Grainfather!!

[Hop]

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.

Tried those from the standard bag of tricks I've seen around. It's 100% consistent that it won't pump at all once I've reached a boil for a minute or two.

The only fix after that point is to wait for it to cool quite a bit (Usually to around 180 °F), at which point it will work again.

Stuff I've tried:

- Valve closed
- Valve fully open
- Valve in various states of closed
- Wort chiller connected
- Recirculation arm connected
- Valve open with just the ball and spring in place
- All combinations above with and without the ball and spring
- Bicycle/ball pump to push air and liquid back
- Reconnecting the chiller while the pump was on (with brewing gloves to not get burned)
- Switching the pump on and off repeatedly
- Tried the old controller and Connect controller
- Tried 3 different circuits in the house

Probably a few things I'm missing. The long and short of it is that the pump makes terrible noises when it's hot and pumps nothing out.

I did try the valve closed to start pump trick at lower temperatures and that definitely helps get things going.

 

[Hop]

Update on my Grainfather pump woes: Grainfather is sending me a replacement pump. Great customer service!

 

[José Carlos Vilches Peña]

Thank you very much for your reply...

José Carlos,
Welcome to the forum! Your English is excellent, so don't let that stop you from participating and asking questions.

Thank you very much for your welcome ...
My English is essentially due to St. Google's automatic translator, not to my language skills

I would not recommend welding the plate.

I would very much like to know if you think there may be a problem with making that solder to fix the plate and definitively end up with an unsuitable design aspect ...

Again, welcome! Ed

Again, thanks

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

I have tried it in every way, with the tube and without the tube, wet and dry, vertical and horizontal, inclined and not inclined, praying and without praying, ... and nothing, I am a little clumsy imagine.

Best regards,
JC

 

[José Carlos Vilches Peña]

Thank you very much for your reply...

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.

OK, but if I finish welding the perforated plate I will do it without the silicone gasket, so that corner that can collect dirt disappears ... the basket and the plate become a single metal piece, easy to clean in the normal process of cleaning the GF

I hope I'm not wrong!

Best regards

JC

 

[José Carlos Vilches Peña]

Thank you very much for your reply...

Welcome and your English is perfect.

Thanks and thanks

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

My perforated plate has a very temperamental character and there is no way to put it in place easily. I guess I'm a bit clumsy :-(

Best regards

José Carlos

 

[José Carlos Vilches Peña]

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

Thank you very much for your reply...

If the only problem is cleaning, I think the simplest and most effective is to leave the grain basket with the welded plate inside the G.F. for a while when at the end of the process the general cleaning of the whole equipment is done. The recirculation of hot water with GFHPC (Grainfather High Perfomance Cleaner) and the subsequent recirculation of clean water to make the rinse I think will clean the plate sufficiently well, as it does with the rest of the equipment. (Take into account that the silicone gasket will not be in place, the refuge of contamination) I hope I'm not wrong!

If there is any other problem -which I can not imagine which one it may be- by making that union basket + plate, we can continue talking here to try to solve it ...

Best regards

JC

 

[José Carlos Vilches Peña]

Hello!

Since there have been no further comments on this topic, my final decision has been the one that can be seen here:

http://www.jvilchesp.es/aficiones/cerveza/cerv_07/gf_04/index.html#detalle6

I hope I was not wrong!

Best regards,

JC, from Spain

 

[RedlegEd]

José Carlos,
Sorry for not responding. I was caught up in some other things. That link proved very informative. Is this your Grainfather? Whomever did the spot welds did a nice job. I still believe this is not the best option, but I am certainly open to learning. Please let us know how it turns out. Ed

 

[Hop]

I recieved my replacement and will be off to the races tomorrow with a Belgian Pale Ale.

My Grainfather Conical with cooling kit arrived as well, so I'll be fermenting in that for the first time.

I put together a setup using my chest freezer, a bucket of water for the pump, and a wort chiller to cool the return water.

While talking to someone at work about the setup, he offered me his old glycol chiller at a good price so I jumped on it.

I contacted Grainfather and they advised against anything more than 5% propylene glycol with the standard pump.

