Grainfather!!

[Clonefan94]

Is anyone having issues hitting final gravity? I’ve been brewing all grain for about 6 years with cooler mash tun and batch sparge. I was always within a point or 2 from fg on the couple hundred brews I did over that time, some high, some low, most, spot on. Since getting the grainfather in the spring, all 6 brews I’ve done on it are always 5 points high on gravity, it’s scary how consistently high I am. Now I haven’t tested my hydrometer lately, but with the care I take of it and only using it for FG, makes me think it couldn’t have changed.

I do notice a residual sweetness on recipes I have re-brewed with the GF that wasn’t there with my old system. I have triple checked mash temps with Three thermometers I know are spot on and everything is in line. I’ve used different yeasts, different batches of grain and different mash temps. I guess the only variable I haven’t looked into is mash ph, because over 6 years in the past, it was never an issue.

Anyways just wondering if anyone has any thoughts. It’s not the end of the world and I can adjust recipes going forward, just odd how consistently off this is since switching to the GF.

Update to this. I decided to change one variable on my last brew, I went with a 90 minute mash, instead of my typical 60 minutes. Mashed at 148 for 90 minutes. I kegged that beer last night and did a FG check and it was spot on where it should be at 1.009. So yeah, not sure if my mash in is dropping the temp too far and not coming up fast enough in the center of the mash or what. I will check that next time, but for now, I'll stick with the 90 minute mash as it seemed to have worked to cure my issue.

 

[kyt]

Lately I've been doing longer mashes too. Even though my temps are stable. Once I hit roughly 60 minutes or so, I'll start taking refractometer readings ever 10-15 minutes. I made a google sheet that calculates predicted conversion potential, I just keep mashing until the readings get to at least 90%+ conversion.
I'd rather use less grain and wait a little longer for good conversion, and the beer be dryer; instead of throwing extra malt at it, just to get the numbers higher faster, and end up with too much sweetness.

 

[pkgmsu2000]

Thinking about it, why do we have to remove the bottom perforated plate for cleaning the inner basket ?

check your seals, remove them from the plates and split the seal open across the entire diameter. absolutely disgusting! cant imagine what would build up inside there and grow if you never removed the plates and seals.

 

[pkgmsu2000]

Well folks, after 1 year of use and only 10 batches brewed, GF has decided it is time to replace my entire unit on their dime. We had a really HOT awful summer in Denver that basically cancelled brewing from June thru September.

The Good - outstanding customer service and prompt attention to all my issues. I cant say enough good things about how the service from GF.

The Bad - when you source Made In China, lots and lots of quality issues. Before arriving at this point, many parts replaced as part of troubleshooting, including replacement of pump+seals+filter, controller, top+bottom plates+seals, and a few other small parts I cant remember. Everything basically replaced but the boiler and heating element. The final straw turned out to be consistently getting stuck at 155F and 180F. I had to continually babysit the mash to keep the temp range where I wanted it to be, usually around 151F. The various temps would sit there for a long time before heating up again, but then element and controller decided they didnt want to talk to each other anymore, then no more heating up of any kind. We tested so many things, but at least confirmed that its not anything electrical in my home. Outlets and circuits were good, watts good, amps good, etc. It's unfortunately a quality issue, perhaps bad components coming out of China in batches.

I will keep you guys posted... I am extremely happy with my GF conical FV, with dual valve tap, controller, and cooling kit. I am looking into the glycol chiller too.

Questions in general:

1) Are you guys dumping yeast? If yes, what is an example of your dumping schedule after a couple of days?

2) What is a tried and true method of using the CFC to cool down to yeast pitch temps? I have read a lot of different ways that ya'll do it fast and with minimal water waste, from throttling the cold water out of faucet to throttling the pump (offsetting them) to bringing in an immersion secondary chiller... I've had bad luck with CFC compared to a plate chiller...

3) How in the heck do you remove and replace the clear hoses on the CFC? Mine are no longer clear. You would think there is a how-to video out there but I found nothing.

I'll hang up and listen TIA

 

[jaymosbeershack]

Well folks, after 1 year of use and only 10 batches brewed, GF has decided it is time to replace my entire unit on their dime. We has a really HOT awful summer in Denver that basically cancelled brewing from June thru September.

The Good - outstanding customer service and prompt attention to all my issues. I cant say enough good things about how the service from GF.

The Bad - when you source Made In China, lots and lots of quality issues. Before arriving at this point, many parts replaced as part of troubleshooting, including replacement of pump+seals+filter, controller, top+bottom plates+seals, and a few other small parts I cant remember. Everything basically replaced but the boiler and heating element. The final straw turned out to be consistently getting stuck at 155F and 180F. I had to continually babysit the mash to keep the temp range where I wanted it to be, usually around 151F. The various temps would sit there for a long time before heating up again, but then element and controller decided they didnt want to talk to each other anymore, then no more heating up of any kind. We tested so many things, but at least confirmed that its not anything electrical in my home. Outlets and circuits were good, watts good, amps good, etc. It's unfortunately a quality issue, perhaps bad components coming out of China in batches.

