ANVIL FOUNDRY ALL-GRAIN BREWING SYSTEM

[Knightshade]

I use this in my lid Mash Recirculation Return and/or Sparge Kit (locline) TC x BLQD with a TC bulkhead that I also got from Bobby_M.

This post here shows how I ran it within the system:

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/threads/anvil-foundry-all-grain-brewing-system.666090/post-9053773
EDIT: since the Locline discharges below the wort line, I never thought that a multiple point exit from the Locline was necessary. Although when I sample wort throughout the mash I rotate the Locline simply by turning the lid so that the discharge point changes throughout the mash. I really don't even think thats necessary but Im fidgety and makes me feel like Im doing something useful lol.

I had every intention of doing this as well, purchased a good portion of the parts but then I came across something...can't recall where exactly of course, but something which stated that you shouldn't have liquids exceeding a certain temperature through the locline, which makes sense since it is just plastic.

My intent was to use to it stop using the stock angle metal pipe that the Anvil comes with, and have it recirculate during the mash, as well as for chilling and whirl pooling. Which would require running boiling wort through it to sterilize...so...

Plan abandoned...

 

[sweetcell]

can anyone here confirm if this bag will work as a malt pipe replacement? (i.e. brewing without the malt pipe)
https://www.morebeer.com/products/mesh-grain-bag-275-325.html

 

[capt_yo55arian]

can anyone here confirm if this bag will work as a malt pipe replacement? (i.e. brewing without the malt pipe)
https://www.morebeer.com/products/mesh-grain-bag-275-325.html

That would work since anvil diameter is 12.5 (says up to 19) but I’d buy a Wilser bag instead.

 

[kevin58]

I used a bag without the malt pipe for the first time two weeks ago. All went well until I lifted the bag and it spread beyond the edges of the kettle and made a mess all over the floor. Granted my bag is the same one I used to use when doing BIAB in a converted keggle so one fitted to the Foundry might work better. For now however I'm going back to no bag.

 

[doug293cz]

can anyone here confirm if this bag will work as a malt pipe replacement? (i.e. brewing without the malt pipe)
https://www.morebeer.com/products/mesh-grain-bag-275-325.html

That would work since anvil diameter is 12.5 (says up to 19) but I’d buy a Wilser bag instead.

I used a bag without the malt pipe for the first time two weeks ago. All went well until I lifted the bag and it spread beyond the edges of the kettle and made a mess all over the floor. Granted my bag is the same one I used to use when doing BIAB in a converted keggle so one fitted to the Foundry might work better. For now however I'm going back to no bag.

And here we see why an oversized bag can be a problem. An undersized bag brings different issues. If you are going to use a bag, get one properly fitted for your equipment - they just work better. Wilser is a good source.

Brew on

 

[Dancy]

I used a bag without the malt pipe for the first time two weeks ago. All went well until I lifted the bag and it spread beyond the edges of the kettle and made a mess all over the floor.

I use a Wilser Bag made to fit the malt pipe of my Mash&Boil and the top goes over the outside of the kettle. When I pull it out, there’s no excess bag to expand and cause what you describe. Just have one made to fit and you won’t have that problem.

 

[bleme]

I used a bag without the malt pipe for the first time two weeks ago. All went well until I lifted the bag and it spread beyond the edges of the kettle and made a mess all over the floor. Granted my bag is the same one I used to use when doing BIAB in a converted keggle so one fitted to the Foundry might work better. For now however I'm going back to no bag.

I use a Wilser bag (made for my old, fatter, kettle) inside my malt pipe. My first 2 batches on the Foundry I had stuck sparges. The dozen or so that I have done since using pipe/bag combo have sparged perfectly. It makes no sense why this works. Maybe an expert in fluid dynamics can explain it, but frankly I am afraid to mess with it.

 

[Ozarks Mountain Brewery]

as previously shown I use just the pipe with almost full water and rice hulls, running my ball valve at 1/2 or so and no problems at all, 30 batches and nothing stuck

 

[mantaray]

With the Anvil Foundry 6.5, if I plan on discarding the malt pipe and just using a bag, do I really need to mess with the pump and re-circulation?
I would like to place the AF 6.5 on my counter top and just use gravity for transferring to my fermenter. Is recirculation worth it in the smaller form-factor?

 

[bwible]

With the Anvil Foundry 6.5, if I plan on discarding the malt pipe and just using a bag, do I really need to mess with the pump and re-circulation?
I would like to place the AF 6.5 on my counter top and just use gravity for transferring to my fermenter. Is recirculation worth it in the smaller form-factor?

