Saved my brew today watching this as I had pump problems which turned out to be the check valve. Thanks David!!

@DavidHeathHomebrew

4 жыл бұрын

Great to hear Phil :)

My pump stopped when about to cool. You just saved my brew. Air down pipe didn’t work, hose blowing it out sorted it. So grateful for this video.

@DavidHeathHomebrew

2 жыл бұрын

Great to hear Duncan :)

You saved the brew-day today! The pump was totally blocked, so i tried the bikepump. It shot out 3-4 big pieces of hops and grain! Thank you so much!😍

@DavidHeathHomebrew

4 жыл бұрын

Great to hear :) Thank you for the feedback :)

I love the David always gives great solutions for real issues that we encounter with our grandfathers. He really puts the community in the Grainfather community. So many KZread videos on grandfathers are about the first brew while David’s come from years of experience. My only suggestion would be to pause the camera on a few occasions when illustrating a work around such as when he has the fine mesh screen on his pump intake to show how he fabricated it.

@DavidHeathHomebrew

3 жыл бұрын

Thanks Bob. Yes, I like to show it all, no just for GF either. This is quite an old video now, I hope my newer content is better.

Great video david I have experienced some of the problems you mention here and you have put my mind at rest and given me confidem

@DavidHeathHomebrew

6 жыл бұрын

Great, many thanks.

MY GOD im thankful for this video! I thought my Grainfather - 1 month old - was done for it due to heating problem. The button on the bottom of the system saved my brewday though. A cheer for David! A cheer for beer and after this ordeal even a cheer for my hangover!

@DavidHeathHomebrew

4 жыл бұрын

Great to hear Jakob :)

That was clear and concise, thanks David. Hope your move goes smoothly :-)

@DavidHeathHomebrew

6 жыл бұрын

Thank you Peter :)

Another great video! Helped me out with the pump! Thanks

@DavidHeathHomebrew

3 жыл бұрын

Great to hear, many thanks :)

Hi David. Someone once told me never to use bicycle pumps for any blockages, because the may contain grease or oil, but instead to use CO2. You also get a lot of pressure out of one of those bottles! Cheers for the video again, always helpful.

@DavidHeathHomebrew

6 жыл бұрын

Its a trick used in breweries even. Whoever told you that is overthinking it. Ive never had an issue with it, nor heard of one. There are various other methods of course, use which suits you best :)

Saved me big time, thanks for making this video.

@DavidHeathHomebrew

2 жыл бұрын

Cheers Max, great to hear.

Hi David a very good informative video , thanks Ivan

@DavidHeathHomebrew

6 жыл бұрын

Great, many thanks :)

This helped me to unplug the pump like a breeze. Thanks!

@DavidHeathHomebrew

4 жыл бұрын

Great to hear Loek :)

Thanks a lot, it worked out fine. Love your vids, thx again

@DavidHeathHomebrew

4 жыл бұрын

Great to hear :) Thank you :)

A very well done guide! Thank you 😄

@DavidHeathHomebrew

6 жыл бұрын

Thank you, glad you like it :)

@Malar88

6 жыл бұрын

David Heath, you correct the water profile for different stile?

@DavidHeathHomebrew

6 жыл бұрын

It depends really on what it is. My water is pretty good for the dark and ale styles I brew already thankfully.

Really helpful video thanks

@DavidHeathHomebrew

5 жыл бұрын

Thank you Peter :)

Really useful top tips!

@DavidHeathHomebrew

8 ай бұрын

🍻🍻🍻Much appreciated 🍻🍻🍻

I was all set to tear the pump apart to check for blockages. I hadn't considered the ball and spring. It was clogged up enough to account for the flow reduction.

