Hop Stopper Question

[kdf]

Hey everyone, I am hoping to get a 60 qt pot for Christmas, or shortly thereafter.


I brew mostly IPA's and am looking at getting a hop stopper. I am not worried at how well it will work, but I am concerned about the cleaning of it.
There has to be some little bits that get through the mesh. How hard is it to clean it out?
Only having the one little opening in it it looks like it would take a while to clean really good.
Can any of you that use the HS comment on this please.
If you can post a picture of your HS after it has been used and cleaned a few times that would be great too.


Thanks,
Kevin

 

[Dude]

I've been using one for almost 2 years. I love it. I guarantee you--NOTHING will get through it. Not even pellet hops.

I clean it about once every 3 brew sessions. That involves taking it out ofthe kettle, and scrubbing it with a wire brush. You get some really weird protein deposits on teh inside of it that do indeed take a little work to get out if they are big chunks, but overall if oyu clean it every few brews it isn't bad.

I've said this before and I'll say it again--the Hop Stopper was the best 60 bucks I have spent in my brewery. I almost quit brewing before that because I was sick of having to strain that nasty hop sludge into my fermenter, and getting it everywhere but the fermenter.

I think in a few months I'm going to upgrade to the all stainless one.

 

[davidkrau]

I got the idea from Dude and bought one. I had trouble at first when I tried to use it with an immersion wort chiller. I switched to a counterflow and it works fantastically. I take it out each time, blast it with hot water, reinstall it and I'm back in business. I wouldn't brew without it. If anything happens to it I'll buy another one immediately.

 

[runhard]

Cleaning is simple, toss it in a pot with some PBW and heat to 180°F for 10 minutes or so and then remove and give it a blast with some water. Those things work great. Enjoy the new kettle and the hopstopper.

 

[user 4295]

The instructions that came with mine said that after cleaning to bake it in the oven at 350˚F for 20 minutes or so to make absolutely sure that is is dry. I do this every time I use it and have never had a problem.

Dude, when you do get the all stainless one make sure that the first time you tighten the nut down on the ferule that you really crank it as tight as you can get it. The stainless steel tubing is much harder than the copper and you really have to crank it down to get the ferule to crimp onto the tubing. If it isn't as tight as it needs to be the siphon will break as soon as the liquid level reaches the threads. Ask me how I found this out!

John

 

[Dude]

The instructions that came with mine said that after cleaning to bake it in the oven at 350˚F for 20 minutes or so to make absolutely sure that is is dry. I do this every time I use it and have never had a problem.

Dude, when you do get the all stainless one make sure that the first time you tighten the nut down on the ferule that you really crank it as tight as you can get it. The stainless steel tubing is much harder than the copper and you really have to crank it down to get the ferule to crimp onto the tubing. If it isn't as tight as it needs to be the siphon will break as soon as the liquid level reaches the threads. Ask me how I found this out!

John

Cool, thanks for the tip!!!