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Author Topic: Hop Blocker/Stopper Mesh Size  (Read 8064 times)

Offline In The Sand

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Hop Blocker/Stopper Mesh Size
« on: July 23, 2013, 06:27:38 am »
I brewed last week with my Blichmann plate chiller for the first time.  I used a homemade hop spider which consisted of a PVC coupling, 5-gal paint strainer bag, and hose clamp.  It worked okay I guess, but it is hard to keep from floating to the top.  So this week I'd like to try something more solid, like a stainless mesh wrapped around the dip tube.  I've seen them made before and before I drop another $60-$75 on a pre-fab one, I'd like to see what I can do that will suffice.  So my questions is, what mesh size is sufficient for keeping pellet hop particles and hot break material out?  I found these, which are cheap and I thought I might be able to modify them a bit to make it fit my dip tube by cutting the mesh out of the filter.  The 100 mesh looks like it may work.  Thoughts?

Edit:  Or are these things tiny??
« Last Edit: July 23, 2013, 06:37:55 am by hopsand »
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Offline Jimmy K

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Re: Hop Blocker/Stopper Mesh Size
« Reply #1 on: July 23, 2013, 06:50:13 am »
They look too small to me (total size, not mesh size). You need a large surface area or it will likely clog. I use the SS braid from the outside of a washing machine connection hose. The holes are probably 1/16" and it's ~ 2.5 feet long. It wraps around the edge of the kettle.
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Offline kylekohlmorgen

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Re: Hop Blocker/Stopper Mesh Size
« Reply #2 on: July 23, 2013, 06:53:13 am »
These things ARE tiny and would just quickly clog at the start of runoff. And they're made of plastic ('polyporpylene', per the website  :-\).

You can add some weight to your spider in the form of a stainless bolt or fitting to keep it submerged, but it wont keep out hop break.

A lot of folks like the hop stopper. Lots of good DIY options when you Google it.

Whirlfloc combined with a good whirlpool (and rest afterwards) gives me pretty clear beer into the fermentor, especially if I pull the first quart out of the valve. Especially if you get rid of hop matter via spider. This is working for me in the mean time until installing a hop back. A few more brewery improvements on the list first.  ;D
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Offline In The Sand

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Re: Hop Blocker/Stopper Mesh Size
« Reply #3 on: July 23, 2013, 07:12:26 am »
These things ARE tiny and would just quickly clog at the start of runoff. And they're made of plastic ('polyporpylene', per the website  :-\).

You can add some weight to your spider in the form of a stainless bolt or fitting to keep it submerged, but it wont keep out hop break.

A lot of folks like the hop stopper. Lots of good DIY options when you Google it.

Whirlfloc combined with a good whirlpool (and rest afterwards) gives me pretty clear beer into the fermentor, especially if I pull the first quart out of the valve. Especially if you get rid of hop matter via spider. This is working for me in the mean time until installing a hop back. A few more brewery improvements on the list first.  ;D

Yeah, after I posted I realized those are for spray nozzles, so they are tiny.  I probably will use the SS bolt/nut idea this week until I get something else worked out.  I do use Whirifloc, but it's hard to get a good whirlpool when you're adding hops at KO and you've got this hop spider mess in the way. 

What if I just got a piece of 12" x 12" SS 200 mesh wire cloth like this?  Then I could fold/wrap it around the dip tube, or even at that price get two of them with one on top of the other around the dip tube.  I think what I'm trying to establish is the right mesh size where it won't get clogged and it won't let too much material through.  The link above is 316 SS and 325 mesh.

« Last Edit: July 23, 2013, 07:18:46 am by hopsand »
Trey W.

narvin

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Re: Hop Blocker/Stopper Mesh Size
« Reply #4 on: July 23, 2013, 07:33:35 am »
That will clog.  Even a bazooka screen clogs pretty easily in a kettle unless you get a strong whirlpool.

Get this mesh from McMaster. I skipped the step where they sewed the edges with ss thread.  It's a PITA and crimping it twice works just as well.

http://www.homebrewchatter.com/board/showthread.php?t=2550&highlight=hop+stopper

Offline In The Sand

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Re: Hop Blocker/Stopper Mesh Size
« Reply #5 on: July 24, 2013, 07:34:25 am »
That will clog.  Even a bazooka screen clogs pretty easily in a kettle unless you get a strong whirlpool.

Get this mesh from McMaster. I skipped the step where they sewed the edges with ss thread.  It's a PITA and crimping it twice works just as well.

http://www.homebrewchatter.com/board/showthread.php?t=2550&highlight=hop+stopper

I definitely like that post.  I agree about the SS wire stitching, since all you can really get is $20 worth of SS wire at a time.  So when you do the edge folds for crimping do you just fold it a couple of times and smash down with a pair of pliers or hammer to crimp it?  Is this the same one you have posted pics of before that you use?
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Offline In The Sand

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Re: Hop Blocker/Stopper Mesh Size
« Reply #6 on: July 27, 2013, 07:12:56 am »
I bought the mesh as described and made it into a square to fit around my dip tube. Seemed to work pretty good. Only thing coming through was small bits of hot break material. However I did get a clog somewhere trying to get the last gallon or so out. I think the bottom of my dip tube is too close to the bottom of the mesh and that may be the culprit. I couldn't use my pump, just had to gravity feed because the pump pulled too fast and caused clogging even at a low flow rate. That presented a problem when I got to the taller glass carboy. All in all it worked fine. I was able to chill using my Therminator to 68* and hold it, pitching right away. Looking forward to fine tuning this process.
Trey W.

Offline filthyphil

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Re: Hop Blocker/Stopper Mesh Size
« Reply #7 on: December 10, 2014, 02:50:02 pm »
I apologize for bringing this forum back from the dead, but I am having trouble finding the correct wire mesh size for the exact same application.

I just got a sample of 100 x 100 wire mesh stainless steel herewww.bwire.com and I was thinking that this mesh is probably just a little bit too fine?  Did anyone else have any better luck with something more coarse.  I want to find out before I go spending big money on products that I cannot use.

Thanks for any advice or help on this.

narvin

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Re: Hop Blocker/Stopper Mesh Size
« Reply #8 on: December 10, 2014, 07:32:12 pm »
I used this: Woven, 316 Stainless Steel, 30 x 30 Mesh, .0065" Wire Diameter

http://www.mcmaster.com/#9230t54/=ocluax