New Grainfather

[Hammerbrau]

Hi,

I have been all grain brewing for 18 months and have graduated from BIAB to a 3 vessel setup but have decided that the Garinfather is the way for me to go.

I was poised to go and buy one but have heard that there is a new version on the horizon, does anyone know anything about this?

I would be interested to know of release dates, pricing and what the differences to the current version are.

I have considered a BM but the 20l one would be too small for me I think and the 50l too big/£2k!

Any advice on the new GF would be appreciated...

Kevin

[Hairybiker]

The only difference between mk3 and mk2 (the current one) is the new controller box.
It will also be £100 dearer cause of it as well.
Get it now if I was you, I will not be getting a new controller box.

[bryanferry]

Completely agree with getting one now and there are some deals to be done on price. You can always upgrade to the new control box in future. My Mk2 has been working away solidly since I bought it in April and its a fantastic piece of kit. Luckily my local homebrew shop has started stocking them so access to the cleaning powder and any spare parts is a short hop away.

One thing I have noticed with my LHBS demo version is an improvement to the chiller where its in a hard plastic surround that holds together better. Evan looking at it just now on the GF new site they seemed to have changed the chiller design again.

[mbarn]

I did read in marketing materials for the new one not to hold off buying, because the price variance between current model and new model will be for the controller. So you could buy current and a new controller for the same price as the new version.

[FUBAR]

The only difference between mk3 and mk2 (the current one) is the new controller box.
It will also be £100 dearer cause of it as well.
Get it now if I was you, I will not be getting a new controller box.

Ditto I'm happy enough with the controller that is fitted to mine , cant see how it justifies spending another £100 .

[Fil]

as a g/f mk1 owner the controller is basic and simple. and compared to other options is lacking in features.

But it works..


there are other options most require a little diy, and some can cost significantly more than £100
if you want a more complete controller that times stages and dings for hop aditions on a budget there is a reflash for the popular stc1000 https://github.com/matsstaff/stc1000p/b ... /README.md

which is a fairly easy exchange for the simpler but adequate stc200 fitted.

[sladeywadey]

yep still using my modified STC1000 with my GF - over a year of use now.

I will probably upgrade to the new controller being the high tech tart that i am!

[Hammerbrau]

Thank you for your replies, appreciate the advice.

Basically buy one now and then decide if I want to switch to the new controller for £100 when it comes out or buy a new one for £750 when they come out, hmmmm

[Secla]

Does the controller put the grainfather on an even plane with the brau meister now ?

[joe1002]

I used a GF today in their comp, I must say I was rather impressed with it.

IMO, the new controller is a lot better, mainly because it uses a pid for the element and you don't have to keep lifting a flap to use the switches / buttons. It doesn't have have hop addition reminders like the bm nor does it do programable recipes or automatic mash programs (you have to change the temp yourself rather than being automatic). They are nice to haves I guess and step mashes are perfectly doable on the GF.

I was very impressed with the hop spider, having never used one before.

[mbarn]

Did you manage to take any pictures you can share?

[IPA]

The only difference between mk3 and mk2 (the current one) is the new controller box.
It will also be £100 dearer cause of it as well.
Get it now if I was you, I will not be getting a new controller box.

The price increase is due to the drop in value of sterling. Along with everything else that is imported.
Something that Boris and company failed to point out.

[Hairybiker]

The price increase is due to the drop in value of sterling. Along with everything else that is imported.
Something that Boris and company failed to point out.

Nope, they CLEARLY stated that the price increase on the mk3 would be because of the new controller. This was LONG before britexit.

[Dave S]

I used a GF today in their comp, I must say I was rather impressed with it.

IMO, the new controller is a lot better, mainly because it uses a pid for the element and you don't have to keep lifting a flap to use the switches / buttons. It doesn't have have hop addition reminders like the bm nor does it do programable recipes or automatic mash programs (you have to change the temp yourself rather than being automatic). They are nice to haves I guess and step mashes are perfectly doable on the GF.

I was very impressed with the hop spider, having never used one before.

This is what I've had from the GF UK guy who has used the new controller

If you're using the app, you can program the recipe in like you can on the current app. It will alert you when it's time to dough in and will automatically increase the temps based on the schedule you've set on the app. It will alert you when to heat sparge water, when the mash is finished and turn off the pump. If you have notifications allowed, it'll tell you on your phone/tablet as well as beeping at the machine. It's programmed to heat up during the sparge but stops at 98c until you've told it you've finished the sparge (to prevent it boiling over with the grainbasket sat on top). When it's boiling, it alerts you to additions based on your programmed recipe and of course when it's finished.

You can program a step mash on the controller itself if you don't want to use the app - you can also set the temperature manually, turn the heat and pump on and off and set a timer. You can also set a delayed heat too, so if you want to mash in as soon as you walk through the door, you can dial it in.

The power that's going to the element is displayed - when it's approaching mash temp it slows down so as not to overshoot and reduces the power to something like 3% to maintain temps, increasing as necessary. There's no need for the mash setting on the Grainfather itself now, so you can turn it to normal and leave it there with the new controller.


It indicates that recipes can be imported from say BS and pretty well everything is automated, including Hop addition alarms during the boil.

Although I currently use the Flashed STC which is a great improvement, I have the new controller on pre-order. It should be shipping in the Next couple of weeks

[bryanferry]

Thanks Dave, I was all for sticking with the current controller but that info throws the cat amongst the pigeon! Brewed a batch of rye IPA with mine yesterday morning and it kept overshooting the 67c mash temp. Also had a very slow sparge so had to turn off before it boiled over. the new controllers slow down to boil would have been handy.