Grainfather Conical Fermenter Owners Thread

[deuc224]

just saw this and at 125, ill pass.

 

[BrewAgain]

I found it on black Friday on the grainfather website $92. Now $115 and out of stock. It would be nice if it would talk to the program. It does have a pretty colored display. The Bluetooth doesn't seem to work.

 

[A-Bus]

I bought mine during the Black Friday sale. But, I have not tried the new controller yet for any sort of review. So far, I do like the Wifi capability and the ability to download updates. I also like being able to change temperatures when away from home.

 

[Vetal]

Has anyone experimented with cooling the Grainfather Conical Fermenter with a simple cooling kit running ice water? What was the lowest temperature you got to? I am in the middle of brewing a lager and I used a simple grainfather cooling kit with a cooler filled with ice water @ 40F. I could get the wort down to about @50F after cooling it overnight. Even after using approx 2-3 lbs of ice every 12 hrs - I am struggling to keep the Grainfather Conical Fermenter to about 55F. Overall I am seeing the temperature anywhere from 52-62F. The amount of ice I need to have on hand is getting a bit tricky as well. I cannot justify spending on the glycol chiller. Does anyone have any better ideas of maintaining a steady temperature? I have given up on cold-crashing in the GCF.... It also doesnt fit into any fridge easily. I am getting a bit tired of baby sitting this fermenter....

 

[Chet Ripley]

I've not tried anything that low of temp yet, but I swap out frozen gallon jugs of water daily. I would think that would be more efficient than directly adding ice.

 

[franknbeans]

Has anyone experimented with cooling the Grainfather Conical Fermenter with a simple cooling kit running ice water? What was the lowest temperature you got to? I am in the middle of brewing a lager and I used a simple grainfather cooling kit with a cooler filled with ice water @ 40F. I could get the wort down to about @50F after cooling it overnight. Even after using approx 2-3 lbs of ice every 12 hrs - I am struggling to keep the Grainfather Conical Fermenter to about 55F. Overall I am seeing the temperature anywhere from 52-62F. The amount of ice I need to have on hand is getting a bit tricky as well. I cannot justify spending on the glycol chiller. Does anyone have any better ideas of maintaining a steady temperature? I have given up on cold-crashing in the GCF.... It also doesnt fit into any fridge easily. I am getting a bit tired of baby sitting this fermenter....

I'm on my second run with this conical so far. The first time, and several before with a carboy, I had (ditched the GF pump for the Anvil one due to higher gpm) the pump running ice water in a 5gal cooler with holes drilled in the lid for the hoses and pump wire. The best I could get the temp down was about 55ish, but that involved several frozen juice jug changes (with water inside) throughout the day. The GF pump output is barely 1gpm, where the Anvil one is 2-3gpm. They use the same power connection and draw is roughly the same. I picked up the GF glycol chiller on black friday because I too didn't like babysitting it and had some spare coin to use. It's pricey, but so far is working out much easier. I'll be cold crashing next week with an Amber Ale in the tank, so we'll see how well that works out.

 

[franknbeans]

Has anyone figured out a better valve setup for the bottom of these tanks? The dual valve sounded neat at first, but has become a big pain to deal with.

When trying to dump the trub and keep things clear, I've now clogged both times and have to blow co2 up through the valve to clear it. I really like how the FastFerment has a dump jar.. I'm wondering if there's a way to rig up such a setup to these?

 

[Advance]

Has anyone figured out a better valve setup for the bottom of these tanks? The dual valve sounded neat at first, but has become a big pain to deal with.

When trying to dump the trub and keep things clear, I've now clogged both times and have to blow co2 up through the valve to clear it. I really like how the FastFerment has a dump jar.. I'm wondering if there's a way to rig up such a setup to these?

At what time during the cold side process are you trying to dump yeast/trub? What yeast are you using? I have completed roughly 30 batches between my two grainfather conicals and have never had problems with dumping, even with highly flocculant yeast such as WLP007.

 

[franknbeans]

At what time during the cold side process are you trying to dump yeast/trub? What yeast are you using? I have completed roughly 30 batches between my two grainfather conicals and have never had problems with dumping, even with highly flocculant yeast such as WLP007.

The amber ale I made has WLP007 in it right now as a matter of fact. Ive tried dumping it every day since fermentation started on this batch. It's been coming out like a thick sludge once I can get it moving with shooting co2 up inside the dump valve to break it loose. It's more trub than yeast, very little whiteness of the WLP007 in it.

