Clogged pump

[kdbentz]

I just got done brewing a batch that was to be the first one cooled using my new pump and plate chiller. It did not go as planned. My pump clogged up immediately with hops and after unassembling it, unclogging it, reassembling it and deciding that it was no longer sanitary, I reboiled my wart and cooled it with my immersion coil as I always have.
Any hints on how to keep this from happening in the future? Guess I could use hop socks in the boil?

 

[microbusbrewery]

What pump are you using? My March 809 will pass whole hop cones without clogging. Are you sure it wasn't the plate chiller that clogged?

Hop spiders work well. I use one along with my hop/trub filter (http://www.brewershardware.com/FILTER1.html) on my whirlpool setup. I bought the filter before I'd seen the hop spiders, so you don't really need both....a good hop spider should do the trick. The only exception is if you're like me and you forget to put the hops in the spider....it's nice to have the inline filter as well.

 

[kdbentz]

I am using the march 809HS. It is an older pump but I was still suprised it clogged up. The inlet and outlet themselves did not plug but rather the hops got snashed around and wrapped aroundbthe impeller. I will look into a hop spider and see if that may be a solution. Thanks.

 

[GilaMinumBeer]

Hop spiders work. I never cared for them tho. Never could get the bag clean enough for my liking.

There are now some stainless steel baskets available that are nice.

Personally, the solution I latched onto was a grant filled with rice hulls. I'd gravity feed into the grant and then pull from that to push through my plate chiller. I'd allow that to recirculate until the batch was cool enough for a single oxygenated pass into a pre-pitched fermenter. Loved that set-up. Despite a few extra parts to clean.

 

[kdbentz]

What might be the benefits of a stainless strainer or a hop spider over simple old fashioned disposable hop socks? Seems to me like just another thing to clean.

 

[GilaMinumBeer]

What might be the benefits of a stainless strainer or a hop spider over simple old fashioned disposable hop socks? Seems to me like just another thing to clean.

Re-use. Reduced waste to landfill.