Grainfather!!

[Frilock]

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.

Any other noticeable differences?

 

[skraeling]

Any other noticeable differences?

None. Physically identical in every other respect.

 

[treacheroustexan]

So, update for all who are following:

I was told my replacement GF unit shipped last Thursday. I received the tracking a few days ago and noticed the shipping weight was only 2.5 pounds and the packaging dimensions were only a few inches. I'm thinking they only shipped me the controller and not the unit itself.. I emailed GF back letting them know and they said it should definitely be the whole unit (boiler and all). It's out for delivery now so we will see what I get.. Wanted to brew this weekend so it kinda sucks. It's been over a month!

 

[2LiveBrewCrew]

Hi everyone, been watching this for a while and was wondering what to look for on my new connect to see if mine will get fried. Anything to look for and possibly fix before something goes bad?

 

[bigtex52]

I'll let some of the others who have actually experienced this failure with their units address your question, but from what I have been able to find out, it appears that the mechanical mating of the original plug/socket pair is a little loose/sloppy fit, and if it is loose enough, can begin to arc internally which produces a lot of heat which in turn causes the problems. I make sure my plug is plugged in very tightly each time I brew and so far, thankfully, have not experienced a failure. With the element cord/plug physically hanging from the receptacle, gravity tends to try to pull it out. If it seems to be becoming a problem, I may tweak/bend the prongs in the socket ever so slightly to tighten the connection up just a bit. Hope that helps.

 

[2LiveBrewCrew]

Hey thanks bigtex. I appreciate the valuable info. I'll keep my good eye on the cord/plug for anything that don't look right. I'll keep my infrared thermometer at hand and take some temp readings every so often. See if shows anything.

 

[2LiveBrewCrew]

Do the perforated plate seals hold up pretty well or should I get an extra one as a spare?

 

[bigtex52]

Do the perforated plate seals hold up pretty well or should I get an extra one as a spare?

I have many brews on mine and they seem to be holding up nicely. With care, they should last a long time. That being said, it wouldn't be a bad idea to have an extra on hand. I worry about losing the little check valve ball and spring too, but I could still use the unit if I lost them, albeit not quite as safely.

 

[Frilock]

So, update for all who are following:

I was told my replacement GF unit shipped last Thursday. I received the tracking a few days ago and noticed the shipping weight was only 2.5 pounds and the packaging dimensions were only a few inches. I'm thinking they only shipped me the controller and not the unit itself.. I emailed GF back letting them know and they said it should definitely be the whole unit (boiler and all). It's out for delivery now so we will see what I get.. Wanted to brew this weekend so it kinda sucks. It's been over a month!

Did it ever get delivered?

 

[treacheroustexan]

Did it ever get delivered?

The controller did.. emailed them and got an apology saying the warehouse will ship me the rest asap.

 

[Frilock]

So mashing up a beer right now using the connect app, the controller gets to within 2 degrees then powers the element WAY down, and it takes forever to get that last 2 or so degrees. It won't start the timer for the next phase until it has hit the temperature it has been set to. In the future, I'm going to skip the dough in phase all together in my recipe (just set it manually then start the recipe once I'm finished) and knock the time of each step down 5 minutes or so.


EDIT: Also the calculator and the recipe itself told me to sparge with 2.7 gal, however, the alert my phone just sent said 'Heat 0.7 USG sparge water'

 

[bigtex52]

The actions of the controller sound normal. The PID in the controller reduces power as you approach the target temp and it reduces power to avoid overshooting. How are you defining forever? 2min, 5min, etc. If your unit is brand new, it takes some time for the PID in the controller to learn the temp characteristics of your GF and adapt accordingly.

As for the sparge water message, when you connect with the phone or tablet you are using to connect to your unit and start your brew session, it uploads the recipe to your Connect unit. The command to Heat 0.7 USG sparge water comes directly from the recipe. I would check it again in the recipe carefully. If it is correct there, you might give GF support a call and see what they have to say. That particular command doesn't actually affect the operation of the unit,it is merely a courtesy reminder, but that being said, my unit has never done that and I would make sure it isn't changing times or temps.

