Hop spider clogging issue.

[jmassey9]

Hello all. Got a pump/chiller setup a while back and before too long the chiller started getting clogged on high hop volume batches. So I bought a 6x10 stainless 300micron hop spider. First batch had clogging issues, pulled out of wort and the hop spider just held the wort(clogged), had to scrape sides to loosen, took ten minutes to drain. Used a variety of hops.

Fast forward to yesterday. After one batch of clogging issues I thought I would take out hop spider at knockout, dump/sanitize, then insert for my hop stand additions. My only boil addition was .5 ounces of mosaic at 15 minutes. Pulled out at knockout, CLOGGED WITH .5 OUNCES. What's going on????

I'm under the impression that this may be a protein issue? Let me tell you why. Clogged with .5 ounces in scenario above. After I got the batch down to 170 for my last hop stand, I dumped/scraped/cleaned again and put back in BK, fresh. At this point I believe most of the protein had fallen out because I then dumped 3 ounces of mosaic in there, ran my recirculating back into the hop spider which people say don't do because it will clog, AND I HAD NO ISSUES WITH CLOGGING WHATSOEVER.

Hoping someone can help cure this headache.

 

[JLeuck64]

I am using a 300 micron hop basket and use it with both pellets and whole leaf hops. I have between a dozen and two dozen batches brewed now and I've noticed that it is starting to become clogged. Now I can honestly say that I clean the SCRAP out of that thing on brew day, then I run it through the dishwasher on the power scrub cycle with a sanitize cycle. Yet it still seems to be building up a... ring around it. Perhaps a stain from the hop trub and proteins... but the stain is apparent. I've noticed that the time it takes to drain the hop basket is taking longer as time marches on. So... am wondering, what to do about it also. Pressure washing? Soaking it in oxyclean? These baskets are billed as easy to clean yet... I am experiencing a drop off in the performance since I purchased.

 

[augiedoggy]

I throw mine in the BK with a pbw solution while recircing the pbw to clean in place..(pbw works better than oxy from my experiments) . That removes the buildup for me, at least whatever discoloration that cleaning in the sink with the kitchen faucet sprayer doesnt remove... I have no issues but Ive only used mine 50 times or so...

As far as clogging? it will clog the walls as it drains but not while brewing. I use a paddle and mix my hops in my spider while scraping the inside of the walls just in case but there is no real reason the hops would plug up the screen until the wort is being drained from the spider which is normal and expected... I've brewed over 50 brews with mine. I did go from the little 6x10 one to the larger sized one for better utilization and to hold more hops.

 

[pretzelb]

Wait, the chiller is clogging even if you use a hop spider? Are you trying to let it run full blast? Have you tried a whirlpool first then run through the chiller?

 

[Roadie]

Good luck with it. Every time I've tried recirculating back into the hop spider it's clogged so I recirculate into the boil kettle and don't worry about it.

 

[j1n]

the chiller started getting clogged

Your thread title and post is confusing people.

Try recirculating the wort first in a whirlpool then hook up the chiller.

 

[pretzelb]

Good luck with it. Every time I've tried recirculating back into the hop spider it's clogged so I recirculate into the boil kettle and don't worry about it.

If the OP is recirculating into the hop spider then that might be it. I've never heard of doing that.

 

[jmassey9]

As far as clogging? it will clog the walls as it drains but not while brewing. I use a paddle and mix my hops in my spider while scraping the inside of the walls just in case but there is no real reason the hops would plug up the screen until the wort is being drained from the spider which is normal and expected... I've brewed over 50 brews with mine. I did go from the little 6x10 one to the larger sized one for better utilization and to hold more hops.

That sounds like my issue. Obviously I only see or experience the hop spider clog when I try to pull the hop spider out. So you're saying that will happen every time? How do you hold it up fpr5-10 minutes while it drains??

 

[jmassey9]

Wait, the chiller is clogging even if you use a hop spider? Are you trying to let it run full blast? Have you tried a whirlpool first then run through the chiller?

No. Since using hop spider I get virtually no trub and no clogs in chiller. It's only the hop spider that I'm having issues with now.

 

[jmassey9]

If the OP is recirculating into the hop spider then that might be it. I've never heard of doing that.

