Getting ready to upgrade my flatbottom kettle by adding a valve to remove wort. Was at bargainfittings.com and was looking at pickups…like the WHIRLPOOL / SIDE PICKUP FITTING. how does that actually work? or should I say how does whirlpooling work? I get how to create the effect but how does it prevent the trub from getting into the valve and line?
[attachment=0]whirlpool3-500x500.jpg[/attachment]
Sorry for the dumb question…Lol :lol:
Whirlpooling gets the trub to settle in the center of the kettle. I just give it a good stir with my paddle and let it settle for at least 15 minutes.
:cheers:
It works, but how well it works depends on a lot of factors, like how enegetically you stir the wort and how much trub is present. When using whole hops, it is less effective than with pellets. If you’re using pils malt and got a good hot break, you might have so much trub present that the cone which forms spreads all the way out to the edge of the kettle.
Here is a good pic of a whirlpool from Mullerbrau’s website:
[attachment=0]whirlpool2_Small.jpg[/attachment]
+1 pic
John
Thanks guys… here is a question then. Being that I have a flat bottom kettle would it be better to raise the pick up up about an inch or so above the curve of the pot and just chalk up the additional left over liquid to dead space? That way even if whirlpooling the pick up stays above the.trub.
That would give you some additional safety margin, but I believe the pictures were also with flat bottomed kettles. Whirlpooling doesn’t require a specific kettle geometry to work.
Besides, unless you have a specific reason that makes you minimize trub transfer out from the kettle, what does it hurt if some gets in the fermentor? Granted it would make harvesting of yeast more difficult, but it wouldn’t make any difference in the finished beer as long as you give it enough time to settle.
It is generally recommended to keep as much hot trub out of the fermenter as possible.
http://www.brewingtechniques.com/librar ... rchet.htmlBack when I was first brewing with extracts, I use to just dump the cooled, concentrated wort into the fermentor, and stopped pouring when the mixture started to look thick with trub. The beer still came out good.
I have a side pickup tube that I use in conjunction with whirlpool. It works GREAT. I brewed yesterday and was really marveling at how crystal clear my wort was coming out of the pot through the pickup. I usually stop when I start seeing trub come through. It has made a big difference in the clarity of my beers.
It is worth the money.
This may go without saying (but I got it wrong the first time. But you want your valve pickup pointed the opposite way from your whirlpool return arm for maximum whirlpool effect.
how high above the bottom curve do most of you drill the hole for the bulkhead fitting?