@DavidHeathHomebrew

Жыл бұрын

I am glad this helped Ian 🍻🍻

pump filter came of on first brew, I should have done as you said from start :/ (also had big problems with my 1945 pipeing use different dimensions so I had to hold the hose for the chiller by hand with water spraying all over the place :/ )

@DavidHeathHomebrew

5 жыл бұрын

You have next time covered hopefully :)

Thank so much for this video - all the research, reading and time spent - the bottom switch wasn't turned on...!

@DavidHeathHomebrew

4 жыл бұрын

Many thanks Marc. You are not the first or last to experience that issue :)

@normanhutchinson9798

4 жыл бұрын

@@DavidHeathHomebrew is there a way to calibrate bluetooth controller or is it like most thing made to not be able to calibrate thanks

@DavidHeathHomebrew

4 жыл бұрын

There are some adjustments you can make. This is all done via the smart app settings.

@normanhutchinson9798

4 жыл бұрын

@@DavidHeathHomebrew what type of adjustments on the app anything on KZread shows how to do this ?

@DavidHeathHomebrew

4 жыл бұрын

Go into the settings on the app and you will see the options :)

Hi David, I need to thank you a lot. I always though is that the switch at the bottom of the Devise is a Tilt-protection.

@DavidHeathHomebrew

2 жыл бұрын

Cheers 🍻🍻🍻

Thanks for another useful video, On the mesh screen over the filter, I just put the rubber end against the thermowell, Seems like it would be very hard for it to fall off.

@DavidHeathHomebrew

6 жыл бұрын

Thanks Wayne. Yes that is another way of doing it, this is just a bit more secure.

Hey, great video as usual! Quick question about grain crush. When I mash, most of my recirculated wort is going down the hole in the middle, not making a clear wort. Sparging goes normal speed. And I usually end up with a total efficiency of 65%. I get my grains precrushed from LHBS, to fit the GF. Should I tell them to not crush it as fine? And wouldn't that give me even less efficiency? Im soon gonna buy my own mill, but till then. Cheers - Ray

@DavidHeathHomebrew

6 жыл бұрын

Hi Ray, glad to hear that you enjoyed this one. A great starting point for graincrush is a credit card sized gap. Whilst it is expected that some wort will overflow this should even out after a short time into the mash. I find this varies from afew minutes to 10 maximum. Are your gradually adding the grain in small amounts and stirring as you go? I show this technique in many of my videos? Then finalise with more stirring to ensure a sucessful mash. You should easily get 75% effeciency if all is done correctly. Buying your own mill will certainly give you full control, I would recommend it :)

Hi David, great video, and it raised a question: I’ve completely removed the end cap from the filter and hold a wire mesh in place with a SS jubilee clip. So far all’s been good, but can you see any issues for the future? It’s now been like this for at least 10 brews.

@DavidHeathHomebrew

6 жыл бұрын

Sounds good to me :)

No clue why, but if you add some starsan concentrate to your pbw solution it works way better and way faster for getting those tricky burnt bits off.

@DavidHeathHomebrew

5 ай бұрын

Yes, the acid in the star san works well.

Hi David, great video. I noticed a temperature gauge on your counter flow chiller. Is it homemade or for sale somewhere? Kind regards Søren

@DavidHeathHomebrew

6 жыл бұрын

Its a Blichmann thromometer. GF release something potentially better yet cheaper next month for Europe. Its out in NZ now:- mailchi.mp/imake/iwtj6uzykq-2686789

David - any thoughts on changing out the heating element? I've checked everything you pointed out and still no heat whatsoever. My Grainfather is going on five years old; do the heating elements eventually wear out? Thanks for your informative videos!

@DavidHeathHomebrew

3 жыл бұрын

Hi Larry, Once its dead then thats it sadly. The easiest way is to add an extra one rather than replace. The element is welded. I know some that have done this. Are you a member of the channels Facebook group? We have one guy who is great with such modifications who I suspect could help you.

