Grainfather Conical Fermenter Owners Thread

[franknbeans]

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.

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!!

So I got these about two weeks ago, and all of them seem to be fitting pretty well. I pulled the dump valve apart completely (I never have before, and it was nasty in the shaft). The original oring between the two bushings was broken when I pulled the shaft out. I got to this part of the oring bag and the 1.0 x 11.5mm orings are way too thin, they leave a lot of play in that union and leak. I now see you said 1.5 x 7mm at first, so this must have been a typo. The 7mm ID ones were out of stock, so I'll look and see if they are back now. I appreciate the time to list all of these. They are much better than the stock silicone ones for sure!

 

[BrewAgain]

Two things. The grainfather website has the o-ring sets as a kit. These are the soft silicone that comes with the valve. I think they have finally recognized an issue with the cone o-ring and are seeking an EP version as a single item. ($2). Seems like a good upgrade as the silicone in that application is too soft and prone to nicks and cuts.

The connect pro controller on birth the app and the controller itself has a lower limit of 43 °F for cooking. Not sure if it's because of not using the grainfather chiller. Anyone knows how to get around that to cold crash close to 34°f?
Thanks

 

[shoeboo2]

The connect pro controller on birth the app and the controller itself has a lower limit of 43 °F for cooking. Not sure if it's because of not using the grainfather chiller. Anyone knows how to get around that to cold crash close to 34°f?
Thanks

David Heath has a youtube video (link) where he discusses how to change the lower temperature limit. I believe you need to make a brewing profile with the lower crash temperature and then go to settings and you now have the option to change the lower temp limit.

 

[BrewAgain]

It works. Thanks.

 

[Advance]

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.

Sorry, I remember reading this post but I forgot to reply to it. I will do so in a future post because I am limited on time at the moment.

So I got these about two weeks ago, and all of them seem to be fitting pretty well. I pulled the dump valve apart completely (I never have before, and it was nasty in the shaft). The original oring between the two bushings was broken when I pulled the shaft out. I got to this part of the oring bag and the 1.0 x 11.5mm orings are way too thin, they leave a lot of play in that union and leak. I now see you said 1.5 x 7mm at first, so this must have been a typo. The 7mm ID ones were out of stock, so I'll look and see if they are back now. I appreciate the time to list all of these. They are much better than the stock silicone ones for sure!

The breakdown and reassembly of these valves is a bit of a PITA compared to more standard solutions (TC butterfly valves). It should be part of your SOP if you wish to remain infection free on your future brews though. You should also break down the ball valve because it gets nasty in the void between the two PTFE seals. I wish Grainfather would have used a easier to clean valve in this location. This post of mine discusses the breakdown of the ball valve on the SSBT carbonation stone. The valve is exactly the same internally, it just has a threaded barb end instead of the hex threaded washer. The outer PTFE ball seal is hard to remove the first time, but much easier on subsequent breakdowns of the valve. Take your time and be careful not to damage the seals.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/threads/ss-brewtech-sample-valve-stuck-open.684879/post-8976625
Im sorry the 1.0 x 11.5mm orings did not work out, I recommend them as a possible solution to the very tight fit of the 1.5 x 7mm's which, from my own experience, do work. Both of my valves are currently in service, so I currently can not get the measurement I would need to find a possible better size than the 1.5 x 7mm's at the moment.

 

[franknbeans]

I was going to pull that ball valve apart, but got side tracked yesterday before I started brewing. I pulled the ball valve apart on my Anvil Foundry and thought I had cleaned it the last time... nope. It was nasty. I can only imagine how the conical one looks now. I ordered both the 1.5 x 7mm and 1.5 x 11.5mm orings to see which would fit. I had another set of 1.5mm thick ones and they fit the groove perfectly, so I'm hoping they work better. For now, I just put a couple new silicone ones back in there until these come. The 1.5 x 11.5mm ones were only offered in buna material, so hopefully it works ok.

 

[BrewbieVet3]

I bought a Grainfather system around Christmas and brewed my first batch a few weeks ago. I’m very happy with the system; I bought a grainfather, a Grainfather conical, and the glycol chiller. My first batch is a German style lager, currently fermenting at about 10C. The WiFi unit for the fermenter has been running like a charm.... until this morning, when the app indicates it as offline. When I checked on the fermenter, it appears to be connected to the WiFi. Apparently it went offline at about 7:30am. Now, we are in the middle of a winter storm, so maybe the weather is somehow affecting the connection, but has anyone else experienced this issue? I’ve attached a screenshot of the app screen and the wireless unit. The conical fermenter is still working/controlling the temperature; it just appears to be offline for whatever reason. Thanks for any pointers!

 

[BrewbieVet3]

I bought a Grainfather system around Christmas and brewed my first batch a few weeks ago. I’m very happy with the system; I bought a grainfather, a Grainfather conical, and the glycol chiller. My first batch is a German style lager, currently fermenting at about 10C. The WiFi unit for the fermenter has been running like a charm.... until this morning, when the app indicates it as offline. When I checked on the fermenter, it appears to be connected to the WiFi. Apparently it went offline at about 7:30am. Now, we are in the middle of a winter storm, so maybe the weather is somehow affecting the connection, but has anyone else experienced this issue? I’ve attached a screenshot of the app screen and the wireless unit. The conical fermenter is still working/controlling the temperature; it just appears to be offline for whatever reason. Thanks for any pointers!

