Grainfather capacity

[Jag75]

The last couple times I brewed big beers. 16lb grain bills to be exact. Both times I have failed to meet the estimated SG. I'm sure there has been things that I've done to cause this. I cant help but think of other possibilities like are the pre milled grains I'm getting from morebeer adequate. I'm actually starting to question the ability of the all in one type electrical brewers aka Grainfather, Robobrew and mash & boil when it comes to large grain bills. I've never done a brew using the big coolers and such. I wonder if there is more room in those compared to the all in one vessels. I'm am thinking that maybe I should have split the 16lb grain bill into two 8lbs then just added together for the boil. By doing that I would think one would get more efficiency out of the mash .

 

[chezhed]

Sparge with these systems seems to be the biggest issue related to SG no matter the batch size but larger is worse. I have seen a couple techniques to improve the sparge (slow it down) but they do take some work. One person removes the grain basket immediately into a 7.9 gallon bucket with a spigot on a stool above the Grainfather and then adds the water and slowly releases into the Grainfather taking 30-45 minutes to complete the sparge. Another has a hook in the ceiling in the garage and simply raises the basket about halfway and suspends it and adds the sparge water and slowly raises the basket for about 15-20 minutes and then lets it drain completely. Both of these people report 10-15% increases in efficiency. Obviously the second method is a bit more difficult in the house

 

[Jag75]

Sparge with these systems seems to be the biggest issue related to SG no matter the batch size but larger is worse. I have seen a couple techniques to improve the sparge (slow it down) but they do take some work. One person removes the grain basket immediately into a 7.9 gallon bucket with a spigot on a stool above the Grainfather and then adds the water and slowly releases into the Grainfather taking 30-45 minutes to complete the sparge. Another has a hook in the ceiling in the garage and simply raises the basket about halfway and suspends it and adds the sparge water and slowly raises the basket for about 15-20 minutes and then lets it drain completely. Both of these people report 10-15% increases in efficiency. Obviously the second method is a bit more difficult in the house

Ty for your response. I'm gonna do some adjusting like you mentioned. Will see how it goes

 

[shortyz]

i use rice hulls everytime i brew no matter what, mininum 1 pound. also it might not be your sparge that hurt your SG, many people half way through mashing will stir up their mash.

i always chuck in an extra pound of graint to make up for any losses, for the cost of the extra grain i couldnt care less. cheers.