Grainfather!!

[0080]

So I contacted both Morebeer and Grainfather over the weekend when my unit broke. Morebeer was going to send me a new one, but Grainfather told me to stop contacting Morebeer and go directly through Grainfather. The reason is Morebeer isn't stocked with the latest production units, so I might get another one that is faulty. So now they said it will be a few weeks but no actual timeline.. I don't know what I'm going to do with myself for that long!

@treacheroustexan
I received my connect controller today. I contacted GrainFather about the melted controller issue around February 2nd, so yours should be arriving shortly .

 

[treacheroustexan]

@treacheroustexan
I received my connect controller today. I contacted GrainFather about the melted controller issue around February 2nd, so yours should be arriving shortly .

I just came to this thread to post that! Haha. I followed up with them earlier today and just got a response it will be shipping to me from Cali within the next two days. Glad you got it! I assume they sent the controller and a new boiler?

 

[0080]

I just came to this thread to post that! Haha. I followed up with them earlier today and just got a response it will be shipping to me from Cali within the next two days. Glad you got it! I assume they sent the controller and a new boiler?

I had the original controller. It malfunctioned somehow (like maybe the plug melted inside the controller) but did not affect any other part of the unit, including the boiler plug end. The new controller will solve the problem I experienced with my unit.

 

[treacheroustexan]

I had the original controller. It malfunctioned somehow (like maybe the plug melted inside the controller) but did not affect any other part of the unit, including the boiler plug end. The new controller will solve the problem I experienced with my unit.

Gotcha. I had the original controller as well. But I can't get the boiler plug out of my controller, so they are sending me both.

 

[0080]

Gotcha. I had the original controller as well. But I can't get the boiler plug out of my controller, so they are sending me both.

Good to hear. It seems like this company really cares about their product and customers. It was extremely easy contacting GrainFather and setting up a replacement for my unit.

 

[jlinz]

This is what I like to hear! I had a Robobrew crap out on me, element went bad after 6 brews. Going to switch to Grainfather because of warranty and great customer service.

 

[pkgmsu2000]

Hi. You gave a really good rundown of your process and figures. So without going into too detail, here's my take. I've found the GF calculations overestimate not only the boil off rate, but the grain absorption rate as well. My boil off rate is closer to 0.5 gal/hour, and my grain absorption rate is closer to 0.07 gal/lb. BTW, my brewbuddy (who also uses a GF,) and I verified this by weighing the grain before and after the mash and then calculating the amount of water absorbed. I also shoot for 5.5 gals into the fermenter. As an example of my last batch, here are my numbers (I tend to round up):

GRAINFATHER (5.5 gal to fermenter)
Water Requirements/Gal/Qts
Mash/4.30/17.20
Sparge/3.00/12.00
Total/7.30/29.20
Est Boil Size/6.50/26.00
Boil length (min): 60
Total Mash Thick (qt/lb): 1.68 qts/lb
Act Mash Thick (qt/lb): 1.30 qts/lb
Malt Wt: 10.25

I usually count on losing about a quart at the end of the boil b/c I can't get it all out in the CFC. I hit exactly 5.5 into my fermenter at about 75-78% efficiency I hit 1.058 of a 1.060 OG. My recommendation is reduce your expected water use by 1/2 gal to start. I would also recommend start sparging as soon as you pull the basket and press the top filter lid down. I've found this improves my sparge efficiency. Hope this helps. Ed

Thanks, Ed! Reducing total expected water use by 1/2 gal makes sense... sparge as soon as basket is pulled? i swear i read somewhere to wait on sparge until basket runs out.

 

[pkgmsu2000]

Good to hear. It seems like this company really cares about their product and customers. It was extremely easy contacting GrainFather and setting up a replacement for my unit.

Thus far, I have found GF/iMake to be one of the top 5 easiest companies to contact when there are issues to discuss. They are very helpful and take every concern seriously in the name of top tier customer satisfaction.

 

[Qbrew0516]

This is what I like to hear! I had a Robobrew crap out on me, element went bad after 6 brews. Going to switch to Grainfather because of warranty and great customer service.

I also had issues with the Robobrew. My element and screen went out following my 7th brew with the machine. I have since switched to the Grainfather because of the warranty and good reports about customer service.

A quick question for the group. The Robobrew and Grainfather have pretty similar dimensions and heating elements. I have a Beersmith profile that worked quite well for the Robobrew, but after some investigation I have found the Grainfather equipment and mash profiles in BeerSmith make pretty different assumptions relative to the Robobrew profiles. What would account for those differences? And do you think I could use the same Robobrew profile for the Grainfather, recognizing that the deadspace is a little larger in the Grainfather?

 

[RedlegEd]

Thanks, Ed! Reducing total expected water use by 1/2 gal makes sense... sparge as soon as basket is pulled? i swear i read somewhere to wait on sparge until basket runs out.