Hello. Thx for another great video. I am buying a chest freezer for fermentation. I live in south Africa where heat is a problem and the big difference between day and night temps. It fluctuate between 20C and 33C in summer days and in our winter months it fluctuates between 6C and 18C. My question is do you think I will need a heat lamp or heat pad for winter months? And if so what is better lamp or pad?

@DavidHeathHomebrew

6 жыл бұрын

I would go for a heat belt :)

@pwatts8846

4 жыл бұрын

Here in Western Sydney we had 0-27C just the other day. It's only in late winter/early spring we get a range like this and only when it is very clear and there is a certain weather pattern. I use a snakecord in the brew fridge for heating, the kind they use in reptile cages. They are quite cheap.

good jub david

@DavidHeathHomebrew

6 жыл бұрын

Many thanks :)

Hi David, another great video. Would you have any tips to stop wort leaking when taking off the recirculation arm or counterflow chiller, I keep geting sticky wort down the side of the unit and the floor cheers!

@DavidHeathHomebrew

5 жыл бұрын

Thank. It is worth waiting a little time after turning off the pump before removing these. That was the flow can go back down the pipe and you avoid this issue.

@88fenton

5 жыл бұрын

Thank you very much :) @@DavidHeathHomebrew

@pwatts8846

4 жыл бұрын

Maybe the ball/spring housing and/or the stop cock housing are loose, they become loose easily.

Hi David, after watching your videos I will be buying a grainfather next week, any tips on cleaning or commissioning the unit before first use? I presume running some heated Starsan through the unit would remove any "newness taste". Thanks for the very informative videos.

@faires147

6 жыл бұрын

Just found your video on this matter, sorry to waste your time.

@DavidHeathHomebrew

6 жыл бұрын

No problem, I have videos covering most things with more coming soon :)

Another good video David. One question on the cleaning chemicals. Can the High performance cleaner and PBW be used again, i.e. once I have pumped it through my system to clean it can I save it and then add it back after my next brew, heat and repeat?

@DavidHeathHomebrew

6 жыл бұрын

No, this is not recommended. Sanitizers like starsan however are multiuse.

@fyremanbill

5 жыл бұрын

I have found that distilled vinegar works really well to bring back the shine to the bottom plate.

@DavidHeathHomebrew

5 жыл бұрын

Very true, lemon juice also works :)

@fyremanbill

5 жыл бұрын

Didn't know that! Probably smells better too!

@DavidHeathHomebrew

5 жыл бұрын

It really does yes!

I’m having an issue where the connect controller cannot turn down the heat once the element has been set to 100%. This was the second time my mash went over target temp. Luckily I was watching it this time, and turned it off at the switch. Once it’s off for a while, the controller can regulate the temp again. At least until it goes to 100%, the. I have switch it off again to reset it. Any thoughts about what is causing this or how to fix it?

@DavidHeathHomebrew

4 жыл бұрын

Hmmm, sounds like a fault with the controller. I would suggest asking for a replacement from where you bought it.

As always thank you for the wonderful videos. I have a question which I know you've covered numerous times. I'm still having issues with to much grain bits on top of my perforated plate during mash as well as pump issues that are do to bits getting stuck in my check valve. I've changed my crush setting to the point were my efficiency starts to drop. I'm also using the sink strainer to alarm me if there is issues as well. Is there anything else you might suggest to remedy this?

@DavidHeathHomebrew

6 жыл бұрын

What sort of efficiency do you get when you crush to avoid the excessive grain bits? How much are we talking here?

@Biggin69camaro

6 жыл бұрын

First, thank you for replying. I'm very new to all grain brewing. I just recently started in May of this year so I know this will be something easy. When I set my mill gap to about a credit card thickness I get about 2 tbsp of bits around and my efficiency is typically around 75-82%. The issue isn't really the efficiency but that my pump keeps plugging off before I can transfer to my primary. I've tried setting my mill gap to 1.5 times that thickness and the only thing that changes is my efficiency goes below 75% (which I'm not really worried about just an observation). I did try something last night thought that made a big difference. Right before sparging I carefully pulled the safety check and cleaned all the bits out. This seems to have resolved the transfer issue at least. Thanks for your time!

