Grainfather!!

Does anyone know the size of the O-ring on the sparge arm? I've been getting some air in the mash during re-circulation (lots of foam), I took a look at the O-ring last night and it's got a couple of little tears/cuts in it. I cannot get the replacement O-rings locally and I'm not paying $20+ shipping for them.

 

where are you located? the GF website has them and shows $2 + 5 shipping for me in minnesota. and thats for a full set of pipework seals.

 

Hi. I'm guessing you are talking about the O-ring below? I know it doesn't look like it in the picture, but I measured it to be:
OD: 17mm
ID: 11mm
Thick: 3mm

In a pinch, you can always cut a small piece of your mash hose to use as a makeshift o-ring.
Hope this helps. Ed


ETA: I looked it up, and the standard US size that is closest is a #205 (OD:17.75mm, ID: 10.69mm, C/S: 3.53mm) or a metric size # 3x11.

 

New controller worth it? Man this thread keeps growing lol. Love it. Still love the GF!

 

Worth it? Why of course it is...it's cool...and can be controlled by an iPhone, Pad...iThink...🤔🤓🤡

 

So...working on my 4th batch with the grainfather - and 4th batch ever for that matter. I have a question about the recipe I'm making.

I will say - the controller is 100% worth it - and so is the grainfather site to enter your recipe. Nice that they store them online, download them to your phone and your controller - just a well though out system.

Anyhow to the issue: I'm making BeeCave Brewery's Hefeweizen, it' calls for 7# German Wheat and 4# German Pils - but at the efficiency that I'm getting out of the grainfather - calculated at around 85% - that would make the beer a 6.1% beer - which is way more than I really want. Target should be around 5.2% I believe.

What's the correct thing to do - I'm thinking I can just adjust down the amount of wheat and pils to the same % for each till I get the OG/FG that I want in the calculator. I'm thinking 6# German Wheat and 3.4# German Pils - that gives me an OG Target of 1.053 and FG of 1.013 and an AVB of 5.2. Is this all there is to it? All these numbers are coming from where you input new recipes on the Grainfather site so you can download them into the controller.

Thanks in advance for the help!!

eric

 

while I can't help with the question at hand, I will say that I never rely on the GF app or website for accurate calculations in recipe building for abv, ibu, etc. They have always had different numbers than what I had figured through other calculations, and hardly ever match my actual results. I only use the recipe builder to program my steps and figure out my water volumes. I k ow its more time consuming, but I always build my recipe in beersmith and upload to GF recipe builder.

 

I'm in Canada. The official Grainfather site won't ship to Canada anymore, for reasons I'm sure. I can find the pipework seal kit on other sites but I'm looking at $20 in shipping for $2 worth of o-rings.

@RedlegEd - that does help, thanks for that.

 

did you try/check Everwood Ave Brewshop

http://www.everwoodavebrewshop.com/SearchResults.asp?Search=grainfather&Submit=

they seem to carry a vast assortment of GF items.

good luck...

 

The best way to handle this (and all recipe questions) is to use a program designed to handle this scaling, like beersmith. Yes you can scale it manually if you know how to do the math based on efficiency, or buy beer smith...

To make a clone you need the following;
% grain bill
Temperature of mash
OG/SG
IBU/AAU & timings
Yeast

any other information isn't nearly as important because your system is different than theirs.

If you were to plug the recipie you've described in to beersmith (with a proper equipment setup) it'll give you numbers, including the supplied % grain bill. You can then scale the recipe to the target starting gravity, scale the hops/IBU and the beer will (NOT should) be a clone. I've done this with my best friends 3 kettle setup. We couldn't blind taste test a difference between the beers.

Buy beersmith. Save yourself a lot of grief. Especially if you reproduce other recipes rather then make your own from scratch.

 

Eric, Good on you for achieving 85%! I'm consistently running 75% - happy with that, but would like more, of course.

Scaling is a pretty complex art and I'm in agreement with Sagath that using a program such as Beersmith (there are others, of course) that scales all of your ingredients, and accounts for the intangibles (IBU, yeast, temperature, etc.) simultaneously is the way for most of us to go.

 

Thanks for the suggestion guys - I actually bought the BeerSmith program - however I've not spent alot of time playing with it, to learn it. I don't know why I didn't think about that before.

Thinking maybe I'll just make this batch as per the recipe and see how it comes out...I'd rather it a bit higher in ABV verses too low I'd think. I'll go back and look at my numbers one more time.

Thanks again!
eric

 

Had my second brewday with the Grainfather today, and halfway through the mash, I decided to turn the pump off. When trying to turn it back on, it just emitted a loud humming noise.

Unfortunately, I've only managed to get the pump working once since then, to sterilize the wort tube. Outside of that, it just looks like the pump died. After cleaning the Grainfather, taking the pump apart to make sure it's not clogged and filling the Grainfather up with water, I still only get loud humming noises.

So yeah, dead pump after 2 batches. For the price tag I'm less than impressed. I contacted the lhbs I bought it from to request a replacement pump.

