Hop Stopper first use = not happy

[julian81]

So, I recently received my Hop Stopper from Dennis (Innovative Homebrew Solutions) and brewed with it today. I am not happy.

I brewed a Stone IRS clone. I did a 90 min boil and only used 1.6oz of Warrior pellets @ 90min and a whirlfloc tablet at 13 mins. As soon as the boil was done, I killed the flame, and had already hooked up my tubing to the pump -> therminator. I opened the valve on my kettle, primed the pump, turned the pump on, and out came the perfectly cooled wort (this was my first time using my therminator so it was super cool to see in action). Unfortunately as soon as it got to just under the opening where the dip tube connects to the kettle, it stopped the flow and I couldn't get it going again. As such, I had to stop the pump, and rig up a funnel + paint strainer and just pour the remainder HOT wort directly into my carboy. It's now been sitting for a few hours in my chest freezer trying to get down to pitching temps.

What did I do wrong? I did a test run with water yesterday and it drained within 8oz of my kettle which was awesome....but apparently 1.6oz is enough to clog and stop the Hop Stopper. It's supposed to be able to handle over 26oz so wtf?

Does anyone else have a Hop Stopper and mind commenting? Is there a particular trick to make this not happen? I've emailed Dennis, so hopefully he has some feedback, but I'm not very pleased. After reading all the great reviews on this site and the electricbrewery website, I was stoked to get this. It did a great job of filtering until it clogged, but clogging before I've drained my kettle is completely unacceptable.

Please help!

--julian

 

[samc]

Whirlfloc creates a lot of break material, the wire mesh gets clogged with break & hop pellet gunk. I built one of the Hop Stopper like devices and used it once before tossing into the scrap pile. I use a false bottom (leaf hops) and a fine mesh bag for pellets, zero clog issues.

 

[julian81]

Hrm, yeah but whirlfloc/irish moss is kind of a common thing to add to beers. I would have assumed that with this addition clogging wouldn't be an issue as compared to the 26oz hop test that the Hop Stopper went through. Also, I'm not confident it would have worked without the whirlfloc...

But yeah, I'm not so happy with this thing. I'm leaning towards either trying the Blichmann Hop Blocker and/or the Blichmann flase bottom with nylon mesh bags for my hops (does that affect your utilization?)

Do you use a false bottom when using pellet hops too as an added filter or only for leaf hops?

Thanks for the reply!

 

[samc]

I use the FB for all hops, now since I've switched to BIAB the FB keeps the bag off the heating element. I mostly use leaf hops but when I do use pellets I've not noticed any hop utilization issues.

 

[bruin_ale]

sounds like you lost siphon.. are you sure the spot where your diptube connects to the kettle is airtight?

 

[julian81]

sounds like you lost siphon.. are you sure the spot where your diptube connects to the kettle is airtight?

Well I connected the metal ring that came with the blichmann diptube to the end of the Hop Stopper tube (same size) and slid it in...so I'm fairly certain it was...although maybe not. The weight of the Hop Stopper did pull it down a bit....do you think this was the cause? How would I fix this?

EDIT: scratch all that. It's airtight even with it sagging down a bit, because I did a test yesterday with just water and it drained within 8oz.

 

[wildwest450]

Were you recirculating? That's a no no if you are. The cold break will plug it up. I've been using mine and it works well. It also helps not to drain wide open if possible.


_

 

[julian81]

Were you recirculating? That's a no no if you are. The cold break will plug it up. I've been using mine and it works well. It also helps not to drain wide open if possible.


_

I was draining with the valve on my kettle wide open, but regulating the flow via the valve on the pump outlet. Also, I was not recirculating. I just killed the flame, opened the valve and started chilling immediately.

 

[bruin_ale]

EDIT: scratch all that. It's airtight even with it sagging down a bit, because I did a test yesterday with just water and it drained within 8oz.

That's not necessarily true.. even if it's not airtight it can continue draining, but once you put some restriction on it (ie. a bunch of pellet hops), the loss of siphon becomes too much and it won't drain anymore.

 

[samc]

It's going to be obvious if you look at the hop stopper and all the pores of the mesh are clogged then you know what happened. If they are not clogged then I could agree with the loss of siphon or other issues.

