Grainfather!!

[kyt]

Good advice, thanks guys.
That's pretty cool, i'l look for one of these, thanks.

This is the one I'm using: https://www.lowes.com/pd/Patio-Life-16-in-L-x-16-in-D-x-3-5-in-H-Resin-Plant-Caddy/999979008
it has a lip around the edge, it helps keep the GF on it. And the little grooves and stuff in the bottom will help collect drips. Cutting the center out would have been a good idea, I should have done that (doesn't matter anymore, I took the reset switch out).

 

[murphyslaw]

I bought this 16" dolly and wish I had gone bigger. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002TRWJLA/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

 

[kyt]

I bought this 16" dolly and wish I had gone bigger. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002TRWJLA/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

That one looks a lot nicer than the one I got.
Why do you wish you one bigger?

 

[murphyslaw]

That one looks a lot nicer than the one I got.
Why do you wish you one bigger?

Its not as stable as I'd like. Its never tipped over or anything, but I'd feel more secure with a wider base.

 

[kigerbrewing]

Is anyone having trouble with the "brew recipe" function of the online recipe builder? On any of my recipes that I try to start a brew session with, it doubles or triples the grain weight and then gives crazy mash and sparge water volumes. For example, my recipe shows 13.5 pounds total grain weight and when I go to brew the recipe, it fills in the grain weight as 29.58 pounds. It happens on every one of my recipes even ones that I have brewed before with no issues. I've tried to contact Grainfather but I have not heard back yet.

 

[murphyslaw]

Is anyone having trouble with the "brew recipe" function of the online recipe builder? On any of my recipes that I try to start a brew session with, it doubles or triples the grain weight and then gives crazy mash and sparge water volumes. For example, my recipe shows 13.5 pounds total grain weight and when I go to brew the recipe, it fills in the grain weight as 29.58 pounds. It happens on every one of my recipes even ones that I have brewed before with no issues. I've tried to contact Grainfather but I have not heard back yet.

I have not seen that. Maybe double check that you're building the recipe in the correct measurement system?

 

[kigerbrewing]

The customer service person couldn't figure it out so she sent the issue to the developers but I haven't heard back yet. She said that she has never seen this issue before and the same thing happened on her end when she downloaded my recipe. At least I'm able to see the correct mash and water volumes on the app on my iphone.

 

[shortyz]

just checking in, grainfather working perfect every weekend as usual. did a lacto sour in it, held it at 90f for a couple days, never missed a beat outside in the cold.

 

[Pkrd]

Brewed last night.

Looks like the iOS app has updated.

First inkling something was up was when I got nine notifications about the delayed heating starting. Other notifications between once and nine times.
I couldn't find quick profiles in the app anymore either, had to build a recipe. Couldn't figure out the whirlpool setting so just did that manually. Brew session went fine in the end.

 

[kigerbrewing]

I'm sure my problem is specific to my account. It started after I copied a recipe so I could change things on it while keeping the original recipe the same. It is now the weekend in NZ so I'm sure I won't hear anything until next week.

 

[Clonefan94]

Is anyone having issues hitting final gravity? I’ve been brewing all grain for about 6 years with cooler mash tun and batch sparge. I was always within a point or 2 from fg on the couple hundred brews I did over that time, some high, some low, most, spot on. Since getting the grainfather in the spring, all 6 brews I’ve done on it are always 5 points high on gravity, it’s scary how consistently high I am. Now I haven’t tested my hydrometer lately, but with the care I take of it and only using it for FG, makes me think it couldn’t have changed.

I do notice a residual sweetness on recipes I have re-brewed with the GF that wasn’t there with my old system. I have triple checked mash temps with Three thermometers I know are spot on and everything is in line. I’ve used different yeasts, different batches of grain and different mash temps. I guess the only variable I haven’t looked into is mash ph, because over 6 years in the past, it was never an issue.

Anyways just wondering if anyone has any thoughts. It’s not the end of the world and I can adjust recipes going forward, just odd how consistently off this is since switching to the GF.

Update to this. I decided to change one variable on my last brew, I went with a 90 minute mash, instead of my typical 60 minutes. Mashed at 148 for 90 minutes. I kegged that beer last night and did a FG check and it was spot on where it should be at 1.009. So yeah, not sure if my mash in is dropping the temp too far and not coming up fast enough in the center of the mash or what. I will check that next time, but for now, I'll stick with the 90 minute mash as it seemed to have worked to cure my issue.

 

[kyt]

Lately I've been doing longer mashes too. Even though my temps are stable. Once I hit roughly 60 minutes or so, I'll start taking refractometer readings ever 10-15 minutes. I made a google sheet that calculates predicted conversion potential, I just keep mashing until the readings get to at least 90%+ conversion.
I'd rather use less grain and wait a little longer for good conversion, and the beer be dryer; instead of throwing extra malt at it, just to get the numbers higher faster, and end up with too much sweetness.

