The Grain Father

[Peter Smith]

http://www.grainfather.com/

Mangrove Jacks new all grain unit - its nice

[John H]

I filed my recirc pipe and used some plumbers tape to stop that leak - recirc pipe on mine seemed to be too long and the "bulge" wasn't able to compress the o-ring enough. Have referred it to GF HQ.

And there I was worried I'd have nothing to do on a commercial rig.

[ben murphy]

great idea. why didn't I think of that and I had some plumbers tape 6 feet away from me. Let us know how you go with GF HQ :) be interesting to see. I had a really frustrating time with this first brew but some of that can be put down to my inexperience.

[Mark Thomas]

Hi John,

Are you able to post a photo of how you stopped that leak? I used two o-rings to get the leak down to a slow drip, but it's still bloody annoying for a brand new bit of kit. I wonder if shortening the recirc pipe a fraction would fix it (so the o-ring pushes hard up against the discharge pipe).

[John H]

Hi Mark - I shortened the pipe (I could probably do a bit more though but I was in a hurry to get brewing) and used a bit of tape. The tape effectively became an extra o-ring to help seal the connection.

Saying that - I can't imagine somebody modding their brand new expresso machine though - us brewers must be the ultimate customer.

[Mark Thomas]

So you had no leaks at all? Sounds like shortening the recirc pipe might be the way to go.

Ha yeah home brewers are somewhat different to the coffee crowd. Then again, have you seen what some people get up to with cold brewing?

[John H]

I have received an update from GFHQ - They are filming an update on repairing leaks today so something should come out shortly.

[Mark Weusten]

I assembled then cleaned as per instructions. The recirc pipe leaked for me which I put down to crappy hose clamps which I replaced and it sealed properly. I am quite impressed by design but the finishing reflects in the price.

[Mark Thomas]

Hi John,

Another question for you - did you whirlpool at any stage? I pretty much followed the instructions to the letter, to give it a fair go, but I ended up with a fair bit of trub in the fermenter. I think I might try a whirlpool during flame out hopping next time, i.e.:

1. Run hot wort through the chiller during the last 10 minutes of the boil, to sterilise it

2. Turn off the recirc pump and the boiler and add 0 minute hops.

3. Whirlpool the wort and leave it to form a cone of trub during the 15 minute rest.

4. Chill the wort into the fermenter

Thoughts?

[Dene McDonald]

I asked about whirlpooling back into the kettle while cooling and got this reply:

Cooling and recirculating back into the boiler to reduce it to pitching temperature will take you hours and you may as well not have a counter flow wort chiller. We've done this and tested it ourselves, and got to at least 4 hours to get it to the right temp. If you don't want a super long brew day I wouldn't suggest this.

This was the final nail for me not getting one. I'm not sure if 4 hours is right but if it is it must be a pretty average chiller. An immersion chiller would cool it in 20 minutes and I've seen Paul Wicksteed's video where he found there was little time difference in either method.

Cooling in the vessel and whirlpooling is the best way to reduce trub in the fermenter. 

[Mark Thomas]

Oh yeah I saw that exchange on FB. It'll be because you're discharging the cooled wort back into the remaining hot wort, so you get diminished cooling efficiency as you cycle it around (plus you're also cooling the boiler unit). The counterflow chiller itself worked well.

There's nothing to stop you using an immersion chiller in the Grainfather - shame they don't sell it without the cf chiller

[Dene McDonald]

Recircing while cooling is standard practice when using a counterflow and most people do it. 

Great video that sums it up:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9LqeMCHxnPU&src_vid

Jump to around 12 mins for the results.

[Mark Thomas]

That's quite a nice setup! I didn't watch the whole thing, but I'm sure the volume and flowrate of his kit will be better than the Grainfather. You should get a kit like that ;-)