ANVIL FOUNDRY ALL-GRAIN BREWING SYSTEM

[RyPA]

@RyPA I'd get ahold of Anvil/Blichmann for a warranty claim, that shouldn't be happening.

I'm sure they will just say "you got it too wet". Has anyone else gotten water on the control unit? If I drenched the thing, fine, but it only got some over spray at best.

 

[Oginme]

I'm sure they will just say "you got it too wet". Has anyone else gotten water on the control unit? If I drenched the thing, fine, but it only got some over spray at best.

Actually, Blichmann is pretty good with warranty claims and quick replacements of parts.

 

[RyPA]

Actually, Blichmann is pretty good with warranty claims and quick replacements of parts.

But nothing is broken anymore.. What is my argument, the fact that water made it's way under?

 

[JoeSpartaNJ]

But nothing is broken anymore.. What is my argument, the fact that water made it's way under?

I know it is not a "fix", but I covered my control panel with plastic/saran wrap.

 

[RyPA]

I know it is not a "fix", but I covered my control panel with plastic/saran wrap.

I'm thinking about doing a line of silicone around the top and sides of where the plastic makes contact with the body.

 

[JoeSpartaNJ]

I'm thinking about doing a line of silicone around the top and sides of where the plastic makes contact with the body.

I thought about that too, but it seemed to permanent.

I also like the low tech aspect of the plastic wrap. Easily replaceable.

 

[RyPA]

I thought about that too, but it seemed to permanent.

I also like the low tech aspect of the plastic wrap. Easily replaceable.

My ocd can't allow plastic wrap. The plastic base never needs to come off as the unit/controller can be unscrewed from the base if needed. There is a gasket between the unit and base, but I question it's effectiveness.

 

[rhoadsst]

I'm sure they will just say "you got it too wet". Has anyone else gotten water on the control unit? If I drenched the thing, fine, but it only got some over spray at best.

My last brew day I had water leak through to the bottom and onto the control panel/wiring. Never got a blank screen but did get an error after drying and putting everything back together. Had to take the whole thing apart again and found a wire that was loose. Everything worked once that was fixed. There does seem to be a design flaw that water can get in there so easily though.

 

[bwible]

Anybody else have an issue with theirs where it doesn’t stop at the desired temp? I’ve had mine set to 152 and when it got to 152 it beeped because it was at the target temp but kept heating until I turned it off at 158. This happens pretty frequently with mine and I feel like I have to keep an eye on it for the whole length of the mash. I’ve tried turning it off an on, setting it a couple degrees lower, and various power level settings, 100%, 90%, 80% etc and it still does it pretty regularly. I do have their pump kit and have it recirculating for the entire mash.

 

[tracer bullet]

Anybody else have an issue with theirs where it doesn’t stop at the desired temp?

Never. Interesting!

But, I bring it to temp at 50%, mash at 35%, and boil at 70% (240V) so I probably haven't had a great chance to see it if it was there. I'd have suggested recirculating but you are already doing that.

 

[youngdh]

I thought about that too, but it seemed to permanent.

I also like the low tech aspect of the plastic wrap. Easily replaceable.

I use Glad Press n Seal around my control panel and it works great.

 

[JoeSpartaNJ]

I use Glad Press n Seal around my control panel and it works great.

Actually, that is what I used.

Hasn't come off in 30 batches

 

[cmac62]

Is there anyone out there today to help a fellow Anvil user? I plugged my 10.5 into 120 power while it was set to 240. I unplugged it, made the switch, it made a strange buzzing noise for a few minutes and now it is humming like regular, but it is not heating up the water. I thought the only trouble was going the other way. The control display is working and the power control appears operable, but it is not heating. Could I blow a fuse plugging 120 into a 240 power appliance? Please help. Thanks

 

[DuncB]

Not an anvil user but is there a reset button on the underside? Some electric boilers have this and I tripped mine once. You just need to push it in to reset / click it.

 

[Grizwold1]

There is the reset button next to the 120/240 switch, but you have probably already tried that. There is another on the underside of the unit that trips on a dry kettle--maybe it has tripped?

 

[lumbergh]

I use Glad Press n Seal around my control panel and it works great.

I bought mine used and the previous owner was doing this. They also put some silicone caulk around the control panel to seal it up.

 

[Saunassa]

I have luckily not had to open mine up. Can you tell me, is there a coating on the circuit board? It would be a clear coating which often has a rubber type feeling or is it bare solder connections? Was the water on the board or the dispay?

 

[RyPA]

I have luckily not had to open mine up. Can you tell me, is there a coating on the circuit board? It would be a clear coating which often has a rubber type feeling or is it bare solder connections? Was the water on the board or the dispay?

