Grainfather!!
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First hour of boil down, 1/2 gallon boiled off. I'll check back at the 90 min mark.
Lazer Wolf Brewing
Well-Known Member
Shout out to Jason over at Adventure in Homebrewing. I emailed him a picture of the dent and he called me back an hour later telling me they would be shipping a new grain basket and a return shipping label. He even said I could try to pop out my dent in the old basket and brew while I waited for the new basket...said it wouldn't matter if I damaged it. Now that's customer service!
90 minutes in and 3/4 gallon boiled off.
Seems a little weak.
What is the general consensus on everyones boil off rate?
Edit: 2 hours down and not quite a gallon boiled off.
Seems a little weak.
What is the general consensus on everyones boil off rate?
Edit: 2 hours down and not quite a gallon boiled off.
Cutterman
Active Member
Are you accounting for cooling shrinkage? Are you measuring from water started with or from water level at start of boil? Mine boiled off about .6 per hour which is close to my gas system.
canehdianman
Well-Known Member
I don't understand why people are concerned the boil is weak.
The hop isomerize well before boiling and the wort is sterilized before boiling as well.. What else is there to be concerned about?
What am I missing?
I'm accounting the same way I do every brew. Wort (water in this case) collected before the boil and how much wort is boiled off during a 60 minute boil.
With my current electric system (homemade) I start with 13 gallons (wort collected). Once the boil starts I go 10 mins before the first (60 min) hop addition. At flameout I have about 11 gallons before chilling is started. So in 70 mins I boil off 2 gallons of wort with my PID set at 60% on a 5500 watt element on 30 amp plug.
I'm not expecting the same boil of course, but thought I'd seen and read where most boil rates were one gallon after an hour. However, that could have been on the UK model with the larger element.
Why do some people brew for 60 mins while others brew for 90? To reach a certain gravity, etc.
This is the reason I Want to go ahead with a brew session. I really want this to work. I like everything else about it. I think it is a very efficient system that will be easy to clean and maintain.
Yes. Once in Fedex tracking system they shipped right away.
So I'm expecting mine tomorrow but I've been all grain for 2yrs now and I will likely attempt to use gravity feed from a kettle to sparge. I will probably start with the pouring method until I see size and rig something up.
From what I've read for best performance-
1)- insulation. I will use reflectix, likely 2 or 3 wraps.
2)- dedicated 20a line. I just put in a GFCI on a run 5' from electric panel by disposal- 2' off floor, no ext cord needed. Only disposal, one outlet (coffee maker) and micro on this circuit.
3)- lid on, full power up to mash temp (more precisely strike temp I suppose).
4)- keep grain basket on after sparge while bringing up to boil. Alternatively I suppose lid on will work too.
5)- Grain crush- I will keep my slightly finer crush practice than GF suggestion.
6)- hops- I purchased a hop basket from Williams, I like the look of it and hope it works well too.
5)- RDWHAHB- maybe when I get this all dialed in I might just enjoy a brew during brew day??!
Looking forward to this!
Actually, BKF removes the oxide layer. The good news is the steel will re-oxidize itself over a short period of time. You didn't need to passivate this, but ultimately no harm done other than some probable discoloration at the transitions.
Regarding #4. After mash is complete, switch to boil and begin your sparge. Lift your basket to drain wort. It will take you 30 mins maybe more to sparge. It will take this amount.of time to bring to a boil...maybe longer.
I did my first brew yesterday and other than poor eff. And the filter getting clogged up with all the hops...I am a very satisfied customer. I may do a double crush on grains next time.
Will take a few batches to get things dialed to my new system.
I did a 90 min boil...and that was about my exp also.
Are you using GF recommended water volume calculator?
Heating strike water only. I did not exp any indication of being robbed of heating.
Temp only went up...not down or stagnant. Will try with it off next time but this tip came from another forum member who has a video out on YouTube withe other helpful tips...seems to have worked for me.
seabrew8
Well-Known Member
I'm confused: Are you saying theres a garbage disposal, one outlet and a microwave on the same circuit has you GF? Dedicated?
Can anyone tell me the length of the power cord for the GF? I have a 20a outlet just off the panel but its probably 5 feet above the floor. Rather not have to mess with it. I guess i could just lay the GF on something higher...but then comes the sparging and lifting the basket issue...
scallopking
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the cord is like 5' long
scallopking
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so I clocked the times, here's what I got below.
I had very, very poor efficiency yesterday. Kind of bummed. it's a little disappointing after 6-7 hours of brew time. I had the grain previously crushed and in the freeze for several days, could that be it? the LHBS had some issues the crusher when I was there, maybe that's it?
I've been doing 75 min mashes to help wit efficiency. I also did a 75 min boil.
from 60 degrees to 148 took 50 min
from 148 degrees to 208 took 1:10 min - stopped at 208 though I've gotten 209 on occasion (30 min of this was sparge)
no pump clogging - used 5.5oz hops in the boil.
two issues I have - wish the ramp up times were faster - guess I could use a boil stick like others. this would shave some time off.
but the other issue is cooling the wort - it doesn't cool fast enough and I'm thinking of alternatives. it's cold in Las Vegas right now so the hose water is pretty cold and I don't get why it won't cool quicker. It was late so I didn't clock the times, but when I cool from 208 to 170 for the hopstand it is quick to get down. but from 160 to 80 takes a long time. anything you guys do here?
I usually get 1g boil off.
I had very, very poor efficiency yesterday. Kind of bummed. it's a little disappointing after 6-7 hours of brew time. I had the grain previously crushed and in the freeze for several days, could that be it? the LHBS had some issues the crusher when I was there, maybe that's it?
