ANVIL FOUNDRY ALL-GRAIN BREWING SYSTEM

[William2887]

So I repeated the test run with the lid on while it heated up. In about 1 hr 15 mins it had a really good boil going even though the display temperature read 205. After removing the lid within minutes the really good boil turned into a very very weak boil. Basically just some bubbles coming up from the bottom. I put my thermometer in the water to see what it said and it said 209. I couldn’t get it to go any higher. I would like to use this on 120 and not mess with changing over to 240.

 

[bleme]

I don't suppose you live 1500 feet above sea level?

 

[William2887]

Nope sure don’t. Actually just about half that. The boil I got was probably more of a simmer rather than a boil.

 

[bleme]

Is Power set at 100%?

Also, is the 120v/240v switch set to "I"?

 

[William2887]

The power was set to 100% and the switch was in the “I” position.

 

[bleme]

I'm about tapped out of ideas. You could measure your boil-off over an hour and see if it comes close to the expected 2-quarts. If it is way short, it's possible one of the heating elements isn't firing. I don't have one to look inside, but I'd think a loose wire should be fairly obvious.

You could also try setting it to 211F (since your boiling point should be about 210.5F) as it sounds like the machine has a special boil protocol for 212F.

 

[William2887]

I called anvil again and talked them and he said a simmer is all you need. He said that a simmer should put you at the right boil off rate. He also said a simmer is about all you will get out of it plugged into 120v.

 

[ba-brewer]

So I repeated the test run with the lid on while it heated up. In about 1 hr 15 mins it had a really good boil going even though the display temperature read 205. After removing the lid within minutes the really good boil turned into a very very weak boil. Basically just some bubbles coming up from the bottom. I put my thermometer in the water to see what it said and it said 209. I couldn’t get it to go any higher. I would like to use this on 120 and not mess with changing over to 240.

If you boil some water in a pot on the stove what does the thermometer read? Maybe your thermometer is bit off. 3 out 212 is less than a 2% error.

If you have a killiwatt or a multimeter with high enough current measuring capability you could figure out if the unit is pulling the correct amount of power.

even if it really is 209 it is close enough get appropriate bittering from your hop and pretty much the same evaporation as 212. There are also some people that believe a low intensity boil/simmer is a good thing.

 

[William2887]

That would be a small percentage of error. I will have to boil some water on the stove and check it. I do another thermometer, and I should have checked the water the other day so I could have checked the boil in question.

 

[BrewDrinkRepeat]

Another thought re: heating times: for those of you with pumps, are you recirculating the whole time? That should certainly speed up the ramp up times...

 

[BrewDrinkRepeat]

Has anyone given any thoughts to use the malt pipe as a hop spyder

So, I was thinking about this a little more today, and I don't think it would work well during boiling; you only have the screen at the bottom on the slots on the sides (at the bottom) for the boiling wort to circulate inside the malt pipe. So in addition to possibly not filtering the hop material as well as a mesh screen, I think you'd have a really hard time getting to and maintaining a boil with the malt pipe in.

 

[LittleRiver]

Another thought re: heating times: for those of you with pumps, are you recirculating the whole time? That should certainly speed up the ramp up times...

Removing liquid from the vessel and circulating it through a tube exposed to air is a way to extract or lose heat, not a way to conserve or add heat.

 

[BrewDrinkRepeat]

Removing liquid from the vessel and circulating it through a tube exposed to air is a way to extract or lose heat, not a way to conserve or add heat.

Would forcing the wort to circulate (so more wort comes into direct contact with the element in the base) not overcome the slight loss incurred from a couple feet of tubing?

 

[LittleRiver]

Would forcing the wort to circulate (so more wort comes into direct contact with the element in the base) not overcome the slight loss incurred from a couple feet of tubing?

The difference between the two scenarios is small, so practically speaking either will work fine. Re-circulation would have the advantage of less temperature stratification, which will help with temp measurements. On the other hand, if you don't recirculate all it takes is a quick stir to de-stratify before taking a temp measurement.

But you can't gain heat by recirculating, so the answer to your question is no.

 

[bleme]

Would forcing the wort to circulate (so more wort comes into direct contact with the element in the base) not overcome the slight loss incurred from a couple feet of tubing?