 

[shoeboo2]

Has anyone experimented with cooling the Grainfather Conical Fermenter with a simple cooling kit running ice water? What was the lowest temperature you got to? I am in the middle of brewing a lager and I used a simple grainfather cooling kit with a cooler filled with ice water @ 40F. I could get the wort down to about @50F after cooling it overnight. Even after using approx 2-3 lbs of ice every 12 hrs - I am struggling to keep the Grainfather Conical Fermenter to about 55F. Overall I am seeing the temperature anywhere from 52-62F. The amount of ice I need to have on hand is getting a bit tricky as well. I cannot justify spending on the glycol chiller. Does anyone have any better ideas of maintaining a steady temperature? I have given up on cold-crashing in the GCF.... It also doesnt fit into any fridge easily. I am getting a bit tired of baby sitting this fermenter....

I have my GCF in the garage (Florida) and could get down to 55F in the summer using the water cooling kit. I had to swap frozen water bottles about twice a day. I would hope I could get down to 45F using the same swapping frequency now that the weather has cooled down.

 

[Advance]

The amber ale I made has WLP007 in it right now as a matter of fact. Ive tried dumping it every day since fermentation started on this batch. It's been coming out like a thick sludge once I can get it moving with shooting co2 up inside the dump valve to break it loose. It's more trub than yeast, very little whiteness of the WLP007 in it.

WLP007 does compact pretty well, but it has never completely plugged itself in the cone for me. Try adding a little headspace pressure (1-1.5 psi) when you dump. This will help push the yeast/trub out the valve and prevent any possibly of a vacuum forming in the headspace during the process. Having a bit of headspace pressure will also prevent any oxidation that would result from air being sucked in through a airlock or the dump port itself. These fermenters are not designed to hold much pressure, so keep the pressures below 1.5 psi. What steps are you taking to leave the majority of solids in the boil kettle and out of the fermenter during transfers?

 

[franknbeans]

I had been shooting co2 up through the sample port to get some buffer in the S-bubbler so there wasn't any suck back when I did the dump. It's messy, but at least it has been working. This particular batch is pretty thick with trub.. I forgot the whirfloc tablet in the boil. As far as hot side, I haven't found a great way to avoid getting solids into the conical. I've tried whirlpooling with so-so results. I have a bazooka screen that caused more headaches than it was worth with plugging up.

 

[Advance]

Whirlpooling and whirlfloc should settle your solids pretty good on the hot side. Make sure you are allowing enough time for the solids to settle before starting your transfer. I usually cool with a CFC immediately after flame out to generate a good cold break. My target temperature is dependent on style, but its always 180F or less. I now whirlpool for 5-10 minutes, just enough to generate an adequate whirlpool that is centered in the kettle. Make sure you do not whip air into the wort at this time. The whirlpool in now stopped and a 30-45 minute dwell is given to allow its full effects to take place. After this time you should be able to transfer your wort with very little solids to the fermenter.

Have you tried pumping the dump valve up and down? How about a different strain of yeast? WLP007 has a tendancy to compact in the cone unlike any other yeast I have used. I has however never compacted to the point where I can not successfully dump it.

 

[franknbeans]

I've been using immersion chillers on the kettle, and now in an electric Foundry setup. Are the CFC's that much better?

I haven't had a process down for the whirlpool and allowing it to rest, so that sounds like an added issue as well. The target temperature of 180F is what you aim for with the whirlpool rest right?

As for the valve.. pumping it up and down while smacking the side of the tank is how I can get some movement out of the thick sludge. It has been taking shooting co2 up into that port to blow through it though. The last beer I made was an IPA with WLP001 and had some stuck sludge in the valve, but not like this. I didn't have to shoot co2 up through it to get it to dump.

 

[Raider7296]

What's the secret to getting good flow out of the dump valve?

I've fermented two batches in this conical using Wyeast 1272. I've tried dumping at several points during active fermentation as well as after cold crashing. However, I've never been able to get an "extrusion sausage" as mentioned earlier. No matter how slowly and carefully I try to move the valve, I always get a trickle of fairly clean looking beer, followed by a belch of slurry(?). I use 1/2 pint mason jars for collection, and once the slurry settles out, I'll usually have maybe 1/2" of trub, 1/4" of nice looking yeast, and the remaining 80% of the jar is beer.

The relative thinness of the slurry leads me to believe I'm collapsing the cone of trub/yeast each time. Is it possible to control the dump valve accurately enough to keep the layers stratified so I can dump the trub, collect a nice creamy sample of yeast, and not waste too much beer? Or am I expecting too much? Is there some kind of trick to this that I'm missing?

