Grainfather!!

[Kampenken]

2-i tested the work temp after i got the temp down to about 85-ish and noticed it was about 75. at what temperature do you stop recirculating and put into the fermenter?

3-i increased the mash water a little over 0.25 gallons this batch because the mash was super heavy the other brews to the point it was almost like thick oatmeal. efficiency was slightly better that was so i'll probably go back to the factory specs for mash water volume.

i know there is a difference between mash and brewhouse efficiency but don't know the details on the difference. it's the reading i got from the wort after dumping it into the fermenter.

After 10min sanitize I turn on cold water to cool. Literally within 10 sec or so the wort out hose is cool and goes into fermenter. Boiler temp will read ~200! Wort temp with tap temp of 77 and a pre-chill, is about the same, into ferm chamber to finish cooling. I transfer 6g in <20 min.

The main diff mash to brewhouse eff is lauter, though I suspect hop absorption plays a role too. Go to Brewers Friend, they have great definition, pictorial and calculator. Gravity reading alone is not enough to calculate-need grain bill and water volumes too

 

[benner_28]

After too much research and reading probably 30+ pages of posts, I finally ordered up a GF! Thanks all for posting your experiences so far - they will help with any troubleshooting I may need.

 

[gotbeer74]

@benner_28 is your head spinning? I'm glad I started reading this thread since day one, otherwise that is a lot to catch up.

 

[BrewMeister49]

Funny thing is I didnt mean for this to start into a 214 page thread haha Im pretty pumped it did though as there is a TON of great info and help!!

 

[BrewBrains]

Funny thing is I didnt mean for this to start into a 214 page thread haha Im pretty pumped it did though as there is a TON of great info and help!!

Your 2 exclamation marks were successful in getting all the attention!!

 

[elreplica]

Funny thing is I didnt mean for this to start into a 214 page thread haha Im pretty pumped it did though as there is a TON of great info and help!!
Just found this post on an Irish site...new Grainfather control boxes pre-order... 136.25 euros - puts them at $200 CDN. I'm wondering when NG will start as I'm interested. What do the rest of you folks think?

http://www.geterbrewed.ie/grainfather-connect-control-box/

 

[Kampenken]

Funny thing is I didnt mean for this to start into a 214 page thread haha Im pretty pumped it did though as there is a TON of great info and help!!
Just found this post on an Irish site...new Grainfather control boxes pre-order... 136.25 euros - puts them at $200 CDN. I'm wondering when NG will start as I'm interested. What do the rest of you folks think?

http://www.geterbrewed.ie/grainfather-connect-control-box/

Hmmm, interesting. I will await for user feedback on the PID control of temps and grain bed response- per long previous discussion here. Ignoring whether this improves final beer quality (or consistency, maybe the more relevant point), the gadget factor is cool. Who wouldn't want this to have been the original controller?!

 

[shortyz]

Got mine couple days ago! took me like 6 months to decide and this thing looks sweet. how fine of a crush you guys running in this thing

 

[Teesquar]

Got mine couple days ago! took me like 6 months to decide and this thing looks sweet. how fine of a crush you guys running in this thing

I use a.038 setting on my barley crusher and get around 80 to 85 brewhouse efficiency on my normal grain bill sized batches

 

[d-bone]

I use a.038 setting on my barley crusher and get around 80 to 85 brewhouse efficiency on my normal grain bill sized batches

same here, but using a millars mill.

 

[Elkobrewer]

Just purchased the grain coat hope it helps speed things up

 

[elreplica]

Just purchased the grain coat hope it helps speed things up

Who cares? It looks badass

 

[elreplica]

Hmmm, interesting. I will await for user feedback on the PID control of temps and grain bed response- per long previous discussion here. Ignoring whether this improves final beer quality (or consistency, maybe the more relevant point), the gadget factor is cool. Who wouldn't want this to have been the original controller?!

Yup. I'm with you on the original controller...but I'll likely step up to it...

 

[shortyz]

finished my first batch and shes bubbling away! my eff was 78%. I think thats pretty decent for a first go. This machine is awesome and easy to use, lots of fittings to make pretty much any water source usable with the chiller.

The only thing i had a problem with is the grainstopper tube thing, its the same size as the pipe with the nut on it... it also looks nothing like the manual.

 

[treacheroustexan]

finished my first batch and shes bubbling away! my eff was 78%. I think thats pretty decent for a first go. This machine is awesome and easy to use, lots of fittings to make pretty much any water source usable with the chiller.

