GRAINFATHER 43616 Glycol Chiller Adapter Kit Instructions

GLYCOL CHILLER ADAPTER KIT
INSTRUCTIONS

THANK YOU FOR CHOOSING THE GRANDFATHER GLYCOL CHILLER ADAPTER KIT
Get your equipment ready by following these quick and easy steps. We recommend reading the following safety information before use. Please also find enclosed, information on heating and cooling performances, advice for fermenting at low temperatures, and how to clean and store your Glycol Chiller Adapter (GCA) Kit.

SAFETY INFORMATION

• Read all instructions before use.

• The only power the appliance with a Grainfather Glycol Chiller.

• Do not use the appliance for any purpose other than the intended use.

• Do not let the cord hang over the edge of a table or touch a hot surface.

• Do not use the appliance if the cord or connector is damaged. Return the appliance to your nearest retail service provider for examination, repair, or adjustment.

• Do not place the appliance on or near a hot gas or electric burner, or a heated oven.

• Always ensure that the heating pad properly adheres to the fermenter.
  If it is loose, it may overheat and become dangerous.

• Do not let the heating pad contact skin.

• Do not immerse cords, connectors, or the heating pad in water or other liquid.

• If the appliance malfunctions, contact your retailer or the Grainfather Customer Service team.

• Children should be supervised to ensure that they do not play with the appliance.
  NOTE: Not following the safety information above could result in injuries and may void your product’s warranty.

DIAGRAM

COMPATIBILITY

PRODUCT
The Grainfather Glycol Chiller Adapter (GCA) is designed to be used with the Grainfather Glycol Chiller. It allows you to connect the Glycol Chiller to most other fermenters in the marketplace for accurate fermentation temperature control. Plus, with wireless connectivity, it’s also compatible with the free Grainfather App.

HEATING
We recommend using the GCA Heating Pad, however other heaters that have the following specifications may also be compatible:

• 12 V
• Max 30 W
• DC plug (5.5 mm OD (outer diameter) x 2.5 mm ID (inner diameter), plug length 11.5 mm)

COOLING
We recommend using the 5 m GCA Cooling Coil (outer diameter 9 mm to fit the Glycol Chiller hoses). Any fermenter lid that has a 1.5” ferrule is compatible, or if practical, you can drill or cut a 35 mm hole in the lid.

ASSEMBLY

GCA SETUP

1. Connect the temperature probe, heating pad, and power cord to the GCA as per the diagram below.
2. Take the other end of the power cord and connect it to the desired channel on the Glycol Chiller.

TEMPERATURE PROBE SETUP

1. Attach the temperature probe to the middle of your fermenter using electrical tape. For accurate readings, we recommend adding some insulating material over the probe (like neoprene or bubble wrap) or installing the Grainfather Thermowell (sold separately) onto your fermenter.
   NOTE: Do not submerge the temperature probe in your wort as it is not waterproof.

COOLING COIL SETUP

1. Due to the manufacturing process, it is important to clean the cooling coil prior to use. Although the internal part of the coil will not come into contact with your wort, we recommend running a cleaning solution through the coil to remove any remaining manufacturing oils.

2. Sanitise the cooling coil and rubber bung.

3. Once clean, insert the top of the coil through the 1.5” ferrule (or drilled/cut hole) on your fermenter lid. Then complete the assembly by inserting the rubber bung as per the diagram below.
   NOTE: We recommend wetting the bung with sanitizing solution to reduce friction while assembling.

4. Secure the coil onto the lid by pushing the rubber bung into the 1.5” ferrule. You can now fit these onto your fermenter.

5. Push the clamps onto the hoses and connect the hoses to the pipes of the cooling coil so there is about 1 cm of overlap. Use a screwdriver to tighten the clamps on the overlapped section.

6. Connect the other ends of the hoses to the channel of the Glycol Chiller that your GCA is connected to.

HEATING PAD SETUP

1. Attach the two hook and loop tape strips to the two hook and loop tape regions on the pad.
2. Remove the protective film from the back of the hook and loop tape strips and firmly attach the pad to the desired (clean and dry) location on the fermenter.

