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Date: 06 Nov 2006 07:50:31
From: Bob the Brewer
Subject: Slotted T Drain
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Greetings,
I was wondering if anyone has any experience with the slotted T drain
described in Teddy Winstead's 1/2 Barrel Keg Conversion FAQ.
I am planning on welding a stainless coupling near the bottom of my
S=2ES. brew pot (a 7 gallon S.S. stock pot, not a converted keg, btw.)
On the inside of the pot, I am considering making a drain similar to
the one in the =BD barrel conversion FAQ. My plans call for a =BD inch
by 4 inch S.S. nipple running from the coupling to a =BD inch S.S. Tee.
Two =BD inch by 3 inch S.S. nipples would run from the tee and be capped
with =BD" NPT(F) pipe caps. I would then drill a few 3/8th inch holes
clear though the nipples.
I typically use pellet hops (and quite a bit of them, as I brew a lot
of APAs.) I brew using either a mini-mash or an extract with steeped
specialty grains method, depending on how much time I have on brew day.
Before I buy all the fittings, I'd like to hear if anyone has
experience with this sort of drain, and whether it would be effective
in filtering out the break and hop materials (without becoming totally
clogged as I imagine it might.) Or, if anyone would like to suggest an
alternate drain for the brew pot.
On the outside of the pot, I plan on installing a =BD" S.S. ball
valve, and then a =BD" NPT to 3/8" hose barb and then use 3/8"
transfer hose to get to my C.F. chiller. I'm currently siphoning out
of my brew pot into the C.F. chiller, which is not a lot of fun (and I
have a lot of warped racking canes.)
Thanks!
Bob
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Date: 06 Nov 2006 19:22:21
From: Derric
Subject: Re: Slotted T Drain
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> I was wondering if anyone has any experience with the slotted T drain
> described in Teddy Winstead's 1/2 Barrel Keg Conversion FAQ.
...
> I typically use pellet hops (and quite a bit of them, ...
...
> ... I'd like to hear if anyone has experience with this sort of drain,
> in filtering out the break and hop materials (without becoming totally
> clogged as I imagine it might.) Or, if anyone would like to suggest an
> alternate drain for the brew pot.
I've tried a slotted (straight, about 8") pipe in my brew kettle with
pellet hops and it clogged every time. I don't know about the T drain
you are talking about.
There is a product called the "Hopstopper" that gets pretty good
reviews: http://www.ihomebrewsolutions.com/TheHopStopper.html
but I've not personally used it. From looking at it, you may want to
put a LARGE screen around whatever drain you end up with. That may be
the solution to pellet hops...
Derric
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Date: 06 Nov 2006 19:54:33
From: John 'Shaggy' Kolesar
Subject: Re: Slotted T Drain
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On Mon, 06 Nov 2006 19:22:21 -0000, <derric1961@removethis.yahoo.com > wrote:
>> I typically use pellet hops (and quite a bit of them, ...
> ...
>> ... I'd like to hear if anyone has experience with this sort of drain,
>> in filtering out the break and hop materials (without becoming totally
>> clogged as I imagine it might.) Or, if anyone would like to suggest an
>> alternate drain for the brew pot.
>
> There is a product called the "Hopstopper" that gets pretty good
> reviews: http://www.ihomebrewsolutions.com/TheHopStopper.html
> but I've not personally used it. From looking at it, you may want to
> put a LARGE screen around whatever drain you end up with. That may be
> the solution to pellet hops...
Personally, I find the solution to pellet hops is not to use them. ;)
I have much better luck filtering out whole/plug hops.
John.
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Date: 06 Nov 2006 15:32:04
From: Dan Logcher
Subject: Re: Slotted T Drain
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John 'Shaggy' Kolesar wrote:
> On Mon, 06 Nov 2006 19:22:21 -0000, <derric1961@removethis.yahoo.com> wrote:
>
>>>I typically use pellet hops (and quite a bit of them, ...
>>
>>...
>>
>>>... I'd like to hear if anyone has experience with this sort of drain,
>>>in filtering out the break and hop materials (without becoming totally
>>>clogged as I imagine it might.) Or, if anyone would like to suggest an
>>>alternate drain for the brew pot.
>>
>>There is a product called the "Hopstopper" that gets pretty good
>>reviews: http://www.ihomebrewsolutions.com/TheHopStopper.html
>>but I've not personally used it. From looking at it, you may want to
>>put a LARGE screen around whatever drain you end up with. That may be
>>the solution to pellet hops...
>
>
> Personally, I find the solution to pellet hops is not to use them. ;)
>
> I have much better luck filtering out whole/plug hops.
If you use only whole or plug hops its much easier.. once you mix
pellet and whole/plug its harder. Best to use only pellets or only
whole and deal with it one was or the other. I use pellets for my
boil and whole for dry-hopping and do different methods for screening
the gunk. I mixed once and had a much harder time.
