BrewMeister49
Well-Known Member
That's crazy about all the issues! Were the boxes beat up during shipping? I know GF has really good customer service! That still stinks. I'm hoping to do Yoopers Oatmeal Stout here in the next week or so!
Grainfather!!
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Received my GF yesterday. Assembled, and cleaned. Worked fine. Set to boil to get temp to 131 and switched to mash setting and recirculated cleaner for half hour through chiller and rinsed.
I wiped down with a clean towel and used my air compressor to get into every nook and cranny to ensure no water was left.
Looking forward to my first brew
I wiped down with a clean towel and used my air compressor to get into every nook and cranny to ensure no water was left.
Looking forward to my first brew
kellynm
Well-Known Member
I received mine yesterday too... was concerned about some of the issues others were/are having. This morning, I connected all the parts and did a heating test. Here are the results:
added 10 L of 131 F water
set switches to mash/mash
pump on
set mash setpoint to 154 F
it took 22 minutes to reach setpoint
then set switches boil/normal
pump on
it took 19 minutes to get to 205 F, and was a very nice boil
Appears mine is working normally
(Also, no reflectix was used, even though I will use one during brewing sessions)
Very pleased!
added 10 L of 131 F water
set switches to mash/mash
pump on
set mash setpoint to 154 F
it took 22 minutes to reach setpoint
then set switches boil/normal
pump on
it took 19 minutes to get to 205 F, and was a very nice boil
Appears mine is working normally
(Also, no reflectix was used, even though I will use one during brewing sessions)
Very pleased!
gotbeer74
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How is everyone sanitizing/cleaning their Grainfather before brewing? Are you running two gallons of water with sanitizer before mash? If so what sanitizer are you using? I have only brewed one batch and that was after doing the first time cleaning process.
gotbeer74
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What is everyone's process for sanitizing/cleaning before brewing? I am thinking I will recirculate 2 gallons through the system and save this for cleaning and to be used for the final cleaning. What product is everyone using for cleaning and sanitizing? My next batch will only be my second batch in the Grainfather. I also received a damaged mash sleeve. Mine was scratched by the chiller moving around during shipment.
Knkbrand
Well-Known Member
that was my first brew in the grainfather! just bottled 5 days ago. Tasted great.
DarkUncle
Well-Known Member
I brew with the GF the same way I have always brewed. Anything that will be coming in contact with boiling wort does not need to be sanitized beforehand as the boil itself will take care of that. As long as the system was cleaned properly initially as well as after prior brews no pre sanitizing is necessary.
BrewMeister49
Well-Known Member
Agreed. Just clean really well after your last brew and maybe a rinse if there is any dust. But the boil will get it!
And I'm pumped to try Yoopers stout!
And I'm pumped to try Yoopers stout!
seabrew8
Well-Known Member
What is the max grain capacity of this system?
Apologies if this has already been covered.
Apologies if this has already been covered.
I think there trolls personally.
???
Lazer Wolf Brewing
Well-Known Member
I think there trolls personally.
Yeah I had been commenting on this thread for weeks about buying one, finally do, then get it and take a picture of the defect, which I upload, and I'm a troll. If I was trolling I would say this thing can't make good beer, not that there was a dent and it will be replaced for free (I'm assuming).
Did you have a sad Christmas?
I read the cleaning instructions that game with the GF. Recirculated through pump, chiller and the return hose back into the pot itself for a good 30 minutes...mostly because I was doing other things.
Rinsed out with about 5 gallons of clean warm to hot water. Be sure to rinse out the chiller.
As far as brew day goes, I will do my cleaning as usual.
Rinsed out with about 5 gallons of clean warm to hot water. Be sure to rinse out the chiller.
As far as brew day goes, I will do my cleaning as usual.
One thing to keep in mind, after cleaning be sure to wipe down dry with a clean towel...do not leave any water trickling down anywhere...get it all dry before storing away. You do not want to worry about having your investment begin rusting after a few uses.
BrewMeister49
Well-Known Member
I think 18 pounds.