 

[franknbeans]

Funny you say that.. I was checking mine last night and saw it lost connection in the app too. Shows it's connected on the controller itself.. very weird.

 

[BrewbieVet3]

I lost connection at about 7:30 EST.

 

[franknbeans]

No idea when it happened to mine. There was a power outage here this past Monday night through mid day Tuesday and that's about the last I see on the tracking graph in app. I have a Tilt linked to it and when I open the app for that, it throws a huge error trying to link itself to the GF cloud tracker.

 

[rycardo]

Hello Everyone,
I own a GrainFather Canonical Fermenter Pro, during my fermentation process I noticed the Rubber Bung is lifting and some Co2 is going out through the space between Rubber Bung and the fermenter.
Do anyone had this issue? How to fix?
I’m using some weight to keep the Rubber Bung on place.

Thanks

 

[franknbeans]

I had issues with this, and on glass carboys, too. You want to pull the bung back out, and squirt some star-san on it and around the hole in the lid. The grab a clean towel or maybe a sheet of paper towel and wipe off the moisture left around the hole and the bung.. and then squish that thing down into the hole. As you're pushing it in, spin it back and forth. Leave enough of an edge sticking up that you can grab it if needed to pull out, so about 3/4" or so? Spin it back and forth in the hole until you feel a lot of resistance and it will be stuck there and not pop back out again.

 

[Jamkin]

I saw that some people are creating a system where they use co2 from fermentation to purge their kegs. Anybody know how to do this using the GF conical? I have the transfer kit.

 

[BigDave1303]

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

I have built a wooden cart from some old shelving for my conical, so its about 3 feet above the floor. This allows me to gravity transfer from the small outlet tap so no need to transfer under pressure.
I also capture co2 whilst fermenting directly into a keg (previously used a fermenting bucket to collect).
Blow off tube connected to liquid out post on keg. Gas in post vented to a plastic pot. so only co2 is sucked back when cold crashing or bottling.
When kegging. I disconnect the blow off from the liquid in post & connect it to the gas port on the keg. The gas port is now connected to the top of the conical.
Gravity fill the keg from the small outlet tap on the bottom of the conical into the liquid post on the keg. As beer enters the keg co2 is now pushed out & back into the top of the conical. This results in a totally closed transfer system eliminating any o2 from entering the system.

Short video showing it in action see link below

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1bZVgBDWQ_frD4PqpevXvPS4RijI5HFxa/view?usp=sharing

The loop of silicon tube has a small amount of starsan in it which acts as an airlock.

 

[Jamkin]

Thanks - would like to see those photos.

 

[BigDave1303]

Thanks - would like to see those photos.

Hi Jamkin. I uploaded the video to google & added a link to it in my original post. Have also put a photo up.

 

[BrewbieVet3]

No idea when it happened to mine. There was a power outage here this past Monday night through mid day Tuesday and that's about the last I see on the tracking graph in app. I have a Tilt linked to it and when I open the app for that, it throws a huge error trying to link itself to the GF cloud tracker.

To close this out on my end, I finally went down just a moment ago and turned off the glycol chiller, unplugged it from the wall, and waited a few moments. While it was off I checked the glycol level on the chiller. It looked a little low, so I topped it off. After waiting a few minutes I then plugged the chiller back in and turned the power on. It immediately reconnected to the WiFi and started up cooling again. The temperature had risen to 16.5C, about the temp for the diacetyl rest. Am keeping an eye on it to make sure the temp doesn’t sink below the target temp of 10C, but so far it looks like a very simple fix of turning it off and back on, with the possibility also of low glycol.

 

[rycardo]

In Grainfather instructions is mentioned the following sentence:”It is good practice to dump dead yeast every 2-3 days during fermentation to prevent the yeast from clogging the valve.”
My question is, opening the yeast dump valve we are introducing oxygen to our fermenter....?
What do you think about this?

 

[Weasel710]

In Grainfather instructions is mentioned the following sentence:”It is good practice to dump dead yeast every 2-3 days during fermentation to prevent the yeast from clogging the valve.”
My question is, opening the yeast dump valve we are introducing oxygen to our fermenter....?
What do you think about this?

I am actually trying to figure out how to do that or whether to worry about it at all. I am about to pull the trigger on a cap for the top that I can hook up a CO2 canister. This will allow me to pressure transfer and allow me to dump and sample without drawing in O2. I was using a "workaround" for closed loop transfer by hooking a hose to the 3 piece airlock. It wasn't pretty, but it worked.

