Any ideas to prevent blockages whirlpool

[warpy55]

Hi, I like hoppy beers and I would like to whirpool the wort after boiling. Attempts at this have led to blockages with the pump not pumping wort.
If I filter the outgoing outlet it would lead to blockage of the filter medium. Are there any strategies to achieve a whirpool of aroma and flavour hops?
My outlet is 12.7mm (1/2""). I am using a chugger pump.

 

[tdf]

I can whirlpool a heavily hopped beer in my grainfather. It has a filter on the outlet that looks like this:

No problem with blockage or slow flow. You get a lot of hop matter built up against the filter but it still flows just fine.

 

[BeerHolic]

BIAB ?

 

[day_trippr]

When I'm post-boil whirlpooling with many ounces of pellet hops in the kettle "commando style" if I run my march 815pl wide open it will eventually suck in a clog of hops that knocks the impeller free of its magnetic coupling, forcing me to shut off the pump motor, wait until everything inside stops spinning, then turn the pump motor back on with the output valve maybe 30% closed. For whatever reason I can run the pump at that setting indefinitely but if I turn the valve wide open again the impeller will eventually decouple again...

Cheers!

 

[Broken Crow]

How large a filter is in your kettle? A lot of folk use the Hop Stopper;

Hop Stopper

Extract every last drop of wort, save time, and maximize hop flavour! Stop using inefficient bags, tea balls, or hop spiders in your boil kettle as they limit hop utilization - let your hops roam free! The Hop Stopper 2.0 maximizes hop and hot/cold break filtration while saving time. No after...

shop.theelectricbrewery.com

I use an oversized filter I made:

 

[cactusgarrett]

I bag as many hop additions I can to prevent my Brewzilla clogging. On the hoppier beers I'll sometimes have 3 bags going, but will often just throw upwards of 3oz loose pellets in "naked" to whirlpool once the pump is running wide open. I also employ a drain strainer on the inlet of the pump inlet.

 

[sibelman]

Are you using whole hops, @warpy55 ? I haven't seen clogging with pellet hops and the chugger head. Some kind of filter (or false bottom) could be your fix.

 

[bwible]

HopBlocker™

The HopBlocker™ offers a 95% efficiency on pellet hops and is virtually impervious to plugging! PLEASE NOTE: The HopBlocker™ is designed for use with pellet hops only. Whole/loose hops will plug the unit. While using whole hops, or a mix of whole and pellet hops, you must bag your whole hops in...

www.blichmannengineering.com

 

[day_trippr]

The instructions for the HopBlocker focus on post-boil lautering and make it seem incompatible with constant recirculation through it. I would say the same thing for the Electric Brewery's HopStopper as I've owned both Gen 1 and Gen 2 and they are quite useless for recirculation.

Between that point and others (primarily, a gas fire kettle) I added a dedicated "recirculation port" to my kettle and only switch in the HopStopper after the wort is cooled and ready to lauter. In that fashion it works great, just have to keep the pump throttled a bit as mentioned earlier...

Cheers!

 

[bwible]

The instructions for the HopBlocker focus on post-boil lautering and make it seem incompatible with constant recirculation through it. I would say the same thing for the Electric Brewery's HopStopper as I've owned both Gen 1 and Gen 2 and they are quite useless for recirculation.

Between that point and others (primarily, a gas fire kettle) I added a dedicated "recirculation port" to my kettle and only switch in the HopStopper after the wort is cooled and ready to lauter. In that fashion it works great, just have to keep the pump throttled a bit as mentioned earlier...

Cheers!

I don’t own one so I don’t know. Just one of those products I was aware of

 

[Bobby_M]

I've never had a problem whirlpooling up to 10oz of hops. Is your pickup right against the kettle wall? It definitely helps to get it spinning first, then add a little at a time to allow the pellets to break down.

 

[hottpeper13]

I put the pellets in a 4 cup measure and dip and swirl so a slurry is added and no stuck pump.