Grainfather!!

[bunnyrat]

I plan to, but have not found them in stock yet. I have had a few problems with the filter, so I’d be happy to have the additional option in place.

 

[elgee]

My filter always clogs because the rubber end cap always pops off and all the stuff you want to filter gets stuck in the recirculating check valve. I’ll need to remove that ball. Definitely am thinking of both putting the hose clamp on the filter and adding the false bottom.

 

[TBC]

Yeah, that's what got me to pull the trigger. Just got it.

I also just got my grains last night. I don't yet have a mill so I asked for them crushed. The grain looks barely cracked, like most are intact but they might have a crack inside. Should I even use this in my Grainfather or try to get it re-milled? It was a kit and I don't have extra to accommodate a 60% efficiency.

You can always put the grain in gallon zip lock bags and use a rolling pin to crush them some more.

 

[sarhubs]

The reason GF uses the cylinder filter off to the side is to allow access to the bottom during the boil. Just my preference, but I would never run a false bottom in the GF. My friend with a Robobrew dislikes the false bottom for this very reason.

The 2 main problems with the GF filter are easily addressed. 1. Cut a piece of SS wire about 3 inches long and run it through the diameter of the filter just below the cap when it is installed. Pull the wire ends up over the top of the cap and twist the ends like a bread-tie. This will keep the cap from falling off during boil and can be kept in the filter for the next use. 2. Install a small SS hose clamp on the filter outlet, install the filter with clamp onto the GF pump inlet, and then tighten the clamp to apply just enough pressure to hold the filter nose on but not so tight that it cannot be removed or placed back on. Once you have this setting there is no need to touch it and it will work every time without having to adjust it repeatedly. Also remove the useless ball and spring. They restrict flow even when clean and when they catch and trap matter they can shut down the flow entirely.

I have 2 grainfathers with well over 100 batches done in each. I love the GF filter design. I have done everything from light lagers to double IPA's with 6 or more oz of hops through the boil and have never had any problems. Having the wort flow through the hops as they build up on the filter is a plus to me. The slower flow takes a little more time to fill the fermenter, but it also makes the counter-chiller work even better. After removing the spring and ball I have never had zero flow. Ditch the ball and spring and keep the filter.

 

[murphyslaw]

Sorry for another post but I was reading through this thread and it seems like the filter being the most common issue. I saw David Heath talking about a RB false bottom that will work perfectly as an upgrade part for the GF. Anyone try this?

I'd love to hear if someone would give this a try on a big NEIPA tossing the hops in commando style.

 

[TNJake]

Good info, I can see why one would remove the check valve but I can also see why they put it in. I certainly wouldn't want to be sued by someone who got burned because they forgot to turn off the pump and/or ball valve before disconnecting the flow out pipe.

 

[elgee]

That’s a risk I would be willing to take to avoid it getting clogged.

 

[TNJake]

Honestly, it's probably more of a CYA addition than anything else.

 

[MaCheFai]

The reason GF uses the cylinder filter off to the side is to allow access to the bottom during the boil. Just my preference, but I would never run a false bottom in the GF. My friend with a Robobrew dislikes the false bottom for this very reason.

The 2 main problems with the GF filter are easily addressed. 1. Cut a piece of SS wire about 3 inches long and run it through the diameter of the filter just below the cap when it is installed. Pull the wire ends up over the top of the cap and twist the ends like a bread-tie. This will keep the cap from falling off during boil and can be kept in the filter for the next use. 2. Install a small SS hose clamp on the filter outlet, install the filter with clamp onto the GF pump inlet, and then tighten the clamp to apply just enough pressure to hold the filter nose on but not so tight that it cannot be removed or placed back on. Once you have this setting there is no need to touch it and it will work every time without having to adjust it repeatedly. Also remove the useless ball and spring. They restrict flow even when clean and when they catch and trap matter they can shut down the flow entirely.

I have 2 grainfathers with well over 100 batches done in each. I love the GF filter design. I have done everything from light lagers to double IPA's with 6 or more oz of hops through the boil and have never had any problems. Having the wort flow through the hops as they build up on the filter is a plus to me. The slower flow takes a little more time to fill the fermenter, but it also makes the counter-chiller work even better. After removing the spring and ball I have never had zero flow. Ditch the ball and spring and keep the filter.

I haven't had an issues with the filter or cap coming off yet either, but just for safe measure, I started doing this on my last 2 brews. I figured it can't hurt and helps keep everything a bit more secure w/o the need of extra parts. Works well for me so far: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/forum/threads/grainfather.550870/page-103#post-8511789

And I agree with the filter design as far as hops go. By dumping them straight is, I get great hop utilization/flavor/bitterness. I find that a good whirlpool really helps a lot too, haven't had a clog yet(knocks on wood)! And cleaning isn't all that bad. I tilt the machine onto the counter and spray water towards the back and the hops and sediment come pouring right out into the sink. Less parts I need to clean, the better.

As for the other discussion around temp variations, I posted the video David Heath did comparing the temps on the controller and a calibrated thermometer a page or two back. It seems to be very accurate keeping the full grain bed at the desired temp, even with the probe located at the bottom. So long as you keep the pump going during the mash, and don't run into a clogging issue, I don't see why it wouldn't be accurate. So I'm not really surprised at his findings.

 

[eimar]

Sarhubs, could you please post a picture about fixing that filter problem

 

[elgee]

How does everyone whirlpool? Do you manually use a paddle or recirculate through the pump? I would like to go the pump route that way it is constant. Maybe just clip the hose at an angle and set it and forget it for 15-20.

