Dedicated Grainfather Guide, Problems and Solutions Thread

[SixStar]

hey Fletcher,

i was at a blokes apartment a few weekends ago and he had hacked the controller on the GF to run through and entire mash and boil cycle without having to manually make changes during the brew, like the BM does.

You must mean that his GF has the new connect controller and he used the new GF brewer community website to create then load his brews profile into the controller???

 

[kaiserben]

It was my apartment that Pratty1 was at.

I haven't got the Connect controller.

I bought an STC1000 and reprogrammed it by flashing the software with STC1000p/ovbsc.

"How to" details here: https://github.com/matsstaff/stc1000p

And specific details on using it here: https://github.com/matsstaff/stc1000p/tree/master/ovbsc

It probably ended up costing me ~$70 due to all the bits and pieces (and postage) required. I did this way before the Connect was released.

 

[SixStar]

It was my apartment that Pratty1 was at.

I haven't got the Connect controller.

I bought an STC1000 and reprogrammed it by flashing the software with STC1000p/ovbsc.

"How to" details here: https://github.com/matsstaff/stc1000p

And specific details on using it here: https://github.com/matsstaff/stc1000p/tree/master/ovbsc

It probably ended up costing me ~$70 due to all the bits and pieces (and postage) required. I did this way before the Connect was released.

Wow many, that's crazy well done! Show us some pics of this Frankenfather.

 

[kaiserben]

It looks exactly the same (because I simply replaced the original ST200 that was inside the controller box for the flashed STC1000).

 

[Gloveski]

Another brew done today , all went pretty well , had my first stuck sparge so had to stir the grain up a few times. Still grain in the boil but used to using the sieve now . 85% Efficiency and ended up with a slightly higher OG . Pretty easy to use after 5 brews , very happy with my purchase

 

[harvesteros]

Hey all, just got hold of my grainfather after doing BIAB for a while. Interested to hear peoples experiences with recipes, not 100% sure where to start. The connect app has some built in but keen to hear from experience what might be a good tasting beer to start off with. Cheers!

 

[meathead]

Try the app ones they're tried and tested to the equipment, or you can find a beersmith profile in this thread and use another.
Good luck

 

[jyo]

Just treat it like any other brewing vessel and brew what you want, mate.

 

[harvesteros]

Ok, cheers guys I'll do that.

 

[Mr_Brewer]

just trying to find out if anyone has had this problem with the grainfather

i did a single 4.5kg of Joe White Pale Malt 27l water and 4l of sparge water
problem was did not get to a good boil and would only get to 91dg
all in all i brewed it for 90mins and in the fridge see what happens ?

today i tryed the same again to see if any problems and bugger me it would not get over 40dg
so i had to transfer all out to see if it was suck some how or what so clean it all out bugger of a job tipped it upside pushed the reset button and tried again and it worked to 67dg and sat there again farkk
did the same but only tipped it on its side a bit and push button and of it went again to 95dg and sat there
so be sides hitting with hammer any one had this problem.

 

[Hate_Thinking_Up_Usernames]

I have made a stand for my Grainfather so that I can easily press the reset button without moving it. Also trying to keep protein/other matter off the bottom seems to help with getting to boil quicker.

 

[BKBrews]

just trying to find out if anyone has had this problem with the grainfather

i did a single 4.5kg of Joe White Pale Malt 27l water and 4l of sparge water
problem was did not get to a good boil and would only get to 91dg
all in all i brewed it for 90mins and in the fridge see what happens ?

today i tryed the same again to see if any problems and bugger me it would not get over 40dg
so i had to transfer all out to see if it was suck some how or what so clean it all out bugger of a job tipped it upside pushed the reset button and tried again and it worked to 67dg and sat there again farkk
did the same but only tipped it on its side a bit and push button and of it went again to 95dg and sat there
so be sides hitting with hammer any one had this problem.

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If you're pressing the reset button and it's fixing the issue, then you're obviously tripping the element. I would be scraping it as much as you can - it generally stops when it has proteins burnt onto it during the mash/sparge. As soon as you remove the Malt pipe after sparge - start scraping the element. It's part of the safety mechanism for not burning out with no liquid in it.

 

[peteru]

It looks like your crush is too fine and has lots of flour. This will settle at the bottom and cause the element to overheat (as well as eventually burning onto the bottom surface and tainting the beer)

Also, what are you using to calculate your mash and sparge water volumes. The numbers you give seem wrong. You should have a lot less mash water and a lot more sparge water.

 

[Mr_Brewer]

ok thanks for that
ill try another tomorrow and see if it dose the same thing
i tryed to day and it cut out any way with just water but i am going to drill hole in the trolley so easier to push the reset lol
Also it was not burnt on the inside at all but will let you know tomorrow night thanks

now have 2 maybe brews and may be its 3rd time lucky

 

[wormholehenry]

Hi, guys.

I have been brewing on and off for around 7 years. I'm developing some pretty decent recipes, and finally decided to go all grain, which I think you'll agree I'm long overdo for.

So, I bought a Grainfather and have been tinkering with Beersmith (downloading other people's equipment profiles, etc) to get everything ready.

Apparently, I mistakenly believed that it would be easy to convert my recipes to all grain recipes and get to work quickly here. I expected the slight variations in gravity that different equipment profiles and all grain would give me, but I did NOT expect my IBUs to be all out of whack (at least in Beersmith and on the Grainfather site). I thought after going through the process of mashing and sparging this thing would function like a high-tech brew pot and that I could proceed more or less as usual.