 

[pkgmsu2000]

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

check your seals, remove them from the plates and split the seal open across the entire diameter. absolutely disgusting! cant imagine what would build up inside there and grow if you never removed the plates and seals.

 

[pkgmsu2000]

Well folks, after 1 year of use and only 10 batches brewed, GF has decided it is time to replace my entire unit on their dime. We had a really HOT awful summer in Denver that basically cancelled brewing from June thru September.

The Good - outstanding customer service and prompt attention to all my issues. I cant say enough good things about how the service from GF.

The Bad - when you source Made In China, lots and lots of quality issues. Before arriving at this point, many parts replaced as part of troubleshooting, including replacement of pump+seals+filter, controller, top+bottom plates+seals, and a few other small parts I cant remember. Everything basically replaced but the boiler and heating element. The final straw turned out to be consistently getting stuck at 155F and 180F. I had to continually babysit the mash to keep the temp range where I wanted it to be, usually around 151F. The various temps would sit there for a long time before heating up again, but then element and controller decided they didnt want to talk to each other anymore, then no more heating up of any kind. We tested so many things, but at least confirmed that its not anything electrical in my home. Outlets and circuits were good, watts good, amps good, etc. It's unfortunately a quality issue, perhaps bad components coming out of China in batches.

I will keep you guys posted... I am extremely happy with my GF conical FV, with dual valve tap, controller, and cooling kit. I am looking into the glycol chiller too.

Questions in general:

1) Are you guys dumping yeast? If yes, what is an example of your dumping schedule after a couple of days?

2) What is a tried and true method of using the CFC to cool down to yeast pitch temps? I have read a lot of different ways that ya'll do it fast and with minimal water waste, from throttling the cold water out of faucet to throttling the pump (offsetting them) to bringing in an immersion secondary chiller... I've had bad luck with CFC compared to a plate chiller...

3) How in the heck do you remove and replace the clear hoses on the CFC? Mine are no longer clear. You would think there is a how-to video out there but I found nothing.

I'll hang up and listen TIA

 

[jaymosbeershack]

Well folks, after 1 year of use and only 10 batches brewed, GF has decided it is time to replace my entire unit on their dime. We has a really HOT awful summer in Denver that basically cancelled brewing from June thru September.

The Good - outstanding customer service and prompt attention to all my issues. I cant say enough good things about how the service from GF.

The Bad - when you source Made In China, lots and lots of quality issues. Before arriving at this point, many parts replaced as part of troubleshooting, including replacement of pump+seals+filter, controller, top+bottom plates+seals, and a few other small parts I cant remember. Everything basically replaced but the boiler and heating element. The final straw turned out to be consistently getting stuck at 155F and 180F. I had to continually babysit the mash to keep the temp range where I wanted it to be, usually around 151F. The various temps would sit there for a long time before heating up again, but then element and controller decided they didnt want to talk to each other anymore, then no more heating up of any kind. We tested so many things, but at least confirmed that its not anything electrical in my home. Outlets and circuits were good, watts good, amps good, etc. It's unfortunately a quality issue, perhaps bad components coming out of China in batches.

I will keep you guys posted... I am extremely happy with my GF conical FV, with dual valve tap, controller, and cooling kit. I am looking into the glycol chiller too.

Questions in general:

1) Are you guys dumping yeast? If yes, what is an example of your dumping schedule after a couple of days?

2) What is a tried and true method of using the CFC to cool down to yeast pitch temps? I have read a lot of different ways that ya'll do it fast and with minimal water waste, from throttling the cold water out of faucet to throttling the pump (offsetting them) to bringing in an immersion secondary chiller... I've had bad luck with CFC compared to a plate chiller...

3) How in the heck do you remove and replace the clear hoses on the CFC? Mine are no longer clear. You would think there is a how-to video out there but I found nothing.

I'll hang up and listen TIA

I had a similar issue with my unit getting "stuck" at 180. They replaced it in 3 days no questions asked.
I live in nc where summer tap water is around 78*. Cooling sucks. Fortunatly i can chill to 78 then let the fermentaion chiller take over. I do throttle the pump way down. Normally pitch about 2 hours after i brew and ive never had an issue(with kveik i can pitch right away)
As far as those lines go, i havent gotten there yet, but i may soon. I want to swap the treaded connectors for cam lock or quick connects.

 

[pkgmsu2000]

this place is pretty quiet, you would think there would be daily discussions about brewing.... where is everyone? are people still using the GF? are people moving on to another electric brewing system?

 

[jaymosbeershack]

this place is pretty quiet, you would think there would be daily discussions about brewing.... where is everyone? are people still using the GF? are people moving on to another electric brewing system?

