Removable Whirlpool Fitting

I'm not sure if this has been done before or even posted in the forum. I looked and couldn't find anything so I figured I would share my latest project.

I have moved exclusively to BIAB. My BK is the 62 qt. Bayou Classic Turkey Fryer. Since I plan on doing some big bears, I have decided that I want to also use the steamer basket made for my pot to help support the grain bag (as many do):



Since the basket fits so snuggly in the kettle, I simply cannot have a permanent whirlpool fitting (the pickup tube and thermo are fine since I use a bakers rack at the bottom of the kettle). So, I started to think of easy ways to make removable whirlpool plumbing that I can take out during the mash and install again during the boil.

Here is what I came up with:









I know my equipment needs a good cleaning and my soldering skills are suspect, but this thing works perfectly!

Just thought I would post in case anyone was in the same situation as me.

John

Great idea!

johnodon said:

I know my equipment needs a good cleaning

Click to expand...

Now clean your equipment!

And straighten up that sightglass!!

Smart thinkin tho. I approve

Nice looking setup!

How do you like the bayou pot? I like that you can see less then 2 gallons on the sight glass.

What's the point of that? I've never heard of a whirlpool tube. What do you do with it?

BetterSense said:

What's the point of that? I've never heard of a whirlpool tube. What do you do with it?

Click to expand...

A couple of things: One, if you use an immersion chiller, recycling the wort significantly reduces the time it takes to bring the boiling wort down to pitching temperature. Two, whirlpooling in the BK at the end of the chill cycle will build a nice cone of trub in the middle of the kettle, and if your drain draws from the edge, you can leave all that goop behind instead of it ending up in your fermenter.

And if it isn't clear, a pump is required to make that all work...

Cheers!