Grainfather!!

Has anyone used the brewfather to control the grainfather? I see it's a beta option, but haven't tried it.

I hate using 2 apps and much prefer brewfather.

murphyslaw said:

Has anyone used the brewfather to control the grainfather? I see it's a beta option, but haven't tried it.

I hate using 2 apps and much prefer brewfather.

Click to expand...

I export my Brewfather recipe to the Grainfather app and use the Grainfather app to adjust time and temp.

Chorgey said:

I export my Brewfather recipe to the Grainfather app and use the Grainfather app to adjust time and temp.

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Yeah...that's what I do.

But this might make that unnecessary: Grainfather

I was hoping I didn't have to be the guinea pig

murphyslaw said:

Yeah...that's what I do.

But this might make that unnecessary: Grainfather

I was hoping I didn't have to be the guinea pig

Click to expand...

My phone is IOS and that feature isn’t supported on my phone. I Brew approximately 30 ft from my desktop and it has a Chrome browser. I’m going to see if this will work on my next batch.

Well ...it happened to me. After 40 brews, the dreaded fused boiler plug to the controller box. Right before I was to mash in 10 degrees shy....I smelled the burning plastic. Damn that cable and controller were hot.
Six days and bunch of emails, a new boiler and controller. The cable has been upgraded to a larger wire and a 20 amp plug. Controller updated to match.

Great service.

Has anyow had an issue with more severe effects than the burning plastic and fused plug?

phbern said:

Yup. Did that a couple of times, on different devices, even. A few people on the GF Facebook group have said they can't get it to work, either. Even GF support couldn't figure it out.

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I am having the very same issue with my Tilt and the Grainfather app. No matter what I do I get "cloud error" on the Tilt app and "offline" within the Grainfather app.

BrewAgain said:

Well ...it happened to me. After 40 brews, the dreaded fused boiler plug to the controller box. Right before I was to mash in 10 degrees shy....I smelled the burning plastic. Damn that cable and controller were hot.
Six days and bunch of emails, a new boiler and controller. The cable has been upgraded to a larger wire and a 20 amp plug. Controller updated to match.

Great service.

Has anyow had an issue with more severe effects than the burning plastic and fused plug?

Click to expand...

after having mine nuke itself 3+ times (kept getting the stupid ass 15a plug as a replacement) I said **** it and went 220v grainfather.

skraeling said:

after having mine nuke itself 3+ times (kept getting the stupid ass 15a plug as a replacement) I said **** it and went 220v grainfather.

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Did you have to buy it or did Grainfather give you the option for 220v ?

Chorgey said:

Did you have to buy it or did Grainfather give you the option for 220v ?

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They wouldnt give me the option for a 220 replacement (which I think is stupid its the same price), they only did like for like. So I sold my replacement and bought the 220.
never going back to the 120.

skraeling said:

after having mine nuke itself 3+ times (kept getting the stupid ass 15a plug as a replacement) I said **** it and went 220v grainfather.

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On the replacements, they did not provide the updated 20A plug and socket version? The cable to the boiler element was also updated to a larger wire AWG.

BrewAgain said:

On the replacements, they did not provide the updated 20A plug and socket version? The cable to the boiler element was also updated to a larger wire AWG.

Click to expand...

My last replacement finally had it but I was so tired of dealing with 120 I said **** it and sold it for a small loss to upgrade.

Yet another UI update for the app. It seems like every time I brew it's changed.

Pkrd said:

Yet another UI update for the app. It seems like every time I brew it's changed.

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And gets uglier each time

I have the older G30 110v and was wondering if anyone has done a handle modification to it?
Thanks

Ordered up a G70, it has shipped. Very excited.

Hi all,
It's been a long time since I've posted. I'm cleaning out my garage/brewery and came across two (one left) G30 Grainfather control boxes that are excess to my needs. One is the original control box (NOT connect,) the other is a series 1 Connect Controller. I'd like to pay forward to anyone who needs a replacement for the cost of postage. I've plugged it in and it appears to work just fine. I also have an extra recirculation pipe and CFC tap adapter set, same deal, for the cost of postage. If you need pics let me know. Just send me a PM to let me know if you'd like the controller, or the parts and we can work out the details.
Cheers,
Ed

I do not need one, not now anyway, but I just wanted to say thank you for your generosity.

RedlegEd said:

Hi all,
It's been a long time since I've posted. I'm cleaning out my garage/brewery and came across two G30 Grainfather control boxes that are excess to my needs. One is the original control box (NOT connect,) the other is a series 1 Connect Controller. I'd like to pay forward to anyone who needs a replacement … send me a PM to let me know if you'd like one of the controllers, or the parts and we can work out the details.
Cheers,
Ed

Click to expand...

