Dedicated Grainfather Guide, Problems and Solutions Thread

[tugger]

I chill mine back to the pot down to 60.
I like to add late hops at 65c.

 

[BKBrews]

Chilling is pretty compromised in QLD at the moment. I'm getting it down to about 27 degrees, then putting it in the fridge at 18. Takes about 4 hours to get down to about 20 and that's when I pitch. Let it slowly drop to 18 and hold it there.

I really want to work out a good process for whirlpool hopping....

 

[peteru]

1. Intermittently, the controller will turn the heat and pump off for less than a second and back on. When this happens a relay clicks.
2. When in direct heater power control mode, any time you change the heater power level to 100%, the pump stops and starts. Changing between other power levels, such as 75% -> 80% does not show this problem.
3. The temperature readout can get stuck in some cases. For example, I set the target temp to 65C. The read out started at 22C, but then it remained on 29C for a long time. I checked the temp with another thermometer and it was already up to 48C. Turning the controller off and on fixed the issue and the readout then correctly showed 48C. This has happened twice now.
4. If you start the step mash mode using the control panel menu, there appears to be no apparent way of getting out and going back to manual control. The only way seems to turn off and on.

I'll have to shoot an email to the manufacturer.

I heard back from Grainfather customer service. Here's what they had to say:

1. The pump relay is turned off before switching the heat relay on, and then the pump is turned back on. This is supposed to happen and is to avoid the pump relay turning off when turning on the heat relay (issue with beta units) because in some situations the available power is too low. We couldn’t use a bigger transformer and still get certification so this was a software compromise. It doesn’t affect usage whatsoever.

2. When using 100% power, the controller uses the mechanical relay to supply full power to the element. When using less than 100% power, the controller uses the triac and a PWM signal to control the power to the element. This is by design.

3. This is the first reported instance of this happening that I’m aware off. I would have to reproduce and confirm the issue to see if it’s a bug in the firmware. We will need to get the controller back and run tests on it.

4. Yes the only way to quit step mash mode while if brewing without a phone is to turn the power off and on.

So it looks like 1 and 2 are "quirks" by design, 4 could be fixed in the future by a firmware update and 3 is not something they've seen before.

 

[paulyman]

Tried the new controller out yesterday on a batch of Better Red than Dead. It was great to transfer the beersmith recipe to the app and then have it run on the controller! Worked brilliantly, only had one issue, which I'm 90% sure is my iPhone 6s and not the controller. At the end of each stage when I got a notification on my phone if I was close to out of range when I opened the app it couldn't reconnect to the controller. I'd have to kill the app and reopen, which meant I had to restart the recipe and cycle through to the correct stage. This happened at the end of the mash and the start of the boil. Not a killer but a bit of a pain. I have a similar issue with my ANOVA sous vide stick, which we (support and me) have pretty much narrowed down to an issue with Bluetooth and wifi on the iPhone 6s.

Other than the one issue, I really like this thing. It was so easy to use. I liked the sparge counter that was a nonessential but nice touch.

 

[sixfignig]

OK so I've order a Grainfather Connect to act as the controller for my own 1V recirculation system build.

In regards to the temperature probe, how is this implemented in the Grainfather? Does it sit in a thermowell, and if so, what size should I buy to accomodate it?

 

[welly2]

Just bought a Grainfather Sparge Heater to replace my Crown urn (which I found too big and unwieldy for the task of sparging). Wondered if anyone has made any mods, got any tips/inside info on it? I realise there's not much to it - fill it with water and turn it on but y'know!

 

[Coodgee]

OK so I've order a Grainfather Connect to act as the controller for my own 1V recirculation system build.

In regards to the temperature probe, how is this implemented in the Grainfather? Does it sit in a thermowell, and if so, what size should I buy to accomodate it?

Yes.

 

[Coodgee]

Just bought a Grainfather Sparge Heater to replace my Crown urn (which I found too big and unwieldy for the task of sparging). Wondered if anyone has made any mods, got any tips/inside info on it? I realise there's not much to it - fill it with water and turn it on but y'know!

No

 

[paulyman]

Just bought a Grainfather Sparge Heater to replace my Crown urn (which I found too big and unwieldy for the task of sparging). Wondered if anyone has made any mods, got any tips/inside info on it? I realise there's not much to it - fill it with water and turn it on but y'know!

I just use it as is, it's very set and forget. At the moment I just fill a jug repeatedly to add sparge water to the basket. I do plan eventually to make a stand of some sort to simply gravity feed it into the basket. That may require changing out the tap for a ball valve to control the flow though and paying careful attention to the amount added to the sparge as I usually fill to the max line regardless.

 

[Bridgey23]

My sparge heater sits above my grainfather and I have a bit of food grade hose attached to tap. View attachment 93355
Edit: View attachment 93356Tried to upload a photo but it won't work for some reason.

 

[peteru]

In regards to the temperature probe, how is this implemented in the Grainfather? Does it sit in a thermowell, and if so, what size should I buy to accomodate it?

The probe is hardwired into the controller. It is on a 50cm long cable. The probe has a metal tip that is 35mm long and 6mm in diameter. There is a plastic moulding between the tip of the probe and the cable. This moulding is about 26mm long and 9mm in diameter, with a 9.6mm diameter ridge in the middle.

I would say that a 6mm inner diameter thermowell should do the trick.

 

[sixfignig]

The probe is hardwired into the controller. It is on a 50cm long cable. The probe has a metal tip that is 35mm long and 6mm in diameter. There is a plastic moulding between the tip of the probe and the cable. This moulding is about 26mm long and 9mm in diameter, with a 9.6mm diameter ridge in the middle.

I would say that a 6mm inner diameter thermowell should do the trick.

Cheers mate, I really appreciate the response and accurate measurements. Do you know of any retailers, online or otherwise, that may sell something suitable?

 

[Futur]

Gents the grainfather connect app is now on the Android store

 

[welly2]

Gents the grainfather connect app is now on the Android store

Which has prompted me go and pick up a grainfather connect controller this arvo.

 

[Coodgee]

Gents the grainfather connect app is now on the Android store

cool. thanks for the heads up.

 

[Clevo]

Anyone having trouble importing recipes into the Android connect app? I can get then to open in file manager, but there is no option to open it to the app. If I click the xml file from the email I get the choice to open it with the connect app and it starts to load but freezes on the load screen.

 

[Coodgee]

Yeah same is happening to me. They said on Facebook you can email them the xml file and they will make it compatible

 

[Clevo]

Looks like it was a simple fix, just need to have no spaces in the file name.

 

[peteru]

Known bug. Together with things going belly up if you walk out of Bluetooth range.

 

[peteru]

I also noticed that the GF Connect Android app is a CPU and battery hog. It seems to start some kind of a background process that does this. It got to a point (when out of GF range) that it stopped GPS working properly until I rebooted the phone.

At this stage, the Android app is probably really only useful if you have a device, such as a tablet, that is permanently sitting near the GF. It's early days, so lets hope that they continue development on the GF Connect app and get it all polished, stable and integrated with their online recipe portal.

The previous Grainfather app was a pretty poor implementation (ipad / cross platform port) that never seemed to be finished. Presumably Imake put the old app out to pasture while they worked on the GF Connect app to replace it.