Dedicated Grainfather Guide, Problems and Solutions Thread

[butisitart]

i acquired a 200 micron hop spider between 1st and 2nd gf brews. HUGE difference and utterly convenient. highly recommend it. couldn't find ANY hops in 2nd trub after having a disconcerting amount in the first. going on above comments about putting a hopsock on hose into fermenter, on 3rd brew i'm going to put the hop spider into fermenter and filter there too. i figure that will strip out the grain trub going in.


also.....
partial mashing - great for 2 brews in one if you're time challenged. gf purists out there will probably hate this, but i didded partial mash just to see.

7kg grain bill + 1 can unhopped mash + double hops bill gave me 2 fermenters (46L). something i won't do too often, but great time saver. i know you can do 9kg and no cans, but i were a bit nervous about boilover, even with 7. (and it went close).

point to remember if you try it - pouring the can really slowly, but directly into boil caused the gf heater to shut down as some liquid malt still hit the floor of the urn and fried itself. it ain't easy re-setting the boiler if the gf is full of molten brew, as the reset switch is UNDER the bloody thing. *design fault*. next time, melt the unhopped malt first and then add in.

out with the vinegar and baking soda to clean the bottom of the gf.


and
dumping grain?? after sparge, grain bin into sink to drain off and cool down, then pull a kitchen garbag over the top of it and flip. done.

 

[moodgett]

also.....
partial mashing - great for 2 brews in one if you're time challenged. gf purists out there will probably hate this, but i didded partial mash just to see.

I have had some teething issues since converting from extract and partials. So to test some variables decided to throw a 15 min extract apa through my gf

 

[GalBrew]

So are people recommending the use of a hop spider? I just ordered one of the updated GFs, should arrive for the weekend!

 

[carniebrew]

So are people recommending the use of a hop spider? I just ordered one of the updated GFs, should arrive for the weekend!

Either that or a hop sock, you should definitely use something to keep hop trub off the filter inside the GF.

I love the idea of using DME/LME to do big batches or even high gravity stuff. F*ck the purists, whatever works, works! But good idea to pull some boiling wort out of the GF into a jug and dissolve the extract in that first before adding back to the boil.

 

[jc64]

So are people recommending the use of a hop spider? I just ordered one of the updated GFs, should arrive for the weekend!

I only use a hop sock if I'm going over about 100g into the boiler. The filter works just fine for anything under that.

 

[Dazzbrew]

i acquired a 200 micron hop spider between 1st and 2nd gf brews. HUGE difference and utterly convenient. highly recommend it. couldn't find ANY hops in 2nd trub after having a disconcerting amount in the first. going on above comments about putting a hopsock on hose into fermenter, on 3rd brew i'm going to put the hop spider into fermenter and filter there too. i figure that will strip out the grain trub going in.


also.....
partial mashing - great for 2 brews in one if you're time challenged. gf purists out there will probably hate this, but i didded partial mash just to see.

7kg grain bill + 1 can unhopped mash + double hops bill gave me 2 fermenters (46L). something i won't do too often, but great time saver. i know you can do 9kg and no cans, but i were a bit nervous about boilover, even with 7. (and it went close).

point to remember if you try it - pouring the can really slowly, but directly into boil caused the gf heater to shut down as some liquid malt still hit the floor of the urn and fried itself. it ain't easy re-setting the boiler if the gf is full of molten brew, as the reset switch is UNDER the bloody thing. *design fault*. next time, melt the unhopped malt first and then add in.

out with the vinegar and baking soda to clean the bottom of the gf.


and
dumping grain?? after sparge, grain bin into sink to drain off and cool down, then pull a kitchen garbag over the top of it and flip. done.

switch to unhopped DME I think it would disolve better.

