BIABasket with hop spiders

[Earthson]

Hey Guys. Ok, crazy idea here. Someone tell me if I'm out of my mind. I'm thinking of brewing a 5 gallon all-grain batch in a 10 gallon aluminum pot, with 3 hop spiders.

Reason: I'm currently using a mesh bag, and want to go to a mesh basket. The mesh BIABasket options here in Canada don't work because they are all too tall. My pot is 14 inches tall, and about the same in diameter. I could have one custom built, but I'm way too cheap for that BS.

Idea: The hop spider I just bought from amazon is 6 inches in diameter, and 14 inches tall. I'm thinking I could pick up two more, for a total of three. I'm thinking my grain bill will split fairly well between them.

So, thoughts? Concerns? Think it is ridiculous? Let me know.

 

[jdudek]

One thing that comes to mind is that you'll have your grain less spread out and therefore more stacked vertically. I imagine this will compact the grain more within each spider. Between the compacted grain and the very fine mesh, i imagine the water flow and grain exposure to water will be reduced significantly. i would think about 40-50% of the water will spend most of its time outside the baskets (what is the kettle diameter?). Also i think temperatures may end being very different inside and outside the baskets. All this I would guess will lead to significant efficiency drop.

all guesses though... maybe give it a try and see what you get!

 

[wepeeler]

It will take FOREVER for the wort to drain through the basket. I bought a hop spider and it was terrible for hops. Can't imagine trying it for grain...