Grainfather!!

[Beeru]

If you press "set" at the sparge stage it goes directly to the boil. I always do this because the time it takes to get to a boil is usually a little longer than the sparge takes (with the 120 version).

 

[murphyslaw]

If you press "set" at the sparge stage it goes directly to the boil. I always do this because the time it takes to get to a boil is usually a little longer than the sparge takes (with the 120 version).

Yeah, I think beeru is correct here.

 

[jack13]

Yes, and I ordinarily do hit 'set' to begin heating for the boil early. In this case, I held off because as soon as I pulled up the basket I knew it was going to be a very slow drain and subsequent sparge, and it was, because the same thing had happened the previous brewday, and I had to turn off the heat to stop it from boiling while the basket was still on top. So, on the brewday in question, when i felt the sparge was close to being done, I hit 'set' to begin heating for boil, and there it was already at 189!

I brewed since then, but didn't test to see if it happened again. Reason is that I added in some rice hulls to avoid the problem, and I could tell right away that it was working like a charm, so I just hit 'set' right away to start heating. Also, I was doing a half batch, and when I do half batches I always do full volume/no sparge.

I'll chalk it up to a fluke, I suppose!

 

[Pkrd]

Hmmm, I just doughed in my IPA with full water volume.... This should be interesting...

 

[Pkrd]

Adjusting hops for the efficiency hit... should be a nice Pale ale.

 

[murphyslaw]

What gets me is that I think the heater turns off when you reach dough in temp. So it'll heat, then beep to tell you to dough in and stop heating until you hit the button to start the mash timer.

Problem is, if I'm not ready and have to delay dough in, by the time I'm done, I'm a good 5 degrees cooler than intended.

 

[Jag75]

What gets me is that I think the heater turns off when you reach dough in temp. So it'll heat, then beep to tell you to dough in and stop heating until you hit the button to start the mash timer.

Problem is, if I'm not ready and have to delay dough in, by the time I'm done, I'm a good 5 degrees cooler than intended.

Stay ready so you dont have to get ready .....just kidding

 

[Pkrd]

Set it manually to heat and don’t start your recipe until you’re ready to dough in.

 

[RL hops]

Any suggestions using rice flakes. I had a stuck sparge with mine. 2lbs of rice hulls. Had such a bad scorching the relay tripped. Ended up dumping batch

 

[Jag75]

Any suggestions using rice flakes. I had a stuck sparge with mine. 2lbs of rice hulls. Had such a bad scorching the relay tripped. Ended up dumping batch

You used 2#'s of rice hulls?
Was this in a 5 gallon batch?

 

[TNJake]

I'm pretty new to all grain brewing and I have only done 2 batches on my Grainfather. First one was easy and I perfectly hit intended SG. Second brew was a higher SG saison and I had a few issues along the way. I mashed it low for 90 min but I never had great flow through the grain bed but it didn't stick either.
This brings me to my first question. What are the drawbacks of having a longer mash? Can I just increase the time a bit if my grain crush is a little coarse?

I also finished with a greater volume than intended. Anyone had issues with this or are there things I should look out for? I kinda feel like the water volume for mash was a bit large as calculated from the app.

 

[pullapint]

What are the drawbacks of having a longer mash?

Brew day takes longer. ;P. I use mash/boil/ferm times as guidelines. Mash is complete when conversion is complete. A simple iodine test will show that.

I also finished with a greater volume than intended.

You can definitely boil longer if you need to get your volume down but it'll raise OG.

 

[TNJake]

Brew day takes longer. ;P. I use mash/boil/ferm times as guidelines. Mash is complete when conversion is complete. A simple iodine test will show that.

You can definitely boil longer if you need to get your volume down but it'll raise OG.

fair enough, I already had a 90 min boil scheduled in the app so I really didn't want to go any longer. Even with the volume a bit high, I still hit my target OG so my efficiency must have been a bit better than I accounted for as well.

I'm curious as to what efficiencies I should expect. Yes, I know there are numerous factors here but both of these batches have had better than projected efficiencies with very different methods.

 

[pullapint]

fair enough, I already had a 90 min boil scheduled in the app so I really didn't want to go any longer. Even with the volume a bit high, I still hit my target OG so my efficiency must have been a bit better than I accounted for as well. I'm curious as to what efficiencies I should expect. Yes, I know there are numerous factors here but both of these batches have had better than projected efficiencies with very different methods.

I have the US version. I brew indoors with the jacket and a 1000w heat stick and I'll be high with OG occasionally. I chalk it up to gremlins. I've heard of people, on here I think, getting 80%-90% efficiency.
Sorry, I missed the part about you already doing a 90m mash. Grain crush will definitely affect efficiency. A course crush will have less efficiency, but the low mash temps/longer mash are helping with more sugars being available. Which is probably why you're still hitting your numbers.

 

[RL hops]

You used 2#'s of rice hulls?
Was this in a 5 gallon batch?