@pkgmsu2000 Hi, you did read it! In the instructions it says..."Allow the mash liquid to drain into the boiler, gently press the top perforated plate down (12) until it comes to rest against the grain. Gently pour the prepared sparge water over the grain. Keep the water level approx 10 mm (0.4 in) above the plate at all times for an even sparge." (my emphasis) It's not really clear whether to let it drain completely before you start the sparge. I found that letting it drain completely tends to compact the grain bed, so by starting the sparge soon after lifting the basket, it tends to run smoother, and it's easier to keep that 1/2" level of sparge water on top. Also, once I actually start sparging, I've found it's faster to skip past the sparge step on the Connect Controller timer to start the boil as soon as possible (another way to do this is only have a 1 minute sparge step.) Anyway, the more you brew on your GF (and take notes,) the better you'll get to know your system and which adjustments to make to get your desired results. Don't sweat minor differences in efficiency, or target OG vs actual OG. There are lots of reasons you don't always hit it (or sometimes exceed it,) and they aren't your fault (grain crush, older grain, diastatic power/efficiency of your grain, etc.) The key is to spot patterns and trends, and work toward consistency. If you missed your OG by two points, but the beer is good, who cares!?!? RDWHAHB! Ed

 

[jlinz]

Does anybody know if the warranty is two years? Does it matter which lhbs you buy it from? Do I only get the 24 month warranty if I buy it on the Grainfather site, or does it not matter as long as I activate my serial number? Trying to figure out if it's best to go through the Grainfather site, or a regular but reputable homebrew site.

 

[d-bone]

Does anybody know if the warranty is two years? Does it matter which lhbs you buy it from? Do I only get the 24 month warranty if I buy it on the Grainfather site, or does it not matter as long as I activate my serial number? Trying to figure out if it's best to go through the Grainfather site, or a regular but reputable homebrew site.

I bought mine from GF direct. Having said that, they were not available from 3rd parties at the time, and if they had been, i would have gotten mine from AIH or some similar site that offers some sort of rewards. I dont even know how much i would actually care about warranty. At this point, there are so many used units available i would probably be more inclined to purchase one of those. Anything i have ever needed fixed( which has not been much) has been taken care of pretty quickly without any complications from GF.

 

[jlinz]

I'd like to support a homebrew shop I like, but I want to make sure the warranty is the same either way.

 

[treacheroustexan]

Does anybody know if the warranty is two years? Does it matter which lhbs you buy it from? Do I only get the 24 month warranty if I buy it on the Grainfather site, or does it not matter as long as I activate my serial number? Trying to figure out if it's best to go through the Grainfather site, or a regular but reputable homebrew site.

So I bought my unit from Morebeer and it is past it's "two year warranty" and Grainfather is replacing it with no questions asked. Not sure how anyone elses experience is, but they didn't even question it for me.

 

[pkgmsu2000]

@pkgmsu2000 Hi, you did read it! In the instructions it says..."Allow the mash liquid to drain into the boiler, gently press the top perforated plate down (12) until it comes to rest against the grain. Gently pour the prepared sparge water over the grain. Keep the water level approx 10 mm (0.4 in) above the plate at all times for an even sparge." (my emphasis) It's not really clear whether to let it drain completely before you start the sparge. I found that letting it drain completely tends to compact the grain bed, so by starting the sparge soon after lifting the basket, it tends to run smoother, and it's easier to keep that 1/2" level of sparge water on top. Also, once I actually start sparging, I've found it's faster to skip past the sparge step on the Connect Controller timer to start the boil as soon as possible (another way to do this is only have a 1 minute sparge step.) Anyway, the more you brew on your GF (and take notes,) the better you'll get to know your system and which adjustments to make to get your desired results. Don't sweat minor differences in efficiency, or target OG vs actual OG. There are lots of reasons you don't always hit it (or sometimes exceed it,) and they aren't your fault (grain crush, older grain, diastatic power/efficiency of your grain, etc.) The key is to spot patterns and trends, and work toward consistency. If you missed your OG by two points, but the beer is good, who cares!?!? RDWHAHB! Ed

Amen brother! Good perspective and yet another reason to just relax and have a home brew

 

[pkgmsu2000]

Back in October, after many months of research, I picked up the GF conical fermenter (basic cooling edition) with dual valve, temp control, and cooling kit. IS ANYONE ELSE USING THE GF CF??? I have no experience with a conical fermenter, any tips would be great. I do NOT plan to harvest any yeast... but is there a good place to read up on how / when it is best to dump yeast??? I have been searching the google and just dont find much help when it comes to homebrew and conical with yeast dump. TIA.

 

[murphyslaw]

So I bought my unit from Morebeer and it is past it's "two year warranty" and Grainfather is replacing it with no questions asked. Not sure how anyone elses experience is, but they didn't even question it for me.

Wow, that's really good to hear.

 

[PCL]

This post Regards clogging of pump, especially using CFC at end of brew.

Wanted to add to GF page: I had posted a question some time ago and appreciated responses. Also did a lot of trials on best way to handle the above issue.

