Grainfather!!

[Hop]

Just through the chiller. Works through recirculation arm, works through a different chiller.

I blasted through it with CO2 and nothing came out but moisture. I just connected it back with plain water and it seems to work.

Really unsure what could have gone wrong. My grain wasn't overcrushed. I only used 1.25 oz of pellet hops. I attached/reattached several times to see if I simply didn't screw it tightly enough. I pulled the ball and spring out and they weren't clogged (kept them out).

I even tried pushing through it after going through the recirculation arm for a minute and it still wouldn't budge.

After draining to a carboy (now in the freezer trying to get it down to pitching temp and hoping for the best), I couldn't see any obvious issues. Everything was still intact. Trub wasn't particularly thick. I did the whirlpool with a Jaybird contraption before trying to pump.

It was quite a horrible capper to an otherwise great brew day.

 

[AnthonyTD]

Hop,

The first thing you you should have done after getting the grainfather is to clean it as per instructions. Assuming you did this did the pump drive the cleaning solution through the chiller then?

 

[Hop]

I did clean it, and I believe it worked then.

I cleaned it again after brewing and pushing CO2 through it and it seems to be fine.

Still no idea what happened.

My second brew with it will be outside in case I need the old chiller again. Hopefully it was a fluke.

 

[Minnesota_Micro]

I've been brewing with grainfather for a few years now.

Biggest complaint is the time it takes to get to a boil, otherwise for the process it's a fantastic system

I've brewed multiple 20-21 lb grain bills in my US system, and some tips..
1. Cover the two holes at the top with aluminum foil.
2. Remove SS ball and spring in pump pipe to stop clogs.
3. Stir grains once or twice throughout mash to help with efficiency.
4. Make a shorter, secondary silicon tube, thart connects to recirculation pipe for large grain bills (2-4 inches?)
5. Hop spiders/bags/baskets are a must, otherwise clogs are the worst during worth chilling (stirring and scraping pump filter can help.)

I went from about 65% efficiency to 85% making these small tweaks on my GIANT grain bills. Been very happy with GF overall! Done several RIS and Barleywines that ended up at 12.5-13% abv for 5.5gallon batches. Happy brewing, cheers!

 

[doogster]

Just through the chiller. Works through recirculation arm, works through a different chiller.

I blasted through it with CO2 and nothing came out but moisture. I just connected it back with plain water and it seems to work.

Really unsure what could have gone wrong. My grain wasn't overcrushed. I only used 1.25 oz of pellet hops. I attached/reattached several times to see if I simply didn't screw it tightly enough. I pulled the ball and spring out and they weren't clogged (kept them out).

I even tried pushing through it after going through the recirculation arm for a minute and it still wouldn't budge.

After draining to a carboy (now in the freezer trying to get it down to pitching temp and hoping for the best), I couldn't see any obvious issues. Everything was still intact. Trub wasn't particularly thick. I did the whirlpool with a Jaybird contraption before trying to pump.

It was quite a horrible capper to an otherwise great brew day.

I wonder if you didn't have the CFC connected quite fully to the recirc piping. If not, the spring/ball would prevent any flow.

 

[cpham574]

I've been brewing with grainfather for a few years now.

Biggest complaint is the time it takes to get to a boil, otherwise for the process it's a fantastic system

I've brewed multiple 20-21 lb grain bills in my US system, and some tips..
1. Cover the two holes at the top with aluminum foil.
2. Remove SS ball and spring in pump pipe to stop clogs.
3. Stir grains once or twice throughout mash to help with efficiency.
4. Make a shorter, secondary silicon tube, thart connects to recirculation pipe for large grain bills (2-4 inches?)
5. Hop spiders/bags/baskets are a must, otherwise clogs are the worst during worth chilling (stirring and scraping pump filter can help.)

I went from about 65% efficiency to 85% making these small tweaks on my GIANT grain bills. Been very happy with GF overall! Done several RIS and Barleywines that ended up at 12.5-13% abv for 5.5gallon batches. Happy brewing, cheers!

This is great advice! How are you fitting ~20lbs of grains and water for the mash inside the Gf?! I’m doing a 16lb grain bill soon and with 1.7qt/lb I need almost 7gals to mash.