5 gal yes and yes 2 lbs. I think grain was milled to fine

 

[Jag75]

5 gal yes and yes 2 lbs. I think grain was milled to fine

I dont know if that's why you had the scorch and stuck sparge. I was told 1lb of rice hulls per 5 gallon batch . So that's what I've done and haven't had an issue yet. Maybe your crush was too fine. How was your mash ?

 

[RL hops]

I dont know if that's why you had the scorch and stuck sparge. I was told 1lb of rice hulls per 5 gallon batch . So that's what I've done and haven't had an issue yet. Maybe your crush was too fine. How was your mash ?

I agree I think it was the mash also it was thick and gloomy like papier-mâché LOL so will definitely try to get a coarser grind next time

 

[singybrue]

I agree I think it was the mash also it was thick and gloomy like papier-mâché LOL so will definitely try to get a coarser grind next time

That amount of rice hulls probably absorbed a ton of the mash liquor. 2# is a crazy amount! I usually use about a .5#(I don't measure, just throw in a few handfulls), even in wheat beers without a problem.
Try using less rice hulls, or if you want to stick with that amount, presoak them so they don't absorb so much mash liquor.

 

[elgee]

Anyone know if you can splice in a new outlet end (the piece that plugs into the wall)? I broke mine today. The ground pin broke off. Not sure if it’s a hazard to clip off the end plug and wire in a new one from Home Depot?

 

[Jag75]

That's just a ground . I've plugged stuff in with that piece removed and it worked fine. I'm not an electrician so I dont know if it's safe or not , but I've done it . I've also seen people clip them off because the outlet didnt have that prong pattern.

 

[RedlegEd]

Hi. Sure, it’s an easy fix. Just make sure to get a heavy duty 3 pole plug rated for 20 amps such as this: https://www.homedepot.com/p/Legrand...-125-Volt-Straight-Plug-PS5366XCCV4/100189052. Cut the old plug off, carefully strip the outer case an conductors to length, match up the color insulators to the plug black (line) to the gold screwpost, white (neutral) to the silver, and green (ground) to green. Do your work neatly and Bob’s your uncle! Hope this helps. Ed

 

[Pkrd]

That's just a ground . I've plugged stuff in with that piece removed and it worked fine.

Worst that can happen is the element shorts to the metal casing and you electrocute and kill yourself. Hopefully this happens near the end of the boil so they can still drink the beer at your funeral.

There are plenty of cases of melted controllers so definitely you should have a ground there.

 

[Jag75]

Worst that can happen is the element shorts to the metal casing and you electrocute and kill yourself. Hopefully this happens near the end of the boil so they can still drink the beer at your funeral.

There are plenty of cases of melted controllers so definitely you should have a ground there.

Ok so see I'm not an electrician lol. So your saying its unsafe to do this . Guess that was the last time I will do that .

 

[shortyz]

The plug on the machine is garbage, including the receptacle. Burned mine up after like 150 brews. I posted instructions on previous pages.

 

[elgee]

I just picked up a heavy duty use plug, probably overkill, but at least it’s stronger than the one I broke.

 

[jack13]

Man, I am stumped:

I did about 15 batches on the GF with no problem, and now for the last few in a row I've got stuck sparges. I was able to find some reason for some, such as the use of wheat or corn (even though on the latter I used rice hulls).

Here's today's specs.

3lb munich
2lb 2 row
0.5 lb crystal 20
+ 3 handfulls of rice hulls

4.75 gal strike (full volume--doing half batch)

mashed at 150, then mashed out at 167 for 10 minutes

Pulled up grain pipe, wort barely trickling into kettle. Will have to either wait forever or go in there (like last time) with my spoon.

I can't figure out what's suddenly changed. The most obvious would be that the screen has gunked up, but I of course clean that thoroughly after each brew.

Any ideas???

 

[Jag75]

Maybe you have channeling of the grain. When I sparge I pull the basket up and push the top screen down a bit to compact the grain a little bit . It takes a while to sparge but the water flows evenly through to the kettle.

 

[jack13]

Maybe you have channeling of the grain. When I sparge I pull the basket up and push the top screen down a bit to compact the grain a little bit . It takes a while to sparge but the water flows evenly through to the kettle.

Wouldn't channeling make the wort flow more quickly through the bed? After watching the level barely move after 20 minutes, I ended up (last time, and now today) breaking up the bed a little, and scraping the spoon a bit on the screen, essentially causing channeling to occur, that is, wort to flow.

 

[elgee]

I had too fine of a crush on a few batches and once I opened up the gap on the mill it helped. Also, could be the water to grain ratio perhaps? If too thick of a mash, maybe that would contribute? When I add rice hulls, I do add a little more water just to be safe.

 

[Jag75]

Wouldn't channeling make the wort flow more quickly through the bed? After watching the level barely move after 20 minutes, I ended up (last time, and now today) breaking up the bed a little, and scraping the spoon a bit on the screen, essentially causing channeling to occur, that is, wort to flow.

Maybe it's too compacted . Or your grain has been milled too fine. I dont know off the top of my head but it takes me a while to sparge

 

[jack13]

I haven't touched the gap on my grain mill in a very long time. Always use 0.025", the finest it can go.