 

[franknbeans]

When I can do it, just barely pushing down on that lever ever so slowly, you'll get that thick "sausage" out of there... when it isn't plugged up that is. You have to really finesse that lever so the gravity pressure doesn't explode it out like you're having. I end up having that with mine too because its so thick and plugged up with my current brew inside.

 

[Raider7296]

That's pretty much what I expected. Practice makes perfect, I guess.

I may try to see if I can come up with some kind of extension for the dump valve lever. That would make finessing that valve a little less hand-crampy, and also might make it easier to find the sweet spot.

I briefly considered replacing the whole thing with a TC elbow and butterfly valve... until I realized that would leave me with no racking arm. I don't dare to drill a hole for one, because who knows where the electronics are hiding in there.

 

[franknbeans]

I've been pondering the same idea as well about replacing the valve.

 

[BrewAgain]

If you talk the controller plate off, you can see there's access to see the space between the inner and outer walls.

 

[franknbeans]

Now I know why I'm not getting anything out of the dump valve.. the oring up in there decided to slip out and the shaft is stuck in place. The orings they use are truly garbage.. I've gone through 3 just putting it together before I ever used it.. now this is 4.

 

[Raider7296]

I managed to drop the stir bar from my starter into the fermenter on my last batch. That's probably not helping anything .

It's a shame this valve is such a pain point. It does seem like a clever idea and kudos to GF for thinking outside of the box. I'm not aware of anyone else making a true jacketed fermenter like this at this size and price point.

I wish there was more information out there about it. Googling only brings up the instruction manual from GF's website, a GF-made YouTube video, and this thread. I dunno if GF is really good at SEO, or if we're the only people who actually bought one, lol.

 

[Advance]

Wow, that oring falling off is a pretty big problem. Are you using the correct size? Is it being installed with a twist in it? I never had problems with the original silicon orings, but i moved away from them after roughly 10 batches because of their O2 permeability. I have been using these for many batches without any problems:

https://www.theoringstore.com/store...ct_info&cPath=368_2278_2282&products_id=43380
They are definitely provide a more secure fit over the originals because they are noticeably more difficult to install and remove. In fact you might want to try the 2.0 x 26mm and 2.0 x 27mm sizes from the same vendor because the 2.0 x 25mm's might be too tight. The inner diameter of the oring seat is 30mm, so the 26's and 27's might be a better fit. Below is a list of all the orings used in the FV:

Main dump valve: 2.0x25 mm (remember you might want to size up a bit)

Dump valve stem: 1.5 x 7mm (The dump valve uses two of these, one to secure the inlet to the valve, and one between the plastic guide bushings where the valve stem slides against the valves body to open and close the dump part of the valve. These fit pretty damn tight. I usually have to cut them off when changing them. You might want to order some 1.0 x 11.5mm rings to try and see if they offer a bit looser fit. Otherwise at $0.06 a piece it isn't the end of the world if you have to destroy them every time you break the valve down to clean.

Valve stem to ball valve union: AS568-109

Union to ball valve: AS568-111

Ball valve to elbow: 1.5x 17mm

Temperature Probe Seal: AS568-012

All of these orings are EPDM, 70 Durometer. They can be found here:

Metic: https://www.theoringstore.com/store/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=368_2278
AS568: FDA Buna-N O-Rings - We make getting o-rings easy!!

 

[franknbeans]

I honestly have no idea how it fell out like it did. It went together fine and everything looked and functioned correctly. I was half tempted to put a TC plug in the top and flip it upside down and pull the valve out to fix it.. but it's about done with a couple days of DH to go, so I'll just let it be.

Wow! I was thinking of taking a set of these to a rubber and seal shop nearby and seeing what they could match with better quality. You sir have saved me some hassle and I thank you!! I'll be ordering these right now.

 

[franknbeans]

I managed to drop the stir bar from my starter into the fermenter on my last batch. That's probably not helping anything .

It's a shame this valve is such a pain point. It does seem like a clever idea and kudos to GF for thinking outside of the box. I'm not aware of anyone else making a true jacketed fermenter like this at this size and price point.

I wish there was more information out there about it. Googling only brings up the instruction manual from GF's website, a GF-made YouTube video, and this thread. I dunno if GF is really good at SEO, or if we're the only people who actually bought one, lol.

