ANVIL FOUNDRY ALL-GRAIN BREWING SYSTEM

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Ive had my basket drop twice now with the ring. Both times it was with 12+lb grain loads in between lifting out and sparge. Nothing like hot wort erupting from the unit while jumping back on a step ladder. Clean up on aisles 4,5,6, and 7. I'll be making two of the clips in the pics above asap. I've even bent out the ring a bit to get a tighter lock.
 
Worse case on the FB group John Blichmann said soon a retrofit kit would be available. He didn't say gratus but who knows. There was a recent post on FB where a guy had the basket drop in and splashed out close to a gallon of wort and it left a nice scratch in the kettle.
Not that I'm a litigious person, but since there likely are some who are, there is no doubt that it is a safety issue since 170 degree wort splashing on someone's groin area is likely as serious as someone spilling hot McDonald's coffee in their lap. They are obviously aware it is an issue, thus are liable, and they should take care of it --gratus.
 
Is it just the 10.5 Foundry that the new malt pipe that has been redesigned or the 6.5 too ? Picture on site shows the old pipe. Anyone making and selling the clips that were referenced above ?
 
I posted a picture of mine on the previous page. You can see the bracket holding onto the main cylinder. The brackets just bolt onto the malt pipe and when you lift it out they rest the pipe on the walls of the main unit.

Am I correct in presuming that no ring is involved (necessary) with the new malt pipe design?
 
Here is the new basket, I just got it last night and didnt realize they changed the design. I was thinking they forgot a part until I put everything together. It sits vertically pretty straight because the inside wall is thin at the top and gets thicker an inch or so down.

Am I correct in presuming that no ring is involved (necessary) with the new malt pipe design?

Check out the man's picture. Link to the thread.

Or check out photos 4 & 5 in the link below.

https://www.anvilbrewing.com/-p/anv-foundry-10.5.htm
The two clips are the only thing holding the pipe up and in place. There is nothing else.
 
Seems like a kludge. Why not simply fix the ring so it doesn't collapse. I can't recall any mention of this potentially dangerous situation occurring for other similar one kettle electric brewing pots.
 
I know one of the complaints was the ring mounted inside the lip of the kettle and the handle on the basket would interfere with each other. The brackets fix that problem.

Assuming the brackets are engineered to be safe and reliable, I have no problem with the update.

FWIW: I believe the Spike design uses clips on their design as well.
 
Am I correct in presuming that no ring is involved (necessary) with the new malt pipe design?
correct, no ring at all. Just lift the malt pipe and the brackets go over the sides of the main system. Because its narrower at the top, the malt pipe is help pretty close to vertical. Ive never used the old system with the ring, but I have seen videos of people fiddling with it, this seems like a better solution.

I am going to brew my first batch on it tonight.
 
Update ... I brewed my first all grain last night. Was a small disaster but that was my fault. The brackets to hold the malt pipe to the system for draining and sparging worked really well. It was very stable, I tried tipping it over while draining and it would take some force to do so. I never tried the ring method but this one seems to work really well.
 
Update ... I brewed my first all grain last night. Was a small disaster but that was my fault. The brackets to hold the malt pipe to the system for draining and sparging worked really well. It was very stable, I tried tipping it over while draining and it would take some force to do so. I never tried the ring method but this one seems to work really well.

Awesome! Thanks for sharing! Picked up an AF10.5 last night! Can wait to break it in!
 
Is there any benefit to doing a mash out with the Anvil? I got carried away and forgot my BIAB basics when I switched to the Anvil Foundry and, well, started doing 10 minute mash outs because it was the default in BeerSmith mash profile and it was another cool thing I could do on the display.
If I am lifting the malt pipe (I do full volume so no sparge) doesn’t that negate the need to mash out and thus go straight to boil?
 
Is there any benefit to doing a mash out with the Anvil? I got carried away and forgot my BIAB basics when I switched to the Anvil Foundry and, well, started doing 10 minute mash outs because it was the default in BeerSmith mash profile and it was another cool thing I could do on the display.
If I am lifting the malt pipe (I do full volume so no sparge) doesn’t that negate the need to mash out and thus go straight to boil?

You are spot on when doing full volume mashes. You also get a quicker rise to mash out temperatures on the way to boiling without the grains in the kettle.

Now having said that I do a full volume mash and incorporate a mash out mostly for timing of activity to give me the extra time to get my set up for draining and squeezing the bag of grains in place. Since I brew early in the mornings, the added time is not an issue in terms of my day and the mash out gives me a set time in my schedule to turn my focus back to the brew.
 