Now I'm trying to find a decent 12VDC pump to immerse in the glycol. Or, a motorized ball valve so I can use the chiller's own pump.

Any suggestions? Later this year I'll grab the Grainfather Glycol Chiller if it becomes available in the US, but this will serve in the interim.

For brew day one, I'll go with the 5% solution and should be perfectly fine except perhaps when it's time to cold crash.

My initial solution can be seen here: http://www.madalchemist.com/archives/the-grainfather-conical-cooling-setup/

 

[José Carlos Vilches Peña]

Hello everyone!

José Carlos, Sorry for not responding. I was caught up in some other things.

There is no problem, life has many interesting things

That link proved very informative.

I have updated it with two more details if you are interested in seeing it:

http://www.jvilchesp.es/aficiones/cerveza/cerv_07/gf_04/index.html

And there are more things about G.F. here:

http://www.jvilchesp.es/aficiones/cerveza/cerv_07/index.html

Is this your Grainfather?

Yes, it's mine, bought two months ago

Whomever did the spot welds did a nice job.

Thanks, I did it with the help of the blacksmith of my small town and his machine

I still believe this is not the best option, but I am certainly open to learning. Please let us know how it turns out. Ed

Time will tell us, sure. And if there is something special I will tell you right here, for sure.

Best regards

JC, from Spain

 

[2LiveBrewCrew]

Hi guy's, can someone please tell me what program to use to get my water calculations for my Grainfather? Do I use Grainfather's or BeerSmith2-3 or some other program? I'd like to get my machine up and brewing and it's the water amounts that are holding me back. Thanks guys. Cheers!

 

[RedlegEd]

Hi guy's, can someone please tell me what program to use to get my water calculations for my Grainfather? Do I use Grainfather's or BeerSmith2-3 or some other program? I'd like to get my machine up and brewing and it's the water amounts that are holding me back. Thanks guys. Cheers!

Hi. If you're just starting out, use the Grainfather website (or their app) to calculate the water requirements. Now they have a 110v option which should reduce the boil off loss and the numbers should come out closer. Keep good notes so the next time, you'll know if you hit your ferementer high or low. Also, I recommend you measure out all of your water (mash & sparge,) before you start. Heat all of it to strike temp, then pump off your sparge into another container (a water cooler works great to keep it hot.) That way, you don't have to do any measuring during the sparge. Hope this helps. Ed

 

[2LiveBrewCrew]

Hi. If you're just starting out, use the Grainfather website (or their app) to calculate the water requirements. Now they have a 110v option which should reduce the boil off loss and the numbers should come out closer. Keep good notes so the next time, you'll know if you hit your ferementer high or low. Also, I recommend you measure out all of your water (mash & sparge,) before you start. Heat all of it to strike temp, then pump off your sparge into another container (a water cooler works great to keep it hot.) That way, you don't have to do any measuring during the sparge. Hope this helps. Ed

Thanks ED. I'll sure take a look at it. I have the sparge water heater that I'll use. I'm looking at BeerSmith and they have a sale going on. Is that something to look at or should I just stick with Grainfather?

 

[RedlegEd]

Beersmith is very good for building/managing recipes and lots of folks really like it. Personally, I use the supporter version of Brewer's Friend since it stores everything online and you can access your recipes from any PC. It also has a iOS and Android app for brewing. It's kind of a Ford vs Chevy argument which one is better. Personal taste and cost are the big things, but both work. You can also use the Grainfather website and app, especially if you have the Connect GF. It works well too, but I've found the recipe management on their website isn't as robust as either BR or BS. Hope this helps. Ed

 

[Hop]

I tend to make all of my recipes in BeerSmith, then I export them as BeerXML and import them to the Grainfather app shortly before brewing. This is partly because I've been using BeerSmith for many years and I'm used to it.

 

[RedlegEd]

I tend to make all of my recipes in BeerSmith, then I export them as BeerXML and import them to the Grainfather app shortly before brewing. This is partly because I've been using BeerSmith for many years and I'm used to it.

