Prototype Previews: Hopback and Heat Stick

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That's awesome. I'm chomping at the bit to get a brew day with this thing soon.
 
wow, I missed a lot in the last month in here. I built a heat stick the old way it is working well but I need something that will allow for a taller kettle. I wanted to test these out for Bobby but never got a reply. I still need one more to do tandem batches so how tall is the hot rod, from the base to the bend in the top?

Also any news on when they will be release or if you need more testers? I am ready to brew, multiple dedicated 20amp GFCI circuits in the garage.
 
res291que said:
@ Got nothing out of the plate chiller when flushing so this thing really did great. View attachment 226718View attachment 226719


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Awesome! Did you place prior to pump or after pump. To clarify, which sequence:
BK-Hopbomb-Pump-Chiller
BK-Pump-HopBomb-Chiller
? This is really what I would likely use this product for. I use whole hops, and have a false bottom in the BK. This tool would simply act as a filter while exiting the BK
 
humann_brewing said:
wow, I missed a lot in the last month in here. I built a heat stick the old way it is working well but I need something that will allow for a taller kettle. I wanted to test these out for Bobby but never got a reply. I still need one more to do tandem batches so how tall is the hot rod, from the base to the bend in the top?

Also any news on when they will be release or if you need more testers? I am ready to brew, multiple dedicated 20amp GFCI circuits in the garage.
Click to expand...

Sorry, the heat stick shown in the first pot was a really rough prototype and I only had like 2 to send for testing. Long gone. The production units may actually be in within 2 weeks now. They are not coming from the factory with the top bend but will be 24" to the top. They can stay straight or I can put a hook at the top that would bring the max pot height down to something like 21" if the HotRod is to sit on the bottom.

I'll also have all stainless elements available to go with it, around the same time 2-3 weeks.
 
I wish someone would develop a more compact version of the camco wave limelife element in all stainless…
 
Bobby_M said:
Sorry, the heat stick shown in the first pot was a really rough prototype and I only had like 2 to send for testing. Long gone. The production units may actually be in within 2 weeks now. They are not coming from the factory with the top bend but will be 24" to the top. They can stay straight or I can put a hook at the top that would bring the max pot height down to something like 21" if the HotRod is to sit on the bottom.

I'll also have all stainless elements available to go with it, around the same time 2-3 weeks.
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Sounds good, I have the 15g NB tall boy kettle and bayou 1060 and trying to determine which is better for induction but need to do a side by side test. Either way the tall boy is a bit taller at 18.6" so even with the bend which would be nice to have there is plenty of wiggle room.

looking forward to this with the SS 2000w element.
 
Bobby, will the stainless 240v elements be in stock in 3 weeks or so? Need to order a few other things if I am to go all electric and want to line everything up!


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Hi Bobby, I used the Hop Bomb Jr with rice hulls and sent you the full review via email. I would like to let everyone know here that it worked and was very pleased with the results. I am posting a couple of pictures where I show how clear the wort is and how the rice hulls look after use. I will be doing another brew session in a couple of weeks and using whole hops.

IMG_0449.jpg


IMG_0450.jpg
 
Damnit! Now I have to get one... Exactly what I am looking for?
 
Hey Bobby-
I can't wait to get a couple Heatsticks... We talked the other day and I got my electrician all lined up.... I can't wait for the day that I can have a quiet brew session in my basement...(minus the hair band music) Now it sounds like a Chinook helicopter is about to land in there...
Thanks for all your help bro!
 
Bobby,
I was going to use the Hop Bomb Jr. Last night and one of the bars that are on the bottom strainer snapped off. If I wasn't ready to chill at that moment I could have gone out to get a ss bolt or something but I wasn't able to use it for this bree.

1412595897558.jpg
 
I've now used the prototype heatstick more for cooking than brewing! When attached to a PID, the heatstick turns out the most amazing sous vide pork loin!

I plan to brew again soon and will take a shot or two of the heatstick in action.
 
cank said:
Bobby,
I was going to use the Hop Bomb Jr. Last night and one of the bars that are on the bottom strainer snapped off. If I wasn't ready to chill at that moment I could have gone out to get a ss bolt or something but I wasn't able to use it for this bree.
Click to expand...

