Think this would work for hop additions?

[mrveeno]

I am wondering if this would work for hop additions in the kettle. I worry that the hops will expand and not allow the wort to go through it. Hop spiders are expensive, this is $18.

 

[day_trippr]

The mesh size is right, and at ~20 cubic inches it'd probably work ok for a couple of ounces...

Cheers!

 

[DaWhip]

Probably work better than a mesh bag. Is it stainless? If not, rust might be a concern.

 

[mrveeno]

Thanks day tripper.
I have 6" hops socks I use right now, and they usually swell up all the way with 1 oz. I did get some one gallon poly paint bags at Home Depot I will check out with my next brew.

 

[mrveeno]

Probably work better than a mesh bag. Is it stainless? If not, rust might be a concern.

Yes, all stainless.

 

[DaWhip]

I'm trying to imagine a way to thread in on the inside of my upper weld on my keggle and get hops in without letting wort out. How would you plan on using it?

 

[mrveeno]

I'll just find a cap for it, weight it with a few stainless bolts and use string to keep it halfway down the boil keg.

 

[day_trippr]

The description alludes to a cap, and I'd be surprised if it doesn't come with one.
What could be easily done is to fit a small stainless eye screw through the lid.
And I doubt it would require any weighting to sink...

Cheers!

 

[mrveeno]

It only weighs a 1/4 pound. Of course, a cap will add a little more weight. It actually screws into a clear 1st stage oil filter.

 

[chickypad]

To me they look like they might be good for keg dry hopping but seem kind of small for the boil. Not sure what hop spiders you're referring to as being expensive but I built mine for about $3 and use it with 5 gal paint strainer bags.

 

[mrveeno]

To me they look like they might be good for keg dry hopping but seem kind of small for the boil. Not sure what hop spiders you're referring to as being expensive but I built mine for about $3 and use it with 5 gal paint strainer bags.

That's the kind of info you should share, with pics.

 

[chickypad]

Mine looks like this - I did it that way because I already had the PVC tubing so all I had to buy was the coupler and worm clamp. Since it only has two "arms" I cut notches for my different sized kettles so it doesn't roll off. If you prefer the 3 arms with bolts, here's a link to someone else's build that I found with my google-fu.


hopspider build

 

[mrveeno]

I like this, but I usually leave my hops in the pot until I've drained it into the fermenter. I'd have to pull this out to put my cooling coil in. I guess it wouldn't be too hard to do. Thanks for sharing. I may get the filters for dry hopping.

 

[chickypad]

I lift it up for a sec and put in the chiller - it helps to have an extra hand doing that with my big system.

 

[mrveeno]

That 5 gallon mesh size is tight enough to hold most of the hops without escaping?

 

[chickypad]

Yup, works well.

 

[kh54s10]

The stainless steel mesh cylinder pictured looks pretty small. Based on my experience containing hops in a 5 gallon paint strainer bag during the boil, and dry hopping with 1 gallon paint strainer bags, I would say you could use no more than one ounce of hops in it.

 

[deepbluegroove]

How are you going to clean the stainless thing also? I have a bazooka screen and it constantly is caked with hop particles. I have to periodically soak in PBW to remove them.

 

[agrazela]

I am wondering if this would work for hop additions in the kettle. I worry that the hops will expand and not allow the wort to go through it. Hop spiders are expensive, this is $18.

What we really want to know is, where is this from? Link?

 

[mrveeno]

How are you going to clean the stainless thing also? I have a bazooka screen and it constantly is caked with hop particles. I have to periodically soak in PBW to remove them.

I rinse my bazooka screen off right away and throw it in the dishwasher. I also use oxyclean instead of PBW, works well and never had a problem with it. I never have to use a brush on the glass carboys. Just let the oxyclean set on it for 10-15 minutes, crystal clean.

 

[mrveeno]

What we really want to know is, where is this from? Link?

http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200381592_200381592

There you have it.

 

[mrveeno]

Yup, works well.

Made mine today, thanks.

 

[day_trippr]

How are you going to clean the stainless thing also? I have a bazooka screen and it constantly is caked with hop particles. I have to periodically soak in PBW to remove them.

~400 micron mesh really shouldn't be any problem to blast clean with a garden hose and spray nozzle.
My ss 400u hop spider is 18" tall x 6.5" diameter and it takes like two minutes to clean.
fwiw, I used to use quart size nylon hop bags for kettle pellets but discovered: they shrink and eventually get so tight they'll literally hold hot wort (!); and unknotting, dumping and cleaning takes a few minutes per bag, multiplied by how many bags needed for a batch (I typically used 4 and often more).

Love my spider...

Cheers!

 

[mrveeno]

I use plastic tie straps for all my bags, dyke and open.