I experienced clogging of my pump during cooling with CFC which was killing my brew days. Key to prevention was

1) whirlpooling at end of boil, let sit for 15 min and majority of hop mass gathers in center.

2) get rid of hop basket or spider. When using this I still got a significant mass of hop material in main vessel of GF but this was of finer particles than what was remaining in basket. These small particles were more apt to clog filter than the larger sized debris in basket. When all are together in boil they bind into a big clump and don’t impede the pump. Even heavily hopped beers (8oz) did not clog

Lessons which should be part of GF instructions:

1) always whirlpool
2) do not use hop basket/spider

 

[shortyz]

after my boil i wait at least 10 min to sterilize my chiller with hot wort, this lets the crap settle to the bottom of the pot so it doesnt clog the filter.

 

[murphyslaw]

I'm only four batches in but I haven't had any hop matter clog the filter. And that includes a NE IPA with about 7 oz of hops in the boil/hopstand. I put the hops in a 5g paint stainer bag, which I anchor to a distilling hook. I have clogged that spring/ball thing above the valve a couple times with grain.

I have, however, had to throttle the pump every time to avoid too much wort going down the overflow pipe during the mash. Is that normal, are you guys able to reciruclate the mash with that valve fully open?

 

[Pkrd]

At the start of the mash a lot goes down the overflow but none by the end.

 

[nstzlogman]

So I contacted both Morebeer and Grainfather over the weekend when my unit broke. Morebeer was going to send me a new one, but Grainfather told me to stop contacting Morebeer and go directly through Grainfather. The reason is Morebeer isn't stocked with the latest production units, so I might get another one that is faulty. So now they said it will be a few weeks but no actual timeline.. I don't know what I'm going to do with myself for that long!

May I ask you if you emailed or called Grainfather? I have had trouble getting MoreBeer to provide helo with my Grainfather malfunction. By email, Grainfather told me that I should attempt to resolve my issue with MoreBeer first. I have been trying for 3 weeks. Thanks.

 

[treacheroustexan]

May I ask you if you emailed or called Grainfather? I have had trouble getting MoreBeer to provide helo with my Grainfather malfunction. By email, Grainfather told me that I should attempt to resolve my issue with MoreBeer first. I have been trying for 3 weeks. Thanks.

Emailing Morebeer was worthless. I called them on the phone and was able to explain everything and it was great. Hopefully you have better luck! 1-800-600-0033

 

[jlinz]

Does anybody use the Android app with Connect? I have an android phone and plan on getting a grainfather but have heard horror stories. Anyone having a fine time with Android and the Grainfather?

 

[CrimsonYeti]

Does anybody use the Android app with Connect? I have an android phone and plan on getting a grainfather but have heard horror stories. Anyone having a fine time with Android and the Grainfather?

I just used mine for the 1st time Saturday. Android app seems fine. Not sure i really like having to go to brew. Grainfather.com to build recipes.

 

[highland_brewer]

That boil looks ok and will get the job done. You don't want to see what all 5500W into 7 gallons looks like!

-BD

It looks like this...

 

[Frilock]

Does anybody use the Android app with Connect? I have an android phone and plan on getting a grainfather but have heard horror stories. Anyone having a fine time with Android and the Grainfather?

Heh, funny you ask that, as I was just playing around with the app last night. I haven't really used it to brew with yet. Had to sign up for an account on the GF website then make a recipe there. My phone didn't want to download the recipe I had made, I ended up restarting the app a few times then it finally loaded it in the 'cloud' area. One thing I don't like is the display is too small and I can't resize it. Using just the manual mode I can't even see the numbers it just gives me '...' I can still turn the pump on and off, as well as select the temp to go up/down, I just can't see what the temps actually are.

 

[pkgmsu2000]

I have, however, had to throttle the pump every time to avoid too much wort going down the overflow pipe during the mash. Is that normal, are you guys able to reciruclate the mash with that valve fully open?

i recirculate with the mash with valve about half way open. I dont think you would want to recirc full throttle even if you could...

 

[murphyslaw]

I use the app and really like it. I build the recipe in beersmith, export the .xml, and upload it to the GF website. There are a bunch of cool features. A couple that come to mind...

1. If I use the delayed heating, when I wake up I can check the temp without getting out of bed.
2. It automatically heats to the preset temps for mash (including steps) and boil.
3. It gives you notifications whenever its time for the next step.
4. If you use the water calcs, it tells you how many liters to sparge with. For my last brew I used my measured pitcher and the counter for the first time and my volumes were perfect.

i recirculate with the mash with valve about half way open. I dont think you would want to recirc full throttle even if you could...

Thanks! My sparge goes pretty quick, so I don't think its a problem.

 

[skraeling]

Keep us posted. I'm still awaiting more information on mine being shipped.

This was Feb 17th:
"Please be aware this may take a few weeks to be available for shipping as production on the new units has just gone underway."

Just received the new updated connect that has the updated receptacle.

Of note. It’s now very very firm to plug in. Thing fits snug as hell compared to the older connect I have.