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DarkUncle said:
Yeah I'm low in sea level as well. Out on Long Island.

Any issues with clogging? That's another thing I've seen with the pump clogging with hops debris.

Don't know if you've seen it but the makers of Grainfather just developed their own insulated jacket for this system. Think it's called the Graincoat or something creative like that.
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I had trouble with clogging on my first brew with the grainfather from the hops. I started using a hop spider and that seemed to cure that issue. On a side note, I just ordered a false bottom for my grainfather. It is made for a robobrew but works perfectly for the grainfather.
 
Shoot sorry man . Hope all turned out well. Did the bottom screen stay in as you pulled up the basket. I checked mine looks like it would stay barely , depending how carefully you pulled it up.
 
How do others like the counterflow chiller that comes with the GF? I've never used one and been really happy with my Jaded immersion chiller, and can chill 6 gallons in about 12 minutes or so to around 60f. New to the GF so just curious. My ground water temps this time of year are 50-52f.
 
I like it . Never used a jaded so I dont know. In the summer i usually transfer to the fermenter at about 90f because my water is so warm . One time I used my immersion chiller and cfc chiller at the same time .
 
Jag75 said:
I like it . Never used a jaded so I dont know. In the summer i usually transfer to the fermenter at about 90f because my water is so warm . One time I used my immersion chiller and cfc chiller at the same time .
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I use an IC with warm ground water as well. At about the 90-100*F point, I switch over from the city water to a sump pump in a bucket of ice water to get down to pitching temp. I am sure a CFC could use the same technique.
 
brewbama said:
I use an IC with warm ground water as well. At about the 90-100*F point, I switch over from the city water to a sump pump in a bucket of ice water to get down to pitching temp. I am sure a CFC could use the same technique.
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Yes I use ice chest with a pump as well when I use IC . I've thought about hooking that up to my cfc but never get around to doing it. I have a diy chiller and it gets down to pitching temp quickly .
 
thunderwagn said:
How do others like the counterflow chiller that comes with the GF? I've never used one and been really happy with my Jaded immersion chiller, and can chill 6 gallons in about 12 minutes or so to around 60f. New to the GF so just curious. My ground water temps this time of year are 50-52f.
Click to expand...

Works well for me 90% of the year. During the summer heat waves I get it down to 80's and then put the wort in the fermentation chamber to cool before pitching. I'm in New England. Aside from that, it gets down to temps very quickly.
 
thunderwagn said:
How do others like the counterflow chiller that comes with the GF? I've never used one and been really happy with my Jaded immersion chiller, and can chill 6 gallons in about 12 minutes or so to around 60f. New to the GF so just curious. My ground water temps this time of year are 50-52f.
Click to expand...
Hi. I really like mine, but it does have a little bit of a learning curve to adjust both speed of the wort going in and the cold water. When you get them in balance, the outgoing chiller water should be too hot to touch and the outgoing wort almost the same temp as your cooling water. That said, if you like your IC, and it works well, then by all means use it. It's probably easier to use and clean than the CFC. You can still pump your cooled wort over to the fermenter using the recirculation pipe and silicone hose. If you decide to try using the CFC, do not put in on the glass lid on the GF. The only boil-over I've had with the GF was when I first started and put the CFC on the glass lid to sanitize with 10 minutes left to go. Hope this helps. Ed
 
thunderwagn said:
How do others like the counterflow chiller that comes with the GF? I've never used one and been really happy with my Jaded immersion chiller, and can chill 6 gallons in about 12 minutes or so to around 60f. New to the GF so just curious. My ground water temps this time of year are 50-52f.
Click to expand...

Only on my 2nd brew with the GF and the first was a rush due to a failed mash and boil (long story, but in the end it was ok) so this was the first time I used the counterflow and I love it. My immersion chiller took 45 minutes minimum to chill. Once this was dialed in within a couple minutes I was outputting directly to the fermenter at 65 degrees.

I do have a question though; I saw that some people are starting the pump about 10 minutes left in the boil to run wort though the counterflow so it would sterilize. I did this and lost about 3 degrees, but it came back up after 5 minutes. Would this affect the boil since I had more of a simmer for 5 minutes? 209 is still above sterilization temps so I can't see it being an issue. Anyone have some insight?
 
skleice said:
I sanitize the CFC at the start of the boil so it doesn't mess with my hop utilization. I add my 60 min addition once things get boiling again.
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I also think that if I left the valve mostly closed it wouldn't have dropped temp as much. I initially let it wide open so a lot of wort would go through cooling based on the ambient air. I only lost boil for those 5 minutes and it was a hefeweizen with 2 hop additions. I like your idea too... go through a few minutes of sterilization and then shut off the pump and continue your 60 minute from that point.
 
sleev-les said:
I also think that if I left the valve mostly closed it wouldn't have dropped temp as much. I initially let it wide open so a lot of wort would go through cooling based on the ambient air. I only lost boil for those 5 minutes and it was a hefeweizen with 2 hop additions. I like your idea too... go through a few minutes of sterilization and then shut off the pump and continue your 60 minute from that point.
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Hi. I agree, it’s a good idea. I’d suggest if you shut off the pump to not close the ball valve to allow the wort to drain back and be included in the boil. You may need to pull the wort return line out of the pot so the wort doesn’t get locked in the CFC. I also agree with Jag75 that the little dip below boiling at the end really has no impact on hop utilization. Ed
 
jlinz said:
Agree with what others are saying. Fantastic chiller. Needs supplementation in the summer but otherwise great and so efficient.
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I'll have to pull raw water temps from my hose bib in the summer. I'm on a well and it stays pretty cold even in the hot months. I have a connection in my garage where I brew to make it easy. Worst case, I'll coil my hose into a cool and dump ice over it before I start my brewday. It would help cool the water more before getting int the CFC.
 