@DavidHeathHomebrew

6 жыл бұрын

Fine tuning your crush can take abit of time. In terms of the pump getting stuck before transfer have you tried using a bicycle pump on the wort out pipe to quickly clear it? Ive shown this in the GF troubleshooting video last.

@DavidHeathHomebrew

6 жыл бұрын

The other thing would be to whirlpool before transfer of course :)

@Biggin69camaro

6 жыл бұрын

I haven't used a bicycle pump, but that sounds like a great solution to try.

Me confidence if these problems occur again. My finger slipped on the first comment hence this continuation.haha! I was sober at the time!

@DavidHeathHomebrew

8 ай бұрын

🍻🍻🍻Much appreciated 🍻🍻🍻

One video you say to use a stainless steel scrubber and this video you say plastic scrubber. Is it ok to use a SS scrubber on the heat plate or has this changed?

@DavidHeathHomebrew

6 жыл бұрын

It became something of an arguing point....so I stuck to the safe route! I have used SS scrubbers with no issues...the key is not to scratch when you use them. So gently does it and you are fine with them.

Another informative video, thumbs up. As a suggestion, many Grainfather users, use BeerSmith as there brewing software. Why not do a video on this topic; marrying grainfather and BeerSmith. Thanks

@DavidHeathHomebrew

6 жыл бұрын

Nice idea Shayne, I will look into this. Thanks :)

@nutty0ne

6 жыл бұрын

Or the very new Brewfather app, if you've tried it yet ;-)

@vendettawarcrime

6 жыл бұрын

I was gonna suggest a BeerSmith profile but was gonna wait and see what BS3 has to offer. I should really do the calculations myself but if someone else has already done the leg work I'm happy to stand on the shoulders of giants.

@DavidHeathHomebrew

5 жыл бұрын

I am yet to try this but I find the lack of connectivity with the GF connect off putting. All my recipes are in Beersmith then I convert them to GF connect format. Seems pointless adding a 3rd step.

Nice, thanks. @david had a too rough Whirlpool last brew and knocked the rubber cap of my filter. Searching for the part of your stainless steel 'wrapper' solution on eBay but can't find the proper search words. Any tips to get to the right item?

@yanksforever

6 жыл бұрын

Joost Hart You can find one on Amazon. 250 Micron 60 Mesh Screen Stainless T-316 Grade Filter Material Particulate Capture Extracts Home Brewing Aquariums Biofuel (6''X12'') www.amazon.com/dp/B07452L1QL/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_taa_i_34DdBb5KJXB2D

@DavidHeathHomebrew

6 жыл бұрын

Try the one suggested here :)

@joosthart3868

6 жыл бұрын

Thanks

@yanksforever

6 жыл бұрын

Joost Hart Your Welcome.... anytime!

@thepigster3733

4 жыл бұрын

@@DavidHeathHomebrew Hi David, great video - helped me a lot in my first brew yesterday. My filter completely came away, think I whirlpools too vigorously. For the stainless steel clip to hold the silicon attachment in place for the filter can I just use a standard clip from say Screwfix or do I need something specific or food grade? Also re whirlpooling, how long do you whirlpool for using an electric drill? Many thanks.

Hi, has anyone had issues with the mash temp not holding? I've only started to have trouble with this with the last 3 to 4 brews. I've only made around 20 brews to date if that helps with any query. The temp keeps going down during the mash so I have to turn it onto boil just to get the temp back up, brew is done indoors so the room temp is fine. Thanks in advance for any help.

@DavidHeathHomebrew

3 жыл бұрын

Sounds like a fault. I would suggest contacting where you bought it for a warranty claim.