+1^^^ this, and I do the same with Brewer's Friend. I've found once you import it into GF, you really need to double check everything because it doesn't always come over exactly right, especially the units of measure (Imperial vs Metric.) Ed

 

[murphyslaw]

Same here. I build the recipe in BS then export to GF's website.

I use the GF app to automate the process steps and to remind me when to add things. But I use BS to tell me how much to add and to track my various measurements. I'm basically brewing from BS, so I don't worry about double checking the details.

 

[2LiveBrewCrew]

Thanks guy's. I appreciate the advice. I'm going to look into these programs and see which one works for me. Cheers!

 

[alestateyall]

I build my recipes on BeerSmith. I made my own Equipment profile that gets the same water amounts as GF.

I then use a GF Connect Quick Profile to run the GF. I have a single infusion profile. I just change the mash temp. I use the timers in BeerSmith.

 

[eimar]

I just transferred my 1st batch ( Belgian dubbel , homemade candi syrup ) , brewed using the Grainfather , to secondary fermentation. I just followed the operating instructions . I've been brewing for 25 years and as an apartment dweller I really enjoyed using the Grainfather. I was apprehensive about the 110 volts model poor boiling efficiency but I'm glad I purchased the graincoat insulation jacket. The only point I dislike is the fact that the bottom perforated plate seal get loose when installing the bottom perforated plate. To resume : I don't regret my purchase .

 

[jfhoupt]

Hello everyone!



There is no problem, life has many interesting things



I have updated it with two more details if you are interested in seeing it:

http://www.jvilchesp.es/aficiones/cerveza/cerv_07/gf_04/index.html

And there are more things about G.F. here:

http://www.jvilchesp.es/aficiones/cerveza/cerv_07/index.html



Yes, it's mine, bought two months ago



Thanks, I did it with the help of the blacksmith of my small town and his machine



Time will tell us, sure. And if there is something special I will tell you right here, for sure.

Best regards

JC, from Spain

Thanks for taking the time to share your G.F. brewing event and work arounds. I'm new to the G.F. and appreciate your information.

 

[couchsending]

My ghetto rig to prevent splashing during sparge... slowly ratchet it up throughout sparging process. Works like a charm, whether it makes a difference???

 

[jfhoupt]

Also saves your back when removing the basket.

 

[PCL]

I just transferred my 1st batch ( Belgian dubbel , homemade candi syrup ) , brewed using the Grainfather , to secondary fermentation. I just followed the operating instructions . I've been brewing for 25 years and as an apartment dweller I really enjoyed using the Grainfather. I was apprehensive about the 110 volts model poor boiling efficiency but I'm glad I purchased the graincoat insulation jacket. The only point I dislike is the fact that the bottom perforated plate seal get loose when installing the bottom perforated plate. To resume : I don't regret my purchase .

To make it easier to push down the bottom plate keeping the seal on do this:

Open your crushed grain bag and put the mash cylinder without the plate pushed down in the bag. Take some grain and rub down the inner surface of the cylinder. The grain dust will lightly coat the cylinder making it super easy to push down the bottom plate with seal in place. Cheers

 

[Willee]

I have used my GrainFather for a while now with no issues.
The heating element attached to the bottom of the pot has two elements ... a inner and a outer and for high or Boil setting both elements are active. They are horseshoe shaped not a full circle. The elements are inside a metal plate that is epoxied to the bottom of the pot and thus are not replaceable ... I talked with the manufacture about that and replacement of the entire kettle is the only option from them.
As to the pump problem it sounds like a faulty pump impeller.
I have never had an issue with the one I have so I never have taken it apart.

The only problems I have ever had is using Flaked corn as it tends to "stick" the grain bed so I can not recirculate during mash. I did remove the spring and ball from the pipe joint just above the red valve because it became blocked with a grain hull once ... no problems since. From mash temp to boil it does take a while but that gives me time to drink a homebrew and do grain basket clean up and fermenter prep. During boil I move the glass lid slightly askew to allow more steam to escape and prevent the dreaded boil over ... I dont get a good rolling boil with the lid off. (5.5 gallon batches)

Anyhow ... I would highly recommend the Grainfather to anyone wanting to do 5 or 6 gallon batches of all grain. Their Chiller is the NUT!

