Simple hop strainer assembly

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ReeseAllen

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(chuckger's build)

I've purchased parts to build a hop strainer, a lot like the one in this picture (and the one in the HBT wiki). I realize this is a relatively simple assembly, but to a new brewer it could seem fancy and complicated at first glance. So, I am going to take photos and describe what I'm doing as I build my own version of this.

I bought:

(1) 4 inch PVC coupling, $1.13
(1) 3-5 inch hose clamp, $1.85
(3) 12 inch length of 1/4-20 threaded rod, $0.98
(2) 8-pack of nuts, $0.98
(1) 4-pack of wingnuts, $0.98
Total: $8.86 + tax

I already have a strainer bag whose opening is about 4.5" diameter that will work perfectly for this, shown in the attached photo. I think it cost about $3.

Both of my drill's batteries are dead, so I've been stalled for an hour or so while I wait for one of them to charge. I'll be drilling soon and should have finished pics up within a couple of hours.

bag.jpg


parts.jpg
 
Are all the metal parts Stainless Steel?
Zinc-plated steel.

I drilled 3 1/4" holes in the PVC fitting and installed the threaded rods using two nuts per rod. After that, I tested the fit on my 15 gallon kettle. I spun a wingnut onto the end of each rod and used that to center everything.

First obvious discovery is that I am going to need to get some fender washers involved with the wingnuts, as well as an intermediate locknut on each rod to restrict the washer's range of travel.

My other observation is that if the top of the PVC is level with the top of the kettle, I think the bottom of the bag will just barely dip below the surface of a 5 gallon boil. I think if I drill the 1/4" holes in the PVC to more like 3/8", the threaded rod could angle upward at a decent angle, lowering the assembly further into the kettle. I could replace the nuts that hold the rods to the PVC with nylocks (getting some fender washers involved here, too) and adjust the spacing between them to adjust how high the assembly rides within the kettle.

construction 1.jpg


construction 2.jpg


construction 3.jpg


test fit.jpg
 
My other observation is that if the top of the PVC is level with the top of the kettle, I think the bottom of the bag will just barely dip below the surface of a 5 gallon boil.

This is funny because this was my first thought. I had two different post typed out and deleted them.


Reason being that in your pics I can't imagine your hop bag to be much longer then 10". That is based on a rough, buzed observation.
 

(chuckger's build)

I've purchased parts to build a hop strainer, a lot like the one in this picture (and the one in the HBT wiki). I realize this is a relatively simple assembly, but to a new brewer it could seem fancy and complicated at first glance. So, I am going to take photos and describe what I'm doing as I build my own version of this.

I bought:

(1) 4 inch PVC coupling, $1.13
(1) 3-5 inch hose clamp, $1.85
(3) 12 inch length of 1/4-20 threaded rod, $0.98
(2) 8-pack of nuts, $0.98
(1) 4-pack of wingnuts, $0.98
Total: $8.86 + tax

I already have a strainer bag whose opening is about 4.5" diameter that will work perfectly for this, shown in the attached photo. I think it cost about $3.

Both of my drill's batteries are dead, so I've been stalled for an hour or so while I wait for one of them to charge. I'll be drilling soon and should have finished pics up within a couple of hours.

Dude, this is a very elegant design.

Now from one engineer to another, here is my variation on the hop bag design.

Hop_Bag_Out.jpg


Hop_Bag_Side_View.jpg


I use a Robe Hook instead of the rods. Granted, I do not have a heat exchanger in my brew kettle. I like this configuration because it hangs on the side, giving me a better view of the boil.

Hop_Bag_Hook.jpg


Cheers! :mug:
 
I use a Robe Hook instead of the rods. Granted, I do not have a heat exchanger in my brew kettle.
Me either, the first photo shows' chuckger's setup.
I like this configuration because it hangs on the side, giving me a better view of the boil.
I kind of wish I had seen this before my trip to the hardware store yesterday; I think I like this better than the three-rod design. I have a hunch though, that having the hops in the middle might get better flow through the bag.
 
I have a hunch though, that having the hops in the middle might get better flow through the bag.


My kettle boils are always biased to one side. So placing the bag in that area would blast up through it.

How do you fire your kettle?
 
My kettle boils are always biased to one side. So placing the bag in that area would blast up through it.

How do you fire your kettle?
Depends on the weather. In good conditions I use one of the big daddy Bayou Classic propane burners. Otherwise I put it on my gas stove and use two burners to heat it symmetrically. The boil usually looks pretty even in either case.
 
