Santa arrived a little early. Any fans out there? Any tips?
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I got one and I love it. I also got the recirculation kit, but in my opinion the pump isnāt very good. Iām 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 theyāre back ordered, and they figure that shipping the rest of the system is better than holding orders. (I donāt disagree)
I definitely got it with the thought of going 220. Iām 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 thatās not gonna happen until the local COVID numbers start getting better. I may jury-rig an adapter to plug it in instead of the kitchenās oven. THAT will be an abomination to behold.
The one question for which I canāt seem to find an answer, How do you empty the grain tube and clean it? My gut says Iām 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 isnāt 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 āno-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 Iām used to from mashing 3-gal recipes in my big orange cooler. No biggie, Iāll 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 didnāt 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.
- Iām 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. Iām just calling that more reason to get a dedicated 240 line installed.
Final result was 10-points low on original gravity, which Iāll 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 itās really not a fun 10 points low)
Iām 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 couldnāt 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 Iām very positive on the system. So please donāt think my previous post was meant as a gripe fest. I think everything I hit was more part of the āpersonalityā of the system more so than actual āproblemsā Just need to dial in the usage. I was more sharing for others to benefit from my experience.
If anything is concerning itās popping that breaker. The system must be very close to drawing that 15A itās 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 itās not really practical at 120, wellā¦
Good to hear talk of these all in one brewing gizmoās!! keep it going. Sneezles61
