Top 5 things you need to know when buying brewing equipment from China
II WHAT to buy Knowing where to purchase your equipment from is not enough. When considering buying from China, you must have a very clear shopping list. We keep receiving a lot of inquiries from potential customers with only a message like"interested at price and drawings" or "in the market for 3/5/7/10BBL brewhouse, better be a turnkey solution". Attention, if you are sending your inquiries like this, many equipment manufacturers/companies may take you as a "not serious buyer", no mention you will need to spend a lot of time to talk to everyone who got your message for confirming the basic needs and information to understand your plan so they can come up an accurate quote accordingly. Here are some tips we suggest you think ahead before reaching to your suppliers: 1. Heating method The different heating method could be priced differently for your brewhouse, but how to decide what heating method work for you the best? Gas fired is convenient since you will be ready to go with a burner installed, also it's cheap to work with in the future, but the extra cost for the combustion chamber will be added to the brewhouse in the most cases, also, venting tunnel or system need to be planned ahead. Forget about steam heating if you can't get your local authority approval, or you have zoning limitation to have a boiler room or a relatively separated place for it. the cost of the boiler also needs to be considered. BUT! If you can take care of those matters, you will have the most efficient heating ramp rate for your brewhouse, if you are in the market for 10-15BBL plus brewhouse, steam may be your the best choice. Last but not the least, electrical heating, it's very convenient to work with as it will be ready to go with a power connection, no steam piping, no extra burner, nothing. But the electricity bill may be not very pleasant for you to see... 2. Expected Production Figure out the expected yearly production for your place! You will waste a lot of yours and your supplier's time for wrong estimated numbers, also, ask for rough size to see if the wanted equipment could be placed in or just simply offer your floor plan to the supplier for professional advice. 3. the "Shopping list" Many people asking for "turnkey solution" without knowing what turnkey solution is, also, the turnkey solution may be different for different buyers. Therefore, it's better to go a little bit further to work out your purchase list before reaching to your suppliers, here are some tips for you to consider about before reaching to your supplier: Brewhouse capacity/ Fermenters capacity&quantities/ beer bright tanks capacity&quantities/Hot or Cold liquid tank?/ CIP cart or pump/ Keg washer&cleaner?/ Malt handling equipment (hopper, miller, hydrator)/Brewer's hose/ Extra parts or fittings(clamps, gaskets, back up fittings etc) The reason why I didn't list the burner, boiler, or chiller to the list is we always recommend the US customers to puchase them in the US. Do not risk your time and money on the not-regulation-meeting product! You can't have someone fly over from China to handle the engineering failure. but most of the case can be resolved better, faster if you have a US company stand behind their warranty. Here are some links for your reference to source a proper product: Boiler http://www.columbiaboiler.com/boilers-craft-breweries.htm https://www.esgcorp.com/ https://www.miuraboiler.com/steam-boilers How to choose the right boiler for your brewery https://www.craftbrewingbusiness.com/equipment-systems/choose-right-boiler-brewery/2/ Burner http://www.midcointernational.com/ Chiller https://prochiller.com/ https://www.advantageengineering.com/index.php 4. Ask for UL! There are some of the components must be UL listed with your system, they are Pumps, the brewhouse motors, control panel, wires, other electrical components, etc. ask for UL listed from your Chinese suppliers! Also remember always have licensed people for installing, plumbing, wiring works! Hope you found this article useful, please feel free to let us know your comments or questions.
We will soon have our unitanks inventory from 3BBL to 20BBL arrive with us within next weeks, click the link here or contact us for further information! Shine & Henry O: (410) 971-8326 E:sales@carolinabeers.com W: carolinamicrobrewing.com