Grainfather!!

[AkBrew907]

Correct..By putting it to 1 means 1 degree + or - of the set temp..I was attempting to find the link to the youtube vid I watched that showed how to do it..
Going from cryptic notes I took to set mine up :

Hold down both the up and down arrows at the same time until it says FAC1, then use the up arrow to set 231(password), then press set..Use up arrow to go to F04, up arrow to 221 - this sets the highest allowed 'SET' temperature, then press 'SET'..Up arrow to F05, down arrow to 1 then press 'SET' - temp variance..Then UP arrow to F08 and put to 'HOT', press set...Then let it sit and reset- you will know when it does as it will flash 3 dashes '---' on the display..And you're set up..

Correct..By putting it to 1 means 1 degree + or - of the set temp..I was attempting to find the link to the youtube vid I watched that showed how to do it..
Going from cryptic notes I took to set mine up :

Hold down both the up and down arrows at the same time until it says FAC1, then use the up arrow to set 231(password), then press set..Use up arrow to go to F04, up arrow to 221 - this sets the highest allowed 'SET' temperature, then press 'SET'..Up arrow to F05, down arrow to 1 then press 'SET' - temp variance..Then UP arrow to F08 and put to 'HOT', press set...Then let it sit and reset- you will know when it does as it will flash 3 dashes '---' on the display..And you're set up..

I believe this is the link you're referring to:

http://youtu.be/NTIxjCD07vU

[/http://youtu.be/NTIxjCD07vU

Awesome!! Thanks!

 

[Pantherjon]

Correct..By putting it to 1 means 1 degree + or - of the set temp..I was attempting to find the link to the youtube vid I watched that showed how to do it..
Going from cryptic notes I took to set mine up :

Hold down both the up and down arrows at the same time until it says FAC1, then use the up arrow to set 231(password), then press set..Use up arrow to go to F04, up arrow to 221 - this sets the highest allowed 'SET' temperature, then press 'SET'..Up arrow to F05, down arrow to 1 then press 'SET' - temp variance..Then UP arrow to F08 and put to 'HOT', press set...Then let it sit and reset- you will know when it does as it will flash 3 dashes '---' on the display..And you're set up..

I believe this is the link you're referring to:

http://youtu.be/NTIxjCD07vU

[/http://youtu.be/NTIxjCD07vU

Yep! That's the one! Thanks!

 

[kennya]

Wow, after a couple weeks of reading here and there, I have finally gotten through all 163 pages of this thread!

I saw this thread in its infancy and started looking at the GF as an option for when I decided to go all grain. Ive been extract brewing for a couple of years now and really want to make the jump. About a month or two ago, my favorite home brew store down in Texas, Stubby's Texas Brewing Inc., was going to demo the GF one Saturday. I told my wife, hey lets grab our friends and go spend an evening in Denton and catch this demo at the beer store in ft. worth. So glad we did! The 4 of us were the only ones there for the demo so I got to ask a lot of questions and do a lot of the brewing work. The employee that was running the demo made a cream ale with vanilla bean additions later in the fermentation process. He did such a good job that my wife said after we get back from vacation in June, I can start looking around and get one ordered! I have been reading and watching every video I can find ever since. I had thought I would skip the jacket and sparge heater, but I think i am going to go ahead and get them. I may look at the coffee boilers that I have seen mentioned, might be a cheaper route, we'll see. I always brew inside, but maybe this fall when it is cooler out, I might go to the garage for a few brew sessions.

I'm a big wheat beer guy and so are my friends, so I want to perfect some sort of wheat beer. I am in love with a beer out of Mustang Brewery in Oklahoma City called Wa****a Wheat and I want to do something close to that. From everything I have read, it is easy to replicate your recipes with the GF, so I am hoping I can accomplish this.

Ill be sure to post more in this thread once I am up and running. CANNOT WAIT!!!!

edit- not sure why it moderated the beer name... Sorry about that.