Circulating doesn't cause more contact with the element. There is always the exact same amount of contact. And since heat rises, it will circulate itself.

 

[BuzzedBomber]

Circulating doesn't cause more contact with the element. There is always the exact same amount of contact. And since heat rises, it will circulate itself.

Forcing the circulation will ensure you do not have any thermal "dead" areas. I'm not sure if the volume of this system applies, but on the 3.5bbl electric Blichmann system we used, we needed to circulate the water to ensure we had no pockets of under-temp water. I guess you could heat long enough that these areas would no be present; however, it seemed we did better circulating than not.

 

[kerbythepurplecow]

Has anyone determined if the steam slayer is capable of interfacing with the foundry lid? I'm wondering if it could be installed in the distillation port in the lid. I getting ready to pull the trigger on a system, but am trying to consider brewing with the system while I wait for it to come back in stock in October. I'm sure there's a possible DIY solution the steam using the lid port, I'd just rather buy an already complete product if possible.

 

[Spyderbyte07]

Has anyone determined if the steam slayer is capable of interfacing with the foundry lid? I'm wondering if it could be installed in the distillation port in the lid. I getting ready to pull the trigger on a system, but am trying to consider brewing with the system while I wait for it to come back in stock in October. I'm sure there's a possible DIY solution the steam using the lid port, I'd just rather buy an already complete product if possible.

I haven’t tried it, and it would still take some DIY fitting of triclover parts, but I’m guessing https://www.norcalbrewingsolutions.com/store/Still-Spirits-Turbo-500-Tri-Clover-2-Inch-Connect.html would fit the lid port. I've also been meaning to ask Bobby at Brew Hardware if one of his weldless triclover adapters would fit the lid opening.

 

[BrewDrinkRepeat]

Circulating doesn't cause more contact with the element. There is always the exact same amount of contact.

What I meant by that is: you're pulling now-heated wort out of the bottom and replacing it at the top, rather than heating the same section of water and letting the heat rise through the liquid.

But you can't gain heat by recirculating, so the answer to your question is no.

I have to admit, I'm still confused by this... if the tubing and pump are not losing more heat than the element is adding, and recirculating is allowing more even distribution of the heat by moving now-heated water to the top of the column that is warmer than the water already there, how this wouldn't result in a quicker heat-up time.

I will also admit that I am not a thermodynamic physicist, and I might possibly be a dum-dum.

 

[happyduke]

A bit off-topic, but has anyone tried using it in Europe? I plan to use 240v version of it of course but the instruction does not state anything about using it outside the US.

 

[Bubman]

Well I decided to jump in and ordered the 6.5 Gallon Foundry yesterday. I received tracking today and I'm hoping to have it by the weekend.

I was initially concerned with some of the QC issues and was going to wait for the second production run however the issues seem to be limited and I have not heard any negatives in some time.

Question for those who are using the Foundry, What crush is everyone using? I have been brewing BIAB and set my mill pretty tight. I was thinking of starting off around .35 but I'm not really sure as I have only brewed BIAB for all grain.

Was also wondering about recirc during cooling. Would that help speed thing up or is just as easy to stir occasionally?

 

[Oginme]

With my 6.5G Anvil, I lined the mash basket with my BIAB bag and milled the way I normally do for BIAB. I have had no issues with recirculation or drainage. My mash/lauter efficiency from the first two batches were 80.6% and 80.4% respectively. Compare this to my standard mash/lauter efficiency from doing BIAB at around 86% to 87% with the same crush. Not too shabby and I am pleased with the consistency so far with two different recipes.

 

[Bubman]

A bit off-topic, but has anyone tried using it in Europe? I plan to use 240v version of it of course but the instruction does not state anything about using it outside the US.

I'm not an electrical engineer but I doubt it would affect anything other than pump speed. Pump will spin 10 rpm slower.

 

[Bobby J]

I have been having a ton of fun brewing with my 10.5 gal anvil but i have noticed i am getting a lot of trouble with stuck sparges. the pump is running great however it seems like the grains are getting stuck in all of the holes in the bottom of the "false bottom" grain basket and sucking the mash water down to the point where it is all just sitting in the grain basket. I have tried decreasing flow rate to a trickle, and letting the grain rest for about 10 minutes before recirculation, the only solution thus far has been to get in there and rake up the entire basket which leaves me with a very cloudy wort. Any help you guys could send over to a newbie like me would be much appreciated!