 

dont know what to tell ya. almost every single manufactured product leaves a warehouse with at least one defective item. had to be someone, it just sucks when its yourself. The company, however is great at making thing right. If its a piece you cant get from where you originally purchased it, they will send it out themselves. I have had a couple of things go out, and they have replaced them free of charge.

 

Yeah, fair enough. I've had some time to cool off now, will just wait until I hear back from Grainfather or my lhbs regarding a replacement pump.

The Witbier I brewed is bubbling away happily, so at least the beer was saved throughout the entire ordeal.

 

Everwood would be your best bet.

 

Yeah, thanks. I ended up ordering the O-ring kit from them. Just had to come up with a few more things to buy to make the shipping cost seem worth it.

 

Are we talking about the conical fermenter yet or is there a different thread and I'm a moron? Dying to see the price tag/decrease in my bank account when it hits the market!

 

From FB:

It should be something between 500~600.

 

meh. if that's the case, I will stick with ss brewtech chronicals. i dont like how it would be hard to replace certain parts as they die in the GF conical. I am also not a fan of how close to the ground the valves are. If they end up in the same price point, I think they are going to have a tough time moving these, at least in North America.

 

Sign up to win one:
https://www.grainfather.com/conicalcomp

 

It seems to be a jacketed one to me, or I miss something?
If it is really a jacketed one, the price is relatively low enough.

 

I signed up! Yeah the glycol chiller hooked up to multiple units is pretty intriguing. But, north of a $G is definitely discouraging. It's just hard to keep fermentation temps consistent in Houston summers though

 

50.00 craigslist fridge...

 

But....but....it's not shiny. Yeah I've been looking for a good deal. Grainfather is awesome so I do love supporting them but sensibility may get the best of me. Thanks for the price quotes guys from FaceBook.

 

The glycol jacket takes up the middle third. The whole thing is double walled with the top third and bottom third having insulation between the walls. In one of the video's they posted there's a cutaway view of it. The conical also has built in heating and with an upgraded controller, full heat control.

From how it looked, the glycol chiller is also the main brain for up to 4 fermentors. The power cables and temp probes plug into the chiller and each one can be controlled independently. If you think that most retail glycol chillers are serious money, and you still have to supply the pumps and temp controllers, the GF glycol system doesn't seem that bad of an investment and looks to be really well built and self-contained. Of course 4 fermentors and 1 chiller you'd be out about 3k+ bucks.

 

To follow up on this, the Grainfather team was quick to respond to my issues and a new pump is on the way, back flushing with water didn't work. Very happy with the customer support I was given.

Also, that batch with all the issues might actually turn into one of the best beers I've brewed. Definitely the best wit, which again goes to show that RDWHAHB prevails.

 

Kind of pissed off. Last night I did two brews and the grainfather app totally bombed it. Recipie showed up wrong for additions, and the damn alarm would go off WELL after the time expired, nearly ruined my brew!

 

a computer screwing something up, you dont say.

 

Anyone know the thread type on the check valve, where the re-circulation
tube and counter flow chiller attach? It is not 1/2" npt, although it's close. Is it metric?

 

Probably 1/2in bsp

 

Not a pc.. the app itself. I contacted Grainfather and they confirmed a new app is coming soon, that should fix this. But... to make sure it does not happen I went ahead and upgraded to the new controller and will use the already upgraded Connect app. Let's hope this works better!

 

i have no idea, but let us know when you find out. I would like to replace my valve with one that has a longer handle.

 

Brewed an IPA today but was off the mark for my set OG by quite a bit (1058 instead of 1065). This was assuming an efficiency of 75%. It's hard for me to pinpoint the reason since if I'm off the mark it's usually only by a couple points and to be honest, the mash seemed to go great. With today's results, my efficiency was in the 60's, which is something I want to avoid in the future.

I've read that sparging with the Grainfather using the suggested method (pouring sparge water over the grate) can cause lower efficiency. I also made sure the sparge water was at 75C (167F) and I crush my malt to make sure that it's not too coarse.

Anyone have experience with this? Any tips for sparging with the Grainfather or reasons efficiency might be lower?

 

I've had this problem with anything over OG of 1.060. I haven't found a solution, but i was told repeatedly and with conviction that it was due to the coarse LHBS crush. I went out and picked up a mill and everything. (I hope that solves some of the problems, but i remain skeptical)

The other things I've seen mention were to stop the recirc and manually stir the mash every 20min or so.

 

I was having this problem in the beginning and the mill solved the trick for me..

 

Take it slow. Add a little water and let it drain. Then add a little more and let it drain. Spend a good 30 minutes or more sparging while the wort is heating to a boil.

 

Second this. My LHBS grain crush is perfect for GF. Hitting 90% mash efficiency consistently. Had to adjust for this ion the recipe creator to obtain accurate OG forecasts, as I was hitting 5 points over at times

 

Hmm, alright. I'll keep the mentioned points in mind. Next beer is gonna be a big one again (Delirium Tremens clone), so I'll adjust my efficiency downward to make sure, maybe 70%.

 

By the way, anyone have a reliable 5 Gallon Beersmith 2 profile for the Grainfather they can share? I've seen a few variations but they're all based on 28 Liter boil volumes (or is this intentional?)