Blockages

[Wynne]

Have a look in “How to Brew” by John Palmer. The author is a metallurgist and one of the appendices to his book gives advice on what metals and combinations of metals can be used safely in homebrewing.

 

[Harbey]

Hi all. Just returned to brewing after a 12month break and getting drawn in to the forum again . I like the look of the helix but just wondering if anyone has tried it in a Grainfather. I find the filter on mine is easily blocked and can occasionally (only happened once) be knocked off. Tried a false bottom but it tends to bobble about under a good boil so not too impressed with that. I can't see why this wouldn't work once I work out how to attach it to the pump inlet but if anyone has experience.

 

[DocAnna]

Had another pump blockage yesterday which was really annoying, so revisiting this thread and really need to try @LisaMC your solution. Have you tried it without the false bottom yet? Thanks.

 

[Hop_it]

Had another pump blockage yesterday which was really annoying, so revisiting this thread and really need to try @LisaMC your solution. Have you tried it without the false bottom yet? Thanks.

I saw your post, and as it is (and has been for some time) a topic of interest, I wanted to enquire about the circumstances. What caused the blockage, and when in the process did it happen?
I know that it has been mentioned many times before but grain crush seems to make a noticeable difference during mashing. I have found that a mill gap of ~1.2mm seems to work well for me.
Also mentioned previously is the physical form of the hops. Whole hops (unless contained in a mesh bag) always seem to find their way to the pump inlet. Even loose pelletised hops have caused me problems in the past. I now normally put them in a cloth bag as well. I know many people say that the extraction is not as good, but from a practical point of view that's better than another blockage.

I've not yet tried the snake like 'Helix' thing, but I would be very interested to know if it really solves the ongoing problems with blockages. I've not seen any feedback from those that have mentioned them in previous posts ?????

 

[Hop_it]

I forgot to mention that I also moisture condition the grain prior to milling. This results in a much less dusty grist, so less of it floating around in the circulating mash liquid.

 

[DocAnna]

I saw your post, and as it is (and has been for some time) a topic of interest, I wanted to enquire about the circumstances. What caused the blockage, and when in the process did it happen?
I know that it has been mentioned many times before but grain crush seems to make a noticeable difference during mashing. I have found that a mill gap of ~1.2mm seems to work well for me.
Also mentioned previously is the physical form of the hops. Whole hops (unless contained in a mesh bag) always seem to find their way to the pump inlet. Even loose pelletised hops have caused me problems in the past. I now normally put them in a cloth bag as well. I know many people say that the extraction is not as good, but from a practical point of view that's better than another blockage.

I've not yet tried the snake like 'Helix' thing, but I would be very interested to know if it really solves the ongoing problems with blockages. I've not seen any feedback from those that have mentioned them in previous posts ?????

I'd added the hops loose as a hop stand and decided to whirlpool by stirring. Unfortunately the whirlpool effect also lifted the base filter off the bottom, with all the hops then ending up underneath it (again) . So I'm going to try the helix - I had it from ages ago but never fitted it, and if that doesn't work, try a really large mesh bag with the hops. It is quite annoying and you'd think I'd learn by now not to put loose hops in other than in v small amounts as pellets.

I forgot to mention that I also moisture condition the grain prior to milling. This results in a much less dusty grist, so less of it floating around in the circulating mash liquid.

The grainfather mill creates absolutely zero dust during milling, and not a lot when in the mash, really it's remarkable. The base sits over the collection bin and there's no dust at all. The instructions specifically say not to moisture condition the grain due to the risk of damp affecting the rollers over time.

 

[Tess Tickle's Brewery]

Had another pump blockage yesterday which was really annoying, so revisiting this thread and really need to try @LisaMC your solution. Have you tried it without the false bottom yet? Thanks.

Yes Anna - works a dream without the false bottom. Whirlpooling is the way to go along with the Helix. Haven't had a pump blockage since I bought it.

 

[Tess Tickle's Brewery]

Also as TETB suggested, a small piece of plastic tubing over the metal bit which goes into the drain hole makes a nice seal, if the part is loose like mine was.

 

[Rodcx500z]

I bought a helix but have not used it yet, the drain hole on the brewzilla is not central and i can't get it to lie flat, i would have to cut some off to make it fit touch wood i have not had a blockage yet

 

[Tess Tickle's Brewery]

I bought a helix but have not used it yet, the drain hole on the brewzilla is not central and i can't get it to lie flat, i would have to cut some off to make it fit touch wood i have not had a blockage yet

Nope it won't lie flat, but without the false bottom it doesn't matter. If you get a good seal in the bottom, the helix doesn't move. Also I don't think the bottom of the malt pipe touches it (the helix).

 

[Rodcx500z]

Nope it won't lie flat, but without the false bottom it doesn't matter. If you get a good seal in the bottom, the helix doesn't move. Also I don't think the bottom of the malt pipe touches it (the helix).

Thanks for that Lisa i will have another go

 

[DocAnna]

Nope it won't lie flat, but without the false bottom it doesn't matter. If you get a good seal in the bottom, the helix doesn't move. Also I don't think the bottom of the malt pipe touches it (the helix).

Hi Lisa, due to the way the barb projects above the base I am presuming that the volume that you can drain is reduced with an increase in effective dead space? Do you have any measure or idea of what volume might be lost through this?

 

[Tess Tickle's Brewery]

We reckon it's about 3L, but we're not entirely sure.

