hop strainer for keggle

I have a pretty standard keggle setup with 1/2 in diameter dip tube. Recently purchased a plate chiller which is the bomb but plugs up from pellet hops (which is damn near all you can get lately), anyone have good ideas for a strainer/ diverter. I would think a screen type deal would probably plug too.

Any thoughts, pics???

Do a search for HOP STOPPER. That should bring up some good threads on DIY and commercial available options for you. I desperately need to make one myself sooner than later. I don't like clogging!

Hop Stopper

I've thrown 11oz of pellets at it with no problems. Also did 10.5oz pellets with 4oz plugs before too. No worries about utilization compared to a hop bag.

I use a combination of a stainless steel scrubby
Royal Paper Stainless Scrubber Sponge)

and also the PVC/5 gallon paint strainer bag hop bag system
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f11/lil-sparky-tha-man-40738/index3.html#post618265

No issues at all with my CFC

HopStopper is nice unless you are making an IPA with pellet hops and using an immersion chiller (cold break)

conpewter said:

HopStopper is nice unless you are making an IPA with pellet hops and using an immersion chiller (cold break)

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Since the OP stated he was using a plate chiller that's just simply not a valid argument in this thread!

Wasn't an argument, stated that a hopstopper is nice. Either way works, just look at Revvy's signature, I think this vs. is in there...

How easy is it to clean a hop stopper?

I wonder the same thing....I just built one and I wonder how much it's gonna suck getting all the hop particles sprayed off. I wonder how it would work if you spray off the main sludge and just stick it in the dishwasher?

I use bazooka filters, which occasionally clog if I use a lot of bittering pellets. I just hose them off in the sink, then put them through the dishwasher for the next run.

conpewter said:

How easy is it to clean a hop stopper?

Click to expand...

The Hopstopper guy has been helpful answering questions I've had about his product:

[email protected]

Look at BobbyM's website, he shows how he made one at a fraction of the cost of the commercial hopstopper.

It cleans ok. After brewing, it's removed and rinsed off in the sink. Then a toothbrush is used to get the pellet hops out of the crevices. Then put it in the oven with my MLT steam/drain manifold to dry them out so mold doesn't grow. 400F for 15 min.

steam/drain manifold

dstar26t said:

Hop Stopper

I've thrown 11oz of pellets at it with no problems. Also did 10.5oz pellets with 4oz plugs before too. No worries about utilization compared to a hop bag.

Click to expand...

I'd like to see instructions on how to build that... ?

I tried the hop stopper and found that it clogged when using even a few ounces of pellets. (In their defence, they accepted a return without any hassles) The solution was to use my old stainless steel bottom from my first 5-gal mash tun. This only works with leaf hops, but it works great and never gets clogged!

Greg

I should add that I use a march pump to pull the hopped wort from the keggle. The wort then goes through a cfc.

planenut said:

I'd like to see instructions on how to build that... ?

Click to expand...

Search "diy hop stopper" there are a couple threads on how to do this yourself.