Depends on the weather. In good conditions I use one of the big daddy Bayou Classic propane burners. Otherwise I put it on my gas stove and use two burners to heat it symmetrically. The boil usually looks pretty even in either case.


I wonder if it because I use a keg?
 
Me either, the first photo shows' chuckger's setup.

I kind of wish I had seen this before my trip to the hardware store yesterday; I think I like this better than the three-rod design. I have a hunch though, that having the hops in the middle might get better flow through the bag.

I agree about the better chance for flow through and circulation. I am working on a small improvement. As soon as I receive the materials, I will post the pics.

So far I got good results as is but I am in the eternal quest for improvements!!!

Cheers and Happy Holidays!!! :tank:
 
I was thinking for a second just now that the hook design is inferior because it's not height-adjustable. But then I realized that you could just use a really long strainer bag (which Blender says are available) and roll it up behind the hose clamp to change the effective length of the bag.

What size strainer bag do you have? The 5 gallon paint strainers get fairly long.
This one is about 10" long and 7" wide. It is probably good enough for this 3-rod design I am building, especially if I can lower the PVC section down into the kettle fairly easily.
 
If you cover your boil kettle, you risk softening the PVC ring you are using. The softening point is 80 C for unplasticized PVC. If you can find the same fitting in CPVC (chlorinated PVC) it will be fine at boil temperatures.
 
I built this today and it worked great. One suggestion, if you are using kegs as your brew pots then use a grinder to notch the top of the keg for the rods to fit in. It works really good and the apparatus stays in place better than with just the wing nuts.
 
I did a little bit of work on it tonight. I added fender washers at each of the wingnuts, which are then held against the wingnuts with ordinary nuts. I also drilled the holes out to 5/16" and replaced the inside nut with a locknut. The rim of the PVC rests 1.5 inches below the kettle top, and the bottom of the strainer bag is 5 inches above the bottom. I will give it a try when I'm brewing tomorrow.

strainer update 1.jpg


strainer update 2.jpg
 
I did a little bit of work on it tonight. I added fender washers at each of the wingnuts, which are then held against the wingnuts with ordinary nuts. I also drilled the holes out to 5/16" and replaced the inside nut with a locknut. The rim of the PVC rests 1.5 inches below the kettle top, and the bottom of the strainer bag is 5 inches above the bottom. I will give it a try when I'm brewing tomorrow.

It looks real good Reese. I would suggest bending the ends and giving them a hair cut. (much like your OP) However, with it being all thread.......well you know it will break.


Will you be brewing a 5 or a 10 gallon batch tomorrow? What is the diameter of your brew pot? Just wondering for those who do a 5 gallon batch.
 
It looks real good Reese. I would suggest bending the ends and giving them a hair cut. (much like your OP) However, with it being all thread.......well you know it will break.
I'm just going to cut them with my dremel and a little cut-off wheel so that the rods only stick out about 1/2".
Will you be brewing a 5 or a 10 gallon batch tomorrow? What is the diameter of your brew pot? Just wondering for those who do a 5 gallon batch.
5 gallon batch tomorrow. This is a 15 gallon stainless kettle, just over 15.5" diameter and 18" deep. I think the way I have this strainer assembly set up currently should be pretty ideal.
 
This is a 15 gallon stainless kettle, just over 15.5" diameter and 18" deep. I think the way I have this strainer assembly set up currently should be pretty ideal.

So at half capacity, you are running 7.5 gallons. That would be 9 inches off the bottom. With a solid boil and a conical fermentor in mid that is just about right for a starting gallonage. That means you will have just about 4-4.5 inches of hop strainer bag in the boil. Not much in the boil. Good thing it is 7 inches wide.

I am not trying to create caious. Just thoughts. After several you tend to think out loud. Cheers.:mug:
 
do you guys just rinse and reuse the strainer or buy a new one each time you boil? looks like a great idea. i use pellets and keep clogging my quick disconnects when i pump through my CFC. i might try this instead of sewing a ss screen together (as bobby m does in one of his tutorials).
thanks for the possible easier solution!
 
do you guys just rinse and reuse the strainer or buy a new one each time you boil? looks like a great idea. i use pellets and keep clogging my quick disconnects when i pump through my CFC. i might try this instead of sewing a ss screen together (as bobby m does in one of his tutorials).
thanks for the possible easier solution!
I used to buy the cheap one-use fabric muslin bags for hop straining since the cost of the hops was ten times the cost of the bag, and then just throw out the whole thing after brewing. Now I use a nylon bag that is reusable and I dump it out and clean it after each use. It stains green (especially if you leave hops in it overnight) but still works fine.
 