Also, when do you sparge? I’ve been waiting until most of the mash water is drained before I start sparging. I wonder if that’s where I’m losing efficiency

 

[Hop]

I wonder if you didn't have the CFC connected quite fully to the recirc piping. If not, the spring/ball would prevent any flow.

I tried connecting/disconnecting/reconnecting several times and even removed the ball and spring. Unfortunately that didn't seem to be the issue. I've been unable to diagnose what went wrong at this time, which is more frustrating than having an issue in the first place.

At this point, if it happens in my next brew, I'll go back to immersion. All other aspects of the day went great.

 

[Ban Yan]

Yes, I have a grainfather as well. All in all it's a very neat, compact system. There are a few famous pinch points with the grainfather though, two of which I have run into. Some sort of addition to the pump inlet filter is a must with a grainfather, like a hop sock around it or something. If that pump gets clogged, your wort ain't moving when your boil is done. It's also quite easy to dislodge the filter while stirring the wort during the boil.

I also bought a heat stick (basically it's a waterproof mount for a water heater element) to aid it in getting to to a decent boil. That's all the major issues I've run into this far!

Final tip: there are a lot of seperable bits and pieces. I've already misplaced the handle for the grain sleeve! It may have gotten thrown out with some spent grain, derp! Something to keep in mind -- make sure you know where all the pieces are. You think it couldn't happen that you'd lose stuff and then it does.

Ha! I will have to check that out! I read the reports about clogging. I used hop bags. I did however use about a 1/4 ounce whole hops at the end because I hit a higher gravity than anticipated. No issues whatsoever! Super clear wort into the carboy! All in all, I was really not sure what to expect from some of the reports. I am very happy with it. I looked at the brew boss and just wasnt able to fork out 2K for a setup. I still had to get a HLT and the basic essentials as I was starting from scratch. With the cost of EVERYTHING needed (including a hop scale) I spent $1300! Includes grainfather, carboy carrier, bottle bucket, spare carboy, kettle ect.... I really think it depends on which one you feel would do the trick. That said, I would not at all hesitate on the Grainfather. I got mine from Williamsbrewing and they offer a 60 or 90 money back return.

 

[Lucky Cat Brew]

Yes, I have a grainfather as well. All in all it's a very neat, compact system. There are a few famous pinch points with the grainfather though, two of which I have run into. Some sort of addition to the pump inlet filter is a must with a grainfather, like a hop sock around it or something. If that pump gets clogged, your wort ain't moving when your boil is done. It's also quite easy to dislodge the filter while stirring the wort during the boil.

I also bought a heat stick (basically it's a waterproof mount for a water heater element) to aid it in getting to to a decent boil. That's all the major issues I've run into this far!

Final tip: there are a lot of seperable bits and pieces. I've already misplaced the handle for the grain sleeve! It may have gotten thrown out with some spent grain, derp! Something to keep in mind -- make sure you know where all the pieces are. You think it couldn't happen that you'd lose stuff and then it does.

I totally know what you mean. I lost my grain pipe components after my first batch and have already had to order a new one.

 

[RedlegEd]

First brew day went great right up until...

Cooling.

The pump simply could not pump through the chiller. Never even used the damn thing before.

Tried all of the tricks I read about short of the bike pump (don't have one that fits it). I don't know what could be stuck in there having never been used before.

Unfortunately, I couldn't use my immersion chiller properly because I usually brew outside and was indoors. My normal chiller has garden hose connections and I didn't have enough connectors to get it connected properly.

I ended up connecting a stainless steel chiller, putting it in an ice bath, and just pumped the wort out through there into my fermentor.

The batch is likely ruined unfortunately.

I wish I had an idea of why the counterflow chiller simply won't pump through. Attempting to blow through it yielded zero air movement whatsoever.

Ugh.

Hi. What a bummer! I doubt the batch is ruined unless it somehow got infected. Remember, lots of folks do no chill brewing and their beer turns out fine. Now, to the problem at hand. A little more information please...did the cooling water flow okay? If so, was it the wort flow that is/was plugged? Did it work okay when you first set it up and did the initial clean/run with just hot water? On the wort inflow side (the one that screws onto the return pipe,) I'd recommend checking that very carefully to ensure that the little detent piece is free from obstruction. That detent is designed to push against the SS ball that sits after the ball valve (unless you took the ball and spring out as many of us do.) If there truly is a blockage in the wort side of the CFC, I'd give your supplier a call and they should send you another quickly. As I told you in a previous post, GF is very good about fixing problems. It's a shame that you didn't catch this one before actually brewing a beer. Ed

 

[RedlegEd]

Yes, I have a grainfather as well. All in all it's a very neat, compact system. There are a few famous pinch points with the grainfather though, two of which I have run into. Some sort of addition to the pump inlet filter is a must with a grainfather, like a hop sock around it or something. If that pump gets clogged, your wort ain't moving when your boil is done. It's also quite easy to dislodge the filter while stirring the wort during the boil.

