Does anyone have a Beerbug ?

setmash · Post by **setmash** » Wed Jan 28, 2015 7:00 pm

Hi guys , wondered if anyone had bought a beerbug yet and what kind of experience they are having with it. Im considering one for my new conical setup as I travel quite a bit and can monitor whats going on whilst im away. I will eventually be able to remotely control my FV temp so if I see things going wrong I can try give it a kick up the arse by changing the temp. Its an expensive but interesting piece of kit and would appreciate any feedback people are having using it.

https://www.thebeerbug.com/

LeeH · Post by **LeeH** » Wed Jan 28, 2015 11:43 pm

No, but I want one and it's only going to get better.

I will if you will......

setmash · Post by **setmash** » Wed Jan 28, 2015 11:55 pm

They are cheeky feckers though, keeping some functions back for folks willing to pay $16 per month - thats not on. Very poor for such an expensive piece of prototype kit

LeeH · Post by **LeeH** » Thu Jan 29, 2015 7:50 am

Didn't know that but looking at it the extended functions are not worth it.

BenB · Post by **BenB** » Thu Jan 29, 2015 8:46 am

Its too rich for me! It's not overly complicated equipment so either they're paying too much for them to be assembled or they're going for a more than healthy markup given that they're selling direct. I would imagine a price point nearer £120 would tempt people. ...

dean_wales · Post by **dean_wales** » Thu Jan 29, 2015 1:19 pm

www.BrewPi.com

That is all!

barneey · Post by **barneey** » Thu Jan 29, 2015 1:25 pm

My only comment would be to check out the forum page and people asking for help.

https://www.thebeerbug.com/forum/

setmash · Post by **setmash** » Thu Jan 29, 2015 1:55 pm

Can the Brewpi measure gravity ???

chris2012 · Post by **chris2012** » Thu Jan 29, 2015 1:56 pm

dean_wales · Post by **dean_wales** » Fri Jan 30, 2015 10:05 am

Not yet! They keep promising it. In about a year's time I reckon it will.

I am skeptical about that though and the Beer Bug's accuracy.

Dean.

Brad.BeerBug · Post by **Brad.BeerBug** » Wed Feb 04, 2015 11:14 pm

Hey guys!

I found this thread while doing a weekly search to see how the homebrew community feels about the BeerBug whether it be, interests, questions, or concerns!

Hopefully I can answer two of the questions/concerns you guys expressed so far and if you have any others I'd be glad to answer those too!

-In regards to the subscription categories that we have available, our two levels are "Advanced Users" and "Developer Access". In regards to pricing, they are (in order) $15 for 6 months, and $25 for 6 months. This breaks down into $2.50/$4.17 USD a month, not $16.
If you're curious as to what the difference is between the two, they are outlined here: https://www.thebeerbug.com/usertypes/

-In regards to the BeerBug's accuracy, we only ship units that are at maximum ±0.002 from a known gravity. I.e. If we know something is 1.000 the BeerBug may read within 0.998-1.002. Anything beyond that gets rebuilt.

Not trying to have this as some sort of marketing plug for the BeerBug, was just hoping to answer a few questions people had!

Also, in regards to the BrewPi it is certainly an interesting piece of hardware (arduino stuff is always fun to play with)! From what Elco has said, He's about 6 months or more away from his first prototype gravity sensor. Both systems have their merits, and both have features the other may not possess currently.

Happy Brewing!

If you have any other questions, concerns, or comments feel free to email me at brad@parasitx.com!

BenB · Post by **BenB** » Thu Feb 05, 2015 9:21 am

Wow. Can't believe they charge extra for some of those features! I've been looking at the beerbug since the kickstarter days but the price of the base unit plus the monthly cost to allow pretty basic stuff) makes it a no-go. The annoying thing is some of the limitations of the non subscription version are clearly artificially introduced to try and force people to subscribe. They should spend that energy making the product better and / or cheaper.

setmash · Post by **setmash** » Thu Feb 05, 2015 11:39 am

Yes they have got it all wrong on that one, they should not charge a monthly fee to change sample rate etc. Also $250....i work in the electronics business there is no way this should cost $250. They know this and Im sure they will bring the costs down, lets face it if it did work it would be a brilliant device.

Brad why dont you ship a sample to Barneey or another member for test and review ?

chris2012 · Post by **chris2012** » Thu Feb 05, 2015 11:51 am

The review of the beerbug here seems a little disconcerting http://mynerdlyendeavours.com/category/ ... ng/page/2/ (the review at the bottom)
in terms of accuracy, but it looks like it has been improved since then.

You can see it works through a load cell, making the $250 seem rather expensive to me.

LeeH · Post by **LeeH** » Thu Feb 05, 2015 1:56 pm

I don't think the price it OTT.

It isn't just the sum of the parts here, the R&D man hours must be huge.

After they have shifted 1000's of units or so expect the price drop.

Just think how cheap a 50" TV is now compared to 5 years ago.

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