I've been doing 75 min mashes to help wit efficiency. I also did a 75 min boil.
from 60 degrees to 148 took 50 min
from 148 degrees to 208 took 1:10 min - stopped at 208 though I've gotten 209 on occasion (30 min of this was sparge)
no pump clogging - used 5.5oz hops in the boil.
two issues I have - wish the ramp up times were faster - guess I could use a boil stick like others. this would shave some time off.
but the other issue is cooling the wort - it doesn't cool fast enough and I'm thinking of alternatives. it's cold in Las Vegas right now so the hose water is pretty cold and I don't get why it won't cool quicker. It was late so I didn't clock the times, but when I cool from 208 to 170 for the hopstand it is quick to get down. but from 160 to 80 takes a long time. anything you guys do here?
I usually get 1g boil off.
I guess not, I just added 5 gallons and then 2 more for a total of 7.
Your time to strike was similar to mine at 1.76º per minute but from there to the boil was only .85º per minute whereas I was getting about 1.11º/minute.
Did you adjust the red valve during the chilling period? you can raise and lower the temp of the wort coming out of the chiller by opening up or closing off some on the red handle. I've seen several folks get the wort to the temp they want (coming out of the chiller) and then move the hose to fill the fermenter.
This practice will drastically cut down on your chill time since you are not trying to chill the entire 5-6 gallons of wort at one time.
seabrew8
Well-Known Member
Do you know if anyone has just extended the power plug with the proper wire gage? Duh! i guess the warranty would be void.
Yes, I found a 20A line that feeds the micro (and hood I guess), the garbage disposal and an outlet, that's it. The panel is directly below the sink and feeds right to the disposal. I added a GFCI and the switch (for disposal only, outlet is not switched) back in to a 2 gang box. I will not run the micro (or disposal!) when brewing.
The GF cord I am told is 5' long, so I will now be about 1.5' from it, or less. Should be good to go. Its now 630pm here, still no delivery, due by end of day still according to FedEx. I'm due to leave in an hour for a dinner party. Damn, it better get here soon I hope, really wish to brew tomorrow.
Exactly my concern and why I added an outlet close enough to direct plug in the GF.
TBC
Well-Known Boozer!
Once I'm done sparging I place the lid on and cover the hole to help speed up the ramp time. Once it starts to boil I remove the lid.
blkandrust
Well-Known Member
When chilling the wort,are you guys running the cooled wort into fermenter after one pass,or are you recirculating it a couple of times?
DarkUncle
Well-Known Member
Do not recirc the wort from the chiller back into the kettle. Complete waste of time and will end up taking longer to cool the wort. After the boil ends, recirc the wort for about 5 to 10 minutes without turning on the cooling water. This sanitizes the inside copper tubing of the chiller. Once that is done turn the cooling water on while the wort out hose is still in the pot. Restrict the red valve a 1/4 of the way. Put your hand on the wort out hose. Once it starts feeling cool to the touch it's ready to be placed into the fermenter. Close the red valve. Place the wort out hose into the fermenter and then open the valve slowly. Again, do not open it fully. This accomplishes two things. It allows the wort to cool more efficiently and also prevents the pump filter from getting a compacted hops cake which could lead to a clog.
DarkUncle
Well-Known Member
I also do not use any form of hop filter. I just throw it all right into the kettle. And notice how clear this beer is....
View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1451443073.021610.jpg
View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1451443073.021610.jpg
scallopking
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scallopking
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. Awesome, now I want to brew aging and try that out. This is going to save me some time.
Michigan_Wolfman
Well-Known Member
Alright, this does it! I was originally intending to put together a BIAB system for all grain brewing, but now I'm leaning more towards the GrainFather after seeing all the post from people who are already using the system.
scallopking
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Nice! I did that at first then ran into clogs. Now I wonder if it was how I was running the chiller and cooling the wort full throttle like I was. What's the most amount of hops that you've used in this practice? Thanks.
DarkUncle
Well-Known Member
The most I've used was just shy of 3oz. I'm not particularly keen on IPA's so I don't anticipate using much more than that. [emoji6]
Do it! Do it! Do it! Do it!
Whoo Hoo!! GF arrived finally, right before leaving for dinner party, and not damaged this time! I will stop in am at Lowes for reflectix, never left house today while waiting for delivery, then brew. A simple smash I've had thoughts of for some time now. Then onto a Vanilla Stout. No plans for a test run with water. I will post times and how things went.
Lazer Wolf Brewing
Well-Known Member
Just make sure you run PBW through it as directed and then the fresh water rinse! Good luck with your first brew and take some pictures for us!
I have completed about 5-6 brews using the GF. Can't tell you exactly why----they just taste better than before. Personally, I can say that I have made some of my best brews with it. Over the years I've made somewhere around 50+ batches so I have something to compare it to. However, I will say that it doesn't save me any time on my brew day. It doesn't take any longer though.
This guy has some good videos about a lot of topics we've discussed here regarding the GF.
Here's one regarding hop blockage (or not blocking) with 8 ounces of pellet hops.
[ame="https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=GZYdocV_FF4"]https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=GZYdocV_FF4[/ame]
As Darkuncle mentioned, slowing the rate of your wort out line will help the hops to settle against the filter to form a "hop filter" without clogging.
Cutterman
Active Member
Quick 45 min of work and I now have a dedicated 20amp GFCI outlet next to my garage door. Only 20amp outlet I had before in garage was far back corner and was ran off kitchen reefer circuit. This didn't occur to me until this morning when I was going to brew that I would not be able to hook garden hose up to chiller because discharge lines wouldn't reach out of garage. I run well water pump from outside spicket for chiller water as city water is expensive for wort cooling. I ran about a six foot leg from breaker panel, so I'm curious if this will speed heating up as there will be no drop in volts/Amps with only six feet of 12/2 wire. Total cost was only 40 bucks for wire, Breaker and GFCI outlet.
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