Hop stopper

[Deebee]

Guys, At the moment i am using loaned equipment and will be making myself a boiler when time allows.

In the meantime my boiler is a 38 liter stock pot that the owner has welded a ball valve into.

There is no hop stoper and the inside of the ball valve used is snooth.

The last few brews i have made and have used protfloc. The cold break has been way better than with IM and i wonder if there is anything i can do to stop the cold break material and othr trub entering the FV.

I have 4 liters of space under the tap so i guess i could scale the brew up by 4 liters to take this into account and stop when the boiler has the remaining fluid under the tap. but thats like 8 pints of good wort going to waste.

IS there anything i can stuff in the hole to act as a filter. i don't want to modify the boiler as it is not mine and well i'd rather use the effort getting mine to be good.

I am thinking something along he lines of course steel wool or something but am sort of thinking it will ge clogged up.

What are the thoughts of the experts.

Thanks'

[Northern Brewer]

You could put the hops in muslin bags. Everything else could then go across to the fermenter, from where you can drop it the following day, leaving the trub behind.

[Deebee]

I already do this, but if there are hop pellets in use, or just the normal break material it all goes across. I only have the one fermenter too at the moment. Am hoping that there is something that i can stuff in the hole, or cover the hole with somehow.

[Aleman]

I've had some success using a stainless steel 'scrubby' shoved into the hole . . . You'll find them in the cleaning Aisle of any supermarket need the green scotchbrite pads. . . . not good for pellets though

Another alternative that I know has been used is a kettle 'descaler' they coiled metal type things you put in a kettle to prevent furring up.

[vacant]

Sheet of stainless steel mesh rolled into a cylinder and stuffed into the opening here. Get it from ebay (search for vivarium mesh) or hobbyist retailers.

[Trefoyl]

I use a Polarware 10 gallon brew kettle for 5 gallon batches. I don't know if what I do is any help at all, but I use two copper scrubbies. Maybe ss is better. I wedge them between the coils of my immersion chiller to sterilize them in the boil, and I also put my long stainless spoon in at this time, along with the Irish Moss. After removing the IC when the wort is chilled, I whirlpool the wort with the spoon and leave it alone to settle for about 15-20 minutes with the lid on. That does more than any filter, actually. Then I just place the two scrubbies on top of each other into the funnel to strain the wort into the FV. I use carboys so I have to use a funnel. I don't contain my hops, pellets or whole, and it all settles nicely at the bottom. Pellets don't seem to make a cone the same way that whole hops do, they just spread out on the bottom, but below the outlet hole.

Protein trub is good for yeast health, and I found that with it all settled at the bottom of the kettle I can tilt the pot and allow some to go in. I'm still experimenting with how much to allow in. I lose 1.5 liters of wort to the residue in the pot. If I contained the hop pellets I would lose a little less.

It's just that when I put the scrubby inside the pot over the outlet hole it can clog, or it gets dislodged and does nothing. With the scrubbies outside the pot in the funnel I have more control. If I don't allow everything to settle, the tap and scrubbies get clogged.
My homebrew store owner scoffed at my "old school" method, but he didn't offer any suggestions for improvement. I think I will contain the hop pellets and see how that effects utilization and if I can recover more wort.
By the way, I use a threaded brass elbow to direct the wort down into the funnel, picture here:
Link: http://www.fittingsexpress.com.au/product/048

Perhaps I will take pictures next time I brew. I like to see all the different ways people do things.

Edit: If you are using whole hops then Vacant's suggestion for using rolled ss screen in the tap should be very effective.

[Trefoyl]

I was thinking about containing my pellets, but it just doesn't seem natural -- I like them to be free and unhindered. After chilling, I whirlpooled as usual and waited for the trub to settle.
This time I went to JBK to see what you guys were up to to help with the wait, and was surprised at how the hops and trub seemed to separate so completely from the wort as if they were a heavier viscosity. When the wort drains below the level of the outlet I gently prop the pot up on a wooden spoon or something to tilt it and run off as much clear wort as I can.
I felt I had enough wort in my carboy so I just dumped this after the photo, but I think I could have gotten even this last little bit if I cared to fuss over 1/2 a pint.
I'm not sure whirlpooling does that much with pellets because of the way they just spread out, but it makes me feel better to do it.


Trub Line close up


Trub Line