I almost did that too, and then I started grabbing a magnet off the fridge and holding it on the bottom of the flask as I poured the yeast in. You could use one of those telescoping stick magnets for picking up bolts or nuts that fall down in a hole you can't grab. I always seem to do that with everything, so I have a few of them. Harbor Freight has them pretty cheap if there's one near you.

 

[Advance]

I honestly have no idea how it fell out like it did. It went together fine and everything looked and functioned correctly. I was half tempted to put a TC plug in the top and flip it upside down and pull the valve out to fix it.. but it's about done with a couple days of DH to go, so I'll just let it be.

Wow! I was thinking of taking a set of these to a rubber and seal shop nearby and seeing what they could match with better quality. You sir have saved me some hassle and I thank you!! I'll be ordering these right now.

I'm surprised the valve still made a seal without the oring. I wouldn't try inverting the fermenter to try and fix it unless you have a way to fully support the lid along the entire surface that is opposite of the sealing gasket (the surface the four clamps grab). A piece of plywood with a hole cut to the right size and relief cuts made for the four clamps would work. Some 2x4 around the perimeter of this peice would give you the elevation you need for the domed lid once inverted. You would probably want to fix this piece of wood to the fermenter before you try to invert it. Man handling the thing and getting it to sit properly on the mount would be much more difficult. The new main seal will prevent this from happening again. Just make sure the seal goes on without a twist in it. Avoid any kind of rolling manipulation during installation.

I managed to drop the stir bar from my starter into the fermenter on my last batch. That's probably not helping anything .

It's a shame this valve is such a pain point. It does seem like a clever idea and kudos to GF for thinking outside of the box. I'm not aware of anyone else making a true jacketed fermenter like this at this size and price point.

I wish there was more information out there about it. Googling only brings up the instruction manual from GF's website, a GF-made YouTube video, and this thread. I dunno if GF is really good at SEO, or if we're the only people who actually bought one, lol.

Get yourself a strong keeper magnet like this one:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B074BQ2X6G/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1
This will prevent you from dropping your stirbar while adding your yeast to the fermenter. You might be able to retrieve your stir bar with a couple of them. One would be used to get the bar out of the cone and near the strait wall of the fermenter. The other would be used to catch the bar at this position and carry it out the 1.5 TC opening in the lid. You would need two, because the fermenter legs would not allow you to maintain a close enough distance to the bar throughout the entire motion. A hand off of the bar would have to be utilized. Your other option is to just use one magnet and capture the stir bar above the floor of the cone. I recommend you do this before you attempt using the dump valve because it is possible the stir bar could get caught in the valve, which would not allow it to close. This would result in a massive mess and a total loss of your brew.

 

[franknbeans]

Sounds like you are off to a better start with your current batch. A proper whirlpool followed by a long rest can really help settle the trub, allowing you transfer very little to the fermenter. This is how I have my fermenter setup at the start of fermentation:

View attachment 703387

The blow off cane is from norcal brewing solutions:
https://www.norcalbrewingsolutions.com/store/1.5-Inch-Tri-Clover-Connection-Blow-Off-Tube.html
Once primary fermentation slows down, I replace the blow off cane with a gas manifold that I made using the manifold body from spikes as a base:

View attachment 703388

This manifold allows me to maintain a slight positive pressure environment inside the fermenter at all times, which enables me to minimize the ingress of oxygen throughout the cold side process. It also makes closed transfers very easy. I also highly recommend getting yourself one of these plant dollies if you want to be able to move the fermenter around with ease:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002TRQSYO/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1
They fit the legs of the fermenter like they were designed for one another.

Could you list out the parts you added to this manifold? I've been trying to figure out a way to stop suck back when cold crashing on this thing and not deal with mylar balloons and all that mess.

 

[BrewAgain]

When cold crashing with the grainfather, has anyone tried using the pressure transfer kit for a positive co2 pressure?

 

[Raider7296]

I have not tried the pressure transfer kit from Grainfather, but I have a simple 1.5" Tri-clamp to 1/4" flare fitting on its way from morebeer for the same purpose. My next cold crash is scheduled about a week from now. I'll let you know how it goes. I've been happy to use the dual tap valve for transferring, so I didn't really need a lot of the stuff included in the kit. The fitting, TC and gasket was about $22.

 

[BrewAgain]

The one thing that may help with that kit is micro pressure adjuster and a pressure gauge. It can be adjusted to .1 psi.
It should work.

 

[BrewAgain]

I have been in contact with grainfather on the new controller. I could not connect it with the gf software with my phone.

I turnes out that a Pixel phone is at android 11. Their app doesn't support the setup. Was able to link it using a tablet.