Hop Stopper and IC Chiller

[StankAle]

I have a MegaPot with a weld-B-gone fitting and ball valve. I have been having trouble with getting all my precious wort out of the kettle while leaving behind the cold break sludge. As of now I lose about a gallon of wort which is unacceptable.
I was just about to pull the trigger on a hopstopper but I realized that my Immersion wort Chiller will have problems sitting in the kettle with the hopstopper installed. The copper tubing in the stopper will potentially bend with the chiller resting on it.
Anyone out there have any advice or workaround ideas?
I do not want to use a Counterflow chiller if I can help it.
Thanks!!
Dustin

 

[SuperiorBrew]

You should be fine, you could even rest the IC on the compression fitting so it dosnt rest right on the copper. or you could pay the extra$ and get the ass SS version that would be much stiffer and not bend from the weight of you IC

 

[AdIn]

Look at it from other point of view - you can use this 1g left over wort to prime your beer and do starters later. Just adjust your recipe and volume to count for the loss.

 

[Bobby_M]

I'm afraid to tell you that your hopstopper will not work with an IC. It will clog solid with hop sludge and cold break. The cold break is the real problem.

If you want to use an IC, you'll need to whirlpool and let it settle. Then have your drain dip tube go off to the side of the keg, just where it starts dipping down into that concave.

You can use the hopstopper with an external exchanger though, CFC or plate and works best with a mix of pellet and whole hops.

 

[StankAle]

I'm afraid to tell you that your hopstopper will not work with an IC. It will clog solid with hop sludge and cold break. The cold break is the real problem.

If you want to use an IC, you'll need to whirlpool and let it settle. Then have your drain dip tube go off to the side of the keg, just where it starts dipping down into that concave.

You can use the hopstopper with an external exchanger though, CFC or plate and works best with a mix of pellet and whole hops.

Wow I thought that this was what the Hopstopper was specifically designed for. It is of no use to me if I cannot chill my wort before transferring it out of the kettle. It looks like I will have to modify my procedures to account for the 1 gallon loss. Kinda sad really.
Thanks everyone for the help.

 

[olllllo]

If you email Dennis at his site, he can break down your options for the hopstopper.

I'd at least get his input.
You'll find him to be responsive and forthcoming.

 

[StankAle]

If you email Dennis at his site, he can break down your options for the hopstopper.

I'd at least get his input.
You'll find him to be responsive and forthcoming.

I just sent him an email.

 

[AdIn]

I'm afraid to tell you that your hopstopper will not work with an IC. It will clog solid with hop sludge and cold break. The cold break is the real problem.

If you want to use an IC, you'll need to whirlpool and let it settle. Then have your drain dip tube go off to the side of the keg, just where it starts dipping down into that concave.

You can use the hopstopper with an external exchanger though, CFC or plate and works best with a mix of pellet and whole hops.

I would not completely agree with this statement. I depends on the how fine is your stopping mesh and how big is the filtering surface. But, definitely, it slows down draining.

 

[tnlandsailor]

The issue with immersion chillers and the Hop Stopper is a bit overblown. I can tell you honestly, returns on the Hop Stopper are rare. There are dozens of homebrewers successfully using immersion chillers with their Hop Stoppers with no problems. I work with each customer to try and resolve any and all problems and in the few instances where things couldn't be worked out, all money was refunded.

I will gladly accept and personally answer all inquiries regarding this.

[email protected]

 

[Bobby_M]

I would not completely agree with this statement. I depends on the how fine is your stopping mesh and how big is the filtering surface. But, definitely, it slows down draining.

The hopstopper(tm) is a product by ihomebrewsolutions as mentioned above and there's only one mesh size (and surface area)available that I know of. I don't mean to step on this product but it's just a fact that a moderate to high pellet hop bill plus all that cold break in a 10 gallon batch is just problematic. It's exagerated when you use a pump because the sediment compacts more quickly. You can do things like mix some whole hops into your bill to create a more open filter bed but there's no perfect solution.

I've found that using a large hop bag is a better solution (my opinion only of course). If you can always mix pellet and whole hops on each batch and use an external exhanger, it's the best use of the hopstopper as far as I can tell.

 

[ScubaSteve]

search "Lil' Sparky is tha man". Not to put down the hopstopper, but this has been a great DIY solution.

 

[StankAle]

Scuba Steve:
I already use a nylon hop bag for my hops. I will primarily use the hop stopper as a "cold break filter" to get the precious last gallon of wort from my Megapot via the ball valve. I would like to be able to simply toss my pellets into the boil, but if using a hop bag for the hops and the hopstopper for the cold break will give me that last gallon of wort I will do that.

 

[Chad]

Bobby, I wonder if the issue is worse with 10 gallon batches. I have a HopStopper installed and haven't had any issues using it with an immersion chiller. Granted, I haven't done many brews with this particular combo yet, but it seems fine so far.

Chad

 

[Bobby_M]

It's probably a combination of things. When you go to 10 gallons, you effectively double the hop and cold break amounts and the surface area of the screen stays the same. Then there's the varience in hop bills too. A simple blonde has like 1.5 oz of hops total and the low gravity means slightly lower trub in general.

 

[ScubaSteve]

Scuba Steve:
I already use a nylon hop bag for my hops. I will primarily use the hop stopper as a "cold break filter" to get the precious last gallon of wort from my Megapot via the ball valve. I would like to be able to simply toss my pellets into the boil, but if using a hop bag for the hops and the hopstopper for the cold break will give me that last gallon of wort I will do that.

I like to pull the nylon bag out when I begin to chill. Then, I'll either recirculate with a march pump or manually stir with my spoon (depends on how lazy I feel). This accelerates the cooling big time. When I'm at temp, I just pull the IC, place it in a bucket to the side, and use a sanitized spoon to get a STRONG whirlpool. Leave that to settle for 20 mins, and the wort going to the fermenter is crystal clear. I also like to put my output hose into another sanitized hop bag as it goes into the fermenter. That catches a fair amount of sediment, and I'm not committed to it being on the inside of my kettle (and being forced to muck around with the sterile wort). If it clogs, I stop the flow and wash out the bag in star-san. I usually only end up with a half inch or so of trub after fermentation, which is mostly yeast. As far as I can tell, there's negatable hop matter and cold break making it thru. Crash cooling is also great. That'll make up for anything that does make it through, and your beer will be crystal clear.

 

[budbo]

I used an IC with my hopstopper for months before I got a CFC, never had any issues.

 

[Bobby_M]

10 gallons?