The pump and recirculation kit make a big difference as far as hitting a target temp and keeping temp even throughout your mash. The heating element is at the bottom and if you are not recirculating wort with the pump there can be a big difference between the temp of the mash at the bottom of the unit and at the top of the unit. If you ditch the malt pipe be sure to use something on the bottom to keep from melting your bag or burning holes in your bag.

Their little pump is the greatest thing. I love it. It is so quiet you can’t even hear it and all it does is work. I don’t much care for the clamp thing they give you to control the out flow but I’ve been too lazy to go find or rig up something better.

 

[mantaray]

The pump and recirculation kit make a big difference as far as hitting a target temp and keeping temp even throughout your mash. The heating element is at the bottom and if you are not recirculating wort with the pump there can be a big difference between the temp of the mash at the bottom of the unit and at the top of the unit. If you ditch the malt pipe be sure to use something on the bottom to keep from melting your bag or burning holes in your bag.

Their little pump is the greatest thing. I love it. It is so quiet you can’t even hear it and all it does is work. I don’t much care for the clamp thing they give you to control the out flow but I’ve been too lazy to go find or rig up something better.

Thank you. This was helpful.
I will go ahead and order it with the pump. They are including a free bucket fermenter with the order, so that is a pretty good deal!

 

[Bassman2003]

I agree, the little pump is perfect. I still do recirc but if you do a lot of single infusions things might be fine as the double wall holds temps well. If you want to do steps, you would want to manually stir while the heater is active. If you are ok with wiring, you can get a potentiometer and dial in the pump speed. This is way better than the clamp as the pump will not tear up your wort spinning way faster than needed.

I do not understand all of the posts I have seen about wanting to upgrade to a much more powerful pump when I have taken steps to slow the little thing down a lot. Must be for whirlpooling etc...

 

[bwible]

…pH is a thing but a small factor. Mash temps and time can affect gravity but Id' say crush is #1. With a bag anyhow, with a pipe it's mostly that dead space around the pipe.

PH made a big difference for me. I had been hitting around 70%. After I got my water tested and got ez water calculator (or whatever water software you like) and starting adjusting my ph into the desired range I’m now using 84% efficiency when I enter recipes and am finding thats about spot on with the end result. I never thought it made a big difference. Now I’m a believer. Just a tiny bit of acid malt and a little gypsum was all it took for me.

 

[Andres Falconer]

I recently moved from the US to Europe and my stuff has just cleared customs and waits for me in storage. I never got to use my Anvil in 220V in the US, but I so look forward to it in from now on, as 220 is default. Question to the electricians: If I simply change the US 3-pin plug into a standard European grounded plug (or use a heavy-duty adapter), am I good to go? Can I assume that a conventional wall-installed power outlet in house built to code will handle the Anvil in full blast without the need for any additional circuit breaker or am I missing something?

 

[DuncB]

UK a 13 amp socket should cope with the anvil 220V.

Not sure on the rating of french etc wiring. But provided it was on a circuit with say a 30 amp fuse likely to be fine.

 

[tracer bullet]

220 is default.

There's a thing about it being 50Hz and not 60Hz. Check into it... Might be an issue?

 

[DuncB]

There's a thing about it being 50Hz and not 60Hz. Check into it... Might be an issue?

Don't think that is an issue at all.

 

[tracer bullet]

Don't think that is an issue at all.

You're probably right, and I kind of lean that way too. I just suggest finding out for sure. I bet the heater doesn't care. Whatever is controlling the heater however (the circuit board, generically speaking) could care. Before I took it overseas and found out afterwards.

I'd ask Anvil, not HBT

 

[Andres Falconer]

Thanks for the advice. Yes, I understand the European 50 Hz frequency will not be a problem for the heater or the controller. The original Foundry pump, though, is 120v/60Hz. Even with a transformer it may not work. Or it may just slow down a bit. Perhaps its time to get a proper pump!

 

[shoreman]

With the Anvil Foundry 6.5, if I plan on discarding the malt pipe and just using a bag, do I really need to mess with the pump and re-circulation?
I would like to place the AF 6.5 on my counter top and just use gravity for transferring to my fermenter. Is recirculation worth it in the smaller form-factor?

I have the 6.5 and don’t use the pump - you just have to lift the basket a few times during your brew to keep from losing efficiency. Depends on how precise a brewer you are - I lose maybe 2-3 degrees in the mash with power off - you can always keep the temp stable in the mash leaving the power on and set a temp.