Im using my GF as we speak. Just got done with the first attempt at a batch sparge in it. I pumped out the wort to a second vessel while adding the sparge water. Stired well, then recirqed for 15 minutes. Then Pulled up the basket and pumped the first runnings back into the GF. Preboil sample is chilling now, hoping to up extraction.

 

[skleice]

this place is pretty quiet, you would think there would be daily discussions about brewing.... where is everyone? are people still using the GF? are people moving on to another electric brewing system?

No news is good news?

I've been extremely pleased with my GF. My long step mashes are a breeze. Bluetooth is a great feature. Cleanup is simple. CFC works well for me. Heat times could be better, but I knew that going in.

 

[jaymosbeershack]

Batch sparge worked great. Ive been getting about 63% but this batch is a bit better than 72%. Will probably work even better when the grist isnt half wheat and oats.

 

[pkgmsu2000]

Batch sparge worked great. Ive been getting about 63% but this batch is a bit better than 72%. Will probably work even better when the grist isnt half wheat and oats.

I havent tried the batch sparge with GF yet, thanks for sharing your process

I've been extremely pleased with my GF. My long step mashes are a breeze. Bluetooth is a great feature. Cleanup is simple. CFC works well for me. Heat times could be better, but I knew that going in.

Can you share anything specific about how your CFC works well?

 

[skleice]

Can you share anything specific about how your CFC works well?

Nothing special. Just throttle back the flow. I live in New England, so our ground water isn't as bad as some of you. My fermentation chamber take it down further if necessary.

 

[cheesebach]

Batch sparge worked great. Ive been getting about 63% but this batch is a bit better than 72%. Will probably work even better when the grist isnt half wheat and oats.

What is your motivation behind wanting to batch sparge vs. the standard sparge that the GF is already set up for? I’m just curious, as I don’t own one but am looking at all my options for an electric single vessel setup.

 

[jaymosbeershack]

What is your motivation behind wanting to batch sparge vs. the standard sparge that the GF is already set up for? I’m just curious, as I don’t own one but am looking at all my options for an electric single vessel setup.

I was just looking for better efficiency. Sprage water doesn't grab much sugar when it runs through the grain basket.

 

[pkgmsu2000]

Nothing special. Just throttle back the flow. I live in New England, so our ground water isn't as bad as some of you. My fermentation chamber take it down further if necessary.

which flow do you throttle? water?

 

[skleice]

which flow do you throttle? water?

No, I close the (red) GF valve a bit to slow the wort speed, giving more contact time inside the chiller.

 

[anotherbrick]

No, I close the (red) GF valve a bit to slow the wort speed, giving more contact time inside the chiller.

Do you end up letting water flow at full rate, or do you throttle it at all. I've only done 4 batches so far on my GF since purchase, and I notice that I have needed to drop the fermenter into the ferm chamber to get the temps down to pitching temp for some hours. I've got the wort flow pretty low (but could drop it more).

I'm also moving from extract for like 10 years, and am struggling to figure out why I'm pretty consistently low on my OG numbers (both with 60 and 90 minutes boils) @151F. More experimentation needed obviously, but tips welcome.

I sparge with volumes from GF calculators and a small pitcher, usually around 160-170F or so.

 

[murphyslaw]

In the summer, my CFC can get it down to about 80 and I use the fermentation chamber after that. In the winter I have no trouble getting down to the mid-60s. I generally run the GF valve fully open and have the water running a bit harder than that.

 

[Jag75]

I have an immersion chiller I made and had previously used a pump to circulate ice water. I have only done 1 batch on my GF and I wasnt really impressed with the cfc. My next time I will put my immersion chiller in an ice chest and connect my pump to one end and then connect my cfc to the other which will give me freezing cold water running through it . Other then that I'm very happy with the GF.

 

[Minky]

Pre-cooling the entire batch before pumping it into the fermenter helps a lot, plus it helps to preserve the desired character of late addition hops. After recirculating the wort through the CFC for the last 5 minutes of the boil, turn off the heating element and start running cold water through the CFC. Continue recirculating the wort back into the GF until the entire batch is in the low 100's.

The instructions refer obliquely to this pre-cooling step when it says "Once the 'cold wort out' hose runs cold, switch the pump 'Off' and place it inside the clean and sterilized fermenter".

 

[jaymosbeershack]

Pre-cooling the entire batch before pumping it into the fermenter helps a lot, plus it helps to preserve the desired character of late addition hops. After recirculating the wort through the CFC for the last 5 minutes of the boil, turn off the heating element and start running cold water through the CFC. Continue recirculating the wort back into the GF until the entire batch is in the low 100's.

The instructions refer obliquely to this pre-cooling step when it says "Once the 'cold wort out' hose runs cold, switch the pump 'Off' and place it inside the clean and sterilized fermenter".

I start racking to the fermenter right around 155*. Durring the winter it puts my wort at 70* going into the fermenter, 78* in the summer.