 

[Frilock]

As far as the ramping up goes, yes, it did get quicker. It took 10 minutes to go from my start temp of 150 to my step 2 temp of 154, however, I also had set it up go up to 158, 162, and finally 170 for mashout. The other times took 5 minutes, 2 minutes and 4 minutes. For sparge, I doubled checked the recipe and it said 2.7. I also went online and used the calculator on their website and it also gave me 2.7. The app even told me to sparge with 2.7 when I actually got to the sparge step so it was definitely the alert to start heating that was off.

 

[bigtex52]

I would give GF support a call and get their take on that. 10 minutes to go from 150 to 154 sounds a little out of whack. They might have an explanation for the sparge discrepancy as well. Let's us hear how it comes out.

 

[gotbeer74]

So mashing up a beer right now using the connect app, the controller gets to within 2 degrees then powers the element WAY down, and it takes forever to get that last 2 or so degrees. It won't start the timer for the next phase until it has hit the temperature it has been set to. In the future, I'm going to skip the dough in phase all together in my recipe (just set it manually then start the recipe once I'm finished) and knock the time of each step down 5 minutes or so.


EDIT: Also the calculator and the recipe itself told me to sparge with 2.7 gal, however, the alert my phone just sent said 'Heat 0.7 USG sparge water'

I just inherited my son's S8 and had the same incorrect sparge water requirement. No issue because all my water is measured out prior to starting. I did not have this issue with my S7 phone. Just a side note my recipes are created in Beersmith and then transferred to the Grainfather app.

 

[bronzdragon]

I brewed for the first time on my GF this weekend and used the app on iOS. Everything in the brew performed as planned and went smoothly, but the bluetooth connection between the unit and my phone (iphone 6s) kept dropping out, even though my phone was sitting on the counter 4' away. Luckily you can reconnect, and it picks up where it left out and the program in the controller keeps going wether the phone is connected or not. Anyone else have this issue or a tip on having this not happen? I am going to try using my ipad on the next brew.
/cheers

 

[murphyslaw]

I brewed for the first time on my GF this weekend and used the app on iOS. Everything in the brew performed as planned and went smoothly, but the bluetooth connection between the unit and my phone (iphone 6s) kept dropping out, even though my phone was sitting on the counter 4' away. Luckily you can reconnect, and it picks up where it left out and the program in the controller keeps going wether the phone is connected or not. Anyone else have this issue or a tip on having this not happen? I am going to try using my ipad on the next brew.
/cheers

I've only had that problem on my S8 when I go to the other end of the house. But it picks right back up as soon as I get closer.

 

[bigtex52]

I brewed for the first time on my GF this weekend and used the app on iOS. Everything in the brew performed as planned and went smoothly, but the bluetooth connection between the unit and my phone (iphone 6s) kept dropping out, even though my phone was sitting on the counter 4' away. Luckily you can reconnect, and it picks up where it left out and the program in the controller keeps going wether the phone is connected or not. Anyone else have this issue or a tip on having this not happen? I am going to try using my ipad on the next brew.
/cheers

I have not had that problem with my GF, but I bought a new sous vide unit and the BT kept dropping, even with the phone inches from the unit. This is supposedly worse with iPhone 6S and 6s plus models, according to tech support with that mfr. It was recommended to me to wait for it to happen again and 1) Turn BT off on the phone and back on and 2) Put the phone in Airplane mode and then back to normal. I tried both of those, the units paired again and (knock on wood) haven't had the problem since. Not sure what that accomplishes, but it seems to have worked.

 

[bronzdragon]

Yes, I was doing that same process to reconnect, but it's a pain to have to do it every 10 minutes or so. The interesting thing, is that sometimes if just left alone, it would reconnect, but most times I would have to close out of the GF app, turn off bluetooth, turn it back on, relaunch the GF app and then reconnect. I'm going to test using my ipad this coming weekend, as it is a little newer than my phone and see if it works better.
/cheers

 

[bigtex52]

Before you go to the iPad, after the GF and phone connect, try putting your phone in airplane mode, wait a few seconds to let everything sync up and settle down, and then take airplane mode off and let them connect again. Not saying anything is definitely fixed after that but it worked for me.

 

[bronzdragon]

Will do. Thanks.
/cheers

 

[2LiveBrewCrew]

Does anyone remember the thread where a guy used a rolling plant caddy under his grainfather for mobility and also access to the reset switch? If anyone is interested Home Depot has a one day sale on the caddy for $10.49 from $14.31. You got to buy online at HD. I'm just looking to get a little info. Thanks.