 

[Jamkin]

I have built a wooden cart from some old shelving for my conical, so its about 3 feet above the floor. This allows me to gravity transfer from the small outlet tap so no need to transfer under pressure.
I also capture co2 whilst fermenting directly into a keg (previously used a fermenting bucket to collect).
Blow off tube connected to liquid out post on keg. Gas in post vented to a plastic pot. so only co2 is sucked back when cold crashing or bottling.
When kegging. I disconnect the blow off from the liquid in post & connect it to the gas port on the keg. The gas port is now connected to the top of the conical.
Gravity fill the keg from the small outlet tap on the bottom of the conical into the liquid post on the keg. As beer enters the keg co2 is now pushed out & back into the top of the conical. This results in a totally closed transfer system eliminating any o2 from entering the system.

Short video showing it in action see link below

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1bZVgBDWQ_frD4PqpevXvPS4RijI5HFxa/view?usp=sharing
View attachment 716806
The loop of silicon tube has a small amount of starsan in it which acts as an airlock.

what a set up!

 

[franknbeans]

I was going to pull that ball valve apart, but got side tracked yesterday before I started brewing. I pulled the ball valve apart on my Anvil Foundry and thought I had cleaned it the last time... nope. It was nasty. I can only imagine how the conical one looks now. I ordered both the 1.5 x 7mm and 1.5 x 11.5mm orings to see which would fit. I had another set of 1.5mm thick ones and they fit the groove perfectly, so I'm hoping they work better. For now, I just put a couple new silicone ones back in there until these come. The 1.5 x 11.5mm ones were only offered in buna material, so hopefully it works ok.

Ok so I kegged the porter I had in mine last night and broke the valve down. The two sets of orings came in so I tried them both on the trub dump valve shaft. So.. the 1.5mm x 11.5mm are too big and won't work. The 1.5mm x 7mm are very tight, but they work. I now see why you said they are wrecked when taking off. I wonder if a 1.5mm x 9mm would be the key size?

 

[BigDave1303]

what a set up!

Ta, quite simple but it works

 

[Cloud Surfer]

In Grainfather instructions is mentioned the following sentence:”It is good practice to dump dead yeast every 2-3 days during fermentation to prevent the yeast from clogging the valve.”
My question is, opening the yeast dump valve we are introducing oxygen to our fermenter....?
What do you think about this?

I got burnt by pretty much everything written there the first time I dumped out the trub valve. Obviously I ended up sucking in some air, then after I dumped, my RIS stopped fermenting and left the FG a bit high. I thought, there has to be a better way.

So, I bought the Grainfather pressure transfer kit and started on my CO2 journey. Now I can go 2 weeks for my big beers before I touch the dump valve. Using the CO2 pressure I can push the trub out the valve and not introduce air into the fermenter. The CO2 pressure is the key as the trub wouldn't come out the valve otherwise after 2 weeks.

I'm new to brewing, but CO2 pressure transferring is almost the best thing I've discovered in the whole brewing process. I do it everywhere. Fermenter into conditioning kegs, then back into bottling kegs, then pressure filling into bottles.

 

[rycardo]

I got burnt by pretty much everything written there the first time I dumped out the trub valve. Obviously I ended up sucking in some air, then after I dumped, my RIS stopped fermenting and left the FG a bit high. I thought, there has to be a better way.

So, I bought the Grainfather pressure transfer kit and started on my CO2 journey. Now I can go 2 weeks for my big beers before I touch the dump valve. Using the CO2 pressure I can push the trub out the valve and not introduce air into the fermenter. The CO2 pressure is the key as the trub wouldn't come out the valve otherwise after 2 weeks.

I'm new to brewing, but CO2 pressure transferring is almost the best thing I've discovered in the whole brewing process. I do it everywhere. Fermenter into conditioning kegs, then back into bottling kegs, then pressure filling into bottles.

You don’t use airlock anymore? Using the pressure transfer KIT to do this job?

 

[Cloud Surfer]

You don’t use airlock anymore? Using the pressure transfer KIT to do this job?

No, I still use the airlock. But when I want to do a trub dump or start the transfer I remove the airlock and cap the opening to seal it.

 

[Cloud Surfer]

I leave the pressure transfer kit on all the time. I just fit and remove the airlock and the solid cap that seals the unit as required.

 

[rycardo]

I leave the pressure transfer kit on all the time. I just fit and remove the airlock and the solid cap that seals the unit as required.View attachment 717735

Thanks for your reply.
can you send a pic with airlock set?
And how do you do for cold crash, you keep co2 open at 10 bar during all the process?

 

[rycardo]

Hello Everyone,
what do you think about this solution for canonical fermenter?
It looks as a 3 in 1 product:
1) blow off function, replacing airlock;
2) Useful during cold crash and taking samples, avoiding O2 to enter;
3) Bottling without O2 and with pressure.

It looks like a good alternative for Pressure Transfer Kit, it looks a little bit more dynamic.

Looking for your thoughts.

 

[Cloud Surfer]

Thanks for your reply.
can you send a pic with airlock set?
And how do you do for cold crash, you keep co2 open at 10 bar during all the process?

I can cold crash with the CO2 attached just as in the photo, and set the pressure to under 1 psi on the gauge.

Don’t have a photo of the airlock in, and I’m not at the fermenter atm. But the black cap you see at the top of the setup unscrews, and I use the other black cap that comes with the kit that has a hole through it. The airlock fits neatly through the hole in that cap.