 

[scallopking]

Right on! Welcome I brew on my GF almost every weekend so if you have any questions let us know. I have the graincoat, had the reflectix before but this looks way better and easier to remove and clean. I'd get the jacket. I also have the GF sparge water heater which I want to put a vavle on but so much nicer not having to use propane to heat sparge water. I brew indoors so I have to heat sparge water outside or have on my stove which is too far. can't wait to see your wheat recipe and how it came out. Ever in the need for an IPA recipe let me know.

 

[Pantherjon]

Silly question for y'all..I am not sure this is what caused all the grain to escape and plug my filter when I brewed for the first time on my GF or not..BUT, on the Grainfather website it shows what's pictured as the TOP plate

I used it as the bottom plate as it has those 'legs' to keep the basket off the filter assembly...Does anyone else do that, or do you use it properly per the website as the top plate?? Just curious...

 

[singybrue]

Silly question for y'all..I am not sure this is what caused all the grain to escape and plug my filter when I brewed for the first time on my GF or not..BUT, on the Grainfather website it shows what's pictured as the TOP plate

I used it as the bottom plate as it has those 'legs' to keep the basket off the filter assembly...Does anyone else do that, or do you use it properly per the website as the top plate?? Just curious...

I use mine as designed by the mfg-as a top plate

 

[Pantherjon]

I use mine as designed by the mfg-as a top plate

With the 'legs' up or down? I will try it that way on my next brew, and hope the seal doesn't come dislodged and allow a **** ton of grain escape into the wort...

 

[Lazer Wolf Brewing]

With the 'legs' up or down? I will try it that way on my next brew, and hope the seal doesn't come dislodged and allow a **** ton of grain escape into the wort...

I would recommend not trying that.

 

[treacheroustexan]

I would recommend not trying that.

I second this.

 

[AkBrew907]

The lip of the grain basket sits on the support around the top.same support that supports it when you raise it sparge.

I would follow the manufactures directions

 

[JTremblay]

Although I was successful for my second brew, I now run into another issue. the temperature control unit, which is a ETC-512B, shows OFF and temperature reading intermittently. It seems like to be in OFF status and doesn't control the heating element. The heating element works fine if I control it by put the switch in "Boil" position. I am looking for solution before sending it back.
Thanks in advance.

The same thing happened to me yesterday. I think I messed up something while setting the controller to Celsius and cannot enter the menu -- holding down the two arrow buttons gives me a number, usually "0".

Does anyone have a fix?

Cheers!

 

[Kampenken]

Silly question for y'all..I am not sure this is what caused all the grain to escape and plug my filter when I brewed for the first time on my GF...
I used it as the bottom plate as it has those 'legs' to keep the basket off the filter assembly...Does anyone else do that, or do you use it properly per the website as the top plate?? Just curious...

The "legs" are "arms"! They are for you to place the top plate down on the top of the grain bed both at mash and then lower down prior to sparge. Yes that's why you got grain in boiler. If you use as designed, fit bottom plate well and throttle back the wort flow to stop from going thru the overflow you will get no grain in boiler.

 

[Eichler]

The same thing happened to me yesterday. I think I messed up something while setting the controller to Celsius and cannot enter the menu -- holding down the two arrow buttons gives me a number, usually "0".



Does anyone have a fix?



Cheers!

Follow the manufacturers instructions precisely, especially if you are doing something advanced. Read them all the way through first!

Here is a link to the Grainfather hysteresis and temperature settings instructions:

http://media.wix.com/ugd/e8b8c7_0c7caceab63b48ffa6317ba31ae2d1db.pdf

 

[Pantherjon]

The "legs" are "arms"! They are for you to place the top plate down on the top of the grain bed both at mash and then lower down prior to sparge. Yes that's why you got grain in boiler. If you use as designed, fit bottom plate well and throttle back the wort flow to stop from going thru the overflow you will get no grain in boiler.

Okay..That makes sense now..I guess I didn't 'examine' the workings closely enough to realize the top of the basket rested on the support angles and that I needed the 'legs/arms' to keep the weight off the filter assembly..I didn't have many grains that floated on top going down the overflow tube..