It looks like there is a rubber gasket but it seems useless. I am careful with water on the control panel yet the little water that may have hit it managed to get onto the circuit board and make my screen not work temporarily.

My only hesitation with sealing is it would reduce the ability for water to get out if it does make its way in.

 

[Grizwold1]

Only seal the top and two sides, leaving the bottom alone

 

[Saunassa]

It looks like there is a rubber gasket but it seems useless. I am careful with water on the control panel yet the little water that may have hit it managed to get onto the circuit board and make my screen not work temporarily.

My only hesitation with sealing is it would reduce the ability for water to get out if it does make its way in.

But the main circuit board itself had no noticeable coating like it had something rtv/silicone sprayed on it when you wiped it off?
I design circuit boards for the food service industries, ice machines, microwaves, broasters, fryers. If the board will be in an environment that could have water, grease or something similar get on it we apply conformal coating to protect it and all solder joints. If there is no coating I need to get a can to have on hand.

 

[Saunassa]

Only seal the top and two sides, leaving the bottom alone

Yes, you need to leave somewhere for moisture to escape. If using rtv use the electronics safe version. Has no acid to attack the solder or contacts.

 

[JTtilinfinity]

Apologies if this has already been covered - searched but couldn’t find it. TIA!

What do you all use as your Mash Volume Limit in your brew software? The Anvil profile in brewfather defaults to 10gal but that doesn’t seem possible when using the malt pipe.

I’m planning a double NEIPA which would be around 20lbs of grain, heavy oat malt, plus rice hulls. Brewfather is telling me i need 8.14gal water, with a total mash volume of 9.75. This isn’t possible right? Thinking I need to replace some grain with DME or try my first sparge.

 

[Brushwood Brewing]

I know it is not a "fix", but I covered my control panel with plastic/saran wrap.

I just did this to mine after reading these comments. I used plastic wrap and scotch tape. It looks terrible on such an otherwise good-looking appliance. It made me a little sad. But a blown circuit board would make me sadder.

 

[kevin58]

These discussions are exactly why I sold my Foundry. The end consumer (you and I) should not have to rely on these "fixes" for the product to work the way it should. You have to caulk this, wrap that with clear film, lift the basket and then there is the effing E3 error that shuts the whole unit down in the middle of a boil. John Blichmann can do better than this.

 

[tracer bullet]

These discussions are exactly why I sold my Foundry.

I don't disagree it could be better, but you have to remember the price point. If you want something a lot better, it'll be at least double the price.

 

[Grizwold1]

I used plastic wrap and scotch tape

Probably neater than the plastic wrap and duct tape that I used

 

[Brushwood Brewing]

Has anyone else tried using your Foundry for temperature control during fermentation, when fermenting in kegs? A 5gal keg fits perfectly in the grain basket (to keep it off the heating element). I then fill up the Foundry with water and set it to my desired fermentation temperature. It keeps it constant and allows me to ramp it up during the last few days of fermentation.

(Keg on right in photo is being purged by fermentation CO2.)

 

[RyPA]

Has anyone else tried using your Foundry for temperature control during fermentation, when fermenting in kegs? A 5gal keg fits perfectly in the grain basket (to keep it off the heating element). I then fill up the Foundry with water and set it to my desired fermentation temperature. It keeps it constant and allows me to ramp it up during the last few days of fermentation.

(Keg on right in photo is being purged by fermentation CO2.)


View attachment 834582

I haven’t but that is a great idea for kveik batches. I’ve been resting my fermentation keg in a bucket of water with a fish tank heater to keep it at ~97F

 

[divechief]

Holy long thread!! I read the whole thing while waiting for my anvil 10.5 to arrive. It showed up last night, hope to brew my first this weekend. 10 years ago I brewed a lot of 2 gallon, all grain batches in my 700 sq ft condo downtown seattle. I now have a 2 bedroom house with a garage in Arizona. anxious to get started with it. One change I noticed in my unit that I haven't seen anyone mention, though I did see it on a video, I believe they changed the controller so with 4 screws, you can remove the controller with relitive ease.

 

[RyPA]

I'm sure it's discussed somewhere in this thread, but TLDR.

Has anyone had luck with pushing the limits with the amount of grist in the 10.5 gallon? I am itching to brew a chocolate/coconut imperial stout and came across the below recipe, which calls for 20lbs. If this isn't possible, can someone provide advice on reducing grist and supplementing ABV through other means?

https://hazyandhoppy.com/chocolate-coconut-imperial-stout-recipe/