I will keep you guys posted... I am extremely happy with my GF conical FV, with dual valve tap, controller, and cooling kit. I am looking into the glycol chiller too.

Questions in general:

1) Are you guys dumping yeast? If yes, what is an example of your dumping schedule after a couple of days?

2) What is a tried and true method of using the CFC to cool down to yeast pitch temps? I have read a lot of different ways that ya'll do it fast and with minimal water waste, from throttling the cold water out of faucet to throttling the pump (offsetting them) to bringing in an immersion secondary chiller... I've had bad luck with CFC compared to a plate chiller...

3) How in the heck do you remove and replace the clear hoses on the CFC? Mine are no longer clear. You would think there is a how-to video out there but I found nothing.

I'll hang up and listen TIA

I had a similar issue with my unit getting "stuck" at 180. They replaced it in 3 days no questions asked.
I live in nc where summer tap water is around 78*. Cooling sucks. Fortunatly i can chill to 78 then let the fermentaion chiller take over. I do throttle the pump way down. Normally pitch about 2 hours after i brew and ive never had an issue(with kveik i can pitch right away)
As far as those lines go, i havent gotten there yet, but i may soon. I want to swap the treaded connectors for cam lock or quick connects.

 

[pkgmsu2000]

this place is pretty quiet, you would think there would be daily discussions about brewing.... where is everyone? are people still using the GF? are people moving on to another electric brewing system?

 

[jaymosbeershack]

this place is pretty quiet, you would think there would be daily discussions about brewing.... where is everyone? are people still using the GF? are people moving on to another electric brewing system?

Im using my GF as we speak. Just got done with the first attempt at a batch sparge in it. I pumped out the wort to a second vessel while adding the sparge water. Stired well, then recirqed for 15 minutes. Then Pulled up the basket and pumped the first runnings back into the GF. Preboil sample is chilling now, hoping to up extraction.

 

[skleice]

this place is pretty quiet, you would think there would be daily discussions about brewing.... where is everyone? are people still using the GF? are people moving on to another electric brewing system?

No news is good news?

I've been extremely pleased with my GF. My long step mashes are a breeze. Bluetooth is a great feature. Cleanup is simple. CFC works well for me. Heat times could be better, but I knew that going in.

 

[jaymosbeershack]

Batch sparge worked great. Ive been getting about 63% but this batch is a bit better than 72%. Will probably work even better when the grist isnt half wheat and oats.

 

[pkgmsu2000]

Batch sparge worked great. Ive been getting about 63% but this batch is a bit better than 72%. Will probably work even better when the grist isnt half wheat and oats.

I havent tried the batch sparge with GF yet, thanks for sharing your process

I've been extremely pleased with my GF. My long step mashes are a breeze. Bluetooth is a great feature. Cleanup is simple. CFC works well for me. Heat times could be better, but I knew that going in.

Can you share anything specific about how your CFC works well?

 

[skleice]

Can you share anything specific about how your CFC works well?

Nothing special. Just throttle back the flow. I live in New England, so our ground water isn't as bad as some of you. My fermentation chamber take it down further if necessary.

 

[cheesebach]

Batch sparge worked great. Ive been getting about 63% but this batch is a bit better than 72%. Will probably work even better when the grist isnt half wheat and oats.

What is your motivation behind wanting to batch sparge vs. the standard sparge that the GF is already set up for? I’m just curious, as I don’t own one but am looking at all my options for an electric single vessel setup.

 

[jaymosbeershack]

What is your motivation behind wanting to batch sparge vs. the standard sparge that the GF is already set up for? I’m just curious, as I don’t own one but am looking at all my options for an electric single vessel setup.

I was just looking for better efficiency. Sprage water doesn't grab much sugar when it runs through the grain basket.

 

[pkgmsu2000]

Nothing special. Just throttle back the flow. I live in New England, so our ground water isn't as bad as some of you. My fermentation chamber take it down further if necessary.

which flow do you throttle? water?

 

[skleice]

which flow do you throttle? water?

No, I close the (red) GF valve a bit to slow the wort speed, giving more contact time inside the chiller.

 

[anotherbrick]

No, I close the (red) GF valve a bit to slow the wort speed, giving more contact time inside the chiller.

Do you end up letting water flow at full rate, or do you throttle it at all. I've only done 4 batches so far on my GF since purchase, and I notice that I have needed to drop the fermenter into the ferm chamber to get the temps down to pitching temp for some hours. I've got the wort flow pretty low (but could drop it more).

