Note: the following is an unbiased review of a product I purchased myself. This is not a sponsored review.
Sight glasses give inquisitive brewers an opportunity to see what is going on within a closed system. They can be used in a number of different processes, including: monitoring wort clarity, observing in-line oxygenation, yeast harvesting, and dry hopping.
While they serve as a valuable tool, traditional sight glasses can also be complex to assemble and sanitize. Spike Brewing has taken an opportunity to reinvent the wheel, with the goal of improving upon this component.
They currently offer sight glasses in two different sizes: 2" and 1.5", both with TC (tri-clamp/tri-clover) fittings.
The 1.5" TC size is common in homebrewing equipment, making it able to attach to a wide variety of kettles, fermenters, and other components from various manufacturers. The 2" TC sight glass is sized to fit the 2" ports on Spike's line of fermenters. It should be noted that you can also purchase TC reducers from various manufacturers, which allow you connect together TC parts of different sizes.
Ease of use: 5/5
Spike's main inspiration when creating their sight glasses was simplification. Sight glass design can vary by manufacturer; however, you can see a comparison of a Spike sight glass alongside a traditional four-bolt sight glass in the final two pictures above.
The traditional design has 25 total parts; whereas, the Spike sight glass has 5. This makes for incredibly quick and easy assembly. Furthermore, while a traditional sight glass requires a wrench to tighten each connection, the Spike sight glass requires just one connection to be screwed together, and it may be done by hand.
The end cap is knurled, which allows for an easy grip, even if it is wet with sanitizer.
The 2.5" TC sight glass weighed in at 47.5 ounces, with the 1.5" TC at 29.2 ounces. For comparison, my 1.5" TC four-bolt sight glass weighs 39.5 ounces.
Quality: 5/5 (2" TC) and 4/5 (1.5" TC)
Both models use the same design, with the only difference coming down to the gaskets used. The white gaskets seen in the picture above are used in the 2" TC version. They seat well and provide a very solid connection with the glass tube.
The 1.5" TC version uses black gaskets that have a small inner ring. The design makes it appear that the glass tube should sit within the inner and outer rim of the gasket; however, the spacing within the gasket rims is too small. As such, quite a bit of the glass tube edge is exposed with the gasket in place, depending on how the tube sits. While I haven't experienced a leak, this does make me a bit uneasy about the connection.
The black gaskets also seem to be covered in a thin layer of oil or lubricant, which is a bit of a challenge to scrub off.
Effectiveness: 4/5 (2" TC) and 3/5 (1.5" TC)
The Spike sight glasses perform as you would expect, allowing you to observe the contents of the glass tube, whether that be yeast, wort, or hop pellets.
The outer stainless steel casing of the sight glass provides protection from clumsy brewers, but also hinders the view a bit, particularly in the 1.5" TC model, which has a substantially smaller viewing area than a traditional four-bolt sight glass.
Cost: 4/5
The sight glasses are priced competitively, especially considering the ease of use that they offer. That said, sight glasses in general are not a cheap component.
At this time, Spike Brewing sells the 1.5" TC version for $50 and the 2" TC version for $60. For comparison, SS Brewtech currently sells a 1.5" TC four-bolt version for $52.95.
Overall: 5/5 (2" TC) and 4/5 (1.5" TC)
I am very pleased with what Spike Brewing offers with these sight glasses. Homebrewers have to be excellent at multitasking. For me, there are few things more frustrating that trying to assemble a traditional sight glass with wet hands while I am trying to handle multiple things at once.
The sight glasses are simple to use and simple to clean. I don't see myself going back to the traditional four-bolt design, though some may be more partial to the style and visibility that the traditional design offers.
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