I finally ran 240v to my brewing area. I ran a test boil starting with 5 gallons of 65F water, 30 minutes to 170F and 45 minutes to a wild rolling boil. I cut the power back to 90% which gave me a nice rolling boil, I let it go for an hour to check my boil off rate. huge improvement over 120v.
 
Nice for the Anvil to have a choice between 120v and 240v. I didn't switch from propane until I could get an affordable system that offered 240v. I always brew first thing in the morning. Setting my Anvil up the night before, I'm ready to mash in without waiting for it to come up to temp. I also love the simplicity of the Anvil. Less thing to screw up my brew day.
 
I brewed a Session IPA yesterday with a recipe that called for 9.5 pounds of grains. So far, I've been going by the Foundry's user manual's chart for the "5 gallon Sparge method at 240 volts." The chart for 9.5 lbs of grain, calls for 6.2 gallons of strike water and 1 gallon sparge. This just looked like way too much water once I mashed-in the grains. Nothing like the consistency I've seen in the past when following the chart for 11 lbs of grains. However, the recipe says OG should have been 1047 and I hit 1052, so I guess it went OK? I'm kind of confused about the Foundry manual's chart because everything I've read says to use ~1.25 qts of water per lb of grain. Why so much more with the Foundry?
 
The only time I had a stuck mash is when I didn't have enough strike water. I sparge and use just under 7 gal with 13.5 lb grain.
 
For those using the brewzilla false bottom, is there anything you would have done differently when modifying it? I see the common thing to do is to bend the feet into a “V” shape to lift it. Has anyone tried anything else like drilling out some holes and using screws to lift it, similar to those brew hardware ebiab false bottoms?
 
For those using the brewzilla false bottom, is there anything you would have done differently when modifying it? I see the common thing to do is to bend the feet into a “V” shape to lift it. Has anyone tried anything else like drilling out some holes and using screws to lift it, similar to those brew hardware ebiab false bottoms?
While I bent mine into "V" shapes, I think @mbg actually put some feet under the legs without modifying them to get the height. Personally I think V shape works just well enough, but would prefer if it had four legs instead of three in general for better stability.
 
While I bent mine into "V" shapes, I think @mbg actually put some feet under the legs without modifying them to get the height. Personally I think V shape works just well enough, but would prefer if it had four legs instead of three in general for better stability.
I just went to the hardware store and bought a 1/4 in drill bit and four 1/4 inch stainless carriage bolts. My plan is to drill out four of those tiny holes and put the bolts in with the head of the bolt being the feet. Anyone want to poke some holes in this plan? My only issue is they don’t say what kind of stainless steel the bolts are.
 
I brewed a Session IPA yesterday with a recipe that called for 9.5 pounds of grains. So far, I've been going by the Foundry's user manual's chart for the "5 gallon Sparge method at 240 volts." The chart for 9.5 lbs of grain, calls for 6.2 gallons of strike water and 1 gallon sparge. This just looked like way too much water once I mashed-in the grains. Nothing like the consistency I've seen in the past when following the chart for 11 lbs of grains. However, the recipe says OG should have been 1047 and I hit 1052, so I guess it went OK? I'm kind of confused about the Foundry manual's chart because everything I've read says to use ~1.25 qts of water per lb of grain. Why so much more with the Foundry?
The Foundry is basically a brew in a bag system minus the bag. So yes it uses way more water than a traditional mash which makes checking your Ph a little more important.
 
The Foundry is basically a brew in a bag system minus the bag. So yes it uses way more water than a traditional mash which makes checking your Ph a little more important.
Can you explain this? My experience has always been that BIAB has slightly less grain absorption, so uses slightly less water (though not enough to make any difference at all in pH).
 
Can you explain this? My experience has always been that BIAB has slightly less grain absorption, so uses slightly less water (though not enough to make any difference at all in pH).

BIAB uses more water during the MASH stage compared to a typical fly or batch sparge session.
 
BIAB uses more water during the MASH stage compared to a typical fly or batch sparge session.
It doesn't have to. I've only done a full volume mash once, out of close to 100 batches. I typically split my water about 60/40 and acidify my sparge water to prevent tannin extraction. The full volume mash was actually a lot more simple.
 
You can MASH any way you want to.

For a majority of BIAG brewers, the SOP is include the full volume of water in the strike. It is one of two options in the Foundry instructions. The second is to essentially batch sparge, with a gallon of water after the draining the malt pipe dry.
 
