Best method to prevent clogged lines

**Snafu** · 02-07-2012, 06:16 PM

Last brew day went great, right up to the point I was pumping boiled wort into the CFC to chill and recirculate. Whole leaf's got stuck in the quick disconnect. Caused me major grief and ended up quite short on final volume. Normally I use a hop spider but the boil volume was small on this beer and wouldn't reach deep enough into the keggle for the 7 hop additions. Lowering the hop spider seemed the best option, but second thoughts of overheating the plastic due to being deeper in the keggle come to mind. So what's the other options? SS Scrubby? Mesh? Hop Stopper? How does the scrubby compare to the mesh tube?

**Hammy71** · 02-07-2012, 07:53 PM

Well may not be the best answer, but I chose other. I hate whole hops. Pellets for me. Whole hops clog my system and I hate using bags. Many have luck with the hop blockers sold commercially though.

**Snafu** · 02-07-2012, 08:01 PM

Well, I don't "hate" whole hops, but I do prefer to use pellets. Higher IBU's and less mess. Do you find pellets are small enough to circulate without causing flow issues?

**rossi46** · 02-07-2012, 09:32 PM

If i use pellets I use a hop spider. If I use leaf I use a false bottom.

**Hammy71** · 02-07-2012, 09:33 PM

Not sure I can help you much. I don't use a CFC but I do recirulate (whirlpool) without any problems.

**weirdboy** · 02-07-2012, 09:36 PM

I use hops bags, and then I also have a hop blocker on the dip tube, although that probably doesn't accomplish much since the hop bags do the heavy lifting.

My ghetto hop spider is me sticking a yardstick on top of the pot, and then hanging hops bags from it into the kettle.

mfox79 · 02-07-2012, 11:52 PM

For my set up I use hop bags and nothing else. this works for both whole and pellet. I run my wort through a plate chiller and have had no problems yet after 40 gallons doing it this way. it does get expensive doing this with multiple hop additions but still allot cheaper then replacing my plate chiller. I have wondered about the dip tube screens though. I wonder if using that and a hop spyder would solve the need to use hop bags all together. Sorry kinda

HDChef · 02-08-2012, 03:40 AM

I use whole hops and a bazooka T screen. Between the leaf and the screen, a lot of hot break gets filtered out. I also do no-chill, whirlpool and rack into primary to get rid of anything else that gets through.

**pjj2ba** · 02-08-2012, 01:43 PM

I use a homemade hop blocker (and I recirculate to a plate chiller). My blocker is simply a folded sheet of stainless steel mesh (with a hole for my dip tube) that I temporarily seal up with some SS split rings.

**TopherM** · 02-08-2012, 03:11 PM

I have a SS tea ball that works great. Cost me like $11.00 shipped.

I put all hop and other boil additions in this guy, and end up with only the finest particles in the final wort, which is all small enough to easily pass through my plate filter. I can fit up to about 8 ounces of hop pellets in this guy, even after they expand, and haven't experienced any dropoff in utilization:

http://www.amazon.com/Extra-Large-Jumbo-Size-Twist-Lock-Infuser-Stainless/dp/B004X4LGIO/ref=pd_sim_k_4
There was a post last week where a guy was asking for a good way to filter out hops that kept clogging his plate filter. I told him my method and he acted like I was retarded. He seemed to have his heart set on a $150.00 monstrocity of a tri-clover stainless steel in-line filter/hopback, and wanted someone to talk him into it. The thing was about 12" long, 4" wide and weighed like 20 lbs. Looked more like tri-clover, stainless steel Dachshund, and probably every bit of a PITA.

In the end, those things tend to clog up, limit wort flow and burn up a pump or two.

I'm telling you, this low-tech, low price tea ball works better!! I'd recommend either this route or building yourself a hop spider. Both are cheap and effective!