Anvil Foundry

Santa arrived a little early. Any fans out there? Any tips?

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https://www.anvilbrewing.com/-p/anv-foundry-10.5.htm

Cool

I got one and I love it. I also got the recirculation kit, but in my opinion the pump isnā€™t very good. Iā€™m very happy with mine.

The only tip I can give you is if you are going to use the 220v the boil off is more than what is stated in the book. I had to increase my pre-boil by about a gallon.

Got mine a little while ago. One brew so far which came out exactly on the numbers. Also came out more clear than usual.
There are a lot of You tube videos our there. Also a Facebook users group. Many forums have long threads on them.
Like anything there will be a learning curve. Adjusting your profile, etcetera. Hardest thing for me was getting recirc going without getting the mash stuck. I used my own pump and had to stir a couple times to unstick, but I will nail that down in subsequent brews.

I got the recirculating kit, but not the disk that sits on top instead of a spray head. Apparently theyā€™re back ordered, and they figure that shipping the rest of the system is better than holding orders. (I donā€™t disagree)

I definitely got it with the thought of going 220. Iā€™m sure I could DIY a GFI 15A 220, but I want to make sure my @$$ is covered with homeowners insurance, so getting a proper electrician is probably the best thing. But thatā€™s not gonna happen until the local COVID numbers start getting better. I may jury-rig an adapter to plug it in instead of the kitchenā€™s oven. THAT will be an abomination to behold.

The one question for which I canā€™t seem to find an answer, How do you empty the grain tube and clean it? My gut says Iā€™m just going to spray water everywhere and leave bits of grain behind anywayā€¦

I live in a rural area with cows on the property so once I am done with the grains I dump them out for the cows to eat and use a water hose to rinse the grain tube. It takes a bit to get all of the little pieces out. It isnā€™t hard to do but does take time. I have been thinking about getting a BIAB bag to put in the tube to speed up cleaning.

I use a basket when brewingā€¦ I get quite clean rinsingā€¦ After it dries. a brush cleans up the restā€¦
Sneezles61

Just did the first batch yesterday at 120V. Made the Hope And King clone Scotch ale recipe kit. We followed the manual, using the ā€œno-spargeā€ instructions.

  • The temp did not drop as much as I expected during dough-in (I followed the table in the manual, which actually called for a lower temp than Iā€™m used to from mashing 3-gal recipes in my big orange cooler. No biggie, Iā€™ll just use a lower strike temp and let the controller pull it up to mash temps next time.
  • I had the recirc kit minus the big disk at the top (Shipping separately due to a snafu on their side) I did rake the upper grain bed more often than they suggested to compensate, but it didnā€™t seem to help. Will have to see if that improves efficiency.
  • it looks like some grain overflowed the tube. Just a little bit though, Will have to keep an eye on that flow rate.
  • I do NOT have a nice laundry tub. cleaning that long narrow tube in the kitchen sink was SUPER awkward. I ended up using the sprayer in the kettle, and used the recirc kit to pump PBW and rinse water around. Definitely not a kitchen friendly setup.
  • Iā€™m going to need better steam exhaust. I used to just run the range hood for stove-top brews, but range hood, open window and kitchen fan all were running and every window on my first floor was dripping w/condensation.
  • We popped the kitchen circuit breaker once during the brew. just once though. Iā€™m just calling that more reason to get a dedicated 240 line installed.

Final result was 10-points low on original gravity, which Iā€™ll forgive for a first brew on a new system. I suspect efficiency losses come from:

  • Starting the mash too high: 156ĀŗF for the first 10 min or soā€¦
  • less than effective circulation.
  • not sparging
  • Maybe poor calibration of the Tilt hydrometer (i.e. maybe itā€™s really not a fun 10 points low)

Iā€™m also considering using a bag in the grain tube, if only to make clean up easierā€¦ thoughts on that??

Without trying yer new gizmo, I couldnā€™t add anythingā€¦ But as you said, and knowā€¦ its getting used to itā€¦
240 should alleviate the power requirements from that one circuitā€¦
Once you get the extra power, start your mash at the lower end, 140*Fā€¦ and creep upā€¦ Be curious to see how long/short it goes from mash out to boilā€¦
Sneezles61

I understand your issues. I too recently got a Foundry 10.5 and had similar issues to yours on my first brew. I anticipated that though and many were not problems. First brew was more of a test of procedures and changes going forward. I did hit my numbers right on though. Had a couple of sticks to the mash but stirring them broke that up quickly. I too am going to go with a bag next attempt. Also bought a hop spider coming soon.

I built a new brew area in the basement with ventilation and it seems to work well at this point. I did go 240v though. You should IMHO.

Good luck nailing your processes going forward.

Overall Iā€™m very positive on the system. So please donā€™t think my previous post was meant as a gripe fest. I think everything I hit was more part of the ā€˜personalityā€™ of the system more so than actual ā€™problemsā€™ Just need to dial in the usage. I was more sharing for others to benefit from my experience.

If anything is concerning itā€™s popping that breaker. The system must be very close to drawing that 15A itā€™s rated for. Since most homes (at least around here) are wired with 14-2 or hopefully 14-3 wiring and 15A breakers it may not be reasonable to presume you can plug into an existing outlet. (And it really should be GFCI)

If a dedicated circuit is required, definitely go 240V, but being the only switchable system on the market was a huge selling point for the foundry, so if itā€™s not really practical at 120, wellā€¦

Good to hear talk of these all in one brewing gizmoā€™s!! keep it going. Sneezles61