Wanted to buy - grainfather

[wide eyed and legless]

is the robobrew made in this country..i have a grainfather with old controller(retirement present)..had no real issues...except draining the unit(old type strainer blocks with hop matter).the counter flow chiller works a treat

Robo brew is made in China, the Grainfather and Guten /Ace /Klarstein/ Hopcat come out of the same factory in China.

 

[Roosterboy]

Yeh, very little is made in Oz.
But unless someone knows otherwise KK is/was owned by Australians.
i-make is NZ.

 

[Bridgey23]

Yeh, very little is made in Oz.
But unless someone knows otherwise KK is/was owned by Australians.
i-make is NZ.

I agree we should all buy Australian as much as possible but if that's the reason to buy a Robobrew then I guess you would limit your hop and grain varieties to Aussie only as well (which I think would be silly).
Keg King get plenty of my business and I am happy with my GF purchase and where the profits may end up. I also buy my fair share of Chinese stuff (some crap some quite good. It's a gamble).
I'd rather always spend my money with Aussie companies but sometimes it's not always possible and I don't mind helping out our mates across the ditch. The Kiwi's have a great craft beer scene and great fresh ingredients. Also the Mrs is a Kiwi so I'm over there a bit so may be a bit biased [emoji6].

Anyway I think this thread has got a little off topic.

To the original OP there's + and - to all systems so whichever way you go just enjoy the process of making your own tasty beer and the journey that will follow.
Once you get into it, as conflicted as some of it may be, there is awesome advice on this forum and plenty of people happy to give their time to help you out.
Happy Brewing [emoji482]

 

[bradsbrew]

If you are purchasing in Australia, no matter where it is made, someone is paid in Australia to sell it to you.

 

[mingmarwoc]

Just bought a 2nd hand grainfather with sparge water heater for a good.

Cant wait to get brewing

 

[peteru]

Enjoy!

Which controller?

 

[mingmarwoc]

Enjoy!

Which controller?

The original. Will brew with it a few times and decide if i should upgrade to the connect

 

[HaveFun]

do you need a18l sparge water heater or is a 10l water urn enough for a brew with the GF ?

https://www.catch.com.au/product/stainless-steel-10l-hot-water-urn-1306/?st=8&sid=134

http://www.fischerequip.com.au/water-boiler-18-5-litres?search=water boiler

Cheers
Stefan

 

[Bridgey23]

My sparges are quite often around 15l. I'd go bigger than ten unless your only doing half batches.

 

[pnorkle]

You really need the bigger size - go to GF web site & use the calc to figure out how much sparge water u need for a given recipe. I just used a Bunnings water barrel with heater element for mine.

 

[HaveFun]

You really need the bigger size - go to GF web site & use the calc to figure out how much sparge water u need for a given recipe. I just used a Bunnings water barrel with heater element for mine.

so you have to sparge with different temperatures ?

 

[DU99]

74 C is recommend..i use a wollies stock pot..

 

[pnorkle]

so you have to sparge with different temperatures ?

No - different amounts, depending on your grain bill/how much your final volume should be. Go here: https://www.grainfather.com/brewing-calculators and use the Mash & Sparge Calc..

And as for temp, what DU99 said.

 

[HaveFun]

after having a shower and a beer i start thinking about the following setup:

I can use my plastic fermenter, heating element and a spare temperature controller to heat up my sparge water.
If i can heat up the water in the fermenter its also helps to sterilize the fermenter..

I can use my fermenter and get an 2000w heating element for $10

https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/220V-25...528327&hash=item440aebf83b:g:3fwAAOSwhMFZrnxr

and a temperature controller for $25

https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Tempera...e=STRK:MEBIDX:IT&_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649

and i got my sparge hot water heater for $35

What do you think ?

Cheers

Stefan

 

[pnorkle]

I'm a bit confused, so forgive me if I don't understand correctly what you're saying..
You're going to use your fermenter for sparge water, essentially a HLT.. you're going to heat the water to around 74 deg? But no, that won't sterilise your fermenter. You give a link to a over-the-side element (which I'd be wary of using in a plastic container) that goes for $7.00 and later you say you have a hot water heater that you bought for $35?

OK - if you're going to use your fermenter as an HLT, fine (again, be wary of that Over-The-Side element - if it touches the plastic, it will likely melt it.) but as the temp won't get high enough to sterilise, I'd still be using something like Starsan before putting your wort in. I'd buy a fermenter-like container from bunnings, and an element from your LHBS and install into the fermenter - will cost bugger all.

Edit - Something like this:

 

[mattyh77]

No need for separate equipment for sparge heating. Even though I have a Robobrew instead of GF, this is what I do.
Fill up Robobrew to brim, heat to 82 degrees then transfer about 18l to my 20l drink style esky (you know the ones with the tap at the bottom). That leaves about 13l left in the Robobrew where I top up to desired mash level. Usually only have to add between 5 to 7 litres. The temp then drops to around desired mash of 66. If not heat up a little or let sit and cool a little. So much quicker and uses a bit less energy.

 

[HaveFun]

The heating element is $7+$3 for postage.. = $10
The temperature controller is $25 = total $35

After cleaning I sterilize all my equipment with a hydrogen peroxide & peracetic acid-based chemical.

But it will not hurt to heat up the water in the fermenter to around 74 degrees only as a second step.

I am also a bit worried about a $10 heating element.. I will search for a better quality one.

Do you have a link to a proper heating element ?

Thanks

Cheers
Stefan