wort extraction ???

[BeerFather Brewing]

So I recently brewed a barleywine (5g batch). In it, I had the following [pellet] hops:

1oz Summit
0.5oz US Goldings
0.5oz Sterling
(these were in the boil at various times)

At flame out, I threw in:
1oz Amarillo
0.5oz Chinook

Lots of hops for this American barleywine. I use a Blichmann 15g brew kettle with the kettle-strainer. It became so clogged with pellet-hops-gunk that I couldn't pump (brew kettle-->pump-->counterflow chiller-->fermenter) but ~ 3.5 gallons out of it. There was so much hop residue, that despite some rudimentary de-clogging, it would get clogged again quickly. I took off the kettle-strainer thinking that I could simply worry about the amount of hop residue later. That didn't work as the residue simply put the kibosh on my pump.

My question is this: are there any techniques/recommendations for moving hot wort through a March pump when you have that much hop residue?

Thanks......

 

[Droot]

I use whole hops, but I have no pump. Gravity is my friend.

I also use a copper scrubbie as a filter on the end of my drain tube inside the boil kettle.

I had the same problem last time I used pellets. Once in a long time, it will be a long time before I use them again.

David

 

[BeerFather Brewing]

Droot,

I would think that whole hops would be just as bad (if not worse)??? When you've used whole hops have you not had said problem?