Just ordered a Grainfather...

[uDicko]

Definitely the biggest single purchase I have made into this awesome hobby but its something I have been considering for a very long time. Chuffed even though not used it yet!

I know there may have been posts like this but are there any specific 'gotchas' that you guys have experienced when using/unboxing things to check that everything is in order?

Any particular first time cleaning routine or variants that are not in the assumed instructions supplied?

Gone for:
Grainfather
Graincoat
Micro pipework (trying to get into my new years resolution of smaller batches :P)

Happy days! That is assuming it turns up tomorrow ….

 

[rank_frank]

Congratulations. I've had mine for a couple of years now. I also have the micro pipework but not the Graincoat. The only time I wished I had that was last winter as I brew outside and it was way below zero, the Grainfather was struggling to get a rolling boil. Normally it's fine.

There's no real gotchas but a few pointers from my experience are :

- I always brew outside on the patio primarily as the steam from the boil leaves my kitchen dripping in water but it's also far easier to cleanup drips and spills with the hose when outside
- the micro pipework can be useful for session beers with a smaller grain bill even if you're not making a small batch
- I always use a hop spider when using pellet hops as I've had two pump blockages without.
- I don't bother trying to whirlpool when using whole leaf hops as they actually form a nice filter bed and don't block things. But if you do want to whirlpool then mount the hop filter upside down with the rubber end against the temperature probe. It's a lot harder to knock off that way.
- the connect app works well these days and gives you audible warnings when it's time to add more hops etc
- I don't use a separate sparge water heater but instead I heat the sparge water to 85C in the Grainfather first and then pour it out into a spare fermentation bucket where it stays until needed.
- My mashes don't look quite like they do on YouTube. I get a lot of liquid above the top plate and a lot running through the overflow pipe. I recently bought a load of rice hulls and mixed these with the grain. This did fix the problem but it didn't make any difference to mash efficiency or the taste of the beer so I don't think it's an issue if you see the same thing.


Happy brewing

 

[MmmBeer]

Clean it before first use to remove any manufacturing residues, there is a branded Grainfather cleaner, or you can use PBW or just Oxi.

There are many videos on Youtube, I found the David Heath ones the most informative.

It's best to have a paddle that is long enough to scrape the hotplate without burning your hands.

As rank_frank said, try to minimise use of pellet hops, unless using hop spider; leaf hops cause no problems.

Enjoy

 

[uDicko]

Congratulations. I've had mine for a couple of years now. I also have the micro pipework but not the Graincoat. The only time I wished I had that was last winter as I brew outside and it was way below zero, the Grainfather was struggling to get a rolling boil. Normally it's fine.

There's no real gotchas but a few pointers from my experience are :

- I always brew outside on the patio primarily as the steam from the boil leaves my kitchen dripping in water but it's also far easier to cleanup drips and spills with the hose when outside
- the micro pipework can be useful for session beers with a smaller grain bill even if you're not making a small batch
- I always use a hop spider when using pellet hops as I've had two pump blockages without.
- I don't bother trying to whirlpool when using whole leaf hops as they actually form a nice filter bed and don't block things. But if you do want to whirlpool then mount the hop filter upside down with the rubber end against the temperature probe. It's a lot harder to knock off that way.
- the connect app works well these days and gives you audible warnings when it's time to add more hops etc
- I don't use a separate sparge water heater but instead I heat the sparge water to 85C in the Grainfather first and then pour it out into a spare fermentation bucket where it stays until needed.
- My mashes don't look quite like they do on YouTube. I get a lot of liquid above the top plate and a lot running through the overflow pipe. I recently bought a load of rice hulls and mixed these with the grain. This did fix the problem but it didn't make any difference to mash efficiency or the taste of the beer so I don't think it's an issue if you see the same thing.


Happy brewing

This is some great advice, got the coat to brew outside and keep the temperature recirc consistent. Can imagine in this weather it will be worth it!

 

[uDicko]

Clean it before first use to remove any manufacturing residues, there is a branded Grainfather cleaner, or you can use PBW or just Oxi.

There are many videos on Youtube, I found the David Heath ones the most informative.

It's best to have a paddle that is long enough to scrape the hotplate without burning your hands.

As rank_frank said, try to minimise use of pellet hops, unless using hop spider; leaf hops cause no problems.

Enjoy

Got a spider from previous BIAB set up so will definitely make use of that and I tend nowadays to use the pellets

 

[Ghillie]

I get a lot of liquid above the top plate and a lot running through the overflow pipe. I recently bought a load of rice hulls and mixed these with the grain.

