it out to brew a batch but decided I'd do a circulate first. It wouldn't even pull any water into the machine. I assume that's the same problem you're having? As long as you think all of the gaskets are good and the hoses are hooked up correctly, you can try the following. It was recommended to my by Kevin at Picobrew and it worked. I've actually had to do it twice, especially since I live in a very hot area, I store my machine in the garage and the water probably evaporates from the system.
1. Fill the keg with about 2 gallons of water.
2. Hook up the in and out hoses from the Zymatic to the keg
3. Put the step filter into the Zymatic. No screens or top are necessary.
4. This next step is usually NOT recommended, but in this case it's ok. Put the regular keg lid, not the rubber one for brewing, but the metal one with the bail lock on it that you use for carbonating and serving. Lock it closed.
5. Turn on the Zymatic and run a "Circulate" session.
6. As soon as you see water coming through the "In" side port where there's a clear "t" valve for adding hop oil or taking samples, etc. and/or you hear water draining back into the keg, release the pressure on the keg lid valve and take the lid off.
7. Let the system circulate for about 5 minutes just to be sure it's working properly.
This MIGHT be a solution for you. I hope it works.
Hi all, I'm in the same boat as most of you with the hex loop/fatal error#1/glycol issue. If anyone has the zymatic tear down instructions to fix the hex loop/glycol issue could you please email to me at [email protected]? Thank you thank you thank you in advance!!
So I picked the absolute worst time to bring my Zymatic out of retirement. Fatal Error #1 as soon as I start a clean cycle, and even just running circulate doesn't achieve anything. I can hear the pump trying but no water movement. Does anyone have ideas? @Bob Coco ?
@aangel The cause for the FE#1 could be low glycol and the cause of the gurgling, however the pumps that Picobrew uses are diaphragm pumps and after sitting for a very long time the silicone pump valves can get stuck. Can you just run a circulate without heat? If while running a circulate you can't get flow get back to me and I'll help you get it running. There is almost nothing we can't fix, even if we need to replace a pump head....
@Mike Howard Sorry to bog up the thread but since I'm new, I can't PM you. If you could PM me that would much appreciated!@mapleszrp @aangel @Bob Coco and anyone else who needs help on their Zymatic. Please shoot me a PM as they notify me.
SHE'S ALIVE! My Zymatic works like new again. Thanks for your helpful tips & teardown guide @Mike Howard!Hi all, I'm in the same boat as most of you with the hex loop/fatal error#1/glycol issue. If anyone has the zymatic tear down instructions to fix the hex loop/glycol issue could you please email to me at [email protected]? Thank you thank you thank you in advance!!
Im supper interested in your results!I added extra tubing up to and around the top of the machine as a reservoir, filled it up and then capped it. I'm still losing glycol and I haven't even used the machine!
After I lost about 1 oz I decided to top it off and add blue food coloring to see it is was leaking through the heat exchanger. After it lost about another 1.5 oz (a month?) I ran the drain and then recirculate cycles. No blue. Confident it isn't leaking thru the HEX.
Its crazy. I hate to pull it all apart for the 4th time, but I'll post any results if I do and find the leak...
I'm super interested in your results. Please let us know if you end up finding the leak!I added extra tubing up to and around the top of the machine as a reservoir, filled it up and then capped it. I'm still losing glycol and I haven't even used the machine!
After I lost about 1 oz I decided to top it off and add blue food coloring to see it is was leaking through the heat exchanger. After it lost about another 1.5 oz (a month?) I ran the drain and then recirculate cycles. No blue. Confident it isn't leaking thru the HEX.
Its crazy. I hate to pull it all apart for the 4th time, but I'll post any results if I do and find the leak...
Do you think something like this would work for a reservoir: My plan is to add a "T" connector to the same glycol line that I had to fill, and then run this tubing up to where it is more accessible. I've added a valve to the tubing to make opening it pretty easy. The question is, is it best practice to fill the "reservoir" to the very top where the valve or plug will be? I'm assuming not doing so will inadvertently create more air bubbles?Yea, I've never found a leak but replacing all of the tubing and switching all of the plastic connectors to Stainless Steel has improved the glycol retention. I do have a reservoir so it is harder to tell now, but I have not had to top it off once yet since installation.
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