LongEZBrew said:

I do not need one, not now anyway, but I just wanted to say thank you for your generosity.

Click to expand...

Hi Carl,
Thanks. I've learned a lot from this community over the years, so it's my small way of giving something back.
Ed

Help?!

So, just completed my mash. Everything was recirculating well. Them, I went to circulate the boiling wort through the pump and nothing. I blew through the hose thinking it had to prime, but nothing. When I push the button, nothing happens. Zero noise or vibration. I made sure everything is plugged in. Any recommendations?

skleice said:

Help?!

So, just completed my mash. Everything was recirculating well. Them, I went to circulate the boiling wort through the pump and nothing. I blew through the hose thinking it had to prime, but nothing. When I push the button, nothing happens. Zero noise or vibration. I made sure everything is plugged in. Any recommendations?

Click to expand...

Not sure if this would work but anything is worth a try, did you try plugging the pump right into a household outlet (instead of the Grainfather control box)?

Chorgey said:

Not sure if this would work but anything is worth a try, did you try plugging the pump right into a household outlet (instead of the Grainfather control box)?

Click to expand...

Good idea. Sadly, it's a different type of plug. I realized I have another pump from my old unit, but that doesn't help me until after I transfer the wort. I muscled the whole thing into my ferm chamber and am now on the hopstand. Getting down to ferm temps is gonna take a while. Then, it is siphon time. What a cluster ****.

skleice said:

Good idea. Sadly, it's a different type of plug. I realized I have another pump from my old unit, but that doesn't help me until after I transfer the wort. I muscled the whole thing into my ferm chamber and am now on the hopstand. Getting down to ferm temps is gonna take a while. Then, it is siphon time. What a cluster ****.

Click to expand...

I would send a message to Grainfather and explain the situation. They won't be able to help you with this particular brew but it seems that their customer service is pretty good.

Oh man , sounds like the pump went out. Hopefully just a wire issue . Keep us informed.

Jag75 said:

Oh man , sounds like the pump went out. Hopefully just a wire issue . Keep us informed.

Click to expand...

Yes, so I swapped out the pump from my original unit and all is well. Back in business! I'm so glad it wasn't a controller issue.

Just came here to say that Grainfather are such a great company for their customer service. I got my G30 back in 2018, not under any kind of warrantee, and last month the control box crapped out. I sent them some pics and a video of the problem, and they immediately send me a brand new replacement. I can't think of a time that I've had such good customer service.

murphyslaw said:

Has anyone used the brewfather to control the grainfather? I see it's a beta option, but haven't tried it.

I hate using 2 apps and much prefer brewfather.

Click to expand...

So I tried this for the first time yesterday and it worked. I just hit a button on the webapp and it sent the recipe direct to the grainfather connect like the app would do. It did not seem to continuously update the process in brewfather--i.e., I still had to hit buttons to tell brewfather to advance from one step to the next. But it totally eliminated the need to export the recipe from brewfather then import it to the GF app.

I also purchased a false bottom to keep hop material out of the pump. Brewed an IPA with 3.25oz of hops yesterday and it worked great. That was really my only dissatisfaction with the GF--clogged pumps and the need for a hop spider when making IPAs. No more!

https://www.bacbrewing.com/en/parts-for-grainfather/328-false-bottom-for-grainfather.html?post=1
DO NOT try buying it from Long Island Homebrew. That website is fraudulent. I got mine from Italy in 4 or 5 days.

I thought the kegland false bottom for 35 litre 3.1 version was same size as G30. These should be available from many reputable sites.

DuncB said:

I thought the kegland false bottom for 35 litre 3.1 version was same size as G30. These should be available from many reputable sites.

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When that first became a popular solution I was unable to find it in stock anywhere. My understanding is that they've since changed the design and it no longer fits. Williams Brewing says they don't recommend it for the GF and they have several reviews on their site with people complaining that it didn't fit their GF.

I hadn't found any US retailer selling the BacBrewing false bottom, aside from the fraudulent site. But BacBrewing sells it for about $40 + shipping. Significantly more expensive than the Kegland version, but its worth the price, IMO.

murphyslaw said:

When that first became a popular solution I was unable to find it in stock anywhere. My understanding is that they've since changed the design and it no longer fits. Williams Brewing says they don't recommend it for the GF and they have several reviews on their site with people complaining that it didn't fit their GF.

I hadn't found any US retailer selling the BacBrewing false bottom, aside from the fraudulent site. But BacBrewing sells it for about $40 + shipping. Significantly more expensive than the Kegland version, but its worth the price, IMO.