One advantage to immersion chillers is that they chill the entire batch at the same time. When transferring to the fermentor at near-boiling temps with a CFC, you must take it slow leaving the balance of the wort at high temp for an extended period of time. This can make hop utilization unpredictable.

At the end of the boil, I recirculate through the CFC until the entire batch is in the lower 100's, then switch the output hose to the fermentor. Transfer to the fermentor can then be done much quicker, too, and the need for supplemental chilling is reduced or even eliminated, depending on your tap water temp.
 
Adjustments.JPG


Finally built my rolling cart. Less than $10 using some scrap I had. Still need to sand and paint, but I’m happy!
 
What’s your process for sparge water? Do you have a second element to heat in that top kettle to be an hlt? I’ve been trying to come up with a clever way to use an old kettle for sparge water but only use the GF for water heating. But right now that means I heat all my water to mash in temps, transfer the sparge water to the kettle before the mash, and then when it’s it’s time to sparge the water has cooled to about 110F or so...
 
ihavenonickname said:
What’s your process for sparge water? Do you have a second element to heat in that top kettle to be an hlt? I’ve been trying to come up with a clever way to use an old kettle for sparge water but only use the GF for water heating. But right now that means I heat all my water to mash in temps, transfer the sparge water to the kettle before the mash, and then when it’s it’s time to sparge the water has cooled to about 110F or so...
Click to expand...

IMG_3552.JPG

Get yourself one of these that are used for sous vide. Works great. You can find them cheaper if you shop around.
 
ihavenonickname said:
What’s your process for sparge water? Do you have a second element to heat in that top kettle to be an hlt? I’ve been trying to come up with a clever way to use an old kettle for sparge water but only use the GF for water heating. But right now that means I heat all my water to mash in temps, transfer the sparge water to the kettle before the mash, and then when it’s it’s time to sparge the water has cooled to about 110F or so...
Click to expand...

I'll typically fill the grainfather with all the water, add salts while its heating and then pump out the sparge water (except that time I left the sparge water in and couldn't figure out why I had a runny mash) to my 20l pot. I'll reheat the sparge water on the stove up to about 160 during mash out. The sparge temperature isn't critical so I wouldn't waster my SV on it.
 
That's almost my exact practice as well. Fill up total volume based on Brewfather calcs with RO water. Set delayed heat to turn on next morning to start heating. Wake up, toss in necessary salts. Water already around 154F. Pump out sparge volume and put on stove to maintain/heat to sparge temps. Dough in.
 
Pkrd said:
I'll typically fill the grainfather with all the water, add salts while its heating and then pump out the sparge water (except that time I left the sparge water in and couldn't figure out why I had a runny mash) to my 20l pot. I'll reheat the sparge water on the stove up to about 160 during mash out. The sparge temperature isn't critical so I wouldn't waster my SV on it.
Click to expand...

lewandowski46 said:
That's almost my exact practice as well. Fill up total volume based on Brewfather calcs with RO water. Set delayed heat to turn on next morning to start heating. Wake up, toss in necessary salts. Water already around 154F. Pump out sparge volume and put on stove to maintain/heat to sparge temps. Dough in.
Click to expand...

Same here, except I pump my sparge water into a 5 gal Igloo water cooler to maintain temp.
Ed
 
After brewing on several of it's competitors. I finally had the chance to brew on the Grainfather. I used the app to brew with. It was actually a pretty easy brew day. The app is by no means perfect or anywhere near robust enough to use it all the time. It did "work" Though. I of course did a video of the brew day.

 
anyone work up a DIY whirlpool for the GF? Wondering how to make something that can whirlpool while chilling
Thoughts?
Appreciate any input.
 
Here's a random question with the GF.

Do you guys throttle the pump back on the mash (not opening the valve to 100%)? Just curious how you are all running it since in the GF's case it has the overflow dump. I typically throttle back so not too much is going down the overflow or backing it up. The reason this question came up was my last IPA I did never even got up to the overflow level and my efficiency wasn't as good as in the past.
 
sleev-les said:
Here's a random question with the GF.

Do you guys throttle the pump back on the mash (not opening the valve to 100%)? Just curious how you are all running it since in the GF's case it has the overflow dump. I typically throttle back so not too much is going down the overflow or backing it up. The reason this question came up was my last IPA I did never even got up to the overflow level and my efficiency wasn't as good as in the past.
Click to expand...

Yup I throttle back like you , just to where the wort is barely going into the overflow pipe .
 

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