The only thing i had a problem with is the grainstopper tube thing, its the same size as the pipe with the nut on it... it also looks nothing like the manual.

Did you get it figured out? The piece to the very left with the nut gets attached to the grain basket. The piece on the very right gets inserted onto the very left piece after it's attached to the basket, and then the middle piece sits inside of the very right piece(will be the third piece you put in). Then you can the move the very right piece up and down, and the middle piece is just a guide to tell you how far up and down you can go.

 

[lewandowski46]

finished my first batch and shes bubbling away! my eff was 78%. I think thats pretty decent for a first go. This machine is awesome and easy to use, lots of fittings to make pretty much any water source usable with the chiller.

The only thing i had a problem with is the grainstopper tube thing, its the same size as the pipe with the nut on it... it also looks nothing like the manual.

Correct, grainstopper tube supposed to slide inside the tube on the right with the two spirings, that's the upper half of the overflow piping.

 

[shortyz]

ill make a video tonight... this makes no sense, ive even watched some youtube vids and this isnt working.

 

[Teesquar]

ill make a video tonight... this makes no sense, ive even watched some youtube vids and this isnt working.

In this photo, the top overflow pipe (the one with the clip springs) is installed on the bottom overflow pipe (the one with the nut) and is all the way down, so yes, the grain stopper would not fit.

If you slide the top overflow pipe up, let's say half way, the stopper will now fit, albeit not the entire stopper length. It will still stop the grain from going down the overflow. That upper overflow is supposed to be slid up beyond the level of the grain/water. Now, if you have a small grain bill (approx less than 9#) the standard overflow can't get down low enough ... which is why they have the micropipe option (separate purchase).

 

[StoutNoDoubt]

I've been posting videos of my grainfather brews. Swing by and subscribe if you haven't! Cheers!
Www.youtube.com/c/thebrew-q

 

[shortyz]

so lets say the mashtun has your strike water in it, your ready to put the grains in. the overflow pipe cannot just be "moved" up. It just falls back down.

the first pic is me not holding the tube up

the second pic is me physically holding the overflow pipe up.

 

[shortyz]

thanks stout. my grainstopper looks nothing like yours in the video...

 

[treacheroustexan]

I'l look more in a few after work but you should be using the other plate for the bottom of your grain basket. The plate you're using is for the top of the grain. Just an FYI.

Buttt, you can't slide the pipe on the right up and down at all? That's the one that falls down? Can you post a video of you doing it?

 

[TheHopfather]

Same thing happened with mine when I got it. Those 2 little bent wires (I'm sure they have an actual name) at the bottom of the extension pipe were stuck too far towards the outside of the pipe. I just gave them a little squeeze with my fingers and that fixed it. Those little wires seem to put a little pressure on the other pipe so the extension pipe doesn't just slide around.

 

[RedlegEd]

Same thing happened with mine when I got it. Those 2 little bent wires (I'm sure they have an actual name) at the bottom of the extension pipe were stuck too far towards the outside of the pipe. I just gave them a little squeeze with my fingers and that fixed it. Those little wires seem to put a little pressure on the other pipe so the extension pipe doesn't just slide around.

+1^^^ this. These actually put tension on the overflow pipe to keep the extension pipe from falling down. As Hopfather said, use your fingers or a pair of pliers to gently push in the bottom portion of the springs until the extension pipe stays where you put it. Ed

 

[elreplica]

so lets say the mashtun has your strike water in it, your ready to put the grains in. the overflow pipe cannot just be "moved" up. It just falls back down.

the first pic is me not holding the tube up

the second pic is me physically holding the overflow pipe up.

You e git the wrong stop pipe...the sections should be adjustable like an aerial...my stopper doesn't look like that one either. Didn't you get this GF from Everwood?

 

[treacheroustexan]

I'm brewing an ipa on saturday with 10 oz of hops. I'm quite nervous. haha.

 

[TheHopfather]

I've been holding off on brewing an IPA. My Manjack Grove hop spider just arrived in the mail yesterday, looks legit. Next up, NEIPA.

 

[shortyz]

+1^^^ this. These actually put tension on the overflow pipe to keep the extension pipe from falling down. As Hopfather said, use your fingers or a pair of pliers to gently push in the bottom portion of the springs until the extension pipe stays where you put it. Ed

YESSSSSSSS. i didnt even see that its knotched out for those little spring gizmos. thanks guys!

 

[SHbrewing]

New controller

 

[elreplica]

New controller

Where did you get it and how much?