I also bought a heat stick (basically it's a waterproof mount for a water heater element) to aid it in getting to to a decent boil. That's all the major issues I've run into this far!

Final tip: there are a lot of seperable bits and pieces. I've already misplaced the handle for the grain sleeve! It may have gotten thrown out with some spent grain, derp! Something to keep in mind -- make sure you know where all the pieces are. You think it couldn't happen that you'd lose stuff and then it does.

@Ban Yan Hi, and welcome to the forum! I'd be careful about putting a hop sock over the filter, it'll clog it up worse. If you are running a hop heavy beer, I'd recommend a hop spider/strainer to keep most of the gunk from getting into the pump to begin with. I'd also recommend using a SS worm clamp on the filter hose to help prevent knocking it off. It sucks losing the handle for the grain pipe. It'll be a real challenge trying to pick it up using just the little holes! In any event, welcome aboard and thanks for contributing! Ed

 

[SanPancho]

while everyone is tossing out tips, how about some for doing smaller batches? say 2-2.5 gallon size?

im going to be using a GF for a while before my own build is finished, and doing alot of smaller batches. tips and tricks appreciated.

 

[Pkrd]

while everyone is tossing out tips, how about some for doing smaller batches? say 2-2.5 gallon size?

Apart from one double brew all my batches are around 3-3.5 gallons (2.5 gallon kegs).
Get the short pipework.
I use a hop spider and had to rig up a hanger to drop it lower into the wort.

 

[alestateyall]

Apart from one double brew all my batches are around 3-3.5 gallons (2.5 gallon kegs).
Get the short pipework.
I use a hop spider and had to rig up a hanger to drop it lower into the wort.

I do 3 gallon batches. I set the hop spider on the bottom of the boiler. It stays there nicely. I place it away from the filter.

I use the small pipe work. You can get away without the small pipe work if you watch the mash and make sure the wort is flowing down through the grain and able to recirculate through the pump. But, I do recommend the small pipe work. It’s good insurance for not starving the pump.

Sparging is very easy with small batches. I have never had the headaches people write about with larger batches.

Heating mash water and heating to boil is a breeze even with USA version. I have a heat stick from use with my old system. I hardly get to use it with the GF.

I am planning a no sparge brew soon just to see what that does to my efficiency.

 

[SanPancho]

Ok. Got it. Is 3-3.5 the typical volume you want in the unit at flameout for 2.5gals to ferm?

Alao- Im also wondering if sparge is worth it considering grain is chaep and i should be able to do full volume mash if im shooting for 3ish gals final. Or no?

 

[alestateyall]

Ok. Got it. Is 3-3.5 the typical volume you want in the unit at flameout for 2.5gals to ferm?

Alao- Im also wondering if sparge is worth it considering grain is chaep and i should be able to do full volume mash if im shooting for 3ish gals final. Or no?

I consider “batch volume” the volume into the fermenter. The GF apps do also.

A 3 gallon batch is perfect for a 2.5 gallon keg. I can fill a keg and have enough left in the fermenter to swirl and then pour off into a jar to save yeast.

 

[SanPancho]

My question was more along the lines of equipment losses, I.e. how much left in the kettle, pump, lines, etc. in addition to trub losss.

My 3gal fermenters aren’t great for filling to max, I’ve learned to live with 2gals in keg. Might be time to start using a 5gal keg as fermenter.

 

[alestateyall]

My question was more along the lines of equipment losses, I.e. how much left in the kettle, pump, lines, etc. in addition to trub losss.

My 3gal fermenters aren’t great for filling to max, I’ve learned to live with 2gals in keg. Might be time to start using a 5gal keg as fermenter.