Grain conditioning is something you might want to look into. Rice hulls work well, but cost money whereas grain conditioning does not.

All said and done, grain conditioning is only an option if you mill your own grains... Either way, anything that stops wort going down the overflow pipe is a success!

 

[Leon103]

 

[jceg316]

I mash for 90 mins, although I did do this on my herms kit before I got a grainfather for the same reasons: it gives a clearer wort due to recirculating for longer and increases efficiency.

 

[Ghillie]

Any particular first time cleaning routine or variants that are not in the assumed instructions supplied?

Don't own a Grainfather, but I do own a Robobrew which is essentially the same. A few general tips, as well as cleaning advice, from personal experience:

- Get yourself a SS mash paddle if you can. I had a plastic one, but it wasn't up to the task of stirring the grain and kept bending.

-After you've finished brewing and it comes to cleaning the GF, make sure and run the pump. It's easy to forget and the one time I forgot, I got a nice lump of mould come out the pump when I was testing everything with water prior to a brew...

-The easiest way to clean is with a hose in the drive way/patio/etc. Just blast everything down to get the bulk of ***** off and then you can give the parts a thorough clean and scrub in the sink or dishwasher.

-Use a large nylon bag for boil hop additions. SS hop baskets are available and look good, but they're not IMO. Expensive and I don't feel the hops get enough contact with the wort due to the super fine mesh screen. You can throw your hops in loose, but it makes for a messier clean up. Hops are also extremely toxic for dogs (not sure if you have a four legged friend), so I don't want any hop matter on the driveway during clean up just in case. Instead, I just turn the bag of hop debris inside out directly into the wheelie bin.

-As already mentioned, rice hulls help to prevent stuck sparges which you will ultimately face one day. Grain conditioning is also a good option, should you look into milling your own grains one day. It's also good practice to let the grains rest for 10-15 minutes after doughing in before you run the pump. This allows the grains to settle out and not become compacted against the malt pipe bottom when the pump is run.

I'm sure you'll love it and this will be the first purchase of many more shiny brewing related bits of gear

 

[uDicko]

Did have a good tip but the post has been removed.

I did see it... Wonder why it got removed!

Out of curiosity, why would you keep it in the box?

 

[Ghillie]

I mash for 90 mins, although I did do this on my herms kit before I got a grainfather for the same reasons: it gives a clearer wort due to recirculating for longer and increases efficiency.

Might give this a go myself out of curiosity. Will take gravity readings at 60 and 90 to compare too.

 

[uDicko]

Don't own a Grainfather, but I do own a Robobrew which is essentially the same. A few general tips, as well as cleaning advice, from personal experience:

- Get yourself a SS mash paddle if you can. I had a plastic one, but it wasn't up to the task of stirring the grain and kept bending.

-After you've finished brewing and it comes to cleaning the GF, make sure and run the pump. It's easy to forget and the one time I forgot, I got a nice lump of mould come out the pump when I was testing everything with water prior to a brew...

-The easiest way to clean is with a hose in the drive way/patio/etc. Just blast everything down to get the bulk of ***** off and then you can give the parts a thorough clean and scrub in the sink or dishwasher.

-Use a large nylon bag for boil hop additions. SS hop baskets are available and look good, but they're not IMO. Expensive and I don't feel the hops get enough contact with the wort due to the super fine mesh screen. You can throw your hops in loose, but it makes for a messier clean up. Hops are also extremely toxic for dogs (not sure if you have a four legged friend), so I don't want any hop matter on the driveway during clean up just in case. Instead, I just turn the bag of hop debris inside out directly into the wheelie bin.

-As already mentioned, rice hulls help to prevent stuck sparges which you will ultimately face one day. Grain conditioning is also a good option, should you look into milling your own grains one day. It's also good practice to let the grains rest for 10-15 minutes after doughing in before you run the pump. This allows the grains to settle out and not become compacted against the malt pipe bottom when the pump is run.

I'm sure you'll love it and this will be the first purchase of many more shiny brewing related bits of gear

Great stuff again, thank you!

The mash paddle - got a long wooden one for Xmas, hoping it will suffice and no burnt fingers. Not got a four legged friend yet sadly, baby steps with the Mrs :)

 

[Ghillie]

Out of curiosity, why would you keep it in the box?

Hopefully to protect it against accidental damage during storage? Unless @Leon103 is of the sorts who deems an all in one system anti-brewing?

 

[Chippy_Tea]

Did have a good tip but the post has been removed.

