I've been having problems getting good flow from my flat-bottomed kettle into my pump and out the recirculating arm when I try to do a whirlpool. Whenever I've had substantial late hop additions, I've found that my disconnects are pretty well gummed up with hop sludge. Yesterday I couldn't even drain the kettle from the outlet valve because it, too, was clogged with hops.
I am currently not doing anything to keep hop debris out of my pump and hoses, and I need to start. A search of this forum and others has given me a list of things to try:
Other than the hop bags, none of them seem to be 100% successful, especially with pellet hops, which I use in almost all of my beers. What does everyone use to keep the wort flowing unimpeded? And if I were to go to hop bags, how much should I expect utilization to decrease?
I am currently not doing anything to keep hop debris out of my pump and hoses, and I need to start. A search of this forum and others has given me a list of things to try:
- False Bottom
- Stainless steel scrubby
- Bazooka screen
- Punch out the plastic crosses in the disconnects
- Hop blocker
- Hop bags
Other than the hop bags, none of them seem to be 100% successful, especially with pellet hops, which I use in almost all of my beers. What does everyone use to keep the wort flowing unimpeded? And if I were to go to hop bags, how much should I expect utilization to decrease?