I use a 5 gallon fermenter for 3 gallon batches. I am sure a 4 gallon fermenter would work if such a thing existed. On the other hand, I never need a blow off tube.

 

[eimar]

Received my GF last friday and I'm ready to do the 1st cleaning, But first, thank you to all the brewers who contributed to that very useful thread.
It is not clear to me: do I clean the GF with the inner basket and the flow pipe installed or do I clean them separately ?

Jacques
P.S. I had some tears in my eyes when I retired my faithful 25 years old three tier system and stored it in my locker

 

[treacheroustexan]

Received my GF last friday and I'm ready to do the 1st cleaning, But first, thank you to all the brewers who contributed to that very useful thread.
It is not clear to me: do I clean the GF with the inner basket and the flow pipe installed or do I clean them separately ?

Jacques
P.S. I had some tears in my eyes when I retired my faithful 25 years old three tier system and stored it in my locker

Whatever works best for you honestly. I tear everything apart and clean separate because I clean as I go instead of waiting until the end. It makes it a lot easier at the end.

 

[RedlegEd]

Hi

Whatever works best for you honestly. I hear everything apart and clean separate because I clean as I go instead of waiting until the end. It makes it a lot easier at the end of the day.

+1^^^ this. Makes your brew day go quicker if you clean as you go and you are done with each piece. I also save the first 5 gals of hot water from the CFC, add Oxyclean/PBW and use it as clean up water for the boil kettle and CFC at the end of my brew.

Received my GF last friday and I'm ready to do the 1st cleaning, But first, thank you to all the brewers who contributed to that very useful thread.
It is not clear to me: do I clean the GF with the inner basket and the flow pipe installed or do I clean them separately ?
Jacques
P.S. I had some tears in my eyes when I retired my faithful 25 years old three tier system and stored it in my locker

Hi Jacques,
Welcome to the forum and the GF thread. If you are talking about the very first cleaning, yes, put it completely together and run it with PBW/Oxyclean, to include the CFC (don't worry about the cooling side, just the how wort side.) Recirculate for the time and temp recommended by GF. It's also a good time to check fittings and connections for leaks and/or problems so you don't run into the issue @Hop described in a previous post about the CFC being clogged. Make sure you rinse and dry it thoroughly. Let it sit upside down for a day or so to ensure the pump is completely drained. Enjoy your new toy and I hope this helps. Ed

 

[Hop]

Okay, in the interest of figuring out what went wrong, I spent a couple of hours yesterday and today trying to diagnose the problem.

It appears to be related to the pump, not the wort chiller. The reason I did not experience issues while cleaning the unit before the first brew is because I only brought the water up to 131 °F for the PBW. The reason I didn't experience issues will become a little clearer shortly.

I have two main issues with the Grainfather unit thus far.

1) I have considerable difficulty holding it at boiling temperature. As you can see in the longest of the videos (to be linked at the end of this message), with just 2 gallons of plain water, it was only hitting 209-211 at most. I am at sea level in California, and 212 °F is the boiling point. You can see that a non-trivial portion of the heating element ring at the bottom of the kettle is producing no bubbles (~40%), so it might be faulty. Can anyone confirm whether your heating element produces a full ring of bubbles?

2) I noted in my previous message that I was unable to pump wort through the counterflow chiller at the end of my first brew day, but was able to pump water (both clean and with PBW) through it without issue while cleaning.

Out of curiosity, I decided to go all the way up to a full boil again with just water to see if I could reproduce the issue.

It seems that as soon as the temperature gets to ~180 °F, the pump simply will not push water through the counterflow chiller. In fact, it doesn't matter what's hooked up at this point. It just makes sad noises regardless of what's connected.

Just to be certain it wasn't power related, I tried two different sets of outlets (different circuits) inside with my GFCI adapter, and today tried it outside on the dedicated circuit with GFCI integrated. It's the same story on all counts.

Okay, on to the videos:

Grainfather: Maximum Flow Rate

This is the maximum flow rate of water going through the counterflow chiller at lower temperatures. This is just to check to see whether this is the expected flow rate.

Grainfather: Will Not Pump at High Temp / Heating Element Broken?

Here, you can see that I can't get the pump to flow wort through the chiller at high temperatures (it seems like it will not work above ~180 °F). You can also see that the heating element is not producing bubbles across ~40% of the circumference of the bottom.