With a bag I’d just be concerned about it hitting the bottom heating element and melting - might want to put it in the tube to keep it simple.

I also transfer from countertop- just open it up and right into the fermentor.

 

[Brushwood Brewing]

For maintaining fermentation temperatures, I have always used a water bath technique. I place the fermenter in a tub of water and use a sous vide to control the temperature.

I recently purchased a used Anvil Foundry 10.5 and was wondering if I could use that instead of the sous vide. I've been considering fermenting in 5gal corny kegs, and I couldn't help but notice it looks like a keg would fit inside the Foundry perfectly. I'd make sure the keg is raised off of the heating element, place it in, and then fill the Foundry with water until the keg is mostly submerged.

Has anyone tried this, either with a Foundry or another all-in-one electric system? It would involve keeping the Foundry running at 60F - 80F for up to two weeks at a time, mostly unattended. I can't think of a reason why the Foundry couldn't handle it, but I also don't want to risk damage.

 

[tracer bullet]

Many people here have fermented directly in it at elevated temperatures and it's worked. For what that's worth anyhow.

 

[sweetcell]

For maintaining fermentation temperatures, I have always used a water bath technique. I place the fermenter in a tub of water and use a sous vide to control the temperature.

I recently purchased a used Anvil Foundry 10.5 and was wondering if I could use that instead of the sous vide. I've been considering fermenting in 5gal corny kegs, and I couldn't help but notice it looks like a keg would fit inside the Foundry perfectly. I'd make sure the keg is raised off of the heating element, place it in, and then fill the Foundry with water until the keg is mostly submerged.

Has anyone tried this, either with a Foundry or another all-in-one electric system? It would involve keeping the Foundry running at 60F - 80F for up to two weeks at a time, mostly unattended. I can't think of a reason why the Foundry couldn't handle it, but I also don't want to risk damage.

other than endurance (foundry might not have been tested/intended for 2 weeks of constant use), i don't see why this wouldn't work. have you reached out to Anvil/Blichmann to ask?

you'll want to place it in a space where the ambient temp is below your desired fermentation temp, so it has some cooling potential.

 

[Grizwold1]

I have done this for the last 3 brews with no issues--admittedly a short sample span. Also in my case I have only used it for the first week of fermentation and then let it go to ambient. (c. 55 degrees)
edit: be sure to make sure that you have water in the unit. (ask me how I know)

 

[Brushwood Brewing]

Many people here have fermented directly in it at elevated temperatures and it's worked. For what that's worth anyhow.

It hadn't even crossed my mind to ferment in it directly. That would solve the issue of only being able to fit 4gal fermenting inside a keg. I'm assuming you'd pump the wort of the foundry post-boil, clean out the bottom, and then return the wort to the foundry. Though maybe that's not necessary? It would certainly be easier to leave all the solids in and just ferment as-is. ... After reading your comment, I tried googling it, but couldn't find any post (here or elsewhere) where someone described having successfully done it.

Can anyone point me toward a resource (post, article, video, etc.) where someone has done this?

 

[tracer bullet]

Buried in the previous 60 pages! Someone who's done it will hopefully reply.

Good question on clearing the trub. Or not clearing it. I don't recall them saying. I didn't plan to do it so I didn't pay a lot of attention.

 

[bleme]

People argue (convincingly) both sides of whether those solids are harmful or helpful. I generally leave them out of my fermentor, but I've left them in at least a dozen times with no noticeable effect.

 

[DarrellQ]

Disaster (non)-brew day. I had a friend drive 50 miles to my house because he wanted to see the brew process as he is interested in brewing. So, we milled the grains, added the water to the Foundry, added the acids, powered it on and got an E1 error. It worked fine during the last brew day. I unplugged it, dumped the water and pushed the reset, same result. Repeat, repeat, repeat. Googled the error code, no help. Opened-up the bottom and everything looks fine, no evidence whatsoever of any water infiltration. I did continuity checks on fuses, etc. I have the display siliconed and have never had any water or wort touch the display panel other than a drop here and there. How can it go bad just sitting? With no water in it the actual temperature reads "0" and the set temp reads "39" while E1 is flashing. Any ideas?

 

[IslandLizard]

[...] powered it on and got an E1 error

This may offer some help or insights:
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/threads/first-all-grain-brew-in-anvil-foundry-10-5.700600/post-9286915

 

[DarrellQ]

This may offer some help or insights:
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/threads/first-all-grain-brew-in-anvil-foundry-10-5.700600/post-9286915

Very helpful, thank you! So, I guess I just order new fan and switch and see if replacing those solves the problem?