Importing recipes to Grainfather did not help. I have had to cut my hop additions in HALF in order to balance this out. But, that just doesn't seem right to me. I think it has something to do with the fact that my boil volume is a lot larger in the GF than it was in my old 3 gallon brewpot... But, I am concerned that I'll end up with a lot of weird beer if I just start knocking my hop additions in half. In the meantime, I'm afraid to try to brew anything.

In the past I had converted all grain recipes to extract recipes and never had to worry about correcting the amount of hops I used. What am I missing here? I have no idea what I'm doing, and worst of all, sensing that I'm in over my head because I'm on the laptop instead of using my new toy, my wife is pissed.

 

[warra48]

Hi, guys.

I have been brewing on and off for around 7 years. I'm developing some pretty decent recipes, and finally decided to go all grain, which I think you'll agree I'm long overdo for.

So, I bought a Grainfather and have been tinkering with Beersmith (downloading other people's equipment profiles, etc) to get everything ready.

Apparently, I mistakenly believed that it would be easy to convert my recipes to all grain recipes and get to work quickly here. I expected the slight variations in gravity that different equipment profiles and all grain would give me, but I did NOT expect my IBUs to be all out of whack (at least in Beersmith and on the Grainfather site). I thought after going through the process of mashing and sparging this thing would function like a high-tech brew pot and that I could proceed more or less as usual.

Importing recipes to Grainfather did not help. I have had to cut my hop additions in HALF in order to balance this out. But, that just doesn't seem right to me. I think it has something to do with the fact that my boil volume is a lot larger in the GF than it was in my old 3 gallon brewpot... But, I am concerned that I'll end up with a lot of weird beer if I just start knocking my hop additions in half. In the meantime, I'm afraid to try to brew anything.

In the past I had converted all grain recipes to extract recipes and never had to worry about correcting the amount of hops I used. What am I missing here? I have no idea what I'm doing, and worst of all, sensing that I'm in over my head because I'm on the laptop instead of using my new toy, my wife is pissed.

A large volume boil will always have a better utilisation of your hops than a smaller volume. This is built into the BS2 (which I use) calculations, and I guess into other software programs. My advice is to trust the software for your first brew, then adjust if you feel the need for your own results.

 

[SmuggledBudgie]

Hi, guys.

I have been brewing on and off for around 7 years. I'm developing some pretty decent recipes, and finally decided to go all grain, which I think you'll agree I'm long overdo for.

So, I bought a Grainfather and have been tinkering with Beersmith (downloading other people's equipment profiles, etc) to get everything ready.

Apparently, I mistakenly believed that it would be easy to convert my recipes to all grain recipes and get to work quickly here. I expected the slight variations in gravity that different equipment profiles and all grain would give me, but I did NOT expect my IBUs to be all out of whack (at least in Beersmith and on the Grainfather site). I thought after going through the process of mashing and sparging this thing would function like a high-tech brew pot and that I could proceed more or less as usual.

Importing recipes to Grainfather did not help. I have had to cut my hop additions in HALF in order to balance this out. But, that just doesn't seem right to me. I think it has something to do with the fact that my boil volume is a lot larger in the GF than it was in my old 3 gallon brewpot... But, I am concerned that I'll end up with a lot of weird beer if I just start knocking my hop additions in half. In the meantime, I'm afraid to try to brew anything.

In the past I had converted all grain recipes to extract recipes and never had to worry about correcting the amount of hops I used. What am I missing here? I have no idea what I'm doing, and worst of all, sensing that I'm in over my head because I'm on the laptop instead of using my new toy, my wife is pissed.

Hey Wormy,

Have you experimented with the different hop utilisations formulas in Beer Smith?

If not, to find these In BS2 go to Preferences>Bitterness. There is three different options to use for the bitterness formula, all will result in a different IBU for a given amounts of hops. I only discovered this after making several recipes from Brewing Classic Styles which came out unbalanced and very bitter. After some further investigation, I found BS2 defaults to Tinseth while the recipes were made using the Rager formula - changing this setting solved my problem to within a few IBUs of the original recipe.

SB

 

[Gloveski]

Hey Wormy,

Have you experimented with the different hop utilisations formulas in Beer Smith?

If not, to find these In BS2 go to Preferences>Bitterness. There is three different options to use for the bitterness formula, all will result in a different IBU for a given amounts of hops. I only discovered this after making several recipes from Brewing Classic Styles which came out unbalanced and very bitter. After some further investigation, I found BS2 defaults to Tinseth while the recipes were made using the Rager formula - changing this setting solved my problem to within a few IBUs of the original recipe.

SB

hmmmn best I check some of my upcoming recipes thanks for the heads up

 

[kaiserben]

I'm looking at doing a couple of mini-batches (let's say about 8L target volume into fermenter).

I don't have (and would rather not have to buy) the mini pipe work.

Should I use heaps of rice hulls to make sure of good flow (assuming wort level won't reach the overflow inlet?)

Or could I do full volume (ie no sparge) mash? Would that see the wort level reach the overflow inlet?

Any tips from those who've done such small batches?

 

[meathead]

I've got the new connect control box and I've noticed whenever I program a mash out it will move towards the temp say 78c and when it gets to 76/77 the heat applied will drop to say 50% then increase again and then drop again as if it doesn't want to overshoot.

This goes on for about 5 minutes

Any suggestions?