I'm also moving from extract for like 10 years, and am struggling to figure out why I'm pretty consistently low on my OG numbers (both with 60 and 90 minutes boils) @151F. More experimentation needed obviously, but tips welcome.

I sparge with volumes from GF calculators and a small pitcher, usually around 160-170F or so.

 

[murphyslaw]

In the summer, my CFC can get it down to about 80 and I use the fermentation chamber after that. In the winter I have no trouble getting down to the mid-60s. I generally run the GF valve fully open and have the water running a bit harder than that.

 

[Jag75]

I have an immersion chiller I made and had previously used a pump to circulate ice water. I have only done 1 batch on my GF and I wasnt really impressed with the cfc. My next time I will put my immersion chiller in an ice chest and connect my pump to one end and then connect my cfc to the other which will give me freezing cold water running through it . Other then that I'm very happy with the GF.

 

[Minky]

Pre-cooling the entire batch before pumping it into the fermenter helps a lot, plus it helps to preserve the desired character of late addition hops. After recirculating the wort through the CFC for the last 5 minutes of the boil, turn off the heating element and start running cold water through the CFC. Continue recirculating the wort back into the GF until the entire batch is in the low 100's.

The instructions refer obliquely to this pre-cooling step when it says "Once the 'cold wort out' hose runs cold, switch the pump 'Off' and place it inside the clean and sterilized fermenter".

 

[jaymosbeershack]

Pre-cooling the entire batch before pumping it into the fermenter helps a lot, plus it helps to preserve the desired character of late addition hops. After recirculating the wort through the CFC for the last 5 minutes of the boil, turn off the heating element and start running cold water through the CFC. Continue recirculating the wort back into the GF until the entire batch is in the low 100's.

The instructions refer obliquely to this pre-cooling step when it says "Once the 'cold wort out' hose runs cold, switch the pump 'Off' and place it inside the clean and sterilized fermenter".

I start racking to the fermenter right around 155*. Durring the winter it puts my wort at 70* going into the fermenter, 78* in the summer.

 

[pkgmsu2000]

Interesting that others also have a so-so opinion of the CFC. My beef isn’t necessarily how long it takes to cool the boiled wort to pitching temp, it’s how much water is wasted. I just don’t find the CFC to be anywhere near as efficient as the plate chillers Ive used before. My last brew day, I captured 17 gallons of water in plastic milk jugs and 5 gallons more in a bucket. That is a total of 23 gallons I was able to save, but I would easily guess that 10 gallons were wasted down the drain. The best I could do was 81 deg in the conical Fermenter.

At this point, I guess I am going to have to rig up a camping cooler large enough to fit the CFC. Fill it up with ice, submerge the CFC, figure out all the extra length plumbing I need, etc, and hope that it will cool faster with less water wasted. What a pain in the @ss.

 

[pkgmsu2000]

So this hydrometer sample isn’t too bad, but it was only 3oz of hop pellets. I did a solid whirlpool for 15 minutes with power drill and the GF brand whirlpool attachment. My normal batches are 5-6 oz of hop pellets, and I also use the GF branded hop basket. This is still way too many hops getting past the basket and the pump filter. But some of my other hydrometer samples have had 2 plus inches of hops build up at the bottom.

 

[jaymosbeershack]

View attachment 593735

So this hydrometer sample isn’t too bad, but it was only 3oz of hop pellets. I did a solid whirlpool for 15 minutes with power drill and the GF brand whirlpool attachment. My normal batches are 5-6 oz of hop pellets, and I also use the GF branded hop basket. This is still way too many hops getting past the basket and the pump filter. But some of my other hydrometer samples have had 2 plus inches of hops build up at the bottom.

Thats odd, do you recuiqulate after the whirlpool, or go right to the fermenter? I throw my hops right in with no basket and after 5 minutes of recirq, i get very clear beer out of the GF

 

[pkgmsu2000]

Thats odd, do you recuiqulate after the whirlpool, or go right to the fermenter? I throw my hops right in with no basket and after 5 minutes of recirq, i get very clear beer out of the GF

I’ve only brewed 10 batches on GF and would appreciate any tips I can get. My process is as follows:

- 10 minutes left in boil sterilize CFC
- end of 60 minutes turn off heating element
- pitch flameout hops, let them stand about 5 minutes, turn on cold water from tap, but throttle the cold water
- whirlpool with GF paddle and power drill for 15 minutes, CFC is still hooked up and should be chilling wort

To answer your question, I never unhook the CFC and continue recirculating wort all the way up to the time of transfer into Conical Fermenter

 

[jaymosbeershack]

I’ve only brewed 10 batches on GF and would appreciate any tips I can get. My process is as follows:

- 10 minutes left in boil sterilize CFC
- end of 60 minutes turn off heating element
- pitch flameout hops, let them stand about 5 minutes, turn on cold water from tap, but throttle the cold water
- whirlpool with GF paddle and power drill for 15 minutes, CFC is still hooked up and should be chilling wort

To answer your question, I never unhook the CFC and continue recirculating wort all the way up to the time of transfer into Conical Fermenter

After i run my whirlpool paddle(with drill) i always recirq into the grainfather for 5-10 minutes to let everything clear up. The hops will actually form a filter bed on the pump screen and you will leave behind all that trub

 

[jaymosbeershack]

After i run my whirlpool paddle(with drill) i always recirq into the grainfather for 5-10 minutes to let everything clear up. The hops will actually form a filter bed on the pump screen and you will leave behind all that trub

I recirq through the chiller, i dont hook the arm back up

 

[pkgmsu2000]

I recirq through the chiller, i dont hook the arm back up

Correct, same as I do. Once the CFC is connected, it will remain connected until all is racked to Conical Fermenter.

I agree about the formation of hop cake in theory, but have my doubts about how well the pump filter actually works. I’m a hop pellets guy because pellets fit my budget of Brewing ingredients over hop leaves, cones, etc.

 

[Pkrd]

I boil a small amount of water before brewing, dump that through the CFC to sterilise. One less thing to worry about during the boil.

 

[pkgmsu2000]

I boil a small amount of water before brewing, dump that through the CFC to sterilise. One less thing to worry about during the boil.

i hope you do that for a solid 10 minutes with boiling water...

 

[STMF]

i hope you do that for a solid 10 minutes with boiling water...

With boiling water you need much less than 10 minutes to sanitize it.
It wouldnt be sterilized even if you did it for an hour.

 

[cheesebach]

With boiling water you need much less than 10 minutes to sanitize it.
It wouldnt be sterilized even if you did it for an hour.

Also keep in mind that the temperature will drop throughout the length of the chiller so it may take more water than you think before the output end of the chiller sees anything near-boiling temperatures.

 

[pkgmsu2000]

Also keep in mind that the temperature will drop throughout the length of the chiller so it may take more water than you think before the output end of the chiller sees anything near-boiling temperatures.

by pumping boiling wort through the CFC as opposed to pumping water, i think you are getting additional benefits on brew day other than just sterilization or sanitization.

 

[cpham574]

Im using my GF as we speak. Just got done with the first attempt at a batch sparge in it. I pumped out the wort to a second vessel while adding the sparge water. Stired well, then recirqed for 15 minutes. Then Pulled up the basket and pumped the first runnings back into the GF. Preboil sample is chilling now, hoping to up extraction.

Interesting! Looks like it worked out well for you. What’s your grain crush at? Also, do you wait until the wort is completely pumped out to the second vessel before adding the sparge water? Or do you do it at the same time?

 

[jaymosbeershack]

Interesting! Looks like it worked out well for you. What’s your grain crush at? Also, do you wait until the wort is completely pumped out to the second vessel before adding the sparge water? Or do you do it at the same time?

I condition my barley and crush to .028. And i added the sparge water as i was draining the first runnings. Used a clean keg to hold the wort and pushed it back in with co2.

 

[Pkrd]

by pumping boiling wort through the CFC as opposed to pumping water, i think you are getting additional benefits on brew day other than just sterilization or sanitization.

Like what? I need to run water through it initially anyway to clean it.

 

[pkgmsu2000]

Like what? I need to run water through it initially anyway to clean it.

Water will flush out residual particles left behind, but water doesn’t clean

 

[jaymosbeershack]

Got over 75% efficiency on my amber ale today with my new sparge method. Over shot my OG by 4 points.

 

[Frilock]

Has anyone had an issue with a small leak somewhere around the pump? If so where did you find it to be leaking? I've noticed that mine is dripping out of the bottom of the pump somewhere but I can't seem to figure out from where exactly.

 

[skleice]

Has anyone had an issue with a small leak somewhere around the pump? If so where did you find it to be leaking? I've noticed that mine is dripping out of the bottom of the pump somewhere but I can't seem to figure out from where exactly.

Just make sure the connections are tight below the red valve. If you still have a problem, make sure you didn't lose a gasket from inside. Look at the diagram that came with the unit. I had a minor leak before I tightened everything up.

 

[jaymosbeershack]

Has anyone had an issue with a small leak somewhere around the pump? If so where did you find it to be leaking? I've noticed that mine is dripping out of the bottom of the pump somewhere but I can't seem to figure out from where exactly.

I took my pump apart once and didnt get the screws on the impeller housing all the way tight. It leaked a bit till i snugged em up. Unless youve taken it apart i cant imagine this is your issue, but it may be worth looking at.