Knkbrand
Well-Known Member
the mash and boil will kill everything, so no sanitation is needed if you clean real good after the brew. I run PBW through the wort chiller for about 15, then I run through the re circulation arm, then rinse the same way. tonight I had to go back and add stronger PBW again, because the burner was still a little gunky
Box was intact, no damage to the box or vessel, other than what seems to be a defective reset switch. Grainfather is closed until the 5th so I have not even been able to begin the return process.
Wow, similar to my experience (see back a few pages). Dented up good, but no box damage. This shouldn't be seen as a GF problem, this is a shipping company problem in my best guess. Assuming the reset button was due to a drop. Which is exactly why I didn't keep the damaged GF for a discounted price.
Great customer service at Williams brewing and my replacement is due here tomorrow. Can't wait, just put in a GFCI outlet by the disposal so I can plug in without an ext cord. Now to pick up some reflectix and use the template posted here to make the wrap.
seabrew8
Well-Known Member
I never had you in mind when i posted that but yeah i was in a pretty cynical place when i posted that.
In my defense i read a lot of political sites that are just rampant with trolls. TMI? Good luck on getting your gf fixed up. And i can't wait - but i have to - when i get mine!
Did you have to send yours back first? I'm still waiting to hear how AIH will handle mine.
Cutterman
Active Member
I received mine on Christmas Eve. Did initial cleaning and function check; all good. I did boil check with 7 gal of 100 degree water. 100-213 took 90 min and had good boil at sea level with no insulation. Chesapeake VA.
RockyMountainCraftBrewing
Well-Known Member
I concur about the customer service at Williams.My only issue was that my CC was declined by their online store due to me being in Canada so I had to use Paypal instead.I went with the $6.99 flat rate shipping and Williams followed my shipping details meticulously.My GF arrived at AT The Border storage and I drove down and picked it up the following saturday.Box was fine with no damage and GF was shiny and undented.
RMCB
I ordered my Grainfather last week. It'll be my first all grain experience. How are you heating your sparge water? And are you just pouring it over as suggested by the Grainfather directions or have you rigged up something else? Thanks
gotbeer74
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I had scratches on the inner sleeve from the chiller sliding around. I bought mine from the local homebrew shop. I am waiting for the sales rep to get back to them on how it will be resolved.
View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1451322054.919138.jpg
View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1451322054.919138.jpg
BrewMeister49
Well-Known Member
seabrew8
Well-Known Member
I ordered mine from noblegrape in Nova Scotia. $1268cad shipping included.
Are these times to get to boil normal? Close to my times with 7 gals with the exception of the boil.
canehdianman
Well-Known Member
what a strange question.
The consensus is that you should still crush your grain. Forgetting to do so will result in very very very low efficiency.
Thanks for the reply, but I should have clarified what I was looking for.
GF recommends crushing the grain a bit course. Have a look at their videos--they do not recommend crushing too fine.
In other posts, folks got poor eff. with GF recommendations--until they crushed finer than recommended.
Anyhow, I gone ahead and brewed with LHBS crushed grain. I usually crush it a second time, but per GF recommendations, I will see how it goes.
First time using a new system, will take a few times to get things dialed in I suppose.
Oh...so far...everything is going well with my first brew underway.
Tip: to ramp up to your mash temp--set it at boil and normal and run pump. This way you are using the bigger element in the pot to get to your temp much quicker. Just before a couple degrees of hitting your target...switch back to mash.
Mash is going well. Pump is doing its magic. More to come...
Tip: to ramp up to your mash temp--set it at boil and normal and run pump. This way you are using the bigger element in the pot to get to your temp much quicker. Just before a couple degrees of hitting your target...switch back to mash.
Mash is going well. Pump is doing its magic. More to come...
This was exactly how I did it on one of my trials. Still took a long time to heat up.
I don't own a GF but have been following this thread and others...
Are you doing a step mash or just heating up your strike water??
If you're heating strike water, I seem to have read; Running the pump robs the heating element of power. So only run the pump once your strike water temp has been reached and the grain has been stirred in.
