Hop pellet filter

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Bigbud78
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Hop pellet filter

Post by Bigbud78 » Tue May 23, 2017 5:04 pm

Hi all, currently use my 50L stainless pot as both a HLT and kettle on gas. As I've been doing no sparge I fill the pot up with 37L of water then use some 1/2" silicon tube to siphon it into the mash tun, Then use gravity to move it to the pot from the Mash tun. As the pot doesn't have a ball valve I have to tip the wort into my FV bucket taking all the hop sludge and break with it.

Basically getting fed up of the siphon (have sucked in some 70 degree water xD) and want an easier way to fill my FV up.

I'm looking for a solution that I can keep using the pot for both use's Ideally, I'll obviously need a ball valve but anyone have a suggestion for a filter ? are the bazooka's any good for pellet hop sludge ? I'm not that fussed about getting rid of it all but reducing it a bit would be great.

I know I'll have some dead space when using as a HLT but I could just tip the last bit in the mash tun.

Thanks

Secla
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Re: Hop pellet filter

Post by Secla » Tue May 23, 2017 5:43 pm

Hop spider or just whirlpool are the best in my experience

Haydnexport
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Re: Hop pellet filter

Post by Haydnexport » Tue May 23, 2017 6:44 pm

I use a 12" domed false bottom in my 90l pot , 90 degree elbow and a barb, then silicone hoe to the barb on the back of the valve copes with anything, the most hops its had is 400g of leaf. I used a 9" one in my old 50l pot
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gaunt_paul
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Re: Hop pellet filter

Post by gaunt_paul » Tue May 23, 2017 7:02 pm

I use a bazooka filter and can confirm that it's great for leaf hops, but not so good for pellets. If i use a mixture of the two, sometimes the leaf matterhelps to filter out the sludge, but not reliably. Nowadays i use a hop sock if i need to use pellets, i picked it up on ebay new for about £15.

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TheSumOfAllBeers
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Re: Hop pellet filter

Post by TheSumOfAllBeers » Tue May 23, 2017 9:55 pm

A cheap BIAB bag from a home brew supply shop will suffice as a hop spider

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Jocky
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Re: Hop pellet filter

Post by Jocky » Tue May 23, 2017 10:46 pm

You can't filter pellets. I've tried several filters.

When the wort is chilled I just walk away from the boiler for an hour or so. When I come back I can just run the wort out slowly (side take off, no filter) and most of the hop will be left in the boiler.

Or just put them in a bag or spider.
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Re: Hop pellet filter

Post by AFewTooMany » Wed May 24, 2017 7:48 am

+1 for a roomy hop bag. And you can always do a quick whirlpool with a big spoon /paddle

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Bigbud78
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Re: Hop pellet filter

Post by Bigbud78 » Wed May 24, 2017 10:09 am

Cheers guys, will get the tap fitted and go from there.

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jubby
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Re: Hop pellet filter

Post by jubby » Wed May 24, 2017 10:37 am

IMG_2464.JPG
This is what i used in my old 50l boiler. A 60 grade mesh with a large surface area. The wort is picked up at the bottom of the boiler similar in design to Brewbuilders design. I have used 400g of pellet hops using this filter which will slow the run off towards the end but it did the job. With 300g or less, no restriction.

I have just used one of Brewbuilders FO filters for the first time in a 50l final volume brew with 200g of leaf and 400g of pellet which worked perfectly. Not used it with pellet only yet though and I was pumping the wort out into the FV.
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Re: Hop pellet filter

Post by RobP » Wed May 24, 2017 10:52 am

For pellets, I gave up on filters inside the boiler because none of them seemed to to work, they just get clogged. I now use a kitchen sieve under the tap (ball valve) of the boiler and tap the contents back into the boiler when it gets blocked. Whirlpool, or just letting the contents of the boiler settle before draining helps.

Bigbud78
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Re: Hop pellet filter

Post by Bigbud78 » Wed May 24, 2017 11:09 am

RobP wrote:For pellets, I gave up on filters inside the boiler because none of them seemed to to work, they just get clogged. I now use a kitchen sieve under the tap (ball valve) of the boiler and tap the contents back into the boiler when it gets blocked. Whirlpool, or just letting the contents of the boiler settle before draining helps.
Not a bad idea, assume the sieve would help oxygenate the wort too.

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Kev888
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Re: Hop pellet filter

Post by Kev888 » Thu May 25, 2017 12:40 pm

To filter lots of pellets by themselves, you really need an extremely large area filter, and also to be patient enough to let the hops settle on it before running off (so that these prevent the sticky break reaching the filter directly, and clogging it). The mesh envelope designs are typical of these. Smaller filters tend not to let enough flow through when covered (semi-blocked) by the pellet hops.

Or else use hop bags or spiders, which are large enough to let the hops float freely about and infuse. People tend to get put off these because there are stories of lower hop utilisation, but IMO unless you use some horrible cramped bag or cage the difference is quite minor and easily made up for (if you feel the need) with a few more hops, so they can be a very practical solution in some cases. They are also very free draining, so reduce the amount of wort lost to hop retention.

Or else use the whirlpool approach and a drain placed to one edge of the vessel, with no filter. This will let some stuff through though, so it depends on what you have down-stream (e.g. plate chillers, small bores, cloggable pumps etc.) as to whether its appropriate. Your mileage may vary, but personally I have limited success with this because the 'cone' in the middle collapses when wort is drained out, and covers the whole kettle base anyway; a mesh ring (like a cheapo version of the trubtrapper) shows some promise in retaining it, but I still lose more wort this way than with filters. The benefit (and it is significant in some situations) is that there is no filter to become blocked.
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Re: Hop pellet filter

Post by TheSumOfAllBeers » Fri May 26, 2017 11:29 am

AFewTooMany wrote:+1 for a roomy hop bag. And you can always do a quick whirlpool with a big spoon /paddle

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I am amazed at how effective 1-2 minute whirlpool with a mash paddle works, + 15 min wait after flame out.

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Re: Hop pellet filter

Post by orlando » Sat May 27, 2017 7:54 am

Kev888 wrote:
Or else use hop bags or spiders, which are large enough to let the hops float freely about and infuse. People tend to get put off these because there are stories of lower hop utilisation, but IMO unless you use some horrible cramped bag or cage the difference is quite minor and easily made up for (if you feel the need) with a few more hops, so they can be a very practical solution in some cases. They are also very free draining, so reduce the amount of wort lost to hop retention.
I have one that can be hooked on the inside of the kettle. Both my elements are on one side of the pot, if I hook it on in the middle of them I can see the roiling boil getting into the spider making maximum contact with the pellets. No idea how efficient this is compared to loose but like Kev I suspect the difference is too subtle for me to notice.
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Re: Hop pellet filter

Post by donchiquon » Sat May 27, 2017 9:52 pm

After trying bazookas, scrubbies, and various other options I've had good results with braided stainless hose. One of the elbows has a 1/2" barb screwed into it which I then hose-clamp to the braid. The other elbow is my whirlpool inlet.
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