Like so many of our customers at Dark Farm Homebrewing, I’m always looking for ways to improve my brewing experience. Happily, there are new products arriving on the market all the time to help us with this. One of the brewing processes I’ve been focusing on is temperature control.
Now, temperature controllers come in all shapes and sizes, but the most affordable are 10 amp, and are only designed for controlling smaller elements on a RIMS. Of course there are temperature controllers out there which can handle more power - but they can be pricey. When I heard that the KegLand RAPT came as a 15 amp version with a reasonable price tag, I had to give it a go.
I got my hands on one, and I’ve been putting it through its paces for the last month on The Brew Tanks and a fridge. With a couple of adaptors to convert the Australian plug to IEC320 C13, we have tried it on 2.5KW and 3KW on the UK 13 amp plug, making sure not to draw too much power from a home circuit. And I’ve now done a number of successful brews using it.
Overall, I would say that this temperature controller offers exceptional performance, robust design, versatility, and ease of use. Its wide temperature range (-20°C to 120°C) and precise temperature control, with minimal fluctuation, make it a valuable tool for any brewer looking to take their fermentation or brewing process to the next level.
The controller is wi-fi connected so you can monitor, control and log your element and chiller remotely. It was very easy to use, and I enjoyed using the online interface to adjust my schedules after I had dialled in the mashing steps. There is also an app for both Android and Apple, but you can use the controller without connecting to any of these or the wi-fi. Programme options also include cooling and heating hysteresis (the temp range before adjustments are made), and delay settings.
The Design
While this heavy duty KegLand RAPT is built to handle up to 15 amps of power, it still has a neat, sleek design, combining durability with usability. I found the colour LCD screen effective at displaying the temperature readings, as well as the programmed settings. You can input both simple and more complex temperature profiles, and I appreciated its ability to switch between heating and cooling modes. Thanks to the record mode, you can also access graphs of future and past temperature settings, which I found helpful for improving my schedules - and my finished brews!
The plastic housing feels robust enough to handle the challenges of my busy brew cellar. The mounting plate offers you the option to panel mount it, mount to a hanging point or hook, or on top of a fridge. The controller has two power sockets for heating and cooling, which means you can control a fridge and a heating device at the same time. These sockets are easy to identify - one is red, the other blue - so you can quickly see which is which.
The KegLand RAPT temp controller comes with a PID (Proportional-Integral-Derivative) heating function to reduce any chance of scorching. Plus the designers have built in an alarm to alert you if the temperature exceeds the set limits. An invaluable function which can help prevent your brew spoiling, or even more importantly, prevent damage to your equipment.
In Conclusion…
While you can make great homebrew without gadgets like temperature controllers, I personally am finding it a useful addition to my brew process. After all, temperature plays such an important role in brewing that getting a bit of help in maintaining the ideal range can be a game changer for your brews.