 

[treacheroustexan]

Okay, in the interest of figuring out what went wrong, I spent a couple of hours yesterday and today trying to diagnose the problem.

It appears to be related to the pump, not the wort chiller. The reason I did not experience issues while cleaning the unit before the first brew is because I only brought the water up to 131 °F for the PBW. The reason I didn't experience issues will become a little clearer shortly.

I have two main issues with the Grainfather unit thus far.

1) I have considerable difficulty holding it at boiling temperature. As you can see in the longest of the videos (to be linked at the end of this message), with just 2 gallons of plain water, it was only hitting 209-211 at most. I am at sea level in California, and 212 °F is the boiling point. You can see that a non-trivial portion of the heating element ring at the bottom of the kettle is producing no bubbles (~40%), so it might be faulty. Can anyone confirm whether your heating element produces a full ring of bubbles?

2) I noted in my previous message that I was unable to pump wort through the counterflow chiller at the end of my first brew day, but was able to pump water (both clean and with PBW) through it without issue while cleaning.

Out of curiosity, I decided to go all the way up to a full boil again with just water to see if I could reproduce the issue.

It seems that as soon as the temperature gets to ~180 °F, the pump simply will not push water through the counterflow chiller. In fact, it doesn't matter what's hooked up at this point. It just makes sad noises regardless of what's connected.

Just to be certain it wasn't power related, I tried two different sets of outlets (different circuits) inside with my GFCI adapter, and today tried it outside on the dedicated circuit with GFCI integrated. It's the same story on all counts.

Okay, on to the videos:

Grainfather: Maximum Flow Rate

This is the maximum flow rate of water going through the counterflow chiller at lower temperatures. This is just to check to see whether this is the expected flow rate.

Grainfather: Will Not Pump at High Temp / Heating Element Broken?

Here, you can see that I can't get the pump to flow wort through the chiller at high temperatures (it seems like it will not work above ~180 °F). You can also see that the heating element is not producing bubbles across ~40% of the circumference of the bottom.

I'm not gonna lie I'm a few brews in and didn't read your whole post, bit when I had to my pump replaced I had the same issue. Something happened with the pump and a piece expanded inside when it got too hot and wouldn't allow anything through. You should contact GF directly and they will send you a new pump.

 

[Hop]

Thanks, @treacheroustexan! I actually just remembered that I have an original Grainfather Control Box in addition to the Connect, so I tried the same little experiment with that one.

If I let the water boil for a few minutes, the pump will not work anymore. 100% sure now that the pump is my main issue. Thanks for the confirmation that you had the same problem.

I am still curious whether this is the boil ring everyone else gets. I would expect it to bubble in a full circle:

(EDIT: Normal as confirmed by several people on Facebook)

 

[eimar]

Thank you for the cleaning info. It makes sense when cleaning for the first time to clean everything with PBW ,including the parts that contact the wort during the hot side process. After cleaning I'll boil some water and send it through the counterflow chiller tu simulate a real brewing session.

Jacques

 

[José Carlos Vilches Peña]

Hello everyone!

I just joined this forum, a large knowledge store. I hope to share with everyone what I learn.

I apologize for my bad English, I write from Spain and I do not know much about your language.

I have a Grainfather with the new control box, I've already made three beers and I'm very happy with the machine.

I just have something that is very difficult for me: placing the bottom perforated plate with the silicone gasket in place is a real feat
I have read the first 25 pages of this forum (there are 95 ...) and I see that many people complain about the same thing. Even a person says he does not take it between one elaboration and another ...

So ... why not leave it permanently fixed, if it really does not help to remove it? I'm thinking of giving it some stainless welding points, or maybe a whole weld bead around it ... without the silicone gasket, of course.

Is it a correct idea? Can there be a problem with making that weld? I will greatly appreciate your opinion, thanks in advance!

Best regards

José Carlos, from Spain

 

[hedgie57]

I spray inside the grain basket with star San and the plate slides down pretty easily

 

[alestateyall]

Hello everyone!

I just joined this forum, a large knowledge store. I hope to share with everyone what I learn.

I apologize for my bad English, I write from Spain and I do not know much about your language.

I have a Grainfather with the new control box, I've already made three beers and I'm very happy with the machine.

