Grainfather conical fermenter

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goldthirst
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Re: Grainfather conical fermenter

Post by goldthirst » Fri Aug 04, 2017 1:07 pm

Secla wrote:I added the domed lid to my bucket. Gives an extra 3l I think of headspace
That sounds like a great idea and would solve the blow-off problem. :D
Onthebrew wrote:Goldthirst- sorry i meant how much volume of wort do you transfer - i usually only end up with 16 or 17 litres in the FV so might not be such an issue for me.
It's around 25l for a 23l outcome. The domed lid upgrade would most likely solve it for me too.

Onthebrew

Re: Grainfather conical fermenter

Post by Onthebrew » Fri Aug 04, 2017 4:23 pm

https://www.grainfather.com/media/wysiw ... ller_1.pdf

above link on how to conect the chiller to other FVs.

"The best way to alter the chiller for use with 3rd party temperature controllers is to create a wiring
adapter that will be compatible with the chiller’s M12 connections. This can be done by using a relay
to form a connection between the M12, 12V and ground pins. The relay can be controlled by the
temperature controller cooling output signal. The specific requirements depend on the temperature
controller in question"

Personally, I wouldnt know where to start. cant see myself going down that route!

Fil
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Re: Grainfather conical fermenter

Post by Fil » Sat Aug 05, 2017 12:14 pm

Onthebrew wrote:https://www.grainfather.com/media/wysiw ... ller_1.pdf

above link on how to conect the chiller to other FVs.

"The best way to alter the chiller for use with 3rd party temperature controllers is to create a wiring
adapter that will be compatible with the chiller’s M12 connections. This can be done by using a relay
to form a connection between the M12, 12V and ground pins. The relay can be controlled by the
temperature controller cooling output signal. The specific requirements depend on the temperature
controller in question"

Personally, I wouldnt know where to start. cant see myself going down that route!

not the best instructions, but if you read around the quoted text the full picture is revealed, the M12 referenced is a 3pin connector, the 3 pins are 12v, ground and signal. Connecting signal to 12v will trigger the chiller on.

to control the chiller using a 3rd party controller such as an stc1000 buy a sapre plug compatible with the M12 socket (via grainfather..). and connect 2 wires, one to the 12v terminal on the new plug, and one to the signal connection. the other ends of the wires you connect to the cold relay terminals on your 3rd party controller ;)
(if using a 12v controller i think a common ground would be expedient too but im only a beginner when it comes to electronics etc.. so dbl check that)
ist update for months n months..
Fermnting: not a lot..
Conditioning: nowt
Maturing: Challenger smash, and a kit lager
Drinking: dry one minikeg left in the store
Coming Soon Lots planned for the near future nowt for the immediate :(

Onthebrew

Re: Grainfather conical fermenter

Post by Onthebrew » Tue Aug 08, 2017 3:28 pm

thanks for the explanation Fil , although i still think that's all a bit for fiddly for me, would probably need an electrcian to sort it.

Also not sure the FTS sytems for the brewbuckets have heating - they seem to be just cooling( i know the conicals do but cant see heating included for brewbucket).

so its either get a couple of brewbuckets stick with my brew fridge and forget about the Glycerol chiller, or stick my my plastic FVs for now and go for the Grainfather conicals and chiller in a year or two. no doubt by then there will be even more options!

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borischarlton
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Re: Grainfather conical fermenter

Post by borischarlton » Wed Aug 09, 2017 12:55 pm

Hi,

We have the leads and tubing being produced at the moment, it will be plug and play for the FTSs system to use the Grainfather glycol chiller. Will be available in a week or so;)

Onthebrew

Re: Grainfather conical fermenter

Post by Onthebrew » Wed Aug 09, 2017 5:00 pm

Am I correct on in thinking the FTSs doesn't have heating for the brewbuckets?

Iantheyounger

Re: Grainfather conical fermenter

Post by Iantheyounger » Sun Aug 13, 2017 2:12 pm

I bought a GF conical and have just finished my first firmentation with it. 3 weeks in the conical before moving to kegs - removing trub every three days. I brewed 23l of Wee Heavy.

On the positives. The temperature control unit (not the Glycol, the upgraded controller) is great and very accurate (tested against a digital thermometer probe). The dual tap is excellent and does exactly as promised. It is also easy to clean.