 

[dcbrookes]

Hi Lisa, due to the way the barb projects above the base I am presuming that the volume that you can drain is reduced with an increase in effective dead space? Do you have any measure or idea of what volume might be lost through this?

#155 and #156 in this thread show a way of preventing most of the loss and keeping the coil flat on the bottom of the BZ.

 

[Hop_it]

I'd added the hops loose as a hop stand and decided to whirlpool by stirring. Unfortunately the whirlpool effect also lifted the base filter off the bottom, with all the hops then ending up underneath it (again) . So I'm going to try the helix - I had it from ages ago but never fitted it, and if that doesn't work, try a really large mesh bag with the hops. It is quite annoying and you'd think I'd learn by now not to put loose hops in other than in v small amounts as pellets.


The grainfather mill creates absolutely zero dust during milling, and not a lot when in the mash, really it's remarkable. The base sits over the collection bin and there's no dust at all. The instructions specifically say not to moisture condition the grain due to the risk of damp affecting the rollers over time.

Thanks for the reply (and also from LisaMC as well). You were really unlucky there. It had never occurred to me that the false bottom might move with the action of stirring.

Your comments about the behaviour of your grain mill are also interesting. Do you know what speed it runs at? The reason I ask is that I had wondered if the dust I get during dry milling might be caused by running the mill too fast. I connect an electric drill to it (as do many of us) but slowest speed that I can run the drill at is ~600 rpm. I read somewhere that these small mills should be run at 200 rpm or less, but I thought at the time that this was probably to protect the bearings . . . . . perhaps it has an influence on the quality of the crush
PS - My mill has stainless steel rollers so can tolerate a damp environment without any problems.

 

[Hop_it]

Also as TETB suggested, a small piece of plastic tubing over the metal bit which goes into the drain hole makes a nice seal, if the part is loose like mine was.

You mention using some plastic tubing to make a seal between the barb and the inside of the drain hole. Please be aware that it is not a good idea to use flexible PVC tube for this. PVC is not suitable for lengthy exposure to high temperatures. It is not thermally stable at 100 degC, and may leach small amounts of volatile additives e.g. plasticiser. This is not going to poison you, but its still better not to ingest it. So, the best type of tube to use is food grade silicon. This is the same type of tube that is attached to the end of the circulation arm on the BZ.

 

[DocAnna]

Thanks for the reply (and also from LisaMC as well). You were really unlucky there. It had never occurred to me that the false bottom might move with the action of stirring.

Your comments about the behaviour of your grain mill are also interesting. Do you know what speed it runs at? The reason I ask is that I had wondered if the dust I get during dry milling might be caused by running the mill too fast. I connect an electric drill to it (as do many of us) but slowest speed that I can run the drill at is ~600 rpm. I read somewhere that these small mills should be run at 200 rpm or less, but I thought at the time that this was probably to protect the bearings . . . . . perhaps it has an influence on the quality of the crush
PS - My mill has stainless steel rollers so can tolerate a damp environment without any problems.

The mill is variable speed but is recommended left at 'speed 4' whatever that means! The specification doesn't state the rpm, and I'd have thought the diameter of the mill would also influence crush speed. The grainfather mills are 58mm diameter and are also hardened stainless steel - they still state not to damp condition the grain though. The video from David Heath as below describes the speed having a direct impact on how fine the crush is.

 

[DocAnna]

That’s a helix fitted to the base of my brewzilla, I used a stainless steel right angle connection and ptfe to ensure it was tight at a right angle to the helix T connector. The used a short piece of silicone tubing to seal between pipe inlet and nozzle. I’ve measured the dead space using water at 1 litre almost exactly. Time will now tell if this works and saves me from the dreaded pump blocks. Thanks to all the ideas here for getting this far

It’s a 1/2 BSP x 8mm fitting.

 

[Hop_it]

The mill is variable speed but is recommended left at 'speed 4' whatever that means! The specification doesn't state the rpm, and I'd have thought the diameter of the mill would also influence crush speed. The grainfather mills are 58mm diameter and are also hardened stainless steel - they still state not to damp condition the grain though. The video from David Heath as below describes the speed having a direct impact on how fine the crush is.

Once again thanks. The video was useful (despite the rather flat voiceover). Unfortunately no mention of real mill speed, and I do appreciate that the roller diameter makes a difference. My mill rollers are certainly a bit smaller so the peripheral speed would be lower for the same rotational speed. However, he emphasises (as do the presenters of other videos about this machine) that the speed has a big influence on the quality of the crush. So that's very helpful, and is something that I really need to look at. It would be nice to not have to moisture condition the grain prior to milling - it really is a pain in the posterior.

Also, the table of suggested mill roller gaps for different grains looked useful. I couldn't take it all in because it was only on the screen for a short while, but I did notice that the gap for most base malts was even higher than that which I am currently using . . . . . perhaps I need to go up a bit more

I wish that this had been on the market when I bought my mill. It's quite expensive, but appears to be very easy to use, and is so compact compared with the traditional homebrew scale mills

 

[private4587]

That’s a helix fitted to the base of my brewzilla, I used a stainless steel right angle connection and ptfe to ensure it was tight at a right angle to the helix T connector. The used a short piece of silicone tubing to seal between pipe inlet and nozzle. I’ve measured the dead space using water at 1 litre almost exactly. Time will now tell if this works and saves me from the dreaded pump blocks. Thanks to all the ideas here for getting this far
View attachment 61034
It’s a 1/2 BSP x 8mm fitting.

Anna I have same fitting, what size silicon tubing did you use has all my various tubing is either too big or too small thus unable to get tight seal