Comments on my H&G Hop Strainer modification?

[farmhousekeg]

I'd really appreciate some feedback from members on the modifications I have made to my H&G Hop Strainer. As advised on here I drilled 3mm holes between the slits after a blockage on its first outing! Question now is, are there enough holes - they are at approx 1cm intervals. I have plenty of 15mm copper pipe in the workshop so I could start from scratch if necessary but thought I'd do the modification first and see how it goes.

What do you think!?

[Andy Dean]

Looks good farmhousekeg!

And thanks for the photos, i'm intending to do the exact same thing to my hop strainer on the pillar drill at work tomorrow night.

The H&G strainer is really hit or miss, 9 times out of 10 it's fine but every once in a while it is a real pain.

[farmhousekeg]

Fwiw, this is the Brupaks hop strainer, imo you need to try and get somewhere near the same surface area with the holes.

I would trial your strainer and if you are still finding the run off slow, keep drilling, you can drill them up the sides or on the top if necessary.

Cheers Chris, I'll drill a few more as its still on the bench with the drill standing by! Can't do any harm and I'd rathr take the time now to get it right rather than have the frustration of another blockage. Thanks for the picture - very helpful.

[tubby_shaw]

Don't be shy with the drill, attack those elbows too !

[Garth]

I drilled my holes on the top and one in each of the 90 bends, run-off was still not brilliant but it was a lot quicker

I you're still not happy with it make a Hopstopper type of strainer, copes with pellets and flowers and stops loads of trub.

[farmhousekeg]

The strainer is on the workbench outside my home office in the workshop. Everytime I pass by on my way for a coffee/pee/lunch/etc I am drilling a few holes So by tonight, depending on how many coffees I drink (the pees will follow naturally), the job will be done!

[Garth]

The more you drink, the better it will be

I thought that last night, but I now have a bad head....

[Scooby]

I bet you felt fine while you were drinking, it's not the beer that makes you feel rough, it's the sleeping afterwards that does it

That's the first time I've seen the H&G strainer and well

Never had a blockage with this:

[farmhousekeg]

I bet you felt fine while you were drinking, it's not the beer that makes you feel rough, it's the sleeping afterwards that does it

That's the first time I've seen the H&G strainer and well

Never had a blockage with this:

That's certainly a beauty. Mine is getting more perforated by the hour and I am spending a lot of time in the bathroom! Gosh, that sound a bit weird especially if you haven't read the posts above!!!

[farmhousekeg]

OK, what do we think now. 3 rows of holes drilled, all in the bottom half of the pipe and 2 holes in the bottom of each elbow. I haven't put any holes in the top but I think the area of holes must now be similar to the Brupacks strainer cos the length of pipe is longer I think.

What do we reckon, should this drain my wort OK or should I keep going? I am just a bit worried cos the slits made by H&G mean that the copper pipe is a little weak and showing signs of crumpling in places.

[Scooby]

That looks good, you should be ok I reckon

Just a couple of points about hop strainer design in general.

I can understand the thought behind holes on the underside minimising dead space
but is 1/2l or so such a big deal?

If a stainless scrubby stuffed in the back of a tap works, or 10cms of mesh from a kitchen
sieve rolled up (used in my hop back) or splatter guard, why have all that pipework in a design more
akin to a tun manifold?

[boingy]

I suggest you stop there and try it while there is still enough copper left to hold together!
You look to have plenty of holes there so it will probably be fine.

If it does block, it's not a major disaster. You can just used a sanitised sieve to separate the rest of the wort from the hops. You'll get a bit more break material in the FV but it's not the end of the world.

[yashicamat]

Very similar to how I had my H&G strainer modified too - didn't ever block. The holes will have a negligable effect on the strength for our purposes, what you do need to be careful of is if you start cutting extra slits as these do make the pipe a lot less rigid.

[farmhousekeg]

If that fookin thing blocks i'll let you eat your hat

I wouldn't worry about a few battle scars, it's not going to fall appart

I'll hold you to that

Very similar to how I had my H&G strainer modified too - didn't ever block. The holes will have a negligable effect on the strength for our purposes, what you do need to be careful of is if you start cutting extra slits as these do make the pipe a lot less rigid.

Cheers lads! I'm going into the scrap metal business now to get rid of all the copper shreds I have on my workbench!!

[Andy Dean]

Well this is my attempt with a pillar drill at work tonight...