Hop Filters

[Hobbins]

Hello all

I'm onto AG#7 now and still haven't managed to get a hop filter to work properly! I end up with a pathetic dribble out of the tap and then it ends upstopping way before the all the liquid is drained into the fermenter. I've used 8" stainless steel mesh. I've used 18" of stainless steel mesh. I've used 15mm copper pipe with slits cut in the bottom. All useless!

They all sit on the lowest point in the boiler in order to reduce the dead space. I'm thinking that as they are on the bottom they are getting full up with crud immediately?

What are other people using? Should I keep the pipes off the bottom of the boiler? Should I make a false bottom? Any suggestions would be more thn welcome and if anyone could post a picture of a simple DIY soloution that would be even better?

Thanks in advance.

 

[pittsy]

i use copper pipe , you should have slits for the mash tun but holes for the hop filter . i have 3 mm holes , many. I also have mine as a swan neck (slightly bent but running straight ) and it is around 20mm from the bottom of my boiler . My wort flows out well

 

[Baz Chaz]

This is whats in the bottom of my boiler, works a treat, nice steady flow, never blocked :thumb:

the holes were not drilled but punched with a nail but there's no burrs or anything :idea: very nearly touching the bottom of the boiler.

 

[gibb58]

Not yet started ag brewing yet but can't you put the hops in a bag?

 

[Baz Chaz]

Not yet started ag brewing yet but can't you put the hops in a bag?

Yes, but think they're better 'circulating' loose in the boiler.

 

[Vossy1]

The hops are better loose for very complicated reasons I don't understand :lol:
Do you chill in the boiler H ? I've used nearly all types of fb, probably the only one I haven't is the braided hose. They all worked, I think my fav was the domed fb type and the one I made myself from perforated plate. This is my newest mesh one, yet to be used but have used the type before and the copper tube type. My least fav is the slotted copper tube due to hops folding and getting past the slits and it's ability to clog, edit, but then again it's slots for mash and holes for hops, I really didn't like the holed verion.

I don't use any of the above anymore preferring to use a vertical screen which stops hops dead and an in line filter for the hot break...more complicated than most folk need but it's a necessity for me as I use a plate chiller. The pic below shows a 100ltr pot around 35% full with hops :shock: ...if it can stop that lot :lol:

edit..old mesh type, older hybrid copper type holes and slits...I've been around too long :lol:

 

[Hobbins]

Ahh very illuminating...

I do BIAB so everything happens in that one pot. The grist obviously never gets let loose as it's "in the bag" but the hops and cold break are lose in the boiler. I do immersion chill in there to and always get tons of cold break/protein which last night got scooped out with a jug and some of it was caught in with the hops in a clean mesh bag as my new "slotted" pipe filter clogged up after about 500ml.

I'm glad i'm not the only one who seems to have to mess about with FB's and the like. I'm going to try the copper pipe with lots of holes in it as I've got a bit lying about and some fittings.

Looks like I'll have to do another brew to try it out...

:

 

[Hobbins]

Thanks for all the pictures too. I find pictures so much easier to understand, a bear of very little brain!

 

[Fil]

Are you letting the hops settle for 10 mins or so before starting to drain? when i switched from irish moss to fractions of a protoflock tab this made a big difference to my hop filtering.. it seems as hops settle they form a bit of a natural filter.

 

[Pakman]

I also do BIAB in a 30 litre boiler. I hastily knocked up a hop filter when the boiler first arrived using a 40cm length of 8mm copper tube with 2mm holes drilled along the underside every 5cm or thereabouts. This was fitted onto the tap thread using an old plumbing blanking cap with an 8mm hole drilled in it. It has worked well every time with only about 1/2 pint needing to be returned for re-filtering at the start. On the last brew I was concerned about the amount of small hop dross floating on top of the wort so I placed SWMBOs filter underneath the tap to collect any large bits that got through. Didn't catch a lot, the hop bed filtered it all out.