Therminator and clogging?

I just got a Therminator and have yet to use it. I plan on using gravity not a pump(yet). My question is will I have a problem with plugging it with hop particales,trub etc?
If so what should I do?
I've tried the hop bags but they seem to hold water and I really don't feel like I'm getting 100% out of my hops (don't really know for sure).
I just really want to know how "forgiving" these chillers are and is there a simple solution to this problem.
Thanks for any advice!....B......

I suggest that you find a way to keep the hop debris et.al. from going into the chiller.

Cut away view inside a plate chiller:



There are a whole bunch of places inside it where eddy currents allow debris to gather and settle in place. Once there, it becomes very difficult to clean up.

P-J

Unforgiving is the word. I've never used the Therminator but I assume it is pretty much the same as the Duda Diesel or similar models. You either need to bag hops or filter prior to the wort running through. Once clogged they are a bear to clean and sometimes they just get a little bit clogged each time you use it and you really don't notice the build up until it stops performing very well. You need to come up with a good cleaning process, which can include flushing/backflushing as well as PBW, Oxiclean, boiling, baking & acid washes. Some or all of those methods. So the best bet is to keep the chunks & bits out in the first place.

Agreed. The first time I used mine, I didn't filter as well as i could have, and bits of hops and break kept dripping out as a I moved it around until the next brew (2 weeks later). I kept flushing it forward and back, and I kept seeing more bits and pieces come out. Uggg. I tried the PVC hop spider, and managed to warp and melt mine a lot and then found that Jaybird (a vendor here on HBT) was working on a filter that would work with his false bottom, and I've been happily using that for a couple of months. It costs me a bit of liquid at the bottom, but the ease of cleaning and maintaining the whole system is a huge plus for me.

Are there any good methods out there to filter my wort before sending it through the therminator?
Would running the hot wort through a strainer and into another vessel work?....B....