Nevertheless, I could try widening it a little for next time. The grain bed does feel very compacted when I go in there with the spoon.

 

[WBB]

Sparging for me takes like 30 minutes on average.

 

[singybrue]

I haven't touched the gap on my grain mill in a very long time. Always use 0.025", the finest it can go.

Nevertheless, I could try widening it a little for next time. The grain bed does feel very compacted when I go in there with the spoon.

The finer crush can definately lead to compaction in a recirculating system. Also, things can come out of adjustment. Your mill could have tightened up more.
I remove the top screen and stir about 1/2 way through the mash. This helps with efficiency and loosens up the bed, with enough time left in the mash to reset the grain bed and clear up the wort.
I also control my recirc flow pretty tightly. I start out by barely opening the valve, then start opening the valve slowly until the level is just below the overflow and hold it there.
Or you can just be sure to throw a couple handfuls of rice hulls in each batch.

 

[cpham574]

Do you guys think it’s possible that too fine of a crush could lead to efficiency issues?

Currently my mill is at 0.032 and I’m having issues circulating throughout the mash. It seems like in order to not flood the overflow pipe, I have to barely open the valve. It’s open so little that it actually stops flowing after awhile. Then I have to open it again and then throttle it. Then of course the flow stops again.

I’m thinking maybe I have to increase my crush and also remove the ss screen I have over the bottom plate

 

[thehaze]

If you crush way too fine and / or use Wheat/Rye malt, the wort should still circulate fine through the grain bed. The sparge will be the problem. You can always use oat/rice husks to alleviate any problems. I also found out that when you have a grainbill that will likely cause a slower sparge, I would add less strike water, to get a proper recirculation, otherwise the malt pipe would be flooded.

 

[cpham574]

If you crush way too fine and / or use Wheat/Rye malt, the wort should still circulate fine through the grain bed. The sparge will be the problem. You can always use oat/rice husks to alleviate any problems. I also found out that when you have a grainbill that will likely cause a slower sparge, I would add less strike water, to get a proper recirculation, otherwise the malt pipe would be flooded.

I have wheat and oats and rice hulls in the recipe. Sparge is slow but usually never a problem. Maybe I need to reduce grain to water ratio. I currently have it set to 1.70qts/lb. This was fine when I brewed my Belgian blonde (got 85% efficiency) but my NEIPAs are always in the 65% range

 

[elgee]

You should get a good efficiency with a fine crush, at least I get a better efficiency when I go with a fine crush. Whenever I have more than 3 lbs of wheat I add a bunch of rice hulls and have no issues. I usually go with at least 1.5 lbs/qt of water. If when you are done doughing in and it is really thick, maybe add a little more water, but it should thin out over and hour. I also fly sparge using an elevated bottling bucket with the hose run into the top of the GF and let it run at a steady pace so I don’t have to babysit the sparge using a big cup and pour every so often... mainly because I’m lazy, but these methods always get me at least 75-80% efficiency.

 

[cpham574]

You should get a good efficiency with a fine crush, at least I get a better efficiency when I go with a fine crush. Whenever I have more than 3 lbs of wheat I add a bunch of rice hulls and have no issues. I usually go with at least 1.5 lbs/qt of water. If when you are done doughing in and it is really thick, maybe add a little more water, but it should thin out over and hour. I also fly sparge using an elevated bottling bucket with the hose run into the top of the GF and let it run at a steady pace so I don’t have to babysit the sparge using a big cup and pour every so often... mainly because I’m lazy, but these methods always get me at least 75-80% efficiency.

How much of the rice hulls are you adding? I’ve been doing 4oz. Might have to try 8oz next time. Also, how fast is your recirc during the mash? I have to keep my valve barely open, otherwise it will overflow. Do you have a ss screen on top of the bottom plate as well? I’ve been using the screen since my second batch ever with the GF since the first batch had a ton of grains make their way into the wort.

I’m also wondering if the cause of my temperature deviations are a result of a slow recirculation. When I set my mash temp to let’s say 155, the temp at the top of the grain bed is usually 6-8* cooler.

 

[elgee]

I use 4-8 oz depends on the amount of wheat/oats. I have the recirc at full blast, never have an issue and use top and bottom plates every time. You can try the kitchen sink screen thing that people put on top of the overflow pipe to eliminate grain sneaking in.

 

[cpham574]

I use 4-8 oz depends on the amount of wheat/oats. I have the recirc at full blast, never have an issue and use top and bottom plates every time. You can try the kitchen sink screen thing that people put on top of the overflow pipe to eliminate grain sneaking in.

Ok cool, thanks! So you don’t have an additional screen over the bottom plate? I can’t imagine having the recirc on full blast lol. It overflows already with the valve barely open. I’m thinking my ss screen on the bottom is restricting the flow.

What’s your mill gap set to? Next batch I’m going to increase rice hulls, remove ss screen, and increase gap setting. Let’s see if it helps with the recirc and efficiency.