9 replies to this topic

[zymot]

I made some references in another thread regarding my idea to filter out hop leaves and hop pellets from your brew kettle. Below is this idea. I call it the Hop Ramp.Very simple. Essentially a channel, open at one end and the ramp on the other end. The 3D drawing shows the basic design. You can easily form the channel and the ramp with a hunk of sheet metal. The two other illustrations are applications I have used and tested with promising results.One is when you have a threaded pipe on the inside of your kettle. use a combination of NPT couplers and nipples such that a nipple comes down and holds the Hop Ramp in place. Cut a notch in the end of the the nipple. Wort gets siphoned through the notch.The second application is copper tubing. The springyness of the copper tubing holds the Hop Ramp against the side of your kettle.The goal of the design for the ramp to provide an easy path for debris to go up and away from your siphon point. Once debris goes over the ramp, any suction by the siphon won't suck debris back in. The debris will pile up against the vertical side of the Hop Ramp.The procedure is to whirlpool your wort in the direction that will causes hops, pellets, trub, etc to go up and over the ramp. After the whirlpool settles down, you can start to drain the kettle. When you start draining, there will be some debris in the channel. What can you do? You have a few choices.1- Do nothing, accept the first quart or so will have debris'2- Do a voulauf style of drain. Collect the first couple quarts of wort. When the wort runs clear, start filling up the carboy. Return debris laden wort to the kettle3- Back flush. Do the whirlpool. If you have a pump, pump wort backwards through the tube and blow debris out of the channel. If you use an IM, chill your wort, whirlpool and then you can use an auto as a manual pump and blow debris out of the channel.So there you have it. Anybody can make a Hop Ramp. Try it out and report back with what you find.

[positiveContact]

What's wrong with the paint strainer bag, 4" PVC coupler, and tube clamp suspended in the kettle? Much less complicated.

cleaning those bags is a PITA.

[HVB]

cleaning those bags is a PITA.

That is why I spent the money and went to an all SS option.

[zymot]

What's wrong with the paint strainer bag, 4" PVC coupler, and tube clamp suspended in the kettle? Much less complicated.

I have a hop spider, pretty much as you describe. It works good for leaf hops, pellets not so much. I do not get the feeling it does well with late additions, it can get pretty crowed in there.

cleaning those bags is a PITA.

Cleaning a hop spider is not a problem. Empty it out, turn it inside out and hit it with the garden hose. Hang it up to dry.

That is why I spent the money and went to an all SS option.

What is your design?When dealing with pellets, anything with a wire mesh is tough to do.. Too open of a mesh and and the pellets get through. Too fine a mesh and it clogs up. Most of my experience is with Hop Stopper type of design. Put the pick tube inside the mesh.

[HVB]

What is your design?When dealing with pellets, anything with a wire mesh is tough to do.. Too open of a mesh and and the pellets get through. Too fine a mesh and it clogs up. Most of my experience is with Hop Stopper type of design. Put the pick tube inside the mesh.

Comercial desing from Stainless Brewing. 400 Micron Mesh and 6 5/8" x 18". My main goal for it was whole hops but many report using it with huge loads of pellets with no issues. Time will tell.

[positiveContact]

that thing looks pretty awesome. so have you not tried it with pellets yet?if this thing really works I think I know what I want for father's day https://www.stainles...sket_p_135.html

Edited by StudsTerkel, 12 April 2013 - 07:08 AM.

[zymot]

Comercial desing from Stainless Brewing. 400 Micron Mesh and 6 5/8" x 18". My main goal for it was whole hops but many report using it with huge loads of pellets with no issues. Time will tell.

That looks pretty substantial. What ever I do, it has to handle pellets. I cannot live by whole leaf hops alone.I never heard of Stainless Brewing before. It looks like a very good place. The products look to be of good quality and the prices are reasonable.https://www.stainlessbrewing.com/

[HVB]

That looks pretty substantial. What ever I do, it has to handle pellets. I cannot live by whole leaf hops alone.I never heard of Stainless Brewing before. It looks like a very good place. The products look to be of good quality and the prices are reasonable.https://www.stainlessbrewing.com/

I am still in a brewing slump after the birth of my son. I hope that changes in the next couple of weeks and plan to brew up 10g of a Simcoe Pale Ale I do. That will have about 7 oz of hops in the boil, all pellets. I will post an update with pictures when I do that beer.

[positiveContact]

I am still in a brewing slump after the birth of my son. I hope that changes in the next couple of weeks and plan to brew up 10g of a Simcoe Pale Ale I do. That will have about 7 oz of hops in the boil, all pellets. I will post an update with pictures when I do that beer.

excellent!

[zymot]

I am still in a brewing slump after the birth of my son. I hope that changes in the next couple of weeks and plan to brew up 10g of a Simcoe Pale Ale I do. That will have about 7 oz of hops in the boil, all pellets. I will post an update with pictures when I do that beer.

7 oz of pellets will be an excellent test. Anything I use, must be effective on pellets. I cannot get the variety of hops I want in leaf form. I am all about ease and convenience on my brew day. I would be happy pay $60 (plus shipping) for a reliable and effective solution. Although I do like the challenge of gadget designs and builds.Looks like I will be on a brewing hiatus for the rest of the year. I can wait for others to road test these things. Keep us posted.