Grainfather Update after 4 brews:
After my 4th brew, I am very happy overall with using the unit. I transitioned from Brew-in-a-Bag (BIAB), which was fairly simple and had just a few drawbacks.
Grainfather Pros:
1. Fairly closed system. I am obsessed with sanitization and the immersion chiller always worried me; the need to keep the pot open after the boil seemed a setup for microbes to find a home. To be sure it's sanitized, I pump boiling wort thru during the end of the boil briefly, then recirculate after end of the boil before pumping out.
2. The closed system and 1 vessel for mash and boil cuts down on splashes and spills.
3. I cannot stress too much how efficient the counterflow chiller is. I need to use ice water here in FL to chill with, and I pump it thru the chiller with a cheap 400-GPH Submersible,Hydroponic, Pond, Aquarium Pump. If you set the Grainfather valve to slow, you can easily have wort in the 55 degree range going into the fermentor.
4. So far the Grainfather pump works well, and for my last IPA I successfully used it to pump wort through a Hop Rocket into the fermentor.
5. Not having to use a propane flame, and being able to brew indoors are huge advantages. With BIAB I used a pot that barely fit under the stove hood on a gas stove.
6. I have had very good efficiency after I got my mill working correctly, with a roller gap around .036 in.
Cons:
1. The cleanup is considerably more extensive than with BIAB. You have to disconnect the cords to dump the trub, scrub it a bit, partially fill it with water and Oxyclean or something similar, reconnect, pump this around the chiller then pump out, scrub a bit again, then fill with clear water and pump out. The parts of the grain basket usually need to be cleaned separately. I put a bit of star san thru the chiller before storage.
2. The ball-spring safety valve above the open-close ball valve in the line from the pump easily clogs with hops or other matter and this problem is a widespread one as witnessed by the posts in this thread and elsewhere. Many brewers report removing it.
3. Some of the silicone parts are an issue: the gaskets around the perforated plates start to get loose after a few brews and the little silicone piece holding the filter to the pump inlet can get knocked off during stirring if not careful.
4. It is a little weird that there is no handle on the lid.
5. A standard NPT fitting will not attach to the end of the pump out pipe. You have to buy another Grainfather connector if you need to attach it to something else.
Still using my BIAB bags, though: as giant hop boiling bags/ hop spiders, and the bag can easily be tied to those otherwise useless distiller clips on the side!
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In Kegerator: Dubbel, Cinnamon Vanilla Dubbel, VoCal Banger IPA
Dry Hopping: Mandarina Melon IPL
Fermenting: Old 20W/40 Robust Porter