 

[Oginme]

I have been having a ton of fun brewing with my 10.5 gal anvil but i have noticed i am getting a lot of trouble with stuck sparges. the pump is running great however it seems like the grains are getting stuck in all of the holes in the bottom of the "false bottom" grain basket and sucking the mash water down to the point where it is all just sitting in the grain basket. I have tried decreasing flow rate to a trickle, and letting the grain rest for about 10 minutes before recirculation, the only solution thus far has been to get in there and rake up the entire basket which leaves me with a very cloudy wort. Any help you guys could send over to a newbie like me would be much appreciated!

As I mentioned above, I use my Brewbag to line the mash basket. It is a 200 micron mesh, so it traps much of the fine material from my crush but also allows good flow through the grain bed.

 

[Bobby J]

As I mentioned above, I use my Brewbag to line the mash basket. It is a 200 micron mesh, so it traps much of the fine material from my crush but also allows good flow through the grain bed.

Thank you! will be picking one up asap

 

[Bassman2003]

Also consider using rice hulls as part of your normal routine. Soak them first to plump them up with water which also washed them a bit. With this type of system more recirc flow is better.

 

[Bubman]

I have been having a ton of fun brewing with my 10.5 gal anvil but i have noticed i am getting a lot of trouble with stuck sparges. the pump is running great however it seems like the grains are getting stuck in all of the holes in the bottom of the "false bottom" grain basket and sucking the mash water down to the point where it is all just sitting in the grain basket. I have tried decreasing flow rate to a trickle, and letting the grain rest for about 10 minutes before recirculation, the only solution thus far has been to get in there and rake up the entire basket which leaves me with a very cloudy wort. Any help you guys could send over to a newbie like me would be much appreciated!

Just wondering what size crush you are using.

I was hoping not to have to use my grain bag for mashing.

Found this in another thread here and found it interesting, curious what others think of it.

http://www.craftbrewersconference.com/wp-content/uploads/ImprovingBrewhouseEfficiency-Havig.pdf

 

[Bobby J]

Just wondering what size crush you are using.

I was hoping not to have to use my grain bag for mashing.

Found this in another thread here and found it interesting, curious what others think of it.

http://www.craftbrewersconference.com/wp-content/uploads/ImprovingBrewhouseEfficiency-Havig.pdf

Just using whatever crush my LHBS had

 

[Bubman]

I am going to start @.040 and see what efficiency I get.

 

[BrewDrinkRepeat]

So, my first brewday on the Anvil is ongoing right now, I'm halfway through the mash. So far everything is going fine (in regards to the Foundry, anyway... I had a couple f-ups that were 100% on me LOL).

As I heated up my strike water I decided to test recirculating vs. not, and found that recirculating (tubing cut precisely to length, and the lid clamped on the entire time) did increase heatup rates by a bit.

Here's my data:

After 60 minutes I stopped timing and let it just go all the way to my target temp of 159ºF, while recirculating, as I milled my grain.

So for the ten minute segments where I recirculated, I did see an increase in temperature gain... enough that I plan to recirculate the entire time next session, as it looks like it would save me at least 10 - 15 minutes heating to strike temp.

(I would not, of course, recirculate if I was setting the timer the night before...)

It's recirculating now for the mash, and so far this little pump is performing admirably. It's virtually silent, no cavitation issues, and if I let it go full-steam it's quite powerful -- not quite as fast as my Chugger or March pumps, but close enough for brewing purposes.

Update #1: Just finished the mash, and I hit an efficiency of 76%. Can't complain at that!

Lifted the malt pipe, took about four minutes for the primary wort to drain, I'm going to let it sit at least until the wort comes up to a boil, if not longer.

Update #2: Took just shy of an hour to bring ~6 gallons to a boil @ 120v. It's a very gentle boil; when I first took the lid off it looks a bit more vigorous, but it settled down to more a "simmer". Not unexpected, just posting the deets. (It is interesting that the readout says 208ºF, but it's clearly at a very low "entry level" boil.)