And I had thought thru ALL the things I did during the brew, that I may have been the culprit of the seal coming dislodged..I stirred the grains a couple time and pushed my plastic stirrer down til it hit the bottom plate. With me doing that could have pulled the gasket in creating the gap whereby the grains fell out..But it was weird that it didn't clog up until AFTER I had lifted the basket and started the cooling process..Guess I will just have to refine my procedures some on the next go around..

 

[pocketmon]

The same thing happened to me yesterday. I think I messed up something while setting the controller to Celsius and cannot enter the menu -- holding down the two arrow buttons gives me a number, usually "0".

Does anyone have a fix?

Cheers!

Mine sometimes shows "2".
I called Grainfather customer support, they requested me to contact the retailer. The retailer told me to wait. No response since then, and it was three months ago.

 

[Pantherjon]

Should come up saying 'F01'..Are you holding the up and down arrows until the display changes?

 

[elreplica]

I second this.

I third that emotion.

 

[Brewing_CSU_Ram_Fan]

When I first purchased the grainfather back in February I pounded out 6 batches within a two to three week period. After a couple of months break because of work travel, I did my 7th batch this past Wednesday. It was a kolsch. My target OG was 1.049 but I ended up with 1.046. After changing sparge process, this is much closer to my target OG than what I was getting on the first 6 batches. For my recipe I had the Total Efficiency in Beersmith set at 75%. When I set it to 70% that puts me spot on for my target OG.

Plan on brewing an IPA tomorrow. I am going to set Tot Efficiency at 70% and see if that will be closer for helping me dial in my recipes. Any thoughts? Are others seeing higher efficiency and what are your processes in getting those numbers... i.e. how are you sparging, milling your grain, mash temps (noticed that there are a lot of discrepancies on this thread about grain bed), etc.

Thanks

 

[billmiller007]

Last night she finally arrived! I got her hooked up and cleaned. I have been extract brewing for years and finally made the jump to GF for the ease and space saved. Sparging will be something new. Can I just bring the water up to temp on the stove and then add it to the GF and circulate after my mash is done then pull up the basket? I know this might sound elementary but I wash hoping not to have to get yet Anouther piece of equipment just to sparge.

The first all grain batch I am going to do tomorrow has me mashing at 148 and that seems very low. Any thoughts?

 

[kh54s10]

Last night she finally arrived! I got her hooked up and cleaned. I have been extract brewing for years and finally made the jump to GF for the ease and space saved. Sparging will be something new. Can I just bring the water up to temp on the stove and then add it to the GF and circulate after my mash is done then pull up the basket? I know this might sound elementary but I wash hoping not to have to get yet Anouther piece of equipment just to sparge.

The first all grain batch I am going to do tomorrow has me mashing at 148 and that seems very low. Any thoughts?

How you heat your sparge water doesn't make any difference. I saw one pic in this thread where they had an induction hot plate and a pot on a stand higher than the Grainfather. If your stove is high enough or you don't mind pouring hot water it will work.

Not sure on the circulation procedure since I do not own a Grainfather.

148 is not low - depending on the recipe. It will give you a drier beer than mashing at a higher temperature.

 

[TexasWine]

Last night she finally arrived! I got her hooked up and cleaned. I have been extract brewing for years and finally made the jump to GF for the ease and space saved. Sparging will be something new. Can I just bring the water up to temp on the stove and then add it to the GF and circulate after my mash is done then pull up the basket? I know this might sound elementary but I wash hoping not to have to get yet Anouther piece of equipment just to sparge.

The first all grain batch I am going to do tomorrow has me mashing at 148 and that seems very low. Any thoughts?

Welcome to electric brewing. You've made a good choice.

I don't own a GF, and not trying to be a horse's patoot, but sounds like you need to watch a few videos or read some instructions. You'll need to pull the basket and then sparge through the grain bed. Same principle applies to every all grain method that requires a sparge. Separate the grain from the wort (first runnings), then sparge the grain with fresh water.