HOW TO USE

• Fill your fermenter with your wort.
  NOTE: Ensure that the wort covers the cooling coil.

• Secure the lid and ensure that the rubber bung and airlock are still tightly in place.

• Ensure that the GCA is switched/turned on and connect it to the Grainfather App as per the instructions on page 6.

MENU CONTROLS

SESSION
This sub-menu manually controls your fermentation profile. If you already have a fermentation profile active, you can stop/finish the session from this menu without opening the app.

SAVED PROFILES
These are the saved fermentation profiles on the GCA. You can access these directly on the GCA without being connected to the Grainfather App or a brew session.

There are two default profiles that are already saved onto the GCA – lager, and ale.

NOTE: These steps are fully editable, so you can customize these. The maximum number of steps that you can use is 6.

CREATING PROFILES
This section allows you to build two additional custom fermentation profiles. These can be saved onto the GCA without being connected to the app or wireless internet.

WIRELESS CONTROL AND APP INTEGRATION

CONNECTING THE GCA TO THE APP

1. When you first turn on the GCA, you will be greeted with the connection setup screen. If you do not see this screen, then you can press the ‘set’ button on the controller and go to Network Config > Add New Network. Once on the connection setup screen, you will need to open the Grainfather App on your mobile device.
2. Within the app, navigate to the equipment screen. The equipment screen shows all the brewing and fermenting equipment that you have already set up on your account.
3. To add a new device, tap on the ‘+’ icon on the bottom right of the screen and select ‘fermentation tracking equipment’.
4. Select ‘Grainfather Glycol Chiller Adapter’ on the list of equipment and once on the device setup screen, tap ‘ready’.
5. Depending on your mobile device, you may be asked to approve certain permission(s) required to connect with the GCA. Accept all requests.
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NOTE: The following steps vary for Android and iOS users. Please follow the relevant steps for your mobile device.
ANDROID

6. If setting up the GCA via an Android device, choose your controller in the list. (See step 8 next) IOS
7. If setting up using an iOS mobile device, follow the instructions on the screen and connect your mobile device to the GCA. Once the connection is established, you will receive a notification on your mobile device. Tap the notification to return to the Grainfather App. You will automatically return to the device setup screen.
8. After your phone has successfully connected to the GCA (Android and iOS), select your wireless network from the list and enter your network password and then tap ‘connect’. Once completed, your Grainfather Glycol Chiller Adapter is connected to the internet.

CLEARING NETWORKS

If you’re experiencing network issues or troubleshooting, you can use this function to remove your saved network and password.

SETTINGS

CHANGING THE TEMPERATURE CONTROL
This menu allows the GCA to manage target temperatures. When the Glycol Chiller and the heating pad are connected, the default on the adapter allows both heating and cooling functions. In hot environments where the heating function is not needed, you can change to cooling only. When the environment is colder and the cooling function is not needed, you can change to heating only.

CHANGE UNITS
This is where you can change between Fahrenheit and Celsius, and select your preferred temperature units.

HYSTERESIS
This setting is for the narrowness or wideness of temperature control based on the target temperature. The default is 0.5°C (1°F) which means that once the fermenter has reached the target temperature, then the GCA will not restart cooling or heating until the fermenter temperature is more than 0.5°C (1°F) away from the target temperature.
NOTE: A low hysteresis will cause the heating and cooling functions to become more active. The lowest hysteresis that can be achieved is 0.1°C and 0.1°F.

LOWER TEMPERATURE LIMIT ALERTS
This setting allows you to override the lower temperature limit alert. We do not recommend changing this as temperatures lower than 6°C (43°F) may result in uneven temperature distribution. The default setting is ‘on’ and will alert you when you try to set the temperature lower than the default setting. Please note that although you can disable this setting, you may still not reach lower temperatures as explained on page 9.

