The Grainfather

[SnakeDoctor]

Needs more arrogant directors, stupid name, rigged competition results and forum shills before I will consider one.

 

[suchidog]

So has anyone given any thought to adding mathos controller to a Grainfather to have a semi automatic system at less than have the price of a Braumeister?

 

[MCHammo]

I mentioned a few posts back that I'd consider grabbing one to add my own control system to. Not matho's one, but one of my own design. I don't see why matho's wouldn't work (but then again, I've never looked at that board, so I have no idea what its capable of). Should run fine with a few relays to switch any mains components. I'd love to see one in the flesh before I make any plans, though.

 

[BadSeed]

Looks like the first ones will hit NZ people in September.
Hopefully in Aus by Xmas.

The first one is being demo'd all over their facebook page

 

[RobB]

[SIZE=medium]It’s disappointing that the mash steps are manual, rather than programmable. How much would a better controller have added to the cost of this unit? For me, I would prefer to have a better controller and to leave the CFC as an optional extra. [/SIZE][SIZE=medium]A programmable mash schedule would have brought the Grainfather much closer to the Braumeister in terms of functionality, while still being half the price.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=medium]Just thinking out loud, so shoot me down if I am wrong:[/SIZE]

[SIZE=medium]GF seems to flow downwards through the malt pipe, whereas the BM flows upwards. Would this make the BM less susceptible to stuck mashes?[/SIZE]

[SIZE=medium]GF appears to have a concealed element. This makes it easier to clean, but anecdotal reports on this site seem to indicate that concealed elements may be more prone to burning out, since the heat is not stripped from them as efficiently. I’m sure that for every burnt out element there’s someone who has brewed hundreds of batches without problems………[/SIZE]

[SIZE=medium]I have considered a similar system as a recirculating upgrade to my humble Birko urn. One concern which has stopped me is that by pumping into the malt pipe at the top and drawing wort off the bottom, will there be an annulus of water around the malt pipe which isn’t recirculating, and so is not participating in the mash?[/SIZE]

[SIZE=medium]The lift, twist, lock design of the malt pipe is pretty cool.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=medium]The GF facebook page recommends a lower liquid to grain ratio than the BM, so a sparge is necessary whereas the BM seems to treat a sparge as optional. The GF element only uses 500W during the mash, so it may be possible to run a small urn on the same circuit for sparge water.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=medium]The manual temperature steps are still a stumbling block for me, but I hope they turn out to be an excellent and popular machine.[/SIZE]

 

[joshuahardie]

this looks like a very elegant alternative to the BM.

will be good to see one in the flesh, as it is very similar to how I have my BIAB setup

 

[Elz]

Agree, kinda sucks that it is not programable. Probably wait for this feature before outlaying my $$$$. Looks good otherwise

 

[Crofty]

Anyone seen this yet?

http://www.grainfather.com/

This looks like it could be good and is landing in Australia towards the end of the year at around a grand in kiwi money.

I spotted it as a sponsor of the ANHC and appears to be an offshoot from Mangrove Jacks.... mighty shiny and compact for those days when I don't feel like standing outside in the rain.

seems like you still need to heat up your sparge separately and bring your own fermenter, but apart from that everything seems to be in there.

Their FB page seems to have frequent updates - https://www.facebook.com/grainfather?fref=ts

I've attached the brochure here for anyone interested - View attachment e8b8c7_abe4fc63f61e4296a327d29212948f79.pdf

Looks kind of cool, hopefully they bring one to demo at ANHC.

 

[Crofty]

Cheers Barls for relocating my thread... couldn't find this one

Brochure is on the above post if anyone's interested

 

[MastersBrewery]

Matho's controller would slot straight into this, you may need to swap out the temp probe though, other than that it looks like a simple upgrade.

MB

 

[Bats]

So these are available to the public in NZ this month and Aus in November.

I'd be interested to hear from anyone over in NZ that have bought one and tested it out.

I'm really contemplating getting one of these if the positives outweigh the negatives.

I don't like that it is only big enough for about 25L but I do like the telescopic malt pipe that can take 9kg grain bills for bigger beers.

 

[DU99]

they will be doing demo's at ANHC.

 

[Crofty]

So these are available to the public in NZ this month and Aus in November.

I'd be interested to hear from anyone over in NZ that have bought one and tested it out.

I'm really contemplating getting one of these if the positives outweigh the negatives.

I don't like that it is only big enough for about 25L but I do like the telescopic malt pipe that can take 9kg grain bills for bigger beers.

Also interested to hear from our kiwi friends how this goes. If it's good I'm in on the preorder come November.

 

[spryzie]

What is the cost?

 

[blotto]

That controller on the GF looks just like the FridgeMate temp controller that I bought for my fridge a few years ago, that was before I found out about the STC 1000 which I much prefer.

 

[sp0rk]

What is the cost?

Apparently a shade under $1000
(I think $998 was the price being thrown around)

 

[spryzie]

Hmmm. A grand, eh?

Almost within the bounds of possibility then. Especially with the wort chiller.

If only you could ferment in it...

 

[sp0rk]

I think the wort chiller makes up a bit over $200 of the cost (I think it might even be optional)

 

[Crofty]

If you go to the site and hit the NZ region you'll see what they're currently selling for there.

 

[Online Brewing Supplies]

I hope to get one on release in Aust and give it a real testing, to me the price makes it a real option compared to the BM.
The fact it doesnt auto step is not a problem, just a bit more time consuming pushing buttons.
I have been in contact with imake Australia and there is no release info as yet, apparently another month before they have any news.
keep you all in the loop.
Nev