For those using the brewzilla false bottom, is there anything you would have done differently when modifying it? I see the common thing to do is to bend the feet into a “V” shape to lift it. Has anyone tried anything else like drilling out some holes and using screws to lift it, similar to those brew hardware ebiab false bottoms?

I actually saw a post on the FB group where a brewer uses a bag without the pipe and WITHOUT a false bottom. He used "The Brew Bag" and claims they said it was OK for the bag????
 
I actually saw a post on the FB group where a brewer uses a bag without the pipe and WITHOUT a false bottom. He used "The Brew Bag" and claims they said it was OK for the bag????
As long as the bag doesn't sit on the bottom, shouldn't you be OK?
 
Seems like a kludge. Why not simply fix the ring so it doesn't collapse. I can't recall any mention of this potentially dangerous situation occurring for other similar one kettle electric brewing pots.

I use a hoist but my first AF came with big dents where these side legs are in the kettle due to rough handling (poor packaging???). This new design will eliminate some of this damage.
 
I actually saw a post on the FB group where a brewer uses a bag without the pipe and WITHOUT a false bottom. He used "The Brew Bag" and claims they said it was OK for the bag????

I kinda doubt it would melt, but as far as how the temp sensor works I'd think it'd be beneficial to have that false bottom so it can measure liquid a bunch of grain surrounding it (the bag will conform around it).
 
The good bags are made of polyester, with a melting point of almost 500F, so contact with the element shouldn't be a problem. Temperature sensing shouldn't be a problem as long as it is recirculating - which might be a problem.

To drain through the mesh at a decent rate usually requires a little space on the other side of the bag. If everything is pressed against the walls of the kettle, that really shrinks down the drain area. Of course, this only matters if you want temperature control during your mash, which isn't always necessary.

When I BIAB on my stove top I just throw my kettle in a pre-heated oven during the mash. I might flick it on and off a few times. If I brew over at a friends, I just wrap it in a sleeping bag, and it still turns out fine. With a good crush, conversion can be complete in 15 minutes. Since the Foundry is double walled, it will probably hold temperature for 15 minutes just fine. If all else fails, throw a sleeping bag around it.
 
I think the bag is certain to sit on the bottom without a false bottom. Plus this user claimed since hot plate cycles it was OK.

I have one brew bag that I can clamp onto the top and the bottom will be about 3/4" shy of the bottom of my Anvil 6.5 gal. That is hanging loose without any grain. As the grain fills the bag, the bottom of the bag rises.

And, yes, I have brewed without the mash basket. I think using the mash basket is easier and leaves my hands free to let the wort drain by itself.
 
I have one brew bag that I can clamp onto the top and the bottom will be about 3/4" shy of the bottom of my Anvil 6.5 gal. That is hanging loose without any grain. As the grain fills the bag, the bottom of the bag rises.

And, yes, I have brewed without the mash basket. I think using the mash basket is easier and leaves my hands free to let the wort drain by itself.

Are you saying your grain bed floats? Is this common? I have never had this happen even over many years using a cooler mlt.
 
I’m planning on a first brew this weekend with my 6.5, the manual mentions a PBW cleaning but also barkeepers friend.

Will a PBW clean be sufficient to get this thing ready to brew? I don’t use the pump. Just want to make sure to get any grease or manufacturing oils off it.

thx!
 
I’m planning on a first brew this weekend with my 6.5, the manual mentions a PBW cleaning but also barkeepers friend.

Will a PBW clean be sufficient to get this thing ready to brew? I don’t use the pump. Just want to make sure to get any grease or manufacturing oils off it.

thx!
Not sure if just PBW is sufficient. I did the PBW followed by bar keepers friend myself. I just figured the extra step was worth it as I drank a couple beers while doing it lol.
 
I think folks are probably right about the false bottom being unnecessary with a quality brew bag. I got one, anyway, just in case. I ended up drilling holes in the legs (brewzilla false bottom) and got some u bolts (304 stainless). I’ll take some photos, and go through my process, if anyone is interested. My goal was to lift it as high as the bottom of the malt pipe.
 
Not sure if just PBW is sufficient. I did the PBW followed by bar keepers friend myself. I just figured the extra step was worth it as I drank a couple beers while doing it lol.

thanks, I also have some TSP cleaner left over from cleaning my SS Brewbucket, would that suffice in place of barkeepers?

Trying to limit my time in stores bc of covid, so would like to use what I have on hand.
 
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