Brewed a Bohemian Pilsener yesterday, and it did not go smoothly. It was my first brew with my new Hop Stopper. I spent a good 10 minutes trying to get the coupling adjusted so that it would actually hold onto the pickup tube snugly. Then during draining, no one had told me that you have to slow the flow waaaaay down once the screen becomes exposed, and I lost prime in my pump. I couldn't get it restarted and assumed the pickup tube had become plugged. I left at least a gallon of beer behind in the boil kettle.
Then I learned what a nightmare that thing is to try and clean. I spent 15 minutes or so running water over it, scrubbing it with a scrub brush and tooth brush, even removing the pickup tube from the screen to try and get all the trub and hop matter out, but at some point, I had to just say "good enough." There's still gunk stuck in the creases of the screen.
Then I accidentally dumped my stir bar down the drain while cleaning my flask.
The good news is, I got my wort chilled down nice and low (45° F) within 5 minutes, and the yeast didn't waste any time getting to work.
I'm still optimistic about the Hop Stopper, but at the moment, that thing is on probation. I've got to figure out its proper care and feeding.