--
Dan
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Date: 07 Nov 2006 06:54:33
From: Bob the Brewer
Subject: Re: Slotted T Drain
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John 'Shaggy' Kolesar wrote:
> Personally, I find the solution to pellet hops is not to use them. ;)
>
> I have much better luck filtering out whole/plug hops.
>
> John.
Thanks everyone for the replies so far,
So do you think that the "Slotted T Drain" described in the keg
conversion FAQ (http://www.brewery.org/temploc - near the bottom of the
page) would work OK if I switched from pellet hops to whole hops? I am
a little relucatant to do that because my local HBS doesn't have much
selection as far as whole hops go, and I also like to be able to brew
on a whim if some free time suddenly becomes available, and pellet hops
tend to store better so I can keep some on hand.
However, if the trade off is being able to effectively drain my wort
without clogging, then I might be willing to switch. The hopstopper
looks pretty effective, but extremely pricey.
Other than clogging, the other concern I have about the "Slotted T
Drain" in a flat bottomed brew pot is that in order to have enough
clearance to thread the tee fitting on and off the nipple, I'd have to
weld the coupling a little higher than I'd like, so I'd probably end up
leaving a fair amount of wort behind with the trub. Since I brew
extract or mini-mash, that isn't the end of the world. I'd just have
to recalculate my recipes a little to account for the larger batch
size.
Does anyone else have any ideas for plumbing on the inside of the brew
pot?
Thanks again for the comments so far,
Bob
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Date: 07 Nov 2006 16:03:05
From: John 'Shaggy' Kolesar
Subject: Re: Slotted T Drain
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On 7 Nov 2006 06:54:33 -0800, <bob.devivo@gmail.com > wrote:
> So do you think that the "Slotted T Drain" described in the keg
> conversion FAQ (http://www.brewery.org/temploc - near the bottom of the
> page) would work OK if I switched from pellet hops to whole hops?
Probably, but I can't say I've tried it. I use an Easymasher in my 7
gallon kettle for extract batches, and a Bazooka in my 15 gallon kettle
for all grain batches. Both do an excellent job of filtering out whole/plug
hops without clogging.
> I am
> a little relucatant to do that because my local HBS doesn't have much
> selection as far as whole hops go, and I also like to be able to brew
> on a whim if some free time suddenly becomes available, and pellet hops
> tend to store better so I can keep some on hand.
Yeah, that's definitely a factor. I'm lucky in that my LHBS carries a lot
of plug hops. You can also order whole hops in bulk from some online places
and store them in the freezer. They'll keep fairly well if you have them
sealed in airtight containers. I use one of those vacume pack things they
sell for kitchens. The hops go in a bag and the thingy sucks all of the air
out and then seals the bag shut. Works great for hops and the wife gets
to use it for leftovers as well, so we're both happy.
> Other than clogging, the other concern I have about the "Slotted T
> Drain" in a flat bottomed brew pot is that in order to have enough
> clearance to thread the tee fitting on and off the nipple, I'd have to
> weld the coupling a little higher than I'd like, so I'd probably end up
> leaving a fair amount of wort behind with the trub. Since I brew
> extract or mini-mash, that isn't the end of the world. I'd just have
> to recalculate my recipes a little to account for the larger batch
> size.
I don't know about the design you're looking at, but I've seen keg conversion
kits where the tube between the coupling and the tee had an elbow in it
so that it went down into the bottom of the keg.
> Does anyone else have any ideas for plumbing on the inside of the brew
> pot?
IMO, check out the "Bazooka T" and the Sanke adapter kit with the
elbow on it from here:
http://www.zymico.com/bazooka/
I don't know how well it would work for pellets, but it works great for
whole/plug hops on my system.
John.
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Date: 07 Nov 2006 19:55:07
From: Derric
Subject: Re: Slotted T Drain
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> Other than clogging, the other concern I have about the "Slotted T
> Drain" in a flat bottomed brew pot is that in order to have enough
> clearance to thread the tee fitting on and off the nipple, I'd have to
> weld the coupling a little higher than I'd like, so I'd probably end up
> leaving a fair amount of wort behind with the trub. ...
Note that the height of the hole in the pot shouldn't matter. If all
your fittings are tight, it should form a siphon to the bottom of the
assembly and drain down to that point. Mine does well, and all I do is
press fit copper together with a wrap of teflon tape.
Also, regarding swapping to whole/leaf hops... note that they will
hold/absorb a lot of wort, so don't be shocked! :)
These days I use pellets and a copper L from the bulkhead straight
to the bottom of the kettle (short of the bottom about a 1/4 inch).
It doesn't usually clog and a fair amount of hops and some break comes
thru but I just RDWHAHB.
Derric
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