Grainfather!!

[BrewMeister49]

Yeah. Grainfather is easier. Especially the lugging boil kettle part!

I use Beersmith2 for recipes but get all my water volumes from the grainfather website.

 

[BrewMeister49]

Forgot to mention, I was hitting 214* today on the boil!

 

[DarkUncle]

Do you guys base your water calculations off the 6 gallon formula they show in the manual or did you adjust down to a 5.5 gallon batch? Would hate to have a tad too much in the fermenter and end up dumping it because it wouldn't all fit in the keg.

 

[jbb3]

Forgot to mention, I was hitting 214* today on the boil!

You need to re-calibrate you temperature gauge. Liquid water begins to turn to gas at boiling point and thus will not go above 212* (maybe fractionally above depending on the gravity).

Find the elevation above sea level for your location then plug your elevation into this calculator. Re-calibrate your temp to that value.

 

[Jkane101]

Do you guys base your water calculations off the 6 gallon formula they show in the manual or did you adjust down to a 5.5 gallon batch? Would hate to have a tad too much in the fermenter and end up dumping it because it wouldn't all fit in the keg.

I scale most of my recipes to 6 gallons

 

[BrewMeister49]

I scale mine to 5.5. Then I sparge to about 6.5 gallons in the kettle.
Not too worried about boil temp. I think it's pretty on. I'm right at sea level and have checked it with a thermometer when I first got the GF.

 

[DarkUncle]

I noticed the Grainfather app was about a half gallon off from the online calculator on the sparge step. Mash volume was right on between the two.

 

[BrewMeister49]

I don't use the app. It really seems like way too much work than just using Beersmith for recipe/steps and the grainfather website for water volumes.

 

[pagrider]

use the app it works great. i didnt like it at first but my numbers have been right on

 

[BrewMeister49]

It just seems so redundant Lol adding your recipe into Beersmith, getting your water volumes from gf.com then re entering them into the app.

 

[mcmellow]

I use the back of my cigarbox and a pencil

 

[Semo]

Forgot to mention, I was hitting 214* today on the boil!

I read somewhere in my research that the controller temp reading is designed to be most accurate at mashing temps. Can't remember what document I read this but they did state it wasn't nearly as accurate at boil temp. This is if you were using the controller reading to get temp.

 

[BrewMeister49]

Yup! It was temp readout on the controller. It didn't hit it for long, just spike to it then back down to 212

 

[pagrider]

The app gives you the water volumes. I create my recipes in Beersmith and then use the app on brew day. Been hitting my numbers consistently.

 

[Knkbrand]

my grainfather is on the fedex truck for delivery today!!! should I call in sick from work?

 

[DarkUncle]

I had my first brew last night. Everything was smooth sailing. Except one thing. I blew past my gravity numbers by over 10 points! Crazy efficiency on this thing. I'm definitely going to have to up my efficiency numbers in Beersmith. But I guess I'd rather be too high than too low.

I think this was my most relaxed brew session ever. Ate dinner and watched TV while brewing. Yeah I can get used to this alright. [emoji1]

 

[BrewMeister49]

Yup! What did you get for eff? I definitely dig the GF! i think mine was 76% eff on my last. That said, pretty sure it was higher due to volume into the fermenter. 76% for 5 gallons and 82% for 5.5 which I believe is what went in. (The lid was on, on the brew bucket so I couldn't see)

 

[jdubdvdt]

my grainfather is on the fedex truck for delivery today!!! should I call in sick from work?

yes45

 

[elproducto]

Really close to biting the bullet on one of these now that they are in Canada. My big worry is the proprietary parts, like the pump. Not sure how this will hold up to years of brewing, and what if it fails?

 

[Semo]

Really close to biting the bullet on one of these now that they are in Canada. My big worry is the proprietary parts, like the pump. Not sure how this will hold up to years of brewing, and what if it fails?

Yes..I am very close myself but this is a huge concern. I've also read somewhere that it may not be possible to replace the heating element if it goes out. Anyone able to confirm these parts aren't serviceable?

 

[BrewMeister49]

From my understanding the pump is replaceable. The heating element is not. But with the one year warranty you will be fine. There are lots of people putting this through its paces. Far more than one person can brew and have had no issues. One group specifically hit what the average Brewer does in 10 years in nearly one year. And they said they were not gentle with it at all. No issues.

 

[DarkUncle]

The pump is replaceable along with everything else except the heating element. If the heating element were to go out the boiler would need to be replaced as a whole. I got that information straight from the folks at Grainfather. It's a sealed element. I'm guessing it's integrated into the bottom of the boiler.

The unit has a 1 year warranty and they said if the element somehow went out they would work with the customer on getting it up and running even after the standard year warranty is up. They want to keep their customers brewing.

That was good enough for me. It's a personal decision only you can make. The simplicity of this system and ease of use cannot be beat in my opinion. It's really a joy to use.

 

[Semo]

The simplicity of this system and ease of use cannot be beat in my opinion. It's really a joy to use.

This is what I love about the system...well along with the price.

 

[pagrider]

+1

 

[TBC]

Did anyone buy the sparge water heater from grainfather? I've been sitting on the fence and just got an email for 10% off today only. I'm thinking about buying both and also the coat. Also how is everyone sparging with this. are you putting a sparge arm on top of the grain basket or just pouring the sparge water in.

 

[BrewMeister49]

I just pour it in slow. Then it hits a low water level and then keep it at that level until I hit boil volume.

 

[chezhed]

I set up a pot with a valve and a hose that I trickle the heated sparge water onto the plate for about 30 minutes while I am bringing up to boil also. Interestingly enough, I used the same method with my cooler mash tun....a sparge plate I made out of plexiglass that sat on the lip of my cooler and had about 100 1/16"" holes in it. So I know the flow rate setting.

 

[TBC]

Thanks for the replies. I bought the grainfather, coat and sparge water heater last night for under a 1000 and free shipping. Should have it in 5-10 days. Also there was an earlier post about hop screens from arbor fab. They have a 10% discount code in the current issue of BYO that is good until Dec 31st. The code is BYO10. I guess I need to order a hop screen now.

 

[BrewMeister49]

Congrats! I just use muslin hop bags. .50 cents from my LHBS. Not near as cool but does the trick Lol figure I can get a lot of beer for 100$!

 

[DarkUncle]

My first and only brew so far I just threw the pellets right in with no clogging issues at all. I made a cream ale with flaked corn and rice. This recipe made for a pretty slow sparge because of the gelatinous mash but no clogging issues.

After the boil and draining I could not believe the amount of crud covering the filter. I'm talking handfuls. I was amazed I could drain completely with zero clogging. I'm quite happy.