Grainfather Conical - glycol connectors ?

Hi,

I own a Conical Fermenter from Grainfather but not the Glycol Chiller.

The conical has an input/output connector for running liquid, but i am unable to find what type of connector they are.

Can anyone help finding the appropriate connectors ?
I plan on running chilled water through it, while i dont have the cash to buy the Glycol chiller.

Cheers,

 

links would help. I didnt even know the grainfather makers sold conicals of that they used the same name as their other product (confusing) ... glycol isnt needed really though it helps keep the water from getting nasty.

 

Just google it.. WOW that is expensive! ... $900 ! I hope it brews the beer too?

 

Well, i dont think its expensive. A Conical with this quality can't be had for much less in other brands like Speidel or SS. And this one offers temperature control , in a digital incorporated unit.

So if you add that you can chill 4 fermenters with 1 single Glycol Chiller, it is THE BEST and cheapest on the market.

 

Well I respect you opinion and its your choice but since you put it that way, I'll share my opinion and what I use by comparision. and ask you to explain your point of view for stating so matter of factly that its "THE BEST" and cheapest? on the market.

I have a 4 conical temp control system now I use currently with 3 stainless conicals now myself (2 12.5gallon and one 7.5 gallon) along with independent cooling and heating temp control and insulated jackets on all three of them through a touch screen pc interface I can even access remotely and see bar graphs on temp activity... all of this combined was about $1300 if you dont include the chiller I got for free... I would be limited to 5-6 gallons only and would need to spend $2700 to do that with these and still have a lot less capability and still need to find a way to insulate them...

Im sorry but I just see how this is THE BEST system or solution at all myself... what does it do differently to warrant the higher cost? a conical that small can have its own brand new fridge unit to house it and still come out much cheaper and have the functional advantage of efficiency right?

As far as comparable products go this is by far the most expensive 5 gallon solution Ive seen yet compared even to more popular solutions like the SS brewing conicals and temp control systems which appear to be a lot more heavy duty and robust without the economical looking plastic base and include the insulation kits so the chiller isnt constantly running. These look like modified hot water urns that would cost maybe $100 to stamp out and add the base to. I just dont see justification for a $900 pricetage, again maybe I'm missing something... if it was a grainfather and a conical than yeah maybe...

The ss brewtech system here https://www.ssbrewtech.com/collecti...menter-brewmaster-edition?variant=37977679698

costs $100 less all decked out with real triclover butteryfly valves, insulation heating element and all... How is this superior? I just dont see where your coming from but I am honestly trying to!. When you break each option down to components and what goes into making each I dont see the comparison? one is welded together and the other is stamped out of sheet metal and plastic and uses a tiny 99 cent ballvalve?

 

I don't own either of these fermenters but I've been doing some research considering a purchase.

I'm not sure if the Grainfather is the best but it appears to be a little more than you're assuming. First, I'm not sure where you're finding this for $900. The most expensive I've seen it is for less than $700 which includes the conical, temp controller, chiller pump kit, and spout. Comparing this to the SS Brewtech Brewmaster Series (their closest equal in features and taps) seems to be pretty equal in price.

The grainfather isn't a 'stamped' piece of metal. It is a dual jacketed stainless vessel with an insulated core. Additionally, there is a built in SS cooling jacket and heating element inside the core (no need for external temp control devices or insulation jacket to keep clean).

The temperature controller appears much more sophisticated than the SS Brewtech controller. They say you can set up profiles and it will control the temp over that profile. More user friendly too (based on the instructions I've seen). There are no external wires/probes to deal with either.

I agree that the valves on the SS Brewtech Brewmaster solution are much more robust though almost a bit overkill on a 7 gallon fermentor (certainly opinions will vary here). The valve on the Grainfather, though much less robust, looks like a smart design.

Finally, one thing I like about the Grainfather over the SS Brewtech is the lack of an internal coil to clean. I love brewing but cleaning is still a chore.

All that being said, one downside to the Grainfather is that if the heater dies, it seems you're kind of dead in the water. Because it has the dual insulated jacket, an add on, external heater wouldn't work very well.

It sounds like you've got a very nice system. I'd love to see how you're temp control system works. Got any pics posted anywhere. That's a lot of hardware for only $1300. I'm intrigued.

As far as the glycol connectors go, I've never seen those connectors before. You can buy a pump connect kit from Grainfather that contains a male/female pair, tubing, pump and cable but it's way too much $$ for just the connectors. Good luck hunting the separate pieces. If you find them, please post back here. As I said, I may be purchasing a Grainfather fermenter myself and it's unlikely I'll have the cash for the glycol system as well.

 

at the timeof this thread last being active I googled it and it was just shy of $900 ... maybe the price is already dropping? I doubt they are a big seller.
I used to use $14 stc1000+ units that also had the capability to set temps and automatic ramping and cold crashing profiles and such.. the jacket is cool but lets not forget with this size it can be accomplished by putting a smaller stamped conical inside a slightly larger one and sealing the edges.
It also very much does appear to be made by being stamped of thinner sheetmetal and not welded together as many conicals usually are.. I would be curious to know what gauge stainless its made of since that will indicate how its made. i dont see any tc ports welded on except the single port at the bottom which is utilized as both the port for draining and sampling because they can assemble them quite easiliy this way. so if there is any welding its minimal.
I just dont see the justification for such an extreme price but hey thats just my opinion. the pumps are under $20 so even if one builds a nice stc1000 stand alone control box for $50 you still have less than $100 for the heater, controller and pump..
When I seen the 99 cent stainless valves on it that are sold all over alibaba it made me think these guys are making these things pretty cheaply and making a bundle off each one they sell. To me even $700 is way more than I would spend for temp control on 5 gallons of beer..

There are pictures of my setup toward the end of my build thread below.
I'll warn you its not much to look at but it works very well... im cold crashing a Marzen now I use blue discharge hose wrapped around the conial wall as well as a silicone encasultaled heating strip. its all insulated with foil faced bubble insulation.. so no coils to clean inside and in fact I just manually clean them in place since its pretty easy to do.

 

I did not find any info on this so ... i went ahead a bought the original ones.
The quick connects are regular M12 (metric) connectors.
I just bought a cooling kit (it comes with the hoses and connectors plus the pump) and the connectors are very straightforward.

Anyone that is intersted in purchasing off brand (to save some bucks) can buy a regular M12 connector and make proper attachments.

Hope the info helps someone .