 

[Jag75]

Yup, just run the pump

 

[TNJake]

So I'm planning on getting my first brew with this tomorrow and I checked the temp probe after reading what someone had said in a previous post. Dang, it feels easy to pop out. Makes me a little nervous.

Edit: Upon further review it's sealed from the inside anyway.

 

[shortyz]

I always wondered about that. Is it that easy to take apart,clean up and reinstall? Pretty self explanatory?

yes its not that bad, just a couple philips screws holding it in, slide the metal bands off the hoses that hold the tubes on the pump pop it out. take out the 4 philips screws that hold the impeller casing onto the pump. Open her up clean it out! its a mag driven impeller so dont break anything or else shes buggered.

cheers

 

[TNJake]

First brew completed and I gotta say it was still a really fun way to brew. I hit target gravity exactly and was able to do clean up in stages while I was brewing, leaving only the core of the GF and chiller at the end.

 

[murphyslaw]

It's really a joy to brew with

 

[TNJake]

I think the queues and reminders actually made it more fun. Instead of me worrying about forgetting something or if I have my timer set, I just set up the recipe ahead of time.

 

[Clonefan94]

I always wondered about that. Is it that easy to take apart,clean up and reinstall? Pretty self explanatory?

I'm asking this as well about the pump. I'm pretty mechanically inclined, but my GF is still under warranty, so I don't want to start taking stuff apart that doesn't need it. I've had my GF less than a year, but I've been brewing for over 7 years, all grain for about 6.5 of those. So I know how gunked up things can become if you don't scrub the crap off of them. Is the pump easy to take apart/put back together? And also, is it worth worrying about until an issue arises. I'm the type of person who likes to stay on top of things and would rather clean now than have a crappy brew day.

 

[shortyz]

I'm asking this as well about the pump. I'm pretty mechanically inclined, but my GF is still under warranty, so I don't want to start taking stuff apart that doesn't need it. I've had my GF less than a year, but I've been brewing for over 7 years, all grain for about 6.5 of those. So I know how gunked up things can become if you don't scrub the crap off of them. Is the pump easy to take apart/put back together? And also, is it worth worrying about until an issue arises. I'm the type of person who likes to stay on top of things and would rather clean now than have a crappy brew day.

did you read my response above? lol.

 

[Clonefan94]

Woops, I swear, I went through the thread twice looking for the response. Sorry about that. Thank you for alerting me. And this was before I started brewing/drinking today. I guess I should have had at least one beer before I came here to post.

 

[TNJake]

People seem to be a big fan of whirlpooling, I haven't yet gotten a paddle for this but I plan to get something like the Jaybird whirlpool paddle and throw it in my drill.
Anyone else do something simular?

 

[jaymosbeershack]

People seem to be a big fan of whirlpooling, I haven't yet gotten a paddle for this but I plan to get something like the Jaybird whirlpool paddle and throw it in my drill.
Anyone else do something simular?

Ive whirlpooled with a paddle and drill, but i think i get the same results from just recirculating(and its a lot less work)

 

[Clonefan94]

Ive whirlpooled with a paddle and drill, but i think i get the same results from just recirculating(and its a lot less work)

My limited experience with the GF so far has been the same. I did the drill method and a paddle, now, I just use my large stainless spoon and give it a couple of times around then just recirc. I don't know if the spoon helps at all, just a thing I've always done to get things moving, so it works.

 

[nepatsfan1]

I have 5 brew down on my Grainfather and my beers are so much better than the cooler method. I am consistently overshooting the gravity I have calculated and before I could not get a hoppy beer to be well hoppy... That changed with the Grainfather. I went from good beers to great beers.

 

[TNJake]

Second batch done on my Grainfather, this one seemed to border on being a stuck mash. It was a larger grain bill saison.
It also seems like I am not losing the amount of water in my boil that the app says I will. I was shooting for 5.5 gallon and came out at about 6 gallons. OG was a couple points low but I'll attribute that to the extra volume.

 

[Beeru]

I've made about a dozen beers with my Grainfather, but just did my first kettle sour. It worked great.
I was worried about the heating element having to come on and off constantly, and that it could decrease the longevity of the kettle. But I had forgotten that rather than turning on and off, it stays on at around 4% power. So, I'm not so concerned about that now.

The beer itself was super simple. Some wheat, pilsner, and 2-row mashed as normal, then cooled down to 120f, then I added some organic 0% fat yogurt and let it sit for 24 hours. I used my kegerator to blast a C02 blanket on top, and covered the top with tin foil. After it was nicely sour I boiled as normal, adding some late addition hops for low IBUs and some nice citrusy / juicy flavours to compliment the sourness.

 

[jack13]

Couldn't find anything about this...

Does the grainfather automatically heat wort while you're sparging? I did a 154F mash, 168F mash out. While sparging with 170F water, I noticed the temp of the wort was 189. Was not a false reading, it seems. One explanation would be that the temp probe came out at some point, but that doesn't seem to be the case.

The only thing I could think of is that, during sparge, the GF automatically starts heating in anticipation of the boil.

 

[thehaze]

The Grainfather does not automatically boil during sparge unless you set it to. It never happened to me.

 

[jack13]

The Grainfather does not automatically boil during sparge unless you set it to. It never happened to me.

I don't see that as a setting option anywhere, either on my computer or phone app. Hmm...

 

[thehaze]

I have the Connect version and you can program up to 7 steps or something. The first is the mash, then mash out and then a 3rd, being the boil. Once the mash out is finished, it will slowly raise the temperature. I don't program the boil, as it seems unneccessary, as I simply up the temperature to boil, after I raise the basket for sparge...