The Grain Father

[Peter Smith]

http://www.grainfather.com/

Mangrove Jacks new all grain unit - its nice

[Taubin]

I'm very amused by the line of thinking here. "The GF is too expensive, but I may HAVE to buy an all electric system, not that I WANT to..."

[Kilian Otte]

Well, what a nice forum here...

[Barry]

Would you rather I said you absolutely can build an electric brewery for less than the cost of a Grainfather?

Not sure what your expectation is of a forum but here you'll find amazing, friendly, helpful, honest, knowledgable, enthusiastic home brewers, eager to talk about and share their experiences.

You might not find many though that lie to you about what stuff costs.

 

[Peter Church]

+1 to Barry's comment re cost... I have spent way more than the cost of a grainfather for my three vessel system, It would be very hard to get a quality product for less. I think GF represents great value, Two things meant I haven't gone that way, I was to deep in when they came out and the batch size, I prefer to do bigger batches less often

[Dene McDonald]

I see the brewshop pot lists a gap of 6 - 8 cm. Is there plenty of room for an element?

[Peter Scandlyn]

I could've been clearer here, sorry about that.

I'd love to have put my own brewery together but I just don't have the skills let alone access to the tools. And I suspect the cost would blow out pretty quickly, so I accepted the pain in the pocket and went for a Grainfather. Have had no reason to regret it.

As a plug-and-play it is pretty damn good value @ what, 2/3rd the price of next cheapest unit?

I flirted with Robobrew for a time, attractive price, but on consideration knew I wouldn't be satisfied.

[Crusader-Rob]

It's not just for new brewers.....
I've been brewing for 4 years now, and ?I just bought one 6 months ago.
best investment ever!

[Barry]

In your parts list above @Chig, you mention an STC1000. Do you use that to control your RIMS?

[Barry]

Sweet, if it works, it works right? What sensor?

[Dene McDonald]

The build looks fantastic @Chig. The only thing missing is a sight glass - any plans for this or graduated markings?

What are the two outlets for - I for pump and one for a ball valve?

[Dene McDonald]

Any update on the home built system Chig?

[Dene McDonald]

For anyone looking for the pot with the basket, these are down to $119 for the 35 litre and $169 for the 57 litre. Shipping is $10 or less (was $10 to Dunedin) so now is the time for a home built GF.

I'm selling my GF as we have a new baby plus we need to move. I can't justify having all that money tied up in one system so am building the following:

• $129 - 35 Litre Pot With Basket from Brewshop incl delivery (just ordered)
• $45- New style 2.2kw element from Keg King (better not blow like my last one). i could go down the Still Dragon road but my goal is budget build).
• $40 approx - ball valve and sight glass from Ali Express
• $0- 12 volt pump from Ali Express (normally $US20 incl delivery)
• $0 - Auber Ramp and Soak PID Controller (already have but these retail for around $150 inc inline temp probe).
• $0 - Silicon tubes with quick disconnects that I have sitting around
• $0 - Immersion chiller that I already have ($100 rrp)

So for around $200 I'll have my home build grain father up and running. Might start a new thread for Grainfather clones (or someone else can).