Issues with top plate

[Big Rob]

Hi everyone. Really happy to have found a user group for this product which I recently purchased as there isn't a great deal of info out of there.

I haven't yet tried the grainfather as I think I may have an issue with my top plate. Has anyone else had issues with the Silicon seal? The plate was quite bent when it arrives so I have tried to flatten it but any attempt to place the top seal into the basket pops the seal off regardless of how slow or careful I am.

Has anyone else had this problem and do other people's seals come off so easily or are the stuck with an adhesive? I'm sure the part is faulty I just wanted to check with more experienced users first.

Hope you all had a few quiets over to festive period.

Rob

[Pilgrim]

Rob,

Gainfather recommend that you wipe some of the ground malt flour around the edge of the silicon seal before you try to insert it. If you try to insert the top plate dry then the silicon seal will roll off as it sticks to the sides. If it is severely bent then I suggest you contact them for a replacement. I'll be doing my eighth brew with the Grainfather this week and I've had no trouble with the silicon seal  since I started putting a little flour around the outside.

Hope this helps.

Pete.

[Big Rob]

Thanks the response Pete I will try to dust it with whatever flour I can find when I get home and see if it makes a difference.

This might be a stupid question Pete so forgive me but do you use brewsmith for your recipes or any kind of calculator? I was wondering what sort of adjustments people have been making to account for the system (other than boil off which I found elsewhere here). What sort of efficiency are you getting with your brews?

I know that there has been talk of putting grainfather into beerssmith but the devs responded by saying they won't be.

[clinton james anstis]

I use beer smith scaled down for 23litres end product and calculate mash and sparge water as per grain father manual and had no trouble top plate goes in good with water as lube also

[Big Rob]

Thanks James sounds like a safer option than cornflour since that's all I have. I suppose food grade lube might be an option too.

I'll have a crack at something early in the new year will be very interested to see how efficient the system is. Pretty damn happy I can get rid of my biab system lugging that outside to a hose fitting for the chiller was a pain in the ass

[clinton james anstis]

Just make sure you check for leaks before your first boil I'm sure glad I did.also I made the Amarillo pale ale off beer smith and got a great result,happy brewing all.

[Big Rob]

Good advice! Was it just the system wasn't tight enough or was there a problem with your seals/orings