Whirlpool Placement

[jwbeard]

Apologies if this is covered extensively in another thread (I've read a few but didn't see discussions on point), but I'm waiting on delivery of a selfless whirlpool and trying to figure out the best placement for it on my 15 gallon kettle. I saw one comment saying it should be mounted about 2/3 of the way up the kettle (or, at the 10 gal mark I guess) - is this optimal? Should I place it in line with the thermometer and drain bulkheads, or is it better to offset the whirlpool to one side a bit so that those fittings do not interrupt the whirlpool?

Relatedly, is there a consensus (ha!) on hot side aeration with whirlpooling? I used my pump (sans-whirlpool, just with the output tube shoved back in the kettle) on the last brew and got the clearest wort I've ever seen. Didn't splash appreciably (the main cause of HSA, from what I've read), but I did have a layer of foam on top at the end. Is it kosher to whirlpool throughout the chill process, or should I be concerned with HSA?

Thanks in advance!

 

[bad67z]

If place @ the 10 gallon mark it would be useless, when brewing 5 gallon batches.

 

[ianw58]

I am about to install one on my 15 gallon BK, too.

I started using a hop spider a few sessions ago and found that the trub in the bottom of my BK was mostly from hop material as I use pellets.

I'm thinking to put the whirlpool jet up about three inches from the bottom of the keg so as not to directly disturb the hopefully growing mound of break material. I am also thinking that I will put it slightly to the left of the pickup connection on the drain valve so as not to have the initial flow from the whirlpool output 90° elbow interrupted.

I've been looking at a few setups, but the valve/weldless/90° street elbow from BobbyM at BrewHardware seems to be best setup. It's not a kit...yet (hint, hint, Bobby), as is the one at MoreBeer.

So...others?

 

[jwbeard]

If place @ the 10 gallon mark it would be useless, when brewing 5 gallon batches.

Definitely a consideration, though I have an 8.5 gallon kettle I think id bust out for 5 gallon batches (I just upgraded to the 15). Wouldn't be able to whirlpool in that one, obviously. Would it be sub-optimal to have it below the 5 gallon mark, to allow for use in smaller batches?

 

[LordUlrich]

One the 10 bbl pro system i used to brew on the whirlpool inlet was 90 degrees from the outlet, facing away from the outlet. If you think of a particle comes into the whirlpool it goes 3/4 of the way around the kettle before it gets near the outlet. It was located about 1/3 of the way up the kettle.

As far as HSA, I seem to remember a interview on the Brewing Network with Charlie Bamfoth (PHD in brewing science) which says HSA is not a significant concern, while the chemistry holds true the oxidation reactions do not happen fast enough to make a significant quantity of undesirable compounds or something to that effect.

I have always tried to keep the inlet of my system fairly high in the kettle (perhaps even above the top of the fluid in the kettle) to try and create a secondary motion in the kettle (putting the cool wort from the bottom of the kettle to the top where the hotter wort is), not sure if it has any impact.

 

[dcbc]

This is my old setup. I have since upgraded the whirlpool arm to stainless. The arm goes about half way down. The wort gets pulled into the dip tube and pushed out of the whirlpool arm in the same direction, i.e., the outlets are facing in opposite directions. I can get a pretty good spin going with this setup with the pump control valve about 1/2 open.

 

[jwbeard]

Very interesting, thank you all... Sounds like it'll be a trade off between putting the whirlpool at a level where I could do a 5 gallon batch (ie, about 1/3 up the kettle at the 5 gallon mark), or place it about 2/3 of the way up to get a better mix of fluids and improve the chilling efficiency when I recirculate after my CFC. Probably will go for the 2/3 level since I don't anticipate using that kettle for small batches, and even if I do, I haven't been whirlpooling yet so the inability to whirlpool a 5 gallon batch in my 15 gallon kettle isn't a huge deal.

Decisions... 😊