My hop tube only reaches a couple of inches into the wort, so I unhooked it from the side of the Foundry and set it on the bottom. Had about 0.5" clearance, but that was enough. Might not be next time, I'll have to be careful... might have to look for a mesh tube that is taller than 14"...

Cracked open a Maine Beer Zoe to have with my lunch.

Update #3: Chilling. I'm immediately thinking to install an SSBrewTech whirlpool fitting on the Anvil. I have one on my regular boil kettle and it works like a champ. AFAIK there are no electrical components / wiring in the walls of the Anvil, but I'll check w/ them to be sure. Also would need to be sure there is enough clearance to allow the whirlpool fitting to co-exist with the malt tube. If not I'll have to look into one of the hang-over-the-side types...

Update #4: Cleaning the malt pipe in the kitchen is a bit challenging; my normal process for cleaning pots and kettles is to set them sideways over the sink, angled down a little bit, and use my sprayer to rinse out the residual trub, grains, etc. from the inside. Doesn't work that well w/ the malt pipe since the bottom & bottom sides are mesh. Let's just say I got some water... everywhere... LOL.

And of course I lost one of the tiny little washers for the thumbscrews that hold the pumphead on. I'll have to hit the hardware store this week to replace it... hopefully they have some that small!

Also took a moment to sample a mead that I'm getting close to racking into a keg. Dayum it's going to be a good batch! Need to add a little acidity when I go to keg, but it's really nice as it stands.

Today has been a good day.


Recipe:
Vienna Red Ale
19-A American Amber Ale

Size: 5.25 gal
Efficiency: 76.02%
Attenuation: 73%
Calories: 260.28 kcal per 16.0 fl oz

Original Gravity: 1.058 (1.045 - 1.060)
Terminal Gravity: 1.016 (1.010 - 1.015)
Color: 13.64 SRM (10.0 - 17.0)
Alcohol: 5.6% (4.5% - 6.2%)
Bitterness: 49.3 (25.0 - 40.0)


Ingredients:
11 lb (92.1%) Vienna Malt
8 oz (4.2%) Cara-Pils® Malt
3 oz (1.6%) Roasted Barley
4 oz (2.1%) Acidulated Malt
8 oz Rice Hulls

.7 oz (35.0%) Chinook (12.9%) @60 m
.7 oz (35.0%) Centennial (9.3%) @60 m

1 tsp Wyeast Nutrient @10 m
1 ea Whirlfloc Tablets (Irish moss) @10 m
1 ea Servomyces @10 m

.3 oz (15.0%) Chinook (12.9%) @0 m
.3 oz (15.0%) Centennial (9.3%) @0 m

1 ea Clarity-Ferm (10ml) - added dry to primary fermenter
1 ea Imperial A01 House

MASH WATER TARGETS
Ca 72 ppm
Mg 3 ppm
Na 8 ppm
SO4 114 ppm
Cl 59 ppm
HCO3 NA
SO4/Cl Ratio 1.9

Target Mash pH: 5.31
Mash Temp: 151ºF for 60 m

 

[Schlenkerla]

Subbed....

 

[Bubman]

I'm in the process of my first brew with the foundry now.
Mine ( 6.5 gal) arrived Monday and I did a water test only with 120v to check heating times. It took 43 min to get to strike temp of 156 from 81 and then 24 min to boil. So yesterday I ran a 240v circuit and tried again.
With 240v it hit strike in 23 min then boil in 15 min, very pleased with that.

During the mash the temp rose once from 153 to 159, not sure why so I lowered the power to 75% and it stayed within 1 degree for the rest of the mash.

Boiling now and I found after reaching a boil I can lower the power to 85% and it maintains a nice rolling boil. Boil off rate looks spot on so far.

I had a couple f-ups that were 100% on me LOL).

I made the mistake of removing the recirc tube to stir the mash and it fell on the counter and dumped about a pint of wort, even with the valve on the kettle closed.

I ended up with 65% efficiency whis is not bad so I'm thinking I will tighten up my crush a bit and see where that gets me.

All in all I very happy with the foundry. I think however If I had the 10.5 gallon unit I would want more wattage for quicker heating times but for what it is that wouldn't be a deal breaker.

I do wish Anvil would redesign the wort chiller. The location of the bends prevent the coil from being fully submerged in the 3 gallons of wort. The top 3 coils were exposed increasing cooling times.

