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.
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'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 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 ?????
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.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.
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 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
Thanks for that Lisa i will have another goNope 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?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).
#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.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?
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.
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.
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.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.
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 sealThat’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.
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