 

[treacheroustexan]

The controller did.. emailed them and got an apology saying the warehouse will ship me the rest asap.

I'm so freaking annoyed. When they shipped me just the controller, I was going to be out of town so I used the "hold at fedex location" delivery option for the shipment so I could pick it up at Walgreens in the town that I was in at the time rather than have it sit outside my house unattended. Well, they shipped my new grainfather unit out last Thursday but instead of using my home address, they shipped it to the damn Walgreens. Not faulting GF for this, but this whole process has just been ridiculous. Now I have to make a 2 hr round trip just to pick it up because no one will let me change the delivery address.

 

[murphyslaw]

Does anyone remember the thread where a guy used a rolling plant caddy under his grainfather for mobility and also access to the reset switch? If anyone is interested Home Depot has a one day sale on the caddy for $10.49 from $14.31. You got to buy online at HD. I'm just looking to get a little info. Thanks.

I bought this. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002TRWJLA/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

Despite the picture, there's no hole. Easy enough to drill one, though.

I would go bigger. I feel like mine could easily get knocked over.

 

[jlinz]

How has the longevity been with the Grainfather? How many brews or how long have you had trouble free operation? Also, if something goes wrong and the unit needs to be shipped back do you know if Grainfather includes shipping to them in their warranty? I would think so, but I noticed that the Unibrau states that one would be required to pay the shipping back to them, and I don't like that idea, since shipping something 50 pounds has got to cost a bit of cash.

 

[2LiveBrewCrew]

I bought this. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002TRWJLA/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

Despite the picture, there's no hole. Easy enough to drill one, though.

I would go bigger. I feel like mine could easily get knocked over.

Thanks for the info. Not sure what I'm going to do yet.

 

[treacheroustexan]

How has the longevity been with the Grainfather? How many brews or how long have you had trouble free operation? Also, if something goes wrong and the unit needs to be shipped back do you know if Grainfather includes shipping to them in their warranty? I would think so, but I noticed that the Unibrau states that one would be required to pay the shipping back to them, and I don't like that idea, since shipping something 50 pounds has got to cost a bit of cash.

I got to keep my broken one and was sent a brand new one.

EDIT to elaborate before anyone else gets the wrong idea: I had a bunch of pictures and videos sent to them of the defect, and it was already a known issue that was fixed. The Grainfather warranty covers transportation costs if you're required to send it back.

 

[augiedoggy]

I got to keep my broken one and was sent a brand new one.

Unless the broken one wasn't so broken,how does that really help? In actuality policies like that led to higher prices to offset uncaught and unregulated fraud right?
As much as we would like to believe it doesn't happen, I'm my field of work many "equipment failures" are simply due to user not understanding the equipment or it's limitations. Guess who pays for such liberal warranty and replacement policies? You do in the form of much higher prices.
With it's bulk discounts I'd guess Grainfather has about $150-200 tied into actual costs for the equipment for each
Think about how much markup have to be involved for the maker of your automobile to say
, We don't the need the defectiveone back... Or need to verify it's bad...

 

[treacheroustexan]

Unless the broken one wasn't so broken,how does that really help? In actuality policies like that led to higher prices to offset uncaught and unregulated fraud right?
As much as we would like to believe it doesn't happen, I'm my field of work many "equipment failures" are simply due to user not understanding the equipment or it's limitations. Guess who pays for such liberal warranty and replacement policies? You do in the form of much higher prices.
With it's bulk discounts I'd guess Grainfather has about $150-200 tied into actual costs for the equipment for each
Think about how much markup have to be involved for the maker of your automobile to say
, We don't the need the defectiveone back... Or need to verify it's bad...

No you're absolutely right, I'm just answering the question. I sent them pictures and videos of the issue I was having to verify, and no questions asked they sent me a replacement and never wanted the old one back. I guess I just provided enough proof that my unit was defective and they already knew the root cause of the issue and fixed it. It's not like I refused to send it back. I was just answering the question that no, I didn't have to pay shipping to return it.

To answer the question further, the warranty paper that was packaged with the grainfather says that Imake, the creator, covers all transportation costs.

 

[augiedoggy]

I should be clear that I'm not trying to imply that in all situations defective item should be returned back just as any company that quickly replaces an item without investigating the cause can be a bad thing too.