Dedicated Grainfather Guide, Problems and Solutions Thread

[carniebrew]

Has anybody heard of (or even purchased) the "Grainbrother"? Quite a nifty little idea if you have the spare coin and want to do double batches or 2 different brews almost side by side.

http://www.brewyourownliquor.co.nz/shopmenu/all-categories/beer-making/recipes-kits/grainbrother-detail

Basically a GF without the grain basket and chiller. Pull the grain basket out of brew 1, empty it and use to mash in on the Grainbrother while #1 comes to the boil.

What I find most interesting is that the price suggests that the grain basket (and all that encompasses) and counter-flow chiller are worth nearly half the cost of the entire GrainFather.

 

[HBHB]

Yep, there's a few kicking around.

Neat way to get a double sized batch done up for an extra 90 minutes work.

 

[Mister Wilson]

Anyone had the gf element not kick in for the boil? I've finished sparge, scraped my mash paddle over the element to remove anything that had caked on during the mash but got nothing.

 

[carniebrew]

Did you flick the element switch from mash to boil?

 

[Linkatme]

Anyone had the gf element not kick in for the boil? I've finished sparge, scraped my mash paddle over the element to remove anything that had caked on during the mash but got nothing.

Push the reset botton at the bottom of the GF, it should work.

 

[Mister Wilson]

Thanks fellas. I tried switching off and between mash and boil.

Is the reset switch underneath? Assuming it is, is it possible to get to it with 28l of wort in the gf?

 

[wildwhitty]

Don't they realise that there are actually more Android user than iPhone users

The wait is over.
Grainfather app. for Android at Play store now.

 

[Tropico]

I have said it before, and I will say it again: "anything that starts with "i" is "iCrap"

 

[welly2]

I have said it before, and I will say it again: "anything that starts with "i" is "iCrap"

 

[DU99]

The app i find is a pain the backside.entering grains you have to work out what crystals you want.in states in 20L,60L....i will stick with brewmate..

 

[VanGekkum]

Android app doesn't work properly. Every time I try tot start a new session I get the message that the app stopped, so I can't continue. I'm on Android 5. Anyone experienced the same problemen or ha a solution.
Thanks

 

[Tropico]

Works ok on mine, Android 5.1

 

[wildwhitty]

Android 5.1.1 is good.

 

[Linkatme]

Thanks fellas. I tried switching off and between mash and boil.

Is the reset switch underneath? Assuming it is, is it possible to get to it with 28l of wort in the gf?

Well....I don't think so but You could be helped by someone putting the GF on some kind of improvised stand and then You can reset it.

Hops problem: because I use pellets, hop's bags are strickly recomended!

 

[Linkatme]

Thanks fellas. I tried switching off and between mash and boil.

Is the reset switch underneath? Assuming it is, is it possible to get to it with 28l of wort in the gf?

Well....I don't think so but You could be helped by someone putting the GF on some kind of improvised stand and then You can reset it.

Hops problem: because I use pellets, hop's bags are strickly recomended! Without bags hops could stick somewhere in the chiller and....

 

[Mister Wilson]

I managed to tip it up enough to get 1 hand underneath and feel around for the reset button.

I think I may have an issue with my crush. I'm running a MM mini mill and am getting quite a bit of flour. My first few brews with the gf I used a credit card to set the gap but changed on the last brew to using a feeler gauge at 1.1mm ish.

What are others using?

 

[Carlsbergcuddles]

I'm using a Cereal Killer with a gap of .44mm for most grains. I hit an 88% efficiency last week without scorching.

 

[Coodgee]

The app i find is a pain the backside.entering grains you have to work out what crystals you want.in states in 20L,60L....i will stick with brewmate..

I used the app yesterday for a brew and thought it was excellent. I wouldn't use it to formulate recipes, I formulated my recipe in beer smith and then entered the important bits into the app - for the grains I just called it 5kg of pils malt, even though there were 4 different malt types. The main benefit of the app is the timer and it stops you from forgetting things. makes the brew day run much smoother, you can do other things and not have to keep an eye on the clock so much.

 

[DU99]

Might just do that.all my recipes are in brewmate.

 

[Coodgee]

It literally tells you exactly what do, so if I'm trying to do a hundred things at once on a saturday morning, the alarm goes off in my pocket and it says "add your 10 minute boil additions, which are hop a, hop b, hop c and a wirfloc tablet".