Whirlpooling boil kettle method?

[ChrisfromAbby]

I'm looking into changing my set up by introducing some pumps. I've always just bailed my boil kettle out into a strainer held over the primary in the past.

So now I'll need to port my kettle and install some fittings and convert to the pump. I've been eyeballing a whirlpool set up and I think I've got a handle on the return portion, but what do I do for the outlet portion? I guess a false bottom is option #1. Can you get away with an open 1/2" nipple if you are whirlpooling? A bazooka tube? Put an elbow on your inlet to get close to the bottom?

I'm not fond of the idea of using a hop bag, and even that wouldn't do anything about all the break material. I imagine the pump wouldn't care for much hop and break crud in the wort!

Chris

 

[Black Island Brewer]

I use two ports and a pump to whirlpool in a keggle, with the upper port (the "in" port) having an elbow on the inside, pointing sideways to create the whirlpool. The outlet port goes through just above the bottom weld, and on the inside has an elbow pointing downwards with a short nipple in it to pick up right from the bottom side of the keggle. If I use whole hops I put them in a bag, but I try to use mainly pellets so the pump doesn't plug while I'm whirlpooling, and after I've let it settle for about 30 minutes, I pump into my fermentor. By pumping slowly, I leave most of the hops and break material behind. I plan to make a small diverter plate to put in from of the outlet to help keep out more of the break and hops.

 

[acidrain]

I made my in and out ports tangential to the to the walls of the keg. The out port is a 3/4" port ground flush with the inside, and is about 1-1/2" off the bottom.
The in port is a 1/4" x 6" nipple that I turned on the lathe to be kind of a nozzle. It extends about 1" into the keggle, and is higher than the out port.
I use only leaf hops in a SS mesh hop spider.
I chill through a plate chiller and whirlpool at the same time. When it's chilled to pitching temp, I cover it and let it sit undisturbed for about 20 minutes. All the break is in the bottom by then, and my out port is high enough that it leaves all the break behind.

 

[30Bones]

On my keggle I have been using the ball valve as my "out" and my wort chiller has a 3rd J arm that I use as the "in". The whirlpool is minimal and I my bend the copper towards the side of the wall (also to help reduce hop bits when transfering). I am thinking about moving the top fitting pictured (never used) and moving it down to where the thermometer is mounted to get a better whirlpool and drill yet another hole in the keggle to replace the thermometer.

 

[ChrisfromAbby]

So.... You put the inlet and outlet elbows pointing in the SAME direction? Doesn't that work against the whirlpool? Or is that to try and prevent debris from clogging the outlet orifice?

 

[30Bones]

My immersion chiller has a J arm facing the other direction. I do not use the top fitting, it was in place when I bought the keggle

 

[ChrisfromAbby]

So, no filtration or screen required? Just an open pipe end?

 

[30Bones]

I am awaiting a nice big hop spider to keep most junk out of the fermenter

 

[ChrisfromAbby]

Maybe I'll divert the large stainless conical strainer (that I used in the past when I bailed into my primary) and turn it into a hop spider...

 

[yogensha]

So, no filtration or screen required? Just an open pipe end?

Correct. The idea behind whirlpooling is that the bulk of the trub settles in a cone in the middle of the vessel, so you don't need any filtration if you pull gently from the side of the kettle.