Advanced BrewZilla Profiles
Advanced BrewZilla Profiles | RAPT Bluetooth Thermometer
Last updated
Advanced BrewZilla Profiles | RAPT Bluetooth Thermometer
Last updated
Adding the KL24334 RAPT - Bluetooth Thermometer -20 to 300C - 20cm HTC Probe to the RAPT Gen 4 BrewZIlla system is one of the most cost effective upgrades you can make. In addition, it unlocks fantastically powerful control over every aspect of the brew day.
Ensure the RAPT Bluetooth Thermometer has charged AAA batteries and turn it on by holdig the power button for three seconds until the screen tuyrns on and the current temeprature is displayed.
To connect the RAPT Bluetooth Thermometer to a RAPT Gen 4 BrewZilla, first turn on the BrewZilla by plugging it in.
Navigate to the Bluetooth menu
If you see this message:
Bluetooth isn't currently enabled. Would you like to enable it? Press Select to enable, Back to return to the main menu
Once Bluetooth is enabled, you will see the RAPT Bluetooth Thermometer in the list of Unbonded devices.
Note: Any RAPT Bluetooth devices that are active will also be displayed here.
The RAPT Bluetooth Thermometer will look like this in the list of Unbonded devices:
RAPT Temp [Temperature] xx:xx:xx:xx:xx:xx - Last seen yy seconds ago
xx:xx:xx:xx:xx:xx is the MAC address of this RAPT Bluetooth Thermometer. It can be useful to note this down if you have moe than one RAPT Bluetooth Thermometer.
The number of seconds since telemetry was last received from the device is also displayed. The RAPT Bluetooth Thermometer sends telemetry every 10 seconds for a near real time update.
Press Select to bond this device, press Back to cancel
Once the RAPT Bluetooth Thermometer has been Bonded to the Gen 4 BrewZilla, it can be used as the Temperature Sensor instead of the built in temperature probe.
This enables recording in real time the temperature of the mash directly from the mash. The RAPT Bluetooth Thermometer has a long water proof probe that fits through the hole in the top screen of the Gen 4 BrewZilla malt pipe. Thus positioned, you can see the temperature of the mash irrespective of the current temperature of the liquid in the boiler.
Select the RAPT Bluetooth Thermometer that you wish to use as the Temperature Sensor. If you have more than one device tyou can identify which is which as the last 6 digits of the MAC address will also be displayed.
NOTE: When a RAPT Bluetooth Thermometer is being used as the Temperature Sensor, the heating elements can be hotter or cooler than the desired setpoint. This is because the temperature of the RAPT Bluetooth Thermometer probe is now being used to measure and control the desired temperature setpoint, rather than the built in probe.
It is quite normal during a brew day to switch between the Built In probe and the RAPT Bluetooth Thermometer depending on the stage of the brew.
Typically you would use either the built in probe or the RAPT Bluetooth Thermometer while heating up the strike water.
The RAPT Bluetooth Thermometer should be used during the mash and the mashout. It is especially useful if (for example) you are doing a step mash or have missed the mash temperature after adding your grain, as this can be corrected more readily when measuring the temperature from the mash itself.
The RAPT Bluetooth Thermometer would not normally be used during the boil or when bringing the wort to boiling temperature.
NOTE: You should always use the top screen to hold the RAPT Bluetooth Thermometer in the correct poistion (see below).
When using the RAPT Bluetooth Thermometer as the Temperature Sensor, the RAPT Bluetooth Thermometer temperature is used to control thew setpoint of the BrewZilla. The built in probe will continue to read and displayt he temperature of the BrewZilla at the elements, but the elements will cycle on and off dependant on the RAPT Bluetooth Thermometer temperature.
This means it becomes very easy to acheive fast and accurate temperature control at all stages of the brew day. Note: Typically we would not use the RAPT Bluetooth Thermometer suring the boil as fine control is no longer required.
To properly control temperature, a combination of recirculation with the pump, power control of the elements and Allowed Sensor Differential should be programmed to acheive a good result.
Apart from the pump the temerpature, power and Sensor Differential can be adjusted 'on the fly' using the BrewZilla Controller, or can be preset into a custom BrewZilla Profile to almost fully automate your brew day.
An example of a custom profile using advanced features is here. This can be added to your Profiles Library in the RAPT Portal, and modified to suit.
This Profile uses the RAPT Bluetooth Thermometer to get to strike temperature and maintain two mash steps of 30 minutes each (at 63°C and 70°C). This is followed by a mashout at 75°C for 10 minutes, and then a 60 minute boil.
When heating to strike temp it is best to have all elements on (power at 100%).
To maintain temperature during the mash it is best to reduce the power to around 30% (this may be tweaked to suit as ambient temperatures, size of mash etc will all have an impact). When maintaining a temperature, it is best to have a small sensor differential to avoid unwanted temperature swings - around 2°C is best.
To increase the temperature of the mash, we increase both the power and the Sensor Differential. Setting the power to around 60°c is about the right range - this puts out enough power to heat the recirculated wort quite quickly, but is not strong enough to risk scorching. A larger sensor differential is used here - between 6°C - 10°C works well, using a larger amount for greater mash temperature increases.
Using a large Sensor Diffeerential (~10°C, for example) means that the element temperature can increase by up to 10°C more than the set point temperature.
This increases quite dramatically the rate at which the actual mash temperature can be increased (for a mashout or step mash), for example). As we are using the RAPT Bluetooth Thermometer to control the temperture, the BrewZilla will automatically shut of the elements to maintain the setpoint.\
In brief, when using the RAPT Bluetooth Thermometer - set a smaller Power and Sensor DIfferential to maintain temperature.
Set a larger Power and Sensor DIfferential to increase temperature.
Do not use the RAPT Bluetooth Thermometer when boiling. It is optional when heating to strike temperature, although using the pump to even out temperature gradients in the boiler is recommended nonetheless.
To use the on board menu, use the Up or Down buttons to navigate. Use the Select button to select or enter a function once highlighted.
Select Select to enable Bluetooth.
Use the Up or Down buttons to highlight the RAPT Temp [Temperature].
Press the Select button to Bond it the RAPT Gen 4 BrewZilla. This will bring up the following diaglogue:
Press the Select button to Bond the RAPT Bluetooth Thermometer to your RAPT Gen 4 BrewZilla.
If you do not wish to Bond the device at this stage or have accidentally selected the wrong device simply press the Back button to cancel
To enable this, use the Up or Down buttons to navigate to Settings. Use the Select button to select the Temperature Sensor option. Here you can use the Up or Down buttons to switch between the Built In probe and any Bluetooth enabled RAPT devices that are also Bonded to the RAPT Gen 4 BrewZilla.