I used to buy the cheap one-use fabric muslin bags for hop straining since the cost of the hops was ten times the cost of the bag, and then just throw out the whole thing after brewing. Now I use a nylon bag that is reusable and I dump it out and clean it after each use. It stains green (especially if you leave hops in it overnight) but still works fine.

I have done 6 batches with the same bag. You just have to clean it and thoroughly rinse it after use (keep in mind, the bag will get stained a light brown shade!). By the way, I use 5gal paint strainer bags from Home Depot. I think they are ~$2.00 for two bags.

Cheers! :tank:
 
Well, I'm about to give it a try for the first time. I'm collecting the last runnings from my second batch sparge and most of the wort is in the kettle getting up to boiling temp. Unfortunately for the purposes of this thread, I am brewing a porter tonight, which only has one hop addition at 60 minutes. I suppose it might be best to start small, though; it'd really suck to commit to an IPA with 4-5 hop additions and find out after the first addition that this strainer assembly is unworkable.

edit: Well, one thing is for sure, if you have fluffy, leafy hops, you are going to spill a ton of them trying to pour them into this thing. I can imagine that pellets poured from a small cup, or very dense full hop cones would be very easy to pour in without spilling, though. I am going to have to incorporate a pretty large funnel if I want to just freely dump hops into this thing without first pulling it out of the kettle.
 
Disaster. It doesn't go nearly low enough for a 6.5 gallon boil. I pulled the bag off, tightened the drawstring, and tied the end of the drawstring to the kettle handle. It's low enough now :)

I'll need to pick up some longer strainer bags to make this work. Good thing I wasn't doing a big hoppy IPA tonight :)
 
No, you don't need a 12" opening. You need aluminum foil or quarter gallon zip-lock bags!!!

The hop bags is great.

Cheers!!!:mug:
 
I tightened up the rods to bring the PVC up to the kettle's top and make everything rigid, then attached a much larger strainer bag. This was a bit too high for when the boil got down to 5 gallons, but got me through the brew session. I think I can slide the bag and the clamp down enough to get it better submerged next time.

2010-01-17 15.01.39.jpg


2010-01-17 15.01.55.jpg


2010-01-17 17.09.59sm.jpg


2010-01-17 17.10.10.jpg
 
I am looking for a way to filter my hop residue and cold break materials before I ferment. Presently, after cooling my wort in the kettle with my IMC, i am pouring from the kettle into a fermenting bucket.

Would the hop strainer in this thread work as a strainer for that type of transfer?

I am assuming I would need to add some sort of funnel to avoid losing an wort.

Any suggestions would be appreciated.
 
Why not get a very large paint straining bag, or an extra large bag from the homebrewstore, and then sanitize it. Line your primary bucket with it. Dump the wort in it. Lift out the bag. Done!
 
I guess that is pretty much what I was going for except I wanted to "have" to build something to get it done. I like the DIY part of this hobby and I haven't really had a chance to do much building.

I guess my larger question, was, would a paint straining work well enough to filter the cold break and the hop pellet remains, and your response seems to answer that.

Thanks.
 
I used to have this problem as well with straining out the trub. I used a large funnel hung in the middle of the primary bucket with a cheese cloth or a hop bag in the middle of the funnel. Just pour slowly and it should strain most of the cold break material out.

Good luck
 
You can make a pretty simple one just using U-clamps, wing nuts, and threaded rod:

P1050319.jpg


P1050321.jpg


I use 5 gallon paint strainers, lets the hops float around pretty freely in the boil. I can move the bag around to hit the rolling portions too, or slide to the side when I put in my IC.
 
I guess that is pretty much what I was going for except I wanted to "have" to build something to get it done. I like the DIY part of this hobby and I haven't really had a chance to do much building.

I guess my larger question, was, would a paint straining work well enough to filter the cold break and the hop pellet remains, and your response seems to answer that.

Thanks.
Does your kettle have a bulkhead fitting with a valve? If so, just use Irish moss and then right after you drop in the IC, whirlpool by stirring it around vigorously. The Irish moss will cause solid matter to settle out much faster, and the whirlpool causes it to settle in a pile in the middle of the kettle.

And if you don't already have a valve installed at the base of your kettle, now you have a DIY project to undertake :) A dip tube to pull wort from the bottom corner of the kettle is also a good idea; I need to add one to mine. Possible project for this weekend...
 
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