The $1.50 Hop Spider

More of a basket than a spider I suppose.

After looking at all of the PVC, bag, carriage bolt, washer and nuts assemblies I decided to create my own cheapo "basket."

1 gallon nylon paint strainer: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00C2A81UW/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

copper wire (free)

Any old wooden handle or tree branch (free)

I "sewed" the copper wire through the paint strainer and then hooked it to the wooden dowel. I notched the dowel at the kettle edge to prevent rolling. I used 4 ounces of pellet hops today and it worked great. I was able to clean it afterwards and will use it again on my next batch. You can adjust the copper wire to the depth of your wort by simply bending it.

I think I saw survivorman use one of those in Season 1.

Why not just clip the bag to the side of the kettle?

copper wire (free)

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That didn't come out of my air conditioner, did it? Some thugs stripped the wiring from my outdoor AC unit a couple months ago. Hardly seems worth the risk; they got away with about $20 worth of wire, and it had to take a good 10-15 minutes of work in my side yard with full visability to about four of my neighbors to pull it off.

I think it's just an en vogue criminal activity these days. I'm sure the dudes are proud of themselves, especially if they made like ten $1.50 hop spiders with their bounty.

TopherM said:

That didn't come out of my air conditioner, did it?

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Naw. I had some leftover Romex sitting in the garage. Used the ground wire so I didn't have to strip the rubber off.

djt17 said:

Why not just clip the bag to the side of the kettle?

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I had thought of that, but I felt if it was in the middle of the pot it would be more evenly absorbed/used. Besides, the dowel was sitting in my yard rotting away.

kudos....

simple IS always better!:rockin:

i use a voile bag hanging from a large stir spoon....think i'm gonna try this out.


thanx

GD51

I use a 5 gallon paint strainer bag clipped to the side of my kettle with a clothespin when I use one.

chumpsteak said:

I use a 5 gallon paint strainer bag clipped to the side of my kettle with a clothespin when I use one.

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Lol I've been using a 1 gallon paint strainer bag and a paper clip. Glad I'm not the only cheap bastard here.

If you use a 5 gallon bag it moves around the pot in the boil and it's almost like not using a bag at all. Kind of crushes the lack of utilization argument.