Also, technically there's no need to buy a separate piece of equipment for heating sparge water. A cold (room temp) sparge is just as effective. However, a warm sparge does speed up the brew day, especially since the GF is limited to a meager 1600 watts or so. It's gonna take a really long time to get to boiling if you use a cold sparge.

 

[seabrew8]

Last night she finally arrived! I got her hooked up and cleaned. I have been extract brewing for years and finally made the jump to GF for the ease and space saved. Sparging will be something new. Can I just bring the water up to temp on the stove and then add it to the GF and circulate after my mash is done then pull up the basket? I know this might sound elementary but I wash hoping not to have to get yet Anouther piece of equipment just to sparge.

The first all grain batch I am going to do tomorrow has me mashing at 148 and that seems very low. Any thoughts?

You lift the basket up to sparge while your waiting for the wort to boil. You can use any pot and heat source for your sparge water.

Watch the GF vids its easy to use. Money well spent IMO. I have around 15 brews now under my belt with the GF.

And if you like to turn around beer fast a keg system is a must. I can make good quailty beer in 2 weeks no problem using gelatin and force carbing.

 

[AkBrew907]

Last night she finally arrived! I got her hooked up and cleaned. I have been extract brewing for years and finally made the jump to GF for the ease and space saved. Sparging will be something new. Can I just bring the water up to temp on the stove and then add it to the GF and circulate after my mash is done then pull up the basket? I know this might sound elementary but I wash hoping not to have to get yet Anouther piece of equipment just to sparge.

The first all grain batch I am going to do tomorrow has me mashing at 148 and that seems very low. Any thoughts?

How you heat your sparge water doesn't make any difference. I saw one pic in this thread where they had an induction hot plate and a pot on a stand higher than the Grainfather. If your stove is high enough or you don't mind pouring hot water it will work.

Not sure on the circulation procedure since I do not own a Grainfather.

148 is not low - depending on the recipe. It will give you a drier beer than mashing at a higher temperature.

Works like a charm. Just Crack the valve and sparge away

View attachment 1463276309546.jpg

 

[billmiller007]

I was wondering if I can add all the hot water and recirculate. Instead of slowly adding

 

[Kampenken]

When I first purchased the grainfather back in February I pounded out 6 batches within a two to three week period. After a couple of months break because of work travel, I did my 7th batch this past Wednesday. It was a kolsch. My target OG was 1.049 but I ended up with 1.046. After changing sparge process, this is much closer to my target OG than what I was getting on the first 6 batches. For my recipe I had the Total Efficiency in Beersmith set at 75%. When I set it to 70% that puts me spot on for my target OG.

Plan on brewing an IPA tomorrow. I am going to set Tot Efficiency at 70% and see if that will be closer for helping me dial in my recipes. Any thoughts? Are others seeing higher efficiency and what are your processes in getting those numbers... i.e. how are you sparging, milling your grain, mash temps (noticed that there are a lot of discrepancies on this thread about grain bed), etc.

Thanks

Total efficiency will vary by those as well as your lauter process, if you tip the GF at the end to pump dry=more wort=higher eff. My total eff is ~80, with tip. Additionally, adjusting your water can have a significant impact on eff (as well as taste!), with or without a GF.

I think 70-75 is the right path as you dial in. My mill setting is same as pre-GF (some flour) and no stuck sparge both setups. Mash temps are to style and in the 150-158 range for me, I sparge with 170 water and turn boiler to boil, by end I'm near 200F. Push the top plate down after mash runs off and keep a 1/2" or so of sparge water on top plate throughout sparge.

I am in the camp of measuring grain bed and I use a strike temp (+7F or so), to hit mash temp. I stir in well and then measure temp of grain bed (ignoring STC readout at first it does equalize), then hold temp. Works for me to hit my OG.

 

[Kampenken]

I was wondering if I can add all the hot water and recirculate. Instead of slowly adding

Recirc during sparge?? Maybe I'm misunderstanding but sparge is just a rinse of grains step. I don't rush this (maintain GF recommended 1/2" over top plate) and set to boil so by end of sparge I'm very near a boil already. Possibly your idea (all water in at once) works fine too, I haven't tried it that way.