I just have something that is very difficult for me: placing the bottom perforated plate with the silicone gasket in place is a real feat
I have read the first 25 pages of this forum (there are 95 ...) and I see that many people complain about the same thing. Even a person says he does not take it between one elaboration and another ...

So ... why not leave it permanently fixed, if it really does not help to remove it? I'm thinking of giving it some stainless welding points, or maybe a whole weld bead around it ... without the silicone gasket, of course.

Is it a correct idea? Can there be a problem with making that weld? I will greatly appreciate your opinion, thanks in advance!

Best regards

José Carlos, from Spain

You can heat the malt pipe without perforated plate. Just before mash pull out the malt pipe and insert the perforated plate and gasket. The malt pipe will expand enough to make the process much easier from the heat.

You can also spray the silicone with starsan and insert cold. That works really well.

You can also use grain dust as a lubricant.

I also saw someone spray water on the plate while inserting. It went right in.

The Grainfather Facebook group has many solutions.

 

[alestateyall]

Thanks, @treacheroustexan! I actually just remembered that I have an original Grainfather Control Box in addition to the Connect, so I tried the same little experiment with that one.

If I let the water boil for a few minutes, the pump will not work anymore. 100% sure now that the pump is my main issue. Thanks for the confirmation that you had the same problem.

I am still curious whether this is the boil ring everyone else gets. I would expect it to bubble in a full circle:

View attachment 575520

I don’t have a picture of my boil ring, but, the heating element doesn’t make a full circle.

Here is an example pic:
https://goo.gl/images/GB8EDe

The pic is not Grainfather. But it is similar. I could find a good Grainfather pic.

 

[eimar]

Thinking about it, why do we have to remove the bottom perforated plate for cleaning the inner basket ?

 

[RedlegEd]

Hello everyone!

I just joined this forum, a large knowledge store. I hope to share with everyone what I learn.

I apologize for my bad English, I write from Spain and I do not know much about your language.

I have a Grainfather with the new control box, I've already made three beers and I'm very happy with the machine.

I just have something that is very difficult for me: placing the bottom perforated plate with the silicone gasket in place is a real feat
I have read the first 25 pages of this forum (there are 95 ...) and I see that many people complain about the same thing. Even a person says he does not take it between one elaboration and another ...

So ... why not leave it permanently fixed, if it really does not help to remove it? I'm thinking of giving it some stainless welding points, or maybe a whole weld bead around it ... without the silicone gasket, of course.

Is it a correct idea? Can there be a problem with making that weld? I will greatly appreciate your opinion, thanks in advance!

Best regards

José Carlos, from Spain

José Carlos,
Welcome to the forum! Your English is excellent, so don't let that stop you from participating and asking questions. As others have already stated, it's best to insert the bottom perforated plate with gasket after you have wet the inside of the grain pipe. I would not recommend welding the plate. Once you get used to putting it together and slipping it down when wet, you'll see it is not hard. Another "trick" is to keep the plate vertical until it is almost at the bottom, then, slowly tip it into the horizontal position and finish pushing it down. Again, welcome! Ed


Edit to add: By the way, I do not screw the overflow pipe into the bottom plate until after I install it.

 

[RedlegEd]

Thinking about it, why do we have to remove the bottom perforated plate for cleaning the inner basket ?

Jacques,
If you leave it in there, I can almost guarantee you will get little nasties starting to grow. Part of the cleaning process for the GF is to remove the silicon rings from the perf plates (both upper and lower) and clean inside the groove with a toothbrush or some other type of brush, rinse, then let them dry. Remember that the grainpipe, filter plates, silicone rings, and overflow pipe do not get boiled, so they get covered in the wonderful, sweet, sticky, sugary wort from the mash and must be thoroughly cleaned after each use. Probably not what you wanted to hear, but I hope this helps. Ed

 

[José Carlos Vilches Peña]

I spray inside the grain basket with star San and the plate slides down pretty easily

Thanks for your help, but I've tried it again and again and it's not going well. Possibly the basket is not perfectly circular and the perforated plate either. The two things together make it difficult for me to maneuver.
It is a design point of the G.G. poorly resolved, in my opinion.
Best regards
JC, from Spain

 

[José Carlos Vilches Peña]

You can heat the malt pipe without perforated plate. Just before mash pull out the malt pipe and insert the perforated plate and gasket. The malt pipe will expand enough to make the process much easier from the heat.