Click to expand...

I got the false bottom for the Brewzilla for $25 canadian and it works great in my G30. The one issue is the ring on the top. You just have to bend it down so the grain basket fits. RoboBrew/BrewZilla Replacement Boiler False Bottom

Edit: one comment says that the newer release of these no longer fits the GF. So I guess I must have got an older one. Or maybe they just happened to get a defect.

BrewMeister49 said:

220 would be pretty cool! No way to plug in anywhere though. Not sure what I would choose? I would have to slide my stove out every brew day. 110 does just fine. Not sure about the grain coat costing $50 + tax and shipping! Just get reflectix and you'll be fine.

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With an electric vehicle adapter you wouldn’t have to move the stove. It works like a splitter… but relay controlled… as long as the stove is off, the second outlet is hot.

Anybody else having a problem using 'Auto Mode'? When I start a session and click my recipe it loads fine, but then toggles over to 'Manual Mode'. This happened last time too. Any ideas?

i've never had that problem, sorry.

Looks like northern Brewer is running the sparge water heater for $50. Is grainfather bringing out a new version? It's a steal if you need one.

Looks sold out already.

Okay, this is maddening. I have reached out to Grainfather support, but they’re no help. I use the pump cooling kit on my conical, so I have to swap out ice bottles in the cooler. It’s been brutally hot here in OKC, so I’m keeping a close eye on those jugs to keep the beer cool in the garage.

I set up a notification in the app to alert me if the temperature reading on the conical goes over 66 degrees. It has never worked. I have notifications set up both in the app and in iOS for Grainfather. Why doesn’t this work?

I haven't brewed at home since I started brewing at the Brewery . It's been 1.5 years to be exact. Decided to brew an orange cream milkshake IPA.

5 minutes left of the boil my temp started to go down . My connect showed that the heat was but the temp was dropping. Dang it , I figured I now had the known bad plug issue.

Had to take some wort out , do my last hop additions , lactose on the stove top . Did the wp in the Grainfather since the temp was 170. After I transferred to my fv I cleaned up. I noticed the bottom of the GF showed signs of burnt wort. Luckily I pressed the reset button . Added water and pbw . Heated up to 150 and cleaned w/o issue. Looks like I dodged a bullet. In all my brews I've never had an issue with burning , so I'm not sure where I went wrong.

Hi All,
Just got my first Grainfather (went with the S40 because there was a screaming deal via the Canadian distributor) and I had a question for any/all Grainfather users. There's no perforated steel plate (i.e. false bottom) included with this kit, as is my understanding, because the expectation is that one would transfer the wort to the fermenter via the tap on the S40.

My question is, what's stopping some (or any) hop matter from entering the "pump hole" in the bottom of the S40 and thereby, sooner or later, clogging the pump?

Has anyone used (or found) a false bottom for the S40 as of yet?

Thanks,
Dave

Jag75 said:

I haven't brewed at home since I started brewing at the Brewery . It's been 1.5 years to be exact. Decided to brew an orange cream milkshake IPA.

5 minutes left of the boil my temp started to go down . My connect showed that the heat was but the temp was dropping. Dang it , I figured I now had the known bad plug issue.

Had to take some wort out , do my last hop additions , lactose on the stove top . Did the wp in the Grainfather since the temp was 170. After I transferred to my fv I cleaned up. I noticed the bottom of the GF showed signs of burnt wort. Luckily I pressed the reset button . Added water and pbw . Heated up to 150 and cleaned w/o issue. Looks like I dodged a bullet. In all my brews I've never had an issue with burning , so I'm not sure where I went wrong.

Click to expand...

Good save! Burning on the element could be from wheat and extra flour sinking to the bottom. Some people advocate for scraping the heating element with a paddle before bringing up to a boil. Better crush should prevent it. Sometimes pressing the reset button repeatedly will let you finish out the boil.

DaveCS said:

Hi All,
Just got my first Grainfather (went with the S40 because there was a screaming deal via the Canadian distributor) and I had a question for any/all Grainfather users. There's no perforated steel plate (i.e. false bottom) included with this kit, as is my understanding, because the expectation is that one would transfer the wort to the fermenter via the tap on the S40.

My question is, what's stopping some (or any) hop matter from entering the "pump hole" in the bottom of the S40 and thereby, sooner or later, clogging the pump?

Has anyone used (or found) a false bottom for the S40 as of yet?

Thanks,
Dave

Click to expand...

I questioned I think David Heath's review on the S40 and the lack of a screen over the intake and he said It wasn't an issue... I guess because the input was on the side. If it was me I'd use a hop spider in the system.