[SlickHenry]

I'm using SS Brewtech's eKettle and have been struggling with the best way to keep a good whirlpool and control hop matter. I am on a 3vessel setup with two pumps, and a CFC. This is quite an upgraded system from my previous setup which was a mix of gotts coolers, gravity feeding, and a turkey fryer propane burner. I used to just toss my hops in a hopbag and chuck them in the kettle without worry.

Now that I've moved to an electric setup I don't really want to flirt with possibly melting nylon hop bags. I've used the kettle spider, but didn't like futzing with bags, had a few pop off mid brew, so I moved over to a hop spider. I found that the hop spider seems to prevent me from getting a decent whirlpool going at the end of my boil.

Just wondering if anyone else has run into these concerns and what you've done to work around them.

[ynotbrusum]

I am sure that the obvious means have already been considered: suspended large (loose) mesh nylon bag (clipped to the side of the BK); SS mesh hop spider/basket (often you may need to allow for lower utilization in your hop calculations); SS Mesh containers (with string/tie to BK handle or lip - same issues); free floating hop additions and initial whirlpool during chill down, allowing sediment and hops to create a cone in the middle of the bottom of the BK, and either a bazooka screen or false bottom.  There are specific hop screens that are available, but they work to varying degrees and some are a PITA....guys who get the whirlpool going and allow time for settling often claim that is the better approach.  I think SS Brew Tech sells both a whirlpool valve and a false bottom.

I wish you the best in deciding what to try for your system.  I have gone through many and typically use the most simple approaches at this point to achieve a balance between effort and effect.  Since I harvest yeast, I want minimal hop in my harvested yeast.

[SlickHenry]

Thanks for the reply. Perhaps I should have been clearer in my original question. I am currently setup for whirlpooling. The eKettles do not have false bottom options due to the heating element at the bottom of the kettle I presume. There is a pickup tube and and a whirlpool fitting installed. During my initial water only tests I was pleasantly surprised how forceful I could get the whirlpool kicking. So the setup is great in theory, but execution is where I'm struggling. It seems no mater where I place hop bags, or the hop spider it severely impacts the whirlpool, enough so where its not helping to collect trub in the center of the kettle.

You did get me thinking though, maybe I try the kettle spider and hang the hop bags in the center instead of off the side. hmm...

[jeffy]

Have you thought about adding the hops freely, without a bag?  Then if the whirlpool works and you have a side pick up, all should be good.  I attach a little stainless scrubby at the outlet port to catch large particles and it works for me.

[SlickHenry]

I used to hop directly into the kettle, but clean up seemed to be way easier using hop bags using my last system so I guess I just became partial to that method. I suspect cleanup would probably be even worse with the heating element in the kettle if I were to directly hop.

Regarding the comment above about lower hop utilization when using a metal mesh, what adjustments should I make for bitterness calculations. I agree there was certainly lower utilization compared to using bags from my tasting. Beersmith shows 10% adjustment for pellet hops, wondering if I should move this down a few percentage points to account for the metal mesh setup.

[HopDen]

Here is what I use. I think it works as good if not better than anything else I have tried in the past.
https://shop.theelectricbrewery.com/collections/hop-stopper

There are different sizes to fit any BK

Add your hops freely and you're good to go.

[SlickHenry]

I wanted to post an update on results trying the various methods suggested.

Hopbags suspended from side of BK - Winner winner, best hop utilization, I just pull them out after the whirlpool starts to keep the wort spinning
Scrubby on pickup tube - Fail whale. Took the recirc down to a trickle on 12gal batch size for an english bitter, completely clogged
Electricbrewery screen - not a great fit for the SS Brewtech E-Kettles, did not attempt
Hopspider fabricated mods - 300micron mesh is just too fine, modified a hop spider to fit on to a kettle spider. Found wort to not reach boiling temps well inside the metal mesh tube, very low hop utilization

Simplest method won.

[Semper Sitientem]

Are you saying the wort inside the hop spider is a lower temperature than the rest of the BK during the boil? Did you verify this with a thermapen or other method? I’m no thermodynamics expert, but that doesn’t seem possible. Could it be that the mesh just breaks up the large boil bubbles?