Does a ball valve on boil kettle really make transfers easier?

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Zymurgrafi

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It seems like a great idea, but it also seems a complicated affair at the same time. I have been thinking about getting a weldless set-up for my keggle but I have some reservations. Right now I am siphoning and I guess I have decided it is not that bad. Other than troubles keeping the siphon going at times, flow rate and clogging...


The idea of just opening the ball valve and draining into my carboy seems so easy. Then when I start reading about the MANY set-ups folks have created it seems there are a whole new slew of problems to overcome with this method. Namely filtering out trub and hops and clogging, flow rate issues and siphon issues!!!

So I guess what I am wondering is if I go with a valve am I really just trading one set of headaches (siphoning issues) for a new set of problems.

Is it worth the money?
 
I've also been struggling with this issue but have decided to go with a valve because I'm changing over to a CFC and I feel like I can have more control. I've also purchased a false bottom for my keggle, I'm not shure how that will work I'm thinking that I'll have to switch to plugs or whole hops because I like to throw everything in loose.
 
IMO it really comes down to personal preferrence. IMO a valved kettle for five gallon batches is somewhat optional, as one can merely lift the chilled pot, and pour or siphon to the fermenter.

As you move on to larger batches, A valved kettle becomes more of a requirement.
 
I threw a valve on my kettle recently (all parts from lowes/depot..if you search online you can find parts lists) because I have moved over to a gravity feed -> plate chiller arrangement and didn't like the idea of siphoning into the chiller. I also added a braid on the end of the pickup tube to act as a hop filter and it works great for leaf hops so far.

Previously I used an IC and siphoned into my carboy through a strainer to filter out hops/break and that worked just fine too...The valve is easier I suppose but siphoning isn't that hard or anything.
 
my turkey fryer came with a shutoff valve. i have also done hops additions both ways in bags and loose. if you whirlpool well after your cool and give it a few to settle most hops/trub settles out and the siphon/valve doesn't clog. i do like using the valve because once its draining you don't need to watch closely and you can get some cleaning up done
 
Yeah, I suppose describing my setup would help determine if it is worth it or not for me.

I have a converted keg for BK. I use an immersion chiller. I do both 10 gallon batches and 5 gallon batches with it depending on what I am brewing. I also have my former kettle which is an 8.5 gallon that I use for an "HLT". Well that was the plan, but really I just use it to heat the water then I scoop or dump the water into the MLT. I had considered a ball valve for it too but it does not seem worth it somehow since I batch sparge.

I have used mainly pellet hops though this is changing now that I grow my own hops. I do not use hop bags. I have tried whirlpooling but it never seems to work. I have let it settle for up to 45 minutes and it still does not form that nice cone in the center. In fact it does not even seem to settle!

Lately I have been brewing more malty beers so there is less hop matter, however I do make the occasional "hop bomb" or barley wine.
 
I converted my kettle to a ball valve & bazooka filter. A major improvement IMO.
 
I put one in recently and hard pipe it into the carboy. Much easier than dumping or siphoning and gives some nice oxygen to the wort in the process. Of course, it helps to work in a beverage plant where piping is available for me to have :)

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The copper tube shaped like a cane just hangs on the edge of the kettle and draws wort from the bottom. I tried just using tubing but heat softened it and it kept sucking on the side of the kettle, then the suction flattened the tubing, it was a mess.

The wort travels through the tubing to my CFC, then through the pump, and back into the kettle until the whole batch is below 140. It takes less than 5 minutes and the threat of DMS is neutralized. That's something you can't do without a pump (recirculate I mean). Then I use the pump to transfer the whole volume through the chiller into the fermenter.

My pump is self-priming which saved me the need to port my kettle. On the other hand, self priming meant that it could only handle cooled liquids, so it has to be downstream of the chiller.
 
It completely depends on what chiller you choose. If you use an IC, you'll be fine without a valve. I suppose you could use an autosiphon with a CFC or plate, but it might be tricky. Most people have had good results with weldless valves. I say go for it.
 
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