I would love to whirlpool, but here's my problem: No spigot on my kettle, so I pick the thing up and dump it into the primary (once cooled) and use a paint strainer. Aerates the hell out of the cold wort (which is a nice side effect), and the strainer works really well too.
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Kegged - Mulberry Witbier
Bottled - Strawberry Blonde Ale, Oktoberfest
Bottle conditioning - Robust Porter, 30th birthday barleywine
Secondary - SNCA clone experiment
Primary - Not a thing... time to get crackin!
Planned - chocolate stout, blueberry blonde, belgian tripel, american amber ale
In order to make for a smooth wort rotation, w/o many turbulences, you have to make sure that there is nothing sticking into the wort. Either a spigot that is flush to the inside of the pot or a ring that goes around the pot should work. The ring has the advantage that the wort can enter it at many places around the trub cone, thus reducing the draft (and with this potential trub intake) that can build up at a single point.
I have a weldless ball valve kit on my kettle with a 3/8" copper 180˚ elbow I soldered together that screws into the coupling on the inside so it draws from the outside corner of the kettle about an 1/8" off the bottom. In all, I'd say it sticks about 2.5" into the kettle.
I've never had an issue with whirlpooling. I do, however, whirlpool hot, rest for 5 minutes, and run through my CFC into the fermenter at pitching temp. I get a real nice trub cone and transfer clear wort to the CFC, obviously there's some cold break in the fermenter but that's gone once fermentation begins.
I whirpool once cooled with good results, I also have a spigot in the side of the kettle which doesn't seem to cause problems.
I used to whirlpool hot, but noticed a marked improvement in clearing of the wort post chilling. I usually give it twenty minutes or so and syphon from the side.On my tubing I've got a small adjustable faucet that allows me to syphon real slow, I find this helps not to 'drag' too many beasties into the fermentor, oh yes 1\2 tab whirlflock per 5 gallons.
Any update on how 1/2 a tablet worked? Last two batches with a full tablet I couldn't get the trub to settle below 2 gallons, much less form a cone.
I know what you mean. 1/2 tablet is the right dosage for 5 gal batch, but the bags are usually labeled wrong (maybe the suppliers are just trying to push out twice as much???).
From what I have gathered, Whirlfloc needs to be added at ~5 min before flameout. Boiling it longer than 10 min denatures it rendering it useless.
Irish moss on the other hand is best put in 10-15 min from the end of the boil.
So, at what time do you add the Whirlfloc tablet? Try 5 min next time and see if you get a better cone.
Personally, I have always gotten a better cone from irish moss, than Whirlfloc. I use an IC, and whirlpool after chilling (and removing the IC).
Forgot to update from the 18th. Tried another half of a tablet of whirfloc at 5minutes, same results. Still no cone, but much less fluffy looking break material that could be from switching to a pilsner malt instead of the normal 2row I use.
Any update on how 1/2 a tablet worked? Last two batches with a full tablet I couldn't get the trub to settle below 2 gallons, much less form a cone.
Sorry for the ridiculously late feedback. Actually I never ended up trying 1/2 a tab. I've taken to lining a large pasta strainer (one that came with my 2 gal. cooking pot) with a nylon bag and just pouring the contents of the kettle through it into the fermenter. If you let the trub settle even a bit (like 10 minutes) then the first 4 gallons go right through the nylon bag and the last gallon or so fills it and clogs it pretty good. I then just squeeze with my hands gently until most of the liquid comes out and discard the rest. I imagine I lose less than 1/2 a gallon this way, and it's pretty damn easy.
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