 

[julian81]

It's going to be obvious if you look at the hop stopper and all the pores of the mesh are clogged then you know what happened. If they are not clogged then I could agree with the loss of siphon or other issues.

Yup, pretty much all the pores were clogged. Apparently it should still let liquid through though. I watched a video where it drained through hops caked on over 2" thick over the hop stopper...

 

[milldoggy]

You need to slow the output out of the pump to almost nothing from what I read

 

[julian81]

You need to slow the output out of the pump to almost nothing from what I read

No, that's not right, then the flow is TOO SLOW and it cools it way too much. I read that the water flow has to be full, and you regulate the wort flow only. If I have a minimal flow going it cools it way too efficiently, I need to send it through faster...

Seriously, how are other people filtering their hops before going into a plate chiller? I mean directly from the kettle. There's GOT to be a better way that actually works...

 

[Newbeerguy]

No, that's not right, then the flow is TOO SLOW and it cools it way too much. I read that the water flow has to be full, and you regulate the wort flow only. If I have a minimal flow going it cools it way too efficiently, I need to send it through faster...

Seriously, how are other people filtering their hops before going into a plate chiller? I mean directly from the kettle. There's GOT to be a better way that actually works...

Well it's only going to chill to the temp of the water at best. Yes, the water should be full blast and you regulate the wort speed into the chiller....as for filtering I use muslin hop bags in the BK. I also use Whirlfloc and never had a problem with clogging. Have you tried using muslin hop bags?

 

[julian81]

Well it's only going to chill to the temp of the water at best. Yes, the water should be full blast and you regulate the wort speed into the chiller....as for filtering I use muslin hop bags in the BK. I also use Whirlfloc and never had a problem with clogging. Have you tried using muslin hop bags?

Not in the boil, but I have for dry hopping. The whole point of the hop stopper though is to not have to use hop bags, muslin or nylon mesh or whatever, and just allow the hops to circulate freely in the boil. If I'm going to use hop bags, I don't really need the hop stopper and it's a waste of money. Ideally I'd like to figure out why it failed to drain all the way.

 

[emjay]

No, that's not right, then the flow is TOO SLOW and it cools it way too much. I read that the water flow has to be full, and you regulate the wort flow only. If I have a minimal flow going it cools it way too efficiently, I need to send it through faster...

Seriously, how are other people filtering their hops before going into a plate chiller? I mean directly from the kettle. There's GOT to be a better way that actually works...

Well, I wouldn't just say "that's not right" like you just did, because the fact is, he's actually pretty correct. The more suction you apply to the wort, the more likely it is to get plugged. This is actually the exact same thing that often causes stuck sparges. I don't know where you heard that the water flow can't be adjusted - it most certainly can, or else plate chillers would rarely ever even work, since everybody has a different flow rate coming out of their faucet. It needs to be sufficient to remain turbulent, but it can still be dialed down a bit. And if you're chilling with an actual faucet, you can bump up the water temp a bit instead to achieve the same effect.

Since you have a pump, you can also chill while recirculating the wort instead of chilling while transferring to the fermenter, allowing you reduce wort flow while maintaining maximum water flow, and simply turning off the water completely once the wort in the kettle reaches pitching temp, at which point you can just pump the already-cooled wort out of the kettle, while keeping it at a reduced flow. And if you experiment a bit with the angle the wort recirculates back into the kettle at, you can create a nice whirlpool resulting in a trub cone far better than people are able to achieve by stirring.

If none of that sounds like it's worth trying, I use the Blichmann Hop Blocker and have never had an issue. The two-stage design is pretty brilliant IMO.

I've actually modeled most of my setup after The Electric Brewery so far, with the two main differences being that I instead went with the Blichmann Hop Blocker (obviously), which wasn't even out when Kal built his system, but it seemed like a fantastic design to me (and now I can confirm that!)1, as well as the Blichmann Therminator instead of the counterflow chiller he uses, since his particular concerns with it seemed trivial, I can cool more quickly with it, and it takes up so little space that I can even boil it if I want. Oh, and I live in Canada (though so does he) and got them both on sale 10% off, so they ended up being cheaper than ordering + shipping his particular choices from their American retailers (since they're both custom items), and being able to get the Blichmann stuff for cheaper totally clinched it for me.