The only downside is that you have to have a cooling solution (at least in summer time). As it is so well insulated, the heat produced by the fermentation process stays trapped. I pitched at 19c and it rose steadily to 27.9c before backing back down. So I am expecting some funky esters!

There have been a few diy ideas put up on the GF facebook page which look good.

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HTH1975
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Re: Grainfather conical fermenter

Post by HTH1975 » Sun Aug 13, 2017 2:55 pm

I'm surprised there isn't any DIY glycol chiller projects on the go here since the commercial ones are so expensive.

chris2012
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Re: Grainfather conical fermenter

Post by chris2012 » Sun Aug 13, 2017 3:34 pm

HTH1975, a lot of people do seem to use maxi chillers, but I'm not sure if they can take glycol or not, as they are designed for having a water bath afaik, but it would be cool if you could put glycol in them, I'm not sure about how the SG of glycol compares to water, if it would effect the pump used in them.

I picked up my maxi for around £30 a while ago. Not sure how much they are 2nd hand these days.

Edit: Apparently 1.008 for propylene, so it is denser than water by some degree, but maybe not by too much? I guess the pump on a maxi could always be swapped out if necessary?

Having said that I was able to chill beer to around 4C using just a water bath in the maxi, using an SS coil in the beer, attached to the maxi. Admittedly I didn't use any insulation on the piping to the fermenter with the coil, which would definitely help. And the fermenter wasn't the best insulated, using just an old camping matt.

I think the water temp when I measured it was -0.4C in the bath iirc.

Fil
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Re: Grainfather conical fermenter

Post by Fil » Mon Aug 14, 2017 1:35 am

A Glycol solution will thicken and become much more viscous at lower temps and can strain a maxi recirc pump, there have been a few shelf chiller glycol mods and some have reported earlier than expected recirc pump failure, last time i checked prices an ebay 2nd use recirc/python pump was fetching circa £45.. my own shelf chiller used for FV control is a ebay fix me up with a pond/water feature pump dropped into the coil void left by removing its agitator ;) it manages an 80l thermopot via a 2m square product coil lid fitted very comfortably even with the heat input from the submerged pump bodge.
ist update for months n months..
Fermnting: not a lot..
Conditioning: nowt
Maturing: Challenger smash, and a kit lager
Drinking: dry one minikeg left in the store
Coming Soon Lots planned for the near future nowt for the immediate :(

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HTH1975
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Location: Thirsk, North Yorks (ex-pat Geordie)

Re: Grainfather conical fermenter

Post by HTH1975 » Mon Aug 14, 2017 9:34 am

Seems like I need to check out a maxi chiller then.

In practice (for cooling wort) does the water stay cool enough? I'd imagine that it would heat up and become ineffective.

Maybe chill with tap water first as you can drop to 40-50C pretty quick. It's getting it down to 20C that takes more time.

Onthebrew

Re: Grainfather conical fermenter

Post by Onthebrew » Mon Aug 14, 2017 1:59 pm

How simple is it to set up a regular water maxi chiller - is it a plug and play option? with brewtech's FTSs for example

chris2012
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Re: Grainfather conical fermenter

Post by chris2012 » Mon Aug 14, 2017 2:07 pm

Onthebrew - I just attached my maxi chiller to an Inkbird controller on the cool socket.

Then attached heating wire around my fermenter, and attached to the hot socket.

Image

Image

There are more complex setups people have though, using a heat pipe in-line with the chiller.

Onthebrew

Re: Grainfather conical fermenter

Post by Onthebrew » Wed Aug 16, 2017 7:03 pm

So you're have an immersion chiller you attach the maxi to then. With the ftss , the maxi would just plug in to that?

chris2012
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Re: Grainfather conical fermenter

Post by chris2012 » Wed Aug 16, 2017 7:32 pm

I've not used any of the Brewtech stuff before, so i'm not sure exactly what fittings you'd need to connect the coil in the Brewtech vessel to the chiller.

It looks like the Brewtech coil seems to have hose barbs on it?

To connect my coil to the chiller, I just used 3/8" John Guest couplers, to connect the 3/8" pipe of the immersion coil, to 3/8" beer line.

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