I removed it as posting "Leave it in the box" with no smiley (if it was a joke) or explanation (if it wasn't) didn't seem helpful especially when compared to post 2 and 3 above.

.

 

[Leon103]

aunsure....

 

[Chippy_Tea]

As i said the smiley would have indicated your earlier post was a joke but as it seems you were making a serious point there was no need for you to "Get to be down with the kids"

Could i ask you to explain to a relative mew member who has posted "Chuffed even though not used it yet" the connection between both pieces of advice below (post 15 later edited so the second comment doesn't show) just in case i am not the only one that doesn't get it.

"Leave it in the box" and "It was more to do with depreciation of the unit. With grainfather 2 out soon"




.

 

[Keruso]

A few tips:-
1. Put the filter on the wrong way round, then the black cap presses against the temperature probe and stops you knocking it off accidentally when stirring.
2. Be really careful when stirring, I recently hit the pipework and managed to un-seat the bottom plate in the grain basket, the entire grain contents emptied into the kettle.
3. Grain crush size makes a massive difference, as some posts have already said, with a fine crushed grain when mashing and the pump is on, the wort flow goes over the overflow pipe and isnt really circulating, efficiency suffers, you get cloudy beer and the sparge takes ages and needs stirring. Oat / rice husks do help but a recent brew I did had a coarse crush, even with 7KG grain the circulation was great, nothing at all over the overflow and a crystal clear wort.
4. Use a hop spider, even though the GF can take hops straight into the kettle I find the pump works better and easier to clean.
5. The pump doesnt always work straight away. I thought I had a fault, but it's a feature. Sometimes you turn it on, you can hear it but nothing happens, turn it off and on and then the wort circulates. I think its down to air in the pump, others have the same experience.
6. There's a spring and ball in the circulation pipework. Mine is always getting small grain and hop fragments caught in it and blocking the flow eventually. I have removed mine now.
7. Top mash plate (and bottom) has a silicone ring, comes off easily when trying to fit. soak in warm water for a few mins.
8. Dont walk away when comming upto boil !! all the protein and foam can boil over easily. I uses a fine water spray mister to "pat" it down.
9. Collect the water you use to cool the wort and use it for cleaning.

For me number 3 makes the biggest difference, I much prefer clear beer.

 

[-Bezza-]

I got one myself recently but not had the time to use it. I do find myself wandering down to the shed just to look at it from time to time though. Even without having used it properly, I already have a few pointers.

Odd thing I found was that the Grainfather was part-assembled compared to the instructions, so trying to match what was in the box to what was on the contents list was a bit confusing at first. Turns out it wasn't that tricky.

Listen to any advice you get about putting the mash plates in place. As mentioned above, the silicone ring comes off very easily and leaves sharp edges exposed - at best it makes a nasty scraping noise. I didn't try leaving it in warm water but even getting it a bit wet made it go together a lot easier. Probably took about 10 attempts!

Watch the Grainfather videos on youtube for how to put it together and use it as it makes a lot more sense to see someone do it rather than trying to figure out the names for every little part.

Cleaning beforehand is pretty easy although did take a long time the first time. Again, watch the video on Youtube. In a way, cleaning is like doing a practice run for a brew so it's not wasted time.

Make sure you have space around you when using - a place to put the chiller when it's dripping liquid, likewise where do you put the grain basket once you're finished with it?

 

[Leon103]

As i said the smiley would have indicated your earlier post was a joke but as it seems you were making a serious point there was no need for you to "Get to be down with the kids"

Could i ask you to explain to a relative mew member who has postedChuffed even though not used it yet" the connection between both pieces of advice below (post 15 later edited so the second comment doesn't show) just in case i am not the only one that doesn't get it.

"Leave it in the box" and "It was more to do with depreciation of the unit. With grainfather 2 out soon"




.

No.

I didn't know smileys were needed to indicate something is meant as a joke

 

[Chippy_Tea]

I didn't know smileys were needed to indicate something is meant as a joke

They are not but occasionally they are helpful.

You posted "Leave it in the box" in a thread where a new member had posted "Chuffed even though not used it yet" having just spent £600+ on the system, it looked like you were saying it was not worth buying so it would be better left in the box a smiley would have made it obvious you were not slating his purchase.

You later followed the above post with "It was more to do with depreciation of the unit. With grainfather 2 out soon" (post 15) which you then changed to a thinking smiley after i asked to to explain the relevance of the two posts, if the first comment was a joke why did you follow it up with the second which i assume wasn't a joke?

.