I have a new G30 brewer, and have had constant problems with the basket screen clogging when grain is gelatinized. The bottom filter screen pretty much totally clogs causing the pump to stop or become clogged. I have tried coarser grains builds and rice hulls with no improvement. To me the basket design is totally wrong. There should be a solidly attached bottom screen and numerous holes in the basket sides to improve drainage. I welcome your thoughts on this problem and those of others who've experienced this problem as well. Thanks

@DavidHeathHomebrew

4 жыл бұрын

Sorry to hear of this. The basket design is very similar to others, ive used it a lot without these problems. The graincrush is the key. Are you milling your own grain or are you buying it crushed?

@rocketsroc

4 жыл бұрын

@@DavidHeathHomebrew I grind mine, and have tried it coarse, but still clogs. If you look at the new Forge Brewer from Anvil, you'll see they have a much better basket which has drain holes on the side and bottom. This is a much better design.

Fun little thing about the "Normal - Mash" button... On my GF the sticker was upside down. Took me some time to figure out what was going on :D

@DavidHeathHomebrew

6 жыл бұрын

Ouch, that would be confusing!

In addition to the hose clamp, I use a small piece of cleaning cloth over the end of my filter over the rubber bung, held in place with a rubber band. The rubber band has to be replaced periodically.

@DavidHeathHomebrew

8 ай бұрын

🍻🍻🍻

ive been using my grainfather since august of 2017 and my elements were failing me yesterday. unit kept tripping no scorching on element. tried plugging element directly into wall socket and the tripping continued. i have the first edition and it seems my problem was pretty common. im a few months over the one year warranty and hope i can get this fixed.

@DavidHeathHomebrew

5 жыл бұрын

You will find GF is very reasonable about such things by reputation. Best thing now is to report this to where you bought it and they can get things fixed for you.

@kyler1969

5 жыл бұрын

@@DavidHeathHomebrew i did reach out t the seller, it was an outlet through ebay. have not heard back there yet, but i also emailed grainfather and they were prompt to answer back yesterday but have not heard back today after responding to their request. i have read many great things about there customer relations though

@DavidHeathHomebrew

5 жыл бұрын

I am sure GF will get it resolved for you.

Finding your videos very useful, just jumped in at deep end and bought grainfather and completed first ever homebrew. I had a go at the dimmer switch recipe from grainfather app, all went well apart from end ! After the boil I whirlpooled, but when cooling and transferring to my fermenter the flow was very slow, I found I had to scrape the suction inlet to the pump to remove the hops to allow it to pump my wort. Do yo find this a problem ??

@DavidHeathHomebrew

6 жыл бұрын

Hey Alan, thats great to hear :) Hops on the filter can be an issue until you know the fast way to fix it. Attach a bicycle pump to the wort out hose of your cfc. Give it afew pumps and you will see that its resolved in seconds. Usually the whirlpool will stop this.

@alandavison3102

6 жыл бұрын

Thanks David Don’t know if you have tried any of the innis and gunn rum and bourbon cask aged beers ? I’m looking to replicate these, can you recommend any recipes ?? Keep up the good work

@DavidHeathHomebrew

6 жыл бұрын

Hmm sorry no but I would suggest contacting the brewery. Many are happy to advise these days. You will find buying such a cask pretty expensive though. Thats the first thing to look at.

@alandavison3102

6 жыл бұрын

David. I bought some oak bourbon barrel chunks !! Once my beer has fermented im planning on transferring to a clean storage vessel then adding the chunks for 8 weeks, then hopefully bottle. www.themaltmiller.co.uk/product/bourbon-cask-chunks-500g/ Have you tried this yourself ??

@alandavison3102

6 жыл бұрын

www.themaltmiller.co.uk/product/bourbon-cask-chunks-500g/

What size grain crush are u using? Thanks

@DavidHeathHomebrew

6 жыл бұрын

Credit card thickness works just right for the grain I use. Give it a try and see if it suits yours. If not then a little tweak will be all that is needed.