JonyMac's boil kettle side pickup tube and whirlpool port

jonymac · Joined: 18 Dec 2014 Posts: 145

So,

Been trying to figure out a better way to get more wort out of the BK into the fermenter. I have not been super impressed with the hop blocker. I always end up with 2-3 gallons of wort in the kettle and have to stand on my left foot and chant in Latin to get it all in the fermenter. Maybe I'm just impatient. Anyway, this has been been covered elsewhere.

I decided to try a different setup - and found a different idea and so I decided to go for it.

I bought a pickup tube and put the short end into the port where the stop hopper normally goes and the long side sits on the little step up from the bottom of the kettle. I added a whirlpool port using the same setup as the MLT recirc port from Kal's directions.

Some pics:

IMG_1896 by jonymac, on Flickr
Where the whirlpool port will go.

IMG_1898 by jonymac, on Flickr
The pickup tube pointed away from the whirlpool port - when whirlpooling, this pushes the hops past the pickup tube faster than it can suck them in and results in a pile of hops in the middle of the kettle.

IMG_1897 by jonymac, on Flickr
Outside view of whirlpool port.

IMG_1900 by jonymac, on Flickr
Whirlpool in action!

I tried this setup this past weekend and was able to get nice clean wort into my fermenter with much less wort left behind in the BK. I will do more experimentation over the next couple of brews and report back.

JonyMac

**kal** · Posted: Tue Mar 21, 2017 2:04 am Post subject:

So how do you like the whirlpool idea? Is it working well for you?

For those new to it, you recirc after the boil to get the wort spinning and the trub ends up in the middle, away from the racking arm.

Kal

jonymac · Joined: 18 Dec 2014 Posts: 145

Tried it this weekend - need to make some adjustments- but overall I feel it's a big improvement. I will brew again this weekend - ballast point sculpin ale - lots of hops - and will take and post more pics. I will play with more post filtering - after the BK out port - to clean up the bits that might make it into the fermenter. I really like dumping clean yeast from the conical and not having to wash it, so a clean and efficient transfer from BK to fermenter is critical.

**kal** · Posted: Tue Mar 21, 2017 12:21 pm Post subject:

ghandlin · Joined: 09 Oct 2016 Posts: 96

How'd the latest brew go with the whirlpool?

jonymac · Joined: 18 Dec 2014 Posts: 145

Went very well - forgot to take pics - was playing with a drop in hops screen with a massive whirlpool hops addition right in the kettle - wort came out clean - next brew I will eliminate the hops screen altogether and see how it goes.

ghandlin · Joined: 09 Oct 2016 Posts: 96

Cool. I know I got a lot of gunk out from my DIPA that I did with the blocker. Can you post a pic of the drop in screen? I'm guessing no post filtering yet?

jonymac · Joined: 18 Dec 2014 Posts: 145

Will do when I get home tomorrow - I put a post filter in last Brew - but there was nothing to catch.

ghandlin · Joined: 09 Oct 2016 Posts: 96

Hey Jonymac, just checking - did you get to snap a pic?

jonymac · Joined: 18 Dec 2014 Posts: 145

It's working beautifully - haven't taken a pic, but will at the next brew.

Ozarks Mountain Brew · Posted: Sat May 06, 2017 4:39 pm Post subject:

this is what I went to, I had a huge problem with the screens getting clogged and with my stainless steel trub filter getting clogged with hops then without using any screening my pump was pulling too much hop debris into the chiller, so a friend recommended I use gravity to drain the boil kettle into the chiller and it worked perfect. so now I whirlpool to get a good cone of hops in the middle then turn the pump off and now the hop cone doesn't get disturbed, it remains intact and today do not use any screens or filters

ghandlin · Joined: 09 Oct 2016 Posts: 96

I got to thinking, rather drilling a new hole for the whirlpool, wouldn't it just fit in the thermometer hole? I'm not there to check, just got to thinking that would probably work just as well.

Ozarks Mountain Brew · Posted: Fri Jun 09, 2017 6:00 pm Post subject:

thats where mine is, I removed the thermometer and added a ball valve and whirlpool arm, I have mine pointed towards the bottom of the pot

Ozarks Mountain Brew · Posted: Fri Jun 09, 2017 6:04 pm Post subject:

although I cant say for sure the blichmann are the same my pot is not and the hole was for 1/2" mpt

jonymac · Joined: 18 Dec 2014 Posts: 145

Long overdue update!

Haven't brewed since the spring, but got 2 brews in over the weekend with the new setup. I have to say, I am VERY happy with this setup. No more clogged screens, faster brew day and clean wort. After I dump the trub and yeast from the conicals, I will have a better idea of how clean things came out. Until then - here are some pics and videos of my brew day yesterday.

Filling the kettle - Notice the pickup tube touching the bottom rim of the kettle. The short piece of hose allows me to aim the wort return over the pickup tube to keep hops clear of the pickup tube.

Sight glass!

Here is a video of the whirlpool in action - I ran it throughout the boil and then hooked it up to my CFC 15 minutes from the end of the boil to sanitize it. I added a sight glass so I could see how things were running.

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/959731/Brewery/Pickup%20Tube/IMG_2479.m4v

Draining to the conical:

Video of how clean the wort is going into the conical:

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/959731/Brewery/Pickup%20Tube/IMG_2484.m4v

Nice pile in the center of the kettle at the end - that's 10 ounces of hops:

I will update once I dump my yeast!

Brew on!

**kal** · Posted: Sun Jul 23, 2017 4:49 pm Post subject:

Nice! Any chance you'll post the first video on your Instagram account? I'd love to share it!

Kal

jonymac · Joined: 18 Dec 2014 Posts: 145

Master · Posted: Thu Aug 17, 2017 2:20 am Post subject:

I'm going to upgrade my MLT, and more than likely recycle my Keggle MLT as a BK (interim fix).

Based on your experience, would you say that whirlpooling has worked as well as (if not better than) the hop stopper?

jonymac · Joined: 18 Dec 2014 Posts: 145

ghandlin · Joined: 09 Oct 2016 Posts: 96

So, how did it come out?