1st brew in G40

[Old Fart At Play]

Had my first brewday with the GF G40 yesterday. Generally very impressed:

• Ramp up temperatures very fast - 30 mins from cold to strike, about 10 from strike to boil
• Rock solid mash temperature control - no more than 0.5 degree up or down
• Good rolling boil
• Recirculation nice and smooth with no blockages
• Good circulation in vessel pushed by flow from recirculation hose - good pump
• Very quiet operation
• Chiller brilliant - down to 22 degress in about 10 mins
• App easy to use, helpful prompts etc

I only had one problem, right at the end. I'd taken out the hop filter plate and cleaned separately, so there was just that last bit of wort to drain out of the bottom. Started to do that - and it blocked. It was a real palaver to unblock it - I ended up dragging the thing outside and turning it upside down.

If anyone has any tips for avoiding such a blockage, or for unblocking it easily when it does happen, I'd appreciate it! This was the only negative on an otherwise enjoyable brew day.

Even though this was my first brew with the G40, and my first time of brewing indoors rather than outside (which led to quite a few changes to my normal routine), the whole process took 7 hours including unblocking the pump. With my old equipment it would have taken 6 hours. I am sure it will be less than 6 hours next time!

Cheers

 

[Tess Tickle's Brewery]

I've recently got mine as well but haven't used it yet. I understand though that it's a good idea to fit a tap on the bottom, otherwise you may have to unscrew the bottom thing every time to clean it and let the dregs out.

 

[Old Fart At Play]

I've recently got mine as well but haven't used it yet. I understand though that it's a good idea to fit a tap on the bottom, otherwise you may have to unscrew the bottom thing every time to clean it and let the dregs out.

Yes I fitted a tap before first use, definitely better than undoing the nut every time!

 

[Tess Tickle's Brewery]

I'm dreading using mine to be honest if it's going to block.

 

[Old Fart At Play]

I'm dreading using mine to be honest if it's going to block.

I'm sure someone out there has a top tip for this. I've asked Malt Miller (who supplied it) what they suggest.

 

[Tess Tickle's Brewery]

Ok, I'll look out for that.

 

[Old Fart At Play]

Malt Miller suggested blasting water back up the pump using a hose pipe or similar. Sounds reasonable if potentially messy!

Maybe no other G40 users have had a blocked pump while draining, in which case I wouldn't worry about my experience.

Cheers

 

[Paul7189]

Blow down the line at the top of the sight glass to try to back flush the blockage.

 

[Old Fart At Play]

Blow down the line at the top of the sight glass to try to back flush the blockage.

Hiya... Sorry, not quite sure what you mean. Do you mean attach the recirc hose, and blow down the end of the hose? Or remove the nut where the valve is at the top of the sight glass and blow down there?
This sounds promising because it would be less messy than the hosepipe!
Cheers

 

[Paul7189]

Put the recirc line on and blow. Never done it myself so can’t promise anything but it’s similar to people using a bike pump on the g30 to clear the filter.

 

[YeastFace]

Glad you got there OFAP, assume your hop filter got replaced in the end?

I had a blockage whilst cleaning. I believe this was due to the bubbles from the oxy cleaner getting into the pump. I resolved this by blowing down the recirc tube to clear the air bubble and waiting for the oxyclean to stop off-gassing. Next time I will use a different cleaner.

Will likely add a tap to the recirc t-piece, but it doesn't add much time or effort loosening and tightening this a few times during the cleaning process.

 

[Old Fart At Play]

Put the recirc line on and blow. Never done it myself so can’t promise anything but it’s similar to people using a bike pump on the g30 to clear the filter.

righto, ta for the tip!

 

[Old Fart At Play]

Glad you got there OFAP, assume your hop filter got replaced in the end?

Hiya, yes it finally arrived exactly a month after I reported the problem!

"I resolved this by blowing down the recirc tube "

Ta, a real world example of Paul7189s suggestion, sounds much better than using a hose. Much appreciated. Hopefully Tess Tickle will also feel re-assured.

Cheers

 

[dcbrookes]

I had this problem when bits of leaf hop which were left around the bottom filter drifted down into the pump inlet when I removed the bottom filter for cleaning. My solution is only to use pellet hops now, since when the problem has not recurred. The way I cleared the blockage was to put a hose on the tap (which I had fitted to the bottom outlet in place of the plug) and use mains water to clear it. It is necessary to use some care in doing this - too much pressure runs the risk of dislodging the silicone pipes from the pump. You could probably clear an air lock in the pump by blowing down the re-circulation pipe, but I doubt if this would clear a hop blockage.

My biggest gripe at the moment is the amount of grain debris which finds its way into the bottom filter during a brew. I have started skimming the wort as it comes to the boil (using a fine mesh sieve) to remove some of it but it was particularly bad in a brew I did today. I think the bottom plate of the malt pipe must be lifting somehow and allowing excess amounts of grain through.The grain crush size is not a factor: I use setting 6 on the GF grain mill (1.5mm). Investigations continue...

 

[Old Fart At Play]

Thanks dcbrookes. It had occurred to me that maybe now is the time to move from leaf to pellets; your post convinces me of that! Hopefully a combo of blowing down recirc/carefully jetting water up tap will get over any problems until current leaf stocks used.

Re the grain getting out of the basket, I didn't have that problem. Would be interested to hear when you find the cause.

Cheers

 

[Tess Tickle's Brewery]

Hopefully Tess Tickle will also feel re-assured.

Yes, thanks OFAP.

I used to use the bike pump trick on my brewzilla before I bought a helix.

 

[Tess Tickle's Brewery]

Does anyone know if the brewzilla tap will fit on the G40 until I can get another? We are going to use the brewzilla for sous vide and perhaps sparge water, depending on the size of the batch.

 

[YeastFace]

Does anyone know if the brewzilla tap will fit on the G40 until I can get another? We are going to use the brewzilla for sous vide and perhaps sparge water, depending on the size of the batch.

I'm pretty sure it's just a standard 1/2" thread so it should be fine.

 

[dcbrookes]

Does anyone know if the brewzilla tap will fit on the G40 until I can get another? We are going to use the brewzilla for sous vide and perhaps sparge water, depending on the size of the batch.

It is definitely the same 1/"2 BSP thread as the Brewzilla.