Hi folks,

I just thought I would pass along a little tail about buying and the first run of a PSII just in case someone out there is considering this unit.

First, the unit arrived in a very timely manner. Parts inspection showed everything but the recirc pump in the box and the inclusion of the spiffy digital thermometer (not the stick). Considering that the thermometer was a wash for the recirc pump, I picked up another .... just to find the pump delivered in a another box. O well, you can always use another pump.... So I am thrilled to bits with Brewhaus' performance on the delivery side.

I "dry fit" all of the parts of the PSII and found it to be near industrial grade. Nothing in this setup looks to break or fail in the near future.

I figured a good test would be a stripping run on some cheap wine, so I bought 15 L of the cheapest red I could find. Cost about $40.

I set the unit up in pot mode and insulated the upper half of the pot and the column with duct insulation. Set the unit on the Broilking 1100w and flicked the switch. I knew from the pressure test that 1100 would boil a gallon in 30 minutes so I cranked the Broilking to full on and settled down (in a cold garage) to watch the thermo and the clock. Which ran like this...

15:20 - Flame On ... Temp
30c
16:20 - Temp starts to move
17:00 - Temp moving fast, recirc on
70c
17:05 - Temp
90c and holding, clear dist running
17:20 - temp
91c - about 500 ml collected
17:30 - temp
92c - another 500 ml collected
17:50 - temp
93c - another 500 ml collected
18:10 - temp
94c - about 750 ml collected
19:10 - temp
95c - say 500 ml
19:50 - temp
96c - about 500 ml
20:30 - temp still at 96c - called it a day with dist still running

I was waiting for the temp to take off into water land, but dang it was cold out there.

Not having a hydrometer to gauge %, I had to use the highly scientific foam method of shaking the jar and looking at the bubbles. I would rate the run from between 60 and high 70% range. Calcs would indicate that 15 L of 9% wine should result in about 2.25 L of 60% so volume is pretty close.

Conclusions:
1. I though the temps were a little high. I was expecting tho find the run between 90 - 91c. The smell and taste of product appeared dead onto heads, hearts and tails with the recorded temps so as to figure in accuracy of the thermometer accuracy. More watching required. Perhaps some temp control is required.
2. This unit is a killer package. Well worth the money. Worked right out of the box with little fussing with fidley bits.

Hope this helps....