 

[julian81]

Thanks emjay.

I've never had a stuck sparge and I use the same method. As soon as my mash is done, I open the valve slowly, until it's full bore and then I regulate the flow via the pump outlet valve. Never had an issue 10 brews later...including this one. I did the same when it came to draining the kettle after the boil, but it failed me.

I guess I will try the hop stopper again with the same brew, and try throttling the kettle valve down instead of opening it full bore. I gotta say I'm really not that confident it will change anything and I'm not looking forward to having to "fix" it like I did today. It extended my brew day by about 3-4hours just waiting for the carboy to cool until I could pitch.

I'm leaning towards purchasing the Blichmann Hop Blocker to be honest, especially after your comment above.

 

[julian81]

Are you guys that are using the Hop Stopper getting both sides caked up with debris?

This is what mine looked like on the top and bottom after I had drained the remaining wort manually.

http://img846.imageshack.us/img846/2479/hopstoppertop.jpg
http://img862.imageshack.us/img862/8671/hopstopperbottom.jpg

 

[ScubaSteve]

I use the FB for all hops, now since I've switched to BIAB the FB keeps the bag off the heating element. I mostly use leaf hops but when I do use pellets I've not noticed any hop utilization issues.

I looked around in your posts, but can't find a pic of your FB. Does it just sit right over the element? And....did you DIY?

 

[samc]

I looked around in your posts, but can't find a pic of your FB. Does it just sit right over the element? And....did you DIY?

from MoreBeer, only DIY was to cut the inside leg to allow room to fit over the element.

 

[milldoggy]

I don't use a hop stopper, I use a hop spider. On my forth batch with a kal clone and no problems. I even recirc till 70, then I transfer into the carboy at full tilt on my chuggers.

 

[ElevenBrewCo]

I use a metal scrunchie. Does wonders for 2 bucks!

 

[julian81]

I use a metal scrunchie. Does wonders for 2 bucks!

covering the dip tube? it doesn't clog up?

 

[bruin_ale]

covering the dip tube? it doesn't clog up?

That'll work for leaf hops, but not for pellets.

 

[ElevenBrewCo]

That'll work for leaf hops, but not for pellets.

I works fine with pellet hops. Ive haf no issues with it at all.

 

[bruin_ale]

I works fine with pellet hops. Ive haf no issues with it at all.

interesting.. do most of the pellets make it through into the fermenter? I had mine clog using just leaf hops, so abandoned the scrubby after one or two uses.

 

[brewtime]

sounds like you lost siphon.. are you sure the spot where your diptube connects to the kettle is airtight?

Sound like the issue may be here make sure that fitting is tight as can be

 

[julian81]

Sound like the issue may be here make sure that fitting is tight as can be

Well I ran a test with water the day before, and it worked no problem, drained to within 8oz remaining in the kettle.

Then again there was no hops and debris weighing it down, and the diptube is a bit too long for my kettle so it's kind of a forceful process getting the hop stopper into my Blichmann 10 gal...which also means the hop stopper isn't centered. But still, this all worked with water.

I'm going to try cutting the dip tube so that I can center the hop stopper in the kettle easier, hopefully then it will be 1) centered and 2) keep the hop stopper from sagging down, and possibly causing me to not have an airtight seal, losing siphon.

I'm going to try this first before returning it for the Hop Blocker. I'm not sure what else I can do...failing that, it simply is clogging and not working as advertised.

 

[ElevenBrewCo]

interesting.. do most of the pellets make it through into the fermenter? I had mine clog using just leaf hops, so abandoned the scrubby after one or two uses.

None do. I mean dont get me wrong it does cover the hole scrunchy with hop residue. I have half inch lines with a chugger pump and i never lose suction

 

[julian81]

None do. I mean dont get me wrong it does cover the hole scrunchy with hop residue. I have half inch lines with a chugger pump and i never lose suction

Are you using a Blichmann kettle by any chance? I'm curious to know whether this might work for me on the blichmann dip tube. I'm also using 1/2" silicone tubing and a March pump...