 

[butisitart]

thanks for the positive add ons -thought i'd get caned on adding ANYTHING to a gf. h34r:

hop spider?? personal choice, really. but toss the spider in, one only, no tying strings or desintegrating bags over short term. hop bags that i've bought still leak a lot of hops. this doesn't leak anything. and you just throw your 2nd, 3rd hops straight into the same thing. oh - and the best is that the hook over handle for the hop spider i bought is pretty much perfect height for the gf. matter of preference, i guess. but for me the spider is functional, single clean (as opposed to 2 or 3 socks), seriously filters, and looks like doubling as a trub filter into the fermenter. cost wise, = 4 socks which i'd go through in a year anyway. so ticks all the boxes for me.

DME sounds a go, too.

hey ho, hey ho, it's off to brew i go

 

[Trevandjo]

Good argument for a spider. What one did you buy?

 

[carniebrew]

Good argument for a spider. What one did you buy?

Ditto...link please?

 

[GalBrew]

On a separate issue how are people finding the counter-flow chiller? Anyone on Melbourne water care to comment on how well it chills?

 

[wambesi]

On a separate issue how are people finding the counter-flow chiller? Anyone on Melbourne water care to comment on how well it chills?

I love mine, so much so I sold my plate chiller - which I swore was the best thing ever.
I'm in Albury but the water here (and only a few weeks back when I lived in Canberra) has been fine to chill it down to pitching temps - especially this time of year.

 

[carniebrew]

I love mine, so much so I sold my plate chiller - which I swore was the best thing ever.
I'm in Albury but the water here (and only a few weeks back when I lived in Canberra) has been fine to chill it down to pitching temps - especially this time of year.

+1 for me, went from around 40m with my old immersion chiller to maybe 15m with this unit, very efficient. Just remember to regularly tighten all the connections!

 

[HBHB]

Quick change of plans on which BRIPA to do this morning between grain bills and packing orders.

Decided to push the limits a bit. 8.8kg of grain and a few hundred grams of rice hulls. 1.75kg of rye a.13 kg of chocolate rye and .28kg of cara rye in the grain bill.

Plus some rice hulls for good measure - just in case.

Stepped 45, 53, 65, 72 and ramping to Mash Out currently.

 

[wambesi]

Regarding the chiller - I like to recirculate while chilling back into the GF (actually into the hop sock as an extra filter) to get the temp down first and then I slow the flow a little more and go straight into the fermenter - nice temp.

I have done it straight into the fermenter but I like to follow this method now.

 

[HBHB]

Just a little information from imake on the new version that is rolling out in the coming days/weeks depending on where you're located & how often your retailer orders. Stocks are going to be very limited.

The next units are the latest version with the ball valve fittings/flow control on the wort return outlet, second wort return pipe mount and a seal for the bottom plate and silicone pump line/boot mod etc.

Haven't seen our stock yet but expect it today or Monday. Will drop up some pics of the mods when we can.

Apparently upgrade parts are expected some time around Late July/August for those looking to retro fit.

Martin

 

[carniebrew]

Seal for the bottom plate would be nice.

What do you mean by "silicone pump line/boot mod" though?

 

[Fred_the_Big_Cat]

I have had a Grainfather on order for a month now and after seeing HBHB's post, just rang my local brew shop to speak to them about the upgraded version. Was told that this is what they have been waiting on and it should be available for me to pick-up on Wednesday - yah.

 

[HBHB]

Seal for the bottom plate would be nice.

What do you mean by "silicone pump line/boot mod" though?

will post some pics as soon as they arrive and I find out for myself lol

 

[carniebrew]

Ta. I'm guessing it might be where the return pipe connects to the pump...on my unit when delivered there were two cable ties clamping the silicon boot to the pipe nipple, but only barely. It leaked as soon as I ran a cleaning cycle. I ended up replacing one of the cable ties with a proper metal clamp, that fixed it up.

This pic is where I'd temporarily put a new cable tie on just to get me through the clean cycle. The two lower cable ties (without tails) are the ones the GF came with, already attached.

 

[butisitart]

http://www.ibrew.com.au

i got hopspider over the counter at craftbrewer, capalaba, brisbane, but for some reason it's not on their online catalogue.
ibrew (link above) also has them - which is where i first saw one.