That caused me to drink another beer

 

[Oginme]

I just did my first brew at 240v today on my 6.5G Anvil after two brews at 120v to test the system out. My times at both power inputs were very similar to what you listed. So far, I have been pretty pleased with the system. I heard from others that you want the power to be lower during the mash so that you did not get the swings in mash temperatures due to being overpowered in the heating element. I brought the mash up to temperature and then lowered the power to 40%. I ended up bringing it back to around 50% to respond a bit faster to dips in the temperature after mashing in.

In all three brews I have made I have not changed the grind from my BIAB set up and ended up with mash efficiencies in the 80% to 81% range, fairly consistent. I do use my BIAB bag to line the mash basket with, so that may help. I have been impressed with the clarity of the wort and the reduction in the trub carry over into the fermenter from the Anvil system versus what I had been getting with my BIAB system.

John stated on the Anvil facebook group that they designed the chiller the way they did on purpose so that it did not rest on or near the temperature probe. He claimed that with recirculating the wort, the chilling coils should get the temperature down pretty quickly. In all honesty, I've gone back to my SS chiller which is made for a 5 gallon kettle and more than twice as long as the one that came with the Anvil unit. It took me about 20 minutes to bring the wort down to 62 F from boiling this morning. My experience with the Anvil chiller was almost twice as long.

 

[Bubman]

I do use my BIAB bag to line the mash basket with, so that may help.

I would be happy getting 75% with a finer crush but don't want excessive trub as a result, may have to give the bag a try.

He claimed that with recirculating the wort, the chilling coils should get the temperature down pretty quickly

I did not recirculate during cooling, next brew I will and see if cooling time is reduced.

 

[BrewDrinkRepeat]

I heard from others that you want the power to be lower during the mash so that you did not get the swings in mash temperatures due to being overpowered in the heating element. I brought the mash up to temperature and then lowered the power to 40%. I ended up bringing it back to around 50% to respond a bit faster to dips in the temperature after mashing in.

I left mine @ 100% power during the entire brew -- heating strike water, recirculating during the mash, bring it up to a boil and boiling.

 

[Oginme]

I left mine @ 100% power during the entire brew -- heating strike water, recirculating during the mash, bring it up to a boil and boiling.

At 50% power, it held 156 F mash temperature with barely a swing. Just enough power to keep it consistent and not enough to cause much overshoot when the heat came on. Put it back on 100% for the rise to boil and then dropped it to 90% to maintain the boil. Did that very well, but I think next time I will leave it at the 100% for the full boil.

 

[Bubman]

It's recirculating now for the mash, and so far this little pump is performing admirably. It's virtually silent, no cavitation issues, and if I let it go full-steam it's quite powerful -- not quite as fast as my Chugger or March pumps, but close enough for brewing purposes.



Update #3: Chilling. I'm immediately thinking to install an SSBrewTech whirlpool fitting on the Anvil. I have one on my regular boil kettle and it works like a champ. AFAIK there are no electrical components / wiring in the walls of the Anvil, but I'll check w/ them to be sure. Also would need to be sure there is enough clearance to allow the whirlpool fitting to co-exist with the malt tube. If not I'll have to look into one of the hang-over-the-side types...

This would be an interesting mod to the foundry.

Please keep us posted.

 

[BigChas]

Whats the smallest batch size that anyone has done on the 10.5 gal unit? Any problems and would you recommend it for 2.5 - 3 gal batches. I do 90% small batch brewing, but on occasion will brew a 5 gallon batch.

 

[Oginme]

Whats the smallest batch size that anyone has done on the 10.5 gal unit? Any problems and would you recommend it for 2.5 - 3 gal batches. I do 90% small batch brewing, but on occasion will brew a 5 gallon batch.

link to feedback on my discussion with the Anvil people: ANVIL FOUNDRY ALL-GRAIN BREWING SYSTEM

I opted for the 6.5 gal system as, like you, the majority of my brews are only 10 liters. I figure that when I want to do a 20 liter batch, I will use the Anvil as my mash/lauter tun and pump/drain it into my 8.5 gal kettle to boil on my propane burner. This at least eliminates the heating and pouring of the water into the mash tun and the recirculation of the batch sparge should improve efficiency.