If you're doing a step mash, that's a different story. You'll need to run your pump so your mash is evenly heated throughout...
Cutterman
Active Member
This was to a decent boil. It's not like a boil from my gas burners, but it will definitely do the job.
While I am waiting to hear back on my issue, I am going to try one more time. I went through my breaker panel and checked to see what other outlets were on the same leg as the outlets I have already tried. Two of the outlets had several other appliances including a commercial ice machine and 3 refrigerators. The other outlet I used, the one in the pictures in one of my previous posts with the 29" hello ext cord, only has one mini fridge on the same line.
I checked the specs on the mini fridge: 115 volts, 2.0 Amps. Should be fine. However, I bumped the thermostat up to the fridge so it shouldn't come on during this test. I am also working with 5 gallons this time at the start to simulate heating up strike water. Once it gets to strike temp (150º) I will add 2 gallons of 165º water ti simulate the sparge. Then i will see if I can achieve a boil this time and check the time on that. I'm not overly concerned about the times to get to the boil, just that it will achieve one without the lid on.
I checked the specs on the mini fridge: 115 volts, 2.0 Amps. Should be fine. However, I bumped the thermostat up to the fridge so it shouldn't come on during this test. I am also working with 5 gallons this time at the start to simulate heating up strike water. Once it gets to strike temp (150º) I will add 2 gallons of 165º water ti simulate the sparge. Then i will see if I can achieve a boil this time and check the time on that. I'm not overly concerned about the times to get to the boil, just that it will achieve one without the lid on.
So far:
88º up to 128º in 22:03. average of 1.81º per minute. So far so good.
141º in 30 mins. 1.766º per minute
150º in 35:09 mins. 1.771 per minute. Much better so far with 5 gallons and lid on. Just added recirculation arm and started pump. Temp staying at 150º (again water only).
Slowing way down with 7 gallons. Started at 150º up to 190º in 36 mins or 1.111º per minute. Lid still on until I get close to boil.
Removed lid at 210º. Took a while to get to 212º. Slight boil.
Hit 213º some time later and boil looks better now. Looks like some I have seen on YouTube. I am going to let it roll for 60 mins and see if it boils off one gallon as others have stated is the norm. I did flip the element switch a few times back and forth between normal and mash as it seems to me the element wasn’t running at full power on past attempts (whether from the unit itself or the draw on the circuit from the ice machine and other appliances). I could actually hear the water heating up pretty good this time. I also simulated scraping the bottom of the pot through the process this time.
I am going to try a brew in the next day or so, probably tomorrow after work and see what happens.
88º up to 128º in 22:03. average of 1.81º per minute. So far so good.
141º in 30 mins. 1.766º per minute
150º in 35:09 mins. 1.771 per minute. Much better so far with 5 gallons and lid on. Just added recirculation arm and started pump. Temp staying at 150º (again water only).
Slowing way down with 7 gallons. Started at 150º up to 190º in 36 mins or 1.111º per minute. Lid still on until I get close to boil.
Removed lid at 210º. Took a while to get to 212º. Slight boil.
Hit 213º some time later and boil looks better now. Looks like some I have seen on YouTube. I am going to let it roll for 60 mins and see if it boils off one gallon as others have stated is the norm. I did flip the element switch a few times back and forth between normal and mash as it seems to me the element wasn’t running at full power on past attempts (whether from the unit itself or the draw on the circuit from the ice machine and other appliances). I could actually hear the water heating up pretty good this time. I also simulated scraping the bottom of the pot through the process this time.
I am going to try a brew in the next day or so, probably tomorrow after work and see what happens.
RockyMountainCraftBrewing
Well-Known Member
When I bought my GF there were no Canadian shops selling it.Best deal I can find right now for Canadians is Beer Grains Supply in Ontario $1099 + taxes and shipping and Beer Grains does offer flat rate shipping.
The dollar was not as weak when when I bought my GF out of the USA.If I were to purchase in Canada with the exchange rate Beer Grains Supply would be the hands down favorite IMO
RMCB
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