So this is the interesting part.
-put spider into wort with 30 minutes left.
-added .5 oz at 15 minutes left.
-pulled spider out at knockout and it would not drain, clogged.
-cleaned and put back in with 1.5 ounces and started recirculating into spider. Clogged pretty quick and started to fill up.
-cleaned and put back in after temp had dropped to 170 for last hop stand. Dumped 3 ounces in spider and started recirculating into spider AND HAD NO CLOGS AT ALL FOR A 10 MINUTE RECIRCULATION.
-WTF??

When it clogs you can visually see the wort is not moving or bubbling in the spider and actually only reads 209-210.... Is this not an issue if I drain before transferring to fermenter?

 

[jmassey9]

Any other thoughts? Again my big problem is that the hop spider clogs when I pull it out. I also notice that even with a .5 ounce addition that the inside of the hop spider stops boiling and recirculating and only measures 209 during the boil. So obviously it appears that it's being clogged before I even pull it out. It seems like there's been a whole lot of hot break in the BK recently. Do I need to be boiling harder or softer or something to minimize? Again I think the protein is my big issue, not the hops.

 

[pretzelb]

I don't understand the problem or why you are pulling the hop spider. If the hops are contained in the spider then it is doing it's job. Unless you have a really small spider wort is still flowing around the hops. Hop bags end up looking like tea bags after a few minutes but they are still effective.

If your concern is having the hops float around ALL the wort then maybe invest in a hop blocker that only filters when trying to drain. But I guess I don't understand the issue.

 

[jmassey9]

This issue is that proteins are clogging the hop spider to where the wort is neither boiling or circulating in/out of the hop spider. Equates to loss in utilization and annoyance. Plus you need to remove it to whirlpool.... And when you remove it, it takes 5-10 minutes of hot wort splashing/dripping as it drains from the spider. This is what I'm trying to gather advice on.

 

[pretzelb]

I just can't imagine how a hop spider prevents wort from moving. I think it is moving but you can't see it. If you pull it up does it drain? If you then put it back does wort flow back in? If so then wort is flowing. For it to truly clog it would have to be very small and packed full of hops. Can you include a picture? That might help me understand.

 

[jmassey9]

If you pull it up does it drain? If you then put it back does wort flow back in?

No to both.... Like i said the whole spider becomes clogged with little to no hops....

 

[pretzelb]

Without a picture I can't help. What you describe is impossible to imagine given how all other hop spiders operate.

 

[augiedoggy]

That sounds like my issue. Obviously I only see or experience the hop spider clog when I try to pull the hop spider out. So you're saying that will happen every time? How do you hold it up fpr5-10 minutes while it drains??

um.... I leave mine in and drain the kettle instead.... why pull it out?

 

[augiedoggy]

Any other thoughts? Again my big problem is that the hop spider clogs when I pull it out. I also notice that even with a .5 ounce addition that the inside of the hop spider stops boiling and recirculating and only measures 209 during the boil. So obviously it appears that it's being clogged before I even pull it out. It seems like there's been a whole lot of hot break in the BK recently. Do I need to be boiling harder or softer or something to minimize? Again I think the protein is my big issue, not the hops.

You will never get boiling inside a hop spider... it just wont happen even when empty, nor does it need to.

Its not rocket science here... The hops break down into material thats larger than the holes in the screen so they drop to the bottom of the hop spider and sit there unless you keep them suspended with a stir now and again. Hops dont float.

 

[augiedoggy]

No to both.... Like i said the whole spider becomes clogged with little to no hops....

OK I think I see what you are saying.I had the same small hop spider you have before I upgraded to a bigger one and the issue you describing would happen if I used a lot of hops... I often srais my spider and dip it back down to "exchange" the liquid in the spider and let the hop oils out.... the smaller spider would plug if I had like 3 oz of hops in it... the larger spider prevented this issue for my.
once it is drained though pushing it back down would cause the liquid to rush in ...I dont buy that yours seals right up and doesnt allow liquid in... I simply used a flat edged paddle to scrap the inner sidewalls of my spider and the wort was flowing again.

BTW you are using PELLET hops right? thats what these are for...

 

[kombat]

I had similar issues to the OP, but not as severe. At knockout, I'd lift the hop screen out of the kettle and let it drain any wort, but it would only take a minute or two, not 5 - 10. During the boil, the liquid inside the hop screen was not boiling, but as others mentioned, that's a) simply physics, and b) irrelevant anyway.