 

[AnthonyTD]

View attachment 577984 My ghetto rig to prevent splashing during sparge... slowly ratchet it up throughout sparging process. Works like a charm, whether it makes a difference???

Can I ask why splashing during sparging is an issue?

 

[Sadu]

Can I ask why splashing during sparging is an issue?

Can't speak for the other poster, but I'd say it's to do with reducing oxidation exposure.

If you have come across any of the LoDo threads you'll find some people believe it's a thing and some don't. The LoDo folk will go to considerable extremes to avoid oxygen intake in the mash and kettle. Other folk don't care at all. This approach of avoiding splashing is somewhere in between.

For what it's worth, I believe that hot side aeration is a thing, and didn't like that the Grainfather overflow pipe was continually splashing my wort during the recirculation. So I removed the overflow pipe, use a BIAB bag to contain the grain in the basket, and put a clamp on the hose to reduce the recirculation speed. This helps avoid splashing, which may or may not be beneficial to the end product.

 

[couchsending]

The only problems I have ever had is using Flaked corn as it tends to "stick" the grain bed so I can not recirculate during mash.


During boil I move the glass lid slightly askew to allow more steam to escape and prevent the dreaded boil over ... I dont get a good rolling boil with the lid off. (5.5 gallon batches)

I don’t understand the stuck during recirculating... the only time you would ever get a stuck bed is during sparge when the grain bed starts to compact. You could do 100 rye and it would stick during recirculating. I think something else happened there. I’ve never had a stuck mash ever with the GF. 60% Wheat no problem. You never need rice hulls in my opinion. Yes you might have a slower sparge but as you will see that’s how you can get max efficiency with your GF.

Also there is plenty of evidence out there that a rolling boil might actually be more detrimental than beneficial. I’ve actually started turning my boil down to minimize boil off.

 

[Willee]

I don’t understand the stuck during recirculating... the only time you would ever get a stuck bed is during sparge when the grain bed starts to compact. You could do 100 rye and it would stick during recirculating. I think something else happened there. I’ve never had a stuck mash ever with the GF. 60% Wheat no problem. You never need rice hulls in my opinion. Yes you might have a slower sparge but as you will see that’s how you can get max efficiency with your GF.

Also there is plenty of evidence out there that a rolling boil might actually be more detrimental than beneficial. I’ve actually started turning my boil down to minimize boil off.

Well here is the deal ... The wort is recirculated during mash and the level rises until it is flowing into the overflow tube instead of thru the grain bed. This can be a problem as pits and pieces of grain will flow down that tube and either block the pump filter screen or flow up the tube and block the check valve.
If you have never had that happen then you must never used much flaked corn as it happens every time I use it. I need to stand there watching it and turn the pump off and wait till it drains down then turn the pump back on till it happens again.

 

[skleice]

Well here is the deal ... The wort is recirculated during mash and the level rises until it is flowing into the overflow tube instead of thru the grain bed. This can be a problem as pits and pieces of grain will flow down that tube and either block the pump filter screen or flow up the tube and block the check valve.
If you have never had that happen then you must never used much flaked corn as it happens every time I use it. I need to stand there watching it and turn the pump off and wait till it drains down then turn the pump back on till it happens again.

You can use a sink strainer over the overflow pipe and also dial back the pump via the valve.

 

[couchsending]

Just close the valve at the top slightly to slow the flow so it doesn’t go over the overflow or only does just slightly. I have to do it on maybe 60% of my brews.

 

[skleice]

What am I doing wrong? I hit my preboil gravity (estimated in Brewers friend). However, I'm always short of my OG after 60 min boil. Today's target is 1.059, but I'm only at 1.050. Now I'm boiling down longer to get there, but it messes with my SRM. I've done 2 boil off tests with water and got 1.875 qt/hour both times. ANY IDEAS?