 

[Brewing_CSU_Ram_Fan]

Total efficiency will vary by those as well as your lauter process, if you tip the GF at the end to pump dry=more wort=higher eff. My total eff is ~80, with tip. Additionally, adjusting your water can have a significant impact on eff (as well as taste!), with or without a GF.

I think 70-75 is the right path as you dial in. My mill setting is same as pre-GF (some flour) and no stuck sparge both setups. Mash temps are to style and in the 150-158 range for me, I sparge with 170 water and turn boiler to boil, by end I'm near 200F. Push the top plate down after mash runs off and keep a 1/2" or so of sparge water on top plate throughout sparge.

I am in the camp of measuring grain bed and I use a strike temp (+7F or so), to hit mash temp. I stir in well and then measure temp of grain bed (ignoring STC readout at first it does equalize), then hold temp. Works for me to hit my OG.

Kampenken... thanks for the reply.

I did my brew today and was shy of my target OG again. Like you, I adjust my strike temp higher as a result from my cooler mash tun days. I haven't measured the grain itself, but the grainfather temp usually levels out shortly. I do pay close attention to adjusting my flow rate so as not to overflow. I did sparge very similar to you. I use a heat stick to heat my sparge water. It usually hits temp very quickly. And yes... I am a tipper. I usually wait for cold break so that I can get the most I can into the fermenter. I had the correct volume, I was shy on OG. I am now starting to think that it might be my grain crush that is keeping me from getting higher efficiency. Next batch that I purchase I will double grind the grain closer to flour like and see if that helps. It is just strange that I could hit my target OG when doing the cooler mash tun, but I have struggled with the Grainfather.

Thanks.

 

[Kampenken]

And that was my next question! So you used to hit OG pre GF days, hmmm, that's all odd then especially if you are hitting your volume. I initially was always over in volume and had to adjust the water calcs to hit desired volume, but it doesn't appear that's an issue for you. Is your crush the same as pre GF too? Do you crush or the LHBS? What eff did you plan for your last brew? I wouldn't get too carried away with fine crush, rather increase grain as a finer crush may create flavor issues and grain is cheap. Best of luck getting it all dialed in!

 

[BobOki]

I am doing a BMC for my father in law, and an happy to report I hit my OG on the nose last night. I actually did my flaked rice for 10 min at 140f pre mash.

That roller stand that we posted up a few pages back worked great. Plenty of room Under it for your hand to reset the gf breaker button.

My grain bed got a little too thick with the rice though, I ended up having to stir the bed at 30 min into the mash.

 

[Brewing_CSU_Ram_Fan]

And that was my next question! So you used to hit OG pre GF days, hmmm, that's all odd then especially if you are hitting your volume. I initially was always over in volume and had to adjust the water calcs to hit desired volume, but it doesn't appear that's an issue for you. Is your crush the same as pre GF too? Do you crush or the LHBS? What eff did you plan for your last brew? I wouldn't get too carried away with fine crush, rather increase grain as a finer crush may create flavor issues and grain is cheap. Best of luck getting it all dialed in!

Well my only thought in difference between the gravity method and the grainfather is that when I would collect my wort from the cooler I would sparge until I had the desired amount. This usually worked for giving the correct pre boil gravity as well. That is something I should probably start making a habit of doing is checking the preboil gravity on the next brew to see if I am sparging efficiently.

As for grind, I grind at the LHBS. I usually check to make sure the rollers are set for credit card thickness when I grind. I look to make sure that the grain is decently crushed with the hulls split open to release the sugar. I don't think it will hurt to double crush and there shouldn't be any off flavors as long as the sugar is removed.

The other option is that maybe I haven't dialed in Beersmith correctly yet and my OG numbers are coming in too high. I have used the profile that someone posted in this thread and it was very similar to the setup I created from reading back in February. There were a few tweeks here and there that are different in the two profiles but nothing major.

Thanks