Yup, I'm finding these laser welded legs are not going to cut it. A few of them have broken so far. I do agree that for these units, a thin machine screw would do the trick just fine. My original design used a one piece unit with brake bent legs and that's what I'll go back to if the other aspects of the unit prove worthy.
 
Just picked up the bill for a single hop citra ipa. I'll get some video shot tomorrow. Money's tight right now so I probably won't be able to test the filtration till next month. But who knows…
 
Ok so that was a failure. Got down to last couple gallons in a 6 gallon batch (used 1 oz of whole leaf citra) before it clogged up completely. I was able to shake and tap to get the last little bit out but when I went to remove the top of the hop back it popped off on its own it was completely stuffed with hops. In this batch I used absolutely no pellet hops. And all my hops stayed in a bag. I use a side pickup tube since I usually whirlpool, so almost no trub went through the hopback. On my next batch I'll try using rice hulls as a filter but that'll be next month. I also am scheduled to bring this thing to a yearly beer fest my buddies throw and were gonna try it out as a randal.
 
Based on feedback I've been receiving, I'm beginning to think plugging is related to the lack of open area on the filter plate on the outflow side. The test units use the same perforated sheet as my false bottoms and once the leaf becomes saturated and soft, I think they lay over the holes quickly and restrict flow. Two things I want to try is laying a lightweight screen disc in that is like 90% open area to hold the hops off the stronger perforated disc. The other thing to try is using a plate with much larger holes. As is, it's been working out really well as a filter filled with rice hulls and the first possible solution I mentioned would maintain that dual use.

I appreciate all the testing and feedback.
 
It could use a bit more room in there too. I'm thinking instead of a bottom filter plate, use something more like a filter ring. Like a false bottom support. It could prevent hops from flowing back and give a little more space for the wort to move around.

Or it could be like a perforated cup that attaches to the lid the same way the disc does. You put the hops in the cup then slide that into the hop back. At least it would leave a bit of a channel on the sides for wort to flow through. It did perform quite well up until it plugged. I can see it becoming my pre-chiller filter for whirlpooling (saving me the 15 minute pre whirlpool to drop trub before chilling). I'd like to be able to hop back some of my hoppier beers instead of dry-hopping, but I can say I prefer to cold-break before I go into my fermenter. I've been producing some remarkably clear beers without gelatin by using my whirlpool method.
 
Pellets don't like to stay in bags they are mostly powder once the break up
 
Ozarks_Mountian_Brew said:
hey just a thought on the hop back if I put a bag in it and added pellets that might work, question is how much pellets vs 1 ounce leaf ?
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My next brew was going to try this. I thought I would layer some pellet hops in a bag then rice hulls.

I got the stand fixed with some 8x32 1.25" pan head SS screws. I had to get a new tap because mine was shredded. I bought #6 and #8 but went with the #8. the 1.25" was almost the exact same height as the original stand offs.
 
Bobby I'll have some video up on YouTube of my experience soon (if it'll ever finish uploading). I don't know what help it'll be.
 
I used mine with Rice Hulls this weekend, I'll shoot you an email with a report when I get a chance Bobby.

In regards to the plugging issue, when I brew my IPA coming up I was thinking of first throwing in some Rice Hulls along with the whole hops to see how that works. I'll report back my results of that as well.
 
The hops don't clog the bottom. They float/are forced against the top filter plate. I thinking something akin to a water filter where the filter is channeled through the middle. I have an old 1/2" mash screen I was thinking of soldering to the top screen. Getting a triclover to camlock plate for the top and plugging off the bottom inlet.
 
Yeah something like that but I do want to modify this one to still be able to use 1oz of hops
 
The only issue with a center draw tube is that you will get quite a bit of channeling meaning the flow will get through a small amount of hops before it bails into the easier flow path (the center tube). I'm not giving up on the design yet without playing with different end plate configurations, larger holes or screen overlay.
 
Think about this before totally bailing on the tube design. The liquid flows in and down from a top mounted port in through the screen tube. It fills up the chamber from the bottom, essentially. Then when it gets to top side port output it flow through the hops all the way up because of gravity. And solve the problem.
 
Used my hop bomb jr over the weekend, it was a little frustrating on this brew. Will send a review this week. Great product just had to do a little modification.


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CornyKegs 300

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