 

[couchsending]

What am I doing wrong? I hit my preboil gravity (estimated in Brewers friend). However, I'm always short of my OG after 60 min boil. Today's target is 1.059, but I'm only at 1.050. Now I'm boiling down longer to get there, but it messes with my SRM. I've done 2 boil off tests with water and got 1.875 qt/hour both times. ANY IDEAS?

what was your preboil gravity? You usually only get 5-6 gravity points with a 60 minute boil. if target was 1.059 your preboil gravity would probably be around 1.053ish?

 

[skleice]

Preboil was 1.040 (estimated was 1.036). Clearly I'm messing up on my water calcs somewhere. I'm overshooting volume too.

Edit - I'm still struggling with dialing my water volumes, but this issue seems to be my refractometer. In other words, I'm a dummy and didn't make sure my refractometer was calibrated.

 

[DC_0602]

Looking to purchase a grainfather for the ease of a "pilot system". Who has the best deals? What accessories do you all recommend that are musts?!!

 

[skleice]

Looking to purchase a grainfather for the ease of a "pilot system". Who has the best deals? What accessories do you all recommend that are musts?!!

Keep an eye out for Northern Brewer 20% off + free shipping.

I would recommend a graincoat. If you plan to do small batches, the micropipe is also good to have.

 

[Kampenken]

Preboil was 1.040 (estimated was 1.036). Clearly I'm messing up on my water calcs somewhere. I'm overshooting volume too.

Edit - I'm still struggling with dialing my water volumes, but this issue seems to be my refractometer. In other words, I'm a dummy and didn't make sure my refractometer was calibrated.

Wait, did I read that correctly? You want to get from a pre-boil 1.040 to a post boil 1.059?? Unless you're adding some sugar during the boil, good luck with that. I've never heard of anyone moving the gravity that much, mine is 4-7pts max in 60 min boil. If you've done such a thing previously, or heard of someone who has, I'd love to hear about it. I record my gravities, and just checked. 7 max I saw in review.

Edit- Ha! I'm dummy, didn't read your edit!!

 

[doogster]

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.

Hey there..

Unreal. I think I have the same issue. Last batch (my 20th on the GF), which was not highly hopped... the pump failed during chilling... so I had to drop an immersion chiller in there to cool and then siphon out the wort. Later during cleaning... the pump worked just fine.

I am going to do the water only boil/pump test and see if I have the same issue.

Doug

 

[AnthonyTD]

I have used my GrainFather for a while now with no issues.
The heating element attached to the bottom of the pot has two elements ... a inner and a outer and for high or Boil setting both elements are active. They are horseshoe shaped not a full circle. The elements are inside a metal plate that is epoxied to the bottom of the pot and thus are not replaceable ... I talked with the manufacture about that and replacement of the entire kettle is the only option from them.
As to the pump problem it sounds like a faulty pump impeller.
I have never had an issue with the one I have so I never have taken it apart.

The only problems I have ever had is using Flaked corn as it tends to "stick" the grain bed so I can not recirculate during mash. I did remove the spring and ball from the pipe joint just above the red valve because it became blocked with a grain hull once ... no problems since. From mash temp to boil it does take a while but that gives me time to drink a homebrew and do grain basket clean up and fermenter prep. During boil I move the glass lid slightly askew to allow more steam to escape and prevent the dreaded boil over ... I dont get a good rolling boil with the lid off. (5.5 gallon batches)

Anyhow ... I would highly recommend the Grainfather to anyone wanting to do 5 or 6 gallon batches of all grain. Their Chiller is the NUT!

I think the lid is only supposed to be used during mash and totally removed for boiling. I left it on for the boil once and gave myself a nice burn when I put my finger through the hole to use it as a hook to remove the lid. I now boil without it which also makes for easier additions during the boil.

 

[kyt]

I think the lid is only supposed to be used during mash and totally removed for boiling. I left it on for the boil once and gave myself a nice burn when I put my finger through the hole to use it as a hook to remove the lid. I now boil without it which also makes for easier additions during the boil.

Correct, you want the kettle wide open for the boil. You need to drive off certain volatile compounds (like DMS), and if the lid is in place, they can condensate back into the wort.
And you're trying to lose some water/increase gravity
And that sucker gets hot, which you "fingered" out ;Þ