Nevertheless, I was concerned about sacrificing hop utilization. The hops in the screen were saturated, but as they were "clumped" together, I was worried I wasn't getting all of the available hop resins from them, and I was losing bittering agents to the clump that remained in the hop screen after draining.

My solution was to ditch the hop screen altogether. I've noticed the same recipes are now coming out a little more bitter (which means I can use less hops now). However, there was still the matter of how to avoid clogging up my plate chiller. So I added a whirlpool port to my kettle. Problem solved.

 

[FreddyMar3]

I had the same problem as the OP even with a very large spider. On my new system, I'm switching to a bag style spider and using the extra long 28 inch muslin bags. I don't care if the fine particles get out. That's what whirlpooling is for.

 

[augiedoggy]

I had the same problem as the OP even with a very large spider. On my new system, I'm switching to a bag style spider and using the extra long 28 inch muslin bags. I don't care if the fine particles get out. That's what whirlpooling is for.

Then whats the point of the bags if it just goes through? Strange that you guys have issues and I as well as so many dont?
Is your whole basket/ spider submerged or just a small portion?

 

[augiedoggy]

I had similar issues to the OP, but not as severe. At knockout, I'd lift the hop screen out of the kettle and let it drain any wort, but it would only take a minute or two, not 5 - 10. During the boil, the liquid inside the hop screen was not boiling, but as others mentioned, that's a) simply physics, and b) irrelevant anyway.

Nevertheless, I was concerned about sacrificing hop utilization. The hops in the screen were saturated, but as they were "clumped" together, I was worried I wasn't getting all of the available hop resins from them, and I was losing bittering agents to the clump that remained in the hop screen after draining.

My solution was to ditch the hop screen altogether. I've noticed the same recipes are now coming out a little more bitter (which means I can use less hops now). However, there was still the matter of how to avoid clogging up my plate chiller. So I added a whirlpool port to my kettle. Problem solved.

I have a homemade stirrer and discovered it works well to keep my hops suspended inside of my hop spider so I dont have to manually stir them up. I have read that utilization suffers with any type of hop bag/spider vs just throwing them in but I too use a plate chiller

 

[FreddyMar3]

Then whats the point of the bags if it just goes through? Strange that you guys have issues and I as well as so many dont?
Is your whole basket/ spider submerged or just a small portion?

I find that the bags keep the majority of pellet material out and just about all of the leaf hops out while still getting really good wort transfer and agitation. The fine stuff that makes it's way through isn't a concern for me.

The 300 micron SS screen always got clogged up with break material no matter what I did. I'd have to scrape the sides with my spoon for 10 minutes if I wanted to salvage the wort inside.

I wonder if a larger micron opening would solve the problem...

 

[pretzelb]

I wonder if a larger micron opening would solve the problem...

I assume that hop bags are less fluid than any micron SS mesh. Since most hop bags are also smaller than a typical SS spider, I'm not sure how they can be less of an issue. Unless the SS mesh spider was very small to begin with.

 

[pretzelb]

One thing to consider is a different solution. Kal from the electric brewery says the hop blocker works well. Same SS mesh but it just guards the exit port. He has a picture of a huge DIPA that was no problem. The picture shows an empty kettle with a huge pile of hops covering the blocker.

 

[FreddyMar3]

One thing to consider is a different solution. Kal from the electric brewery says the hop blocker works well. Same SS mesh but it just guards the exit port. He has a picture of a huge DIPA that was no problem. The picture shows an empty kettle with a huge pile of hops covering the blocker.

I considered that approach, but as an eBIAB brewer with a stainless basket that takes up all of the kettle space above the eleemnt, it wasn't an issue for me. If I were a non-biab brewer, I would definitely go that route.

 

[beernutz]

Good luck with it. Every time I've tried recirculating back into the hop spider it's clogged so I recirculate into the boil kettle and don't worry about it.

Ditto when using my stainless 300 micron spider. I have tried cleaning it out mid brew and it still seems to get clogged. YMMV

 

[pretzelb]

I considered that approach, but as an eBIAB brewer with a stainless basket that takes up all of the kettle space above the eleemnt, it wasn't an issue for me. If I were a non-biab brewer, I would definitely go that route.

Are you using one basket for grains and another for hops?

 

[FreddyMar3]

Basket for grains. Drain and remove, add spider for hops. View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1446842030.606374.jpg