Will pellet hops clog my chiller and pump?

I will be using this chiller and pump for the first time this weekend to brew 12 gallons of an ipa with A LOT of pellet hops. I will be boiling in a 20 boilermaker with the dip tube pick up. I'm planning to try and whirlpool to get a cone. Can I expect this chiller and pump to clog with the pellet hops?
Thanks.

Are you using a false bottom or screen? Either of these will keep the big chucks out. I use a plate chiller, which is more likely to clog than your system, and we always recirculate/vorlauf for 5 minutes to clear the wort before switching to the plate chiller. At that point we include the chiller and continue to pump back into the kettle for 15 more minutes which will cool us more than enough to run straight to the fermenter.

Im no expert but i dont think the pump will have any problems with particles. The problem will be hop particles getting stuck/clogged in the counterflow chiller you are using

I have no type of false bottom or screen in the boil kettel. Only a dip tube. I was planning on pumping through the chiller back into the top of the kettel to get a whirlpool going. I am also adding hops during the whirlpool. I was thinking about putting a stainless steel scrubbie pad over my dip tube to help?

You are not going to have problems with pellets and that big CFC/pump. If it was a plate chiller I'd say you need a screen, but you will absolutely be fine.

Thank you sir. You just made my day.

In my experience, I haven't had a clog yet on either my pump or pipe CFC with just pellet hops. Bitter orange peel bits and coriander, yes, but not just pellet hops. I think you'll be fine.

But if you're really worried, you can always buy some hop socks and just dangle them in the BK while it's boiling away.

Hell that CFC is wider diameter than a lot of dip tubes.

I thought about bagging my hops, but I like them to swim and be free. Should I keep the whirlpool going until I reach my chill temperature then shut it down and start draining?

hnycrk said:

I thought about bagging my hops, but I like them to swim and be free. Should I keep the whirlpool going until I reach my chill temperature then shut it down and start draining?

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Personally, I don't fret too much about sucking up hot break and hop trub into my fermentors. I like to just finish the boil, hook up the tubes, run the wort through the chiller and then back into the BK for a minute or two to sterilize everything, and then turn on the water and then start pumping wort into the fermentors. But maybe my beers would be even better if I started to care. Not really sure.

We use to cool in one pass in the plate chiller and go right into the fermenter. I was seeing the cold break in the hose after the chiller and thought maybe it would be better to let the filter bed take out he cold break too so we just cool the kettle off for 15 minutes. We are whirlpooling at the same time so it all works well.

I've had my CFC clogged from hop pellets before. From now on I'll always be using a hop bag if it's an IPA. The pump had no problems however so you'll probably be fine.


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I attach the stainless mesh (from a toilet supply hose) to the end of my dip tube and it seems to work very well. I also angle my dip tube to the side a little so that it doesn't go straight into the 'cone.'


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