CALIBRATE TEMPERATURE

The temperature probes are NTC (Negative Temperature Coefficient) type temperature sensors. An NTC thermistor is a temperature sensor that uses the electrical resistance properties of ceramic/metal composites to measure the temperature.
This feature allows for an offset to be applied to the reading of the temperature probe if it is inaccurate. This should only be used if the temperature probe is compared to a certified calibrated thermometer that has a resolution of +/- 0.01°C or 0.01°F.

ABOUT
This menu gives the details about the device, and if connected to the internet it can check and install updates to the GCA.

HEATING & COOLING PERFORMANCES WITH THE GRAIN FATHER GLYCOL CHILLER

TARGETING TEMPERATURES LOWER THAN 6°C (43°F)

Nonuniform temperature distribution can happen when trying to reach temperatures lower than 6°C (43°F). The following information helps to explain exactly why this can happen.
When the temperature of beer decreases, its density increases and therefore sinks to the bottom of the fermenter. This creates convection currents that help maintain the temperature across the fermenter with minimal temperature stratification. A problem arises when a target temperature that’s lower than 6°C (43°F) is set and because beer is mostly water, it has similar properties when cooling. So, as water and beer approach freezing, its density will decrease instead of increasing, resulting in cool liquid floating to the top of the fermenter rather than sinking to the bottom.
The temperature at which the temperature density relationship inverts is the inversion point, which is somewhere around 1-4°C (34-40°F) for beer. If you set a target temperature that’s below 6°C (43°F), the fermenter may reach the target temperature and even maintain a reasonable distribution of that temperature for some time. However, it is possible for the temperature of the beer in the upper region to become cooler than the inversion point. If this occurs, the beer in the upper region of the fermenter will become less dense and will no longer sink, causing it to become buoyant. This stops the natural convection current from distributing the beer evenly inside the fermenter. While the upper region continues to receive cooling from the coil due to the absence of the natural convection current, the lower region is deprived of cooling. This results in the lower region staying relatively warmer than the upper region i.e. creating a non-uniform temperature distribution. In extreme circumstances, the beer at the top of the fermenter can freeze.
NOTE: The time of the onset of inversion will vary depending on your exact fermenter setup (e.g. fermenter geometry, cooling coil, and temperature probe position), the beer style, ambient conditions, and how low the target temperature is.

ADVICE FOR CLEANING & STORAGE

• Cooling coil: We recommend using the Grainfather High-Performance Cleaner to clean your equipment. Follow the instructions on the packaging for how to use it. If using another cleaner, please ensure that it is suitable for cleaning stainless steel equipment.

• The rubber bung stoppers can be inserted into the coil inlet and outlet, and the hoses, when not in use.
  NOTE: To ensure that these are effective, you’ll need to use some force when pushing the bungs into the coil/hoses.

• Heating pad: Simply wipe clean with a damp cloth.

• GCA: If necessary, wipe with a damp cloth but avoid contact with any electrical connections.

• Once you have cleaned your equipment, dry, reassemble, and store.

IMPORTANT SAFEGUARDS:
READ AND FOLLOW ALL INSTRUCTIONS
CAUTION
– Risk of fires and electric shock.
– Do not immerse in water.
SAVE ALL WARNINGS AND INSTRUCTIONS FOR FUTURE REFERENCE
FOR COMMERCIAL AND FOR INDOOR USE ONLY
This device complies with Industry Canada license-exempt RSS standard(s) and FCC part 15. Operation is subject to the following two conditions: (1) this device may not cause interference, and (2) this device must accept any interference, including interference that may cause undesired operation of the device.
IC Radiation Exposure Statement: This equipment complies with IC radiation exposure limits set forth for an uncontrolled environment. This equipment should be installed and operated with a minimum distance of 20cm between the radiator & your body.

RESOURCES: Check out our YouTube Channel for helpful videos. For more information, visit our Grainfather Help Centre: help.grainfather.com
GET IN TOUCH:
Online: help.grainfather.com/hc/en- us/requests/new
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AU +61 2 8074 3798
US +1 562-354-4603
UK/EU +44 1750 432048

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References

• shop.grainfather.com/index.php/faq
• Your All Grain Brewing Community | Grainfather

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