You can also spray the silicone with starsan and insert cold. That works really well.

You can also use grain dust as a lubricant.

I also saw someone spray water on the plate while inserting. It went right in.

The Grainfather Facebook group has many solutions.

Thanks for your help, but I've tried all of that and sometimes it works, sometimes not. It does not make sense to live pending hardware, so I think I'll fix it, it does not help that it's removable.
It is a design point of the G.G. poorly resolved, in my opinion.
Best regards
JC

 

[jschein]

Hello everyone!

I just joined this forum, a large knowledge store. I hope to share with everyone what I learn.

I apologize for my bad English, I write from Spain and I do not know much about your language.

I have a Grainfather with the new control box, I've already made three beers and I'm very happy with the machine.

I just have something that is very difficult for me: placing the bottom perforated plate with the silicone gasket in place is a real feat
I have read the first 25 pages of this forum (there are 95 ...) and I see that many people complain about the same thing. Even a person says he does not take it between one elaboration and another ...

So ... why not leave it permanently fixed, if it really does not help to remove it? I'm thinking of giving it some stainless welding points, or maybe a whole weld bead around it ... without the silicone gasket, of course.

Is it a correct idea? Can there be a problem with making that weld? I will greatly appreciate your opinion, thanks in advance!

Best regards

José Carlos, from Spain

Welcome and your English is perfect. Dip the basket in your mash water and do the same with the ring, it slides in easy.

 

[José Carlos Vilches Peña]

I don’t have a picture of my boil ring, but, the heating element doesn’t make a full circle.

Thank you for your help ... certainly, I think that may be the problem, the lack of accuracy in the circumference. And really, what good is it to be removable?
It is a design point of the G.G. poorly resolved, in my opinion.
Best regards
JC

 

[José Carlos Vilches Peña]

Thinking about it, why do we have to remove the bottom perforated plate for cleaning the inner basket ?

That's the question I ask myself ... and my answer, unless you tell me something else is "not at all", it would be better if the perforated plate with the grain basket came together, as other systems have done previously to filter the mash.
Best regards.
JC

 

[Minky]

Thanks, @treacheroustexan! I actually just remembered that I have an original Grainfather Control Box in addition to the Connect, so I tried the same little experiment with that one.

If I let the water boil for a few minutes, the pump will not work anymore. 100% sure now that the pump is my main issue. Thanks for the confirmation that you had the same problem.

View attachment 575520

Hi Hop,
Don't give up on the pump just yet. I have problems getting boiling wort to move also. This is what I do to make it work. Start the pump with the red valve in the closed position. Gradually open it up a little at a time. It seems to need the resistance to build enough pressure to fill the pipe. You should soon begin to see a small stream coming out of the end of the hose. Open a little more and the stream should get larger. You should then be able to open the valve the whole way.

If it doesn't work right the first time, you probably have air in the pump so, leaving the valve open, turn the pump off. The trapped air should bubble up and out through wort. Close the valve and start over.

I had the same problem with a Steelhead pump when trying to move hot water.

 

[eimar]

Jacques,
If you leave it in there, I can almost guarantee you will get little nasties starting to grow. Part of the cleaning process for the GF is to remove the silicon rings from the perf plates (both upper and lower) and clean inside the groove with a toothbrush or some other type of brush, rinse, then let them dry. Remember that the grainpipe, filter plates, silicone rings, and overflow pipe do not get boiled, so they get covered in the wonderful, sweet, sticky, sugary wort from the mash and must be thoroughly cleaned after each use. Probably not what you wanted to hear, but I hope this helps. Ed

I see, that makes sense. Thank's Ed

Jacques

 

[RedlegEd]

Hello everyone!

I just have something that is very difficult for me: placing the bottom perforated plate with the silicone gasket in place is a real feat
I have read the first 25 pages of this forum (there are 95 ...) and I see that many people complain about the same thing. Even a person says he does not take it between one elaboration and another ...

José Carlos, I neglected to say in my previous response to make inserting the bottom plate easier. Do not attach the overflow pipe until the plate is installed. That way, you can insert it vertically until almost at the bottom, then carefully flip to horizontal and push down, then screw on the overflow pipe. I do not recommend welding the bottom plate to the grain pipe. I think that would be a big mistake, and you will find it will be very difficult to clean well. Ed