Hop spider woes solved! In stainless!

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Just made ours and it works great!

image-2923360519.jpg
 
I had the same idea a while ago and came up with this.

Its a little more pricey but works well.

I like it as it gives me a larger hole to put the hops in.

I actually taped 1/4" holes on the sides so the threaded rod didn't stick into the inside as to scrape my hands as I put hops in.

I also use the 5 gallon paint strainer bags to give more room for the hops to flow around in, due to the depth of my 20 gallon boil kettle.

/Stainless-Concentric-Coupling-Butt-Weld-Schedule
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hop_spider2.jpg

hop_spider1.jpg
 
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What is the best way to drill through the ss? I don't have a drill press unfortunately only a cordless which I think might not be powerful enough to get through the metal. Also what type of bit is the best to use? If I can't do it myself where is the best type of place to bring it?
 
mattyb85 said:
Yeah I have clamps. And the bit type?
Click to expand...

I use Cobalt bits but most will do fine. The key is moderate pressure and quick pulse's of the trigger no more than 1-2 second burst. Stainless is not forgiving if heated. Once you heat the bit its trash. If it quits cutting sharpen or get a new bit. If you run the drill up in speed with a dull bit you will temper the hole making it much harder to continue drilling it.
 
I just built the regular PVC hop spider and loved it. Did an IPA on 5/5 for national homebrewers day and it worked great. I was a little worried after I saw the OP's melted, but then re-read that it was because of the lid. Mine never got that warm.
 
I did 10 Gallons of BM's Centennial Blonde yesterday and my PVC spider warped. So next brew will have an updated version with this flange.
 
thewurzel said:
I had the same idea a while ago and came up with this.

Its a little more pricey but works well.

I like it as it gives me a larger hole to put the hops in.

I actually taped 1/4" holes on the sides so the threaded rod didn't stick into the inside as to scrape my hands as I put hops in.

I also use the 5 gallon paint strainer bags to give more room for the hops to flow around in, due to the depth of my 20 gallon boil kettle.

Video Link: http://www.amazon.com/Stainless-Concentric-Coupling-Butt-Weld-Schedule/dp/B003RWTYZA/ref=sr_1_cc_1?s=aps&ie=UTF8&qid=1336327571&sr=1-1-catcorr
Click to expand...

What size did you buy? I'm looking to go to bigger batches and a bigger pot and this seems like a good idea
 
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For those of you concerned with PVC and hop utilization, why not:
1) build pvc hop spider
2) dump pellet hops into wort without bags
3) drain wort through ball valve, through the hop spider, and into the fermenter.

Basically just making a poor man's purpose made hop filter.
 
thewurzel said:
I had the same idea a while ago and came up with this.

Its a little more pricey but works well.

I like it as it gives me a larger hole to put the hops in.

I actually taped 1/4" holes on the sides so the threaded rod didn't stick into the inside as to scrape my hands as I put hops in.

I also use the 5 gallon paint strainer bags to give more room for the hops to flow around in, due to the depth of my 20 gallon boil kettle.

/Stainless-Concentric-Coupling-Butt-Weld-Schedule
51pY6I0b3iL._SL500_AA300_.jpg


hop_spider2.jpg

hop_spider1.jpg
Click to expand...



WOW... nicely done Sir!
 
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NCangler17 said:
For those of you concerned with PVC and hop utilization, why not:
1) build pvc hop spider
2) dump pellet hops into wort without bags
3) drain wort through ball valve, through the hop spider, and into the fermenter.

Basically just making a poor man's purpose made hop filter.
Click to expand...

That would work fine if you are not using a pump and plate chiller
 
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i found this cool kitchen gadget. its an egg container thing you put on a griddle to keep an egg a certain size. anyway it works perfect as a hop spider type thing and clips onto the side of the keg/kettle without a problem. just used it for the first time today and i am thoroughly pleased.

its nickel plated chrome but at $3 i cant complain.
 
VanHorneDog said:
i found this cool kitchen gadget. its an egg container thing you put on a griddle to keep an egg a certain size. anyway it works perfect as a hop spider type thing and clips onto the side of the keg/kettle without a problem. just used it for the first time today and i am thoroughly pleased.

its nickel plated chrome but at $3 i cant complain.
Click to expand...

Picture of the item or where you got it? Thanks!
 
I think you may have minor issues with those "legs" unless they are a really tight friction fit. If you bump the body of that hop spider just right and push one of those legs all the way in your spider will drop right in to the wort. :drunk: I speak from first hand experience. ;)
 
I picked up the InSinkErator QuickLock Mount for my hop spider. Once I removed the quicklock mount I noticed this came with a stainless O ring clip that fits on the lip of the collar. This worked like a charm to hold my nylon hop sack during the boil. Best of all, the quicklock mount was the same price as the collar alone!

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I couldn't find that specific one at home depot. They have other sink flanges...however they say "stainless steel body" but then they all have finishes like brushed nickel or chrome...are these good to use?
 
bradfordmonk said:
I couldn't find that specific one at home depot. They have other sink flanges...however they say "stainless steel body" but then they all have finishes like brushed nickel or chrome...are these good to use?
Click to expand...

"Chrome" might just be a mirror finish and the "nickel" finish might just be a brushed or #4 finish. As long as it says stainless steel I think you're good. They should have an all stainless one.
 
Can anyone suggest where I might find stainless steel carriage bolts that are 6+ inches in length?
I've checked my local Ace Hardware, Home Depot and Lowes. All they have in that length are Zinc.
 
brevity said:
Can anyone suggest where I might find stainless steel carriage bolts that are 6+ inches in length?
I've checked my local Ace Hardware, Home Depot and Lowes. All they have in that length are Zinc.
Click to expand...

Look for local hardware companies or ask a contractor to help out. Have you tried McMaster Carr? Can you use SS all thread and cut it to size?
 
StainlessBrewing said:
Look for local hardware companies or ask a contractor to help out. Have you tried McMaster Carr? Can you use SS all thread and cut it to size?
Click to expand...

I've called a local hardware company but they require me to put in a fairly large order to special order them. I'll try McMaster Carr. What do you mean by SS all thread? I should be able to cut to size.
 
brevity said:
Can anyone suggest where I might find stainless steel carriage bolts that are 6+ inches in length?
I've checked my local Ace Hardware, Home Depot and Lowes. All they have in that length are Zinc.
Click to expand...

When I built my hop spider I used with a paint strainer bag, I found Stainless All-Thread at Ace Hardware. Double nut the all thread and jamb it. You should be good.
 
I found long stainless steel rods in different thicknesses at the hobby store locally, they call it Piano Wire...I picked up two of them...not sure how I'm gonna attach. But they were only 1$ each. Thicker ones cost a little more.

I haven't played with it yet...but was thinking maybe shape it around the base on both sides and have the legs. Got to play with it.
 
Brewed a beer today using 70lbs of malt and 2lbs of hops which worked out to a 1.086 beer with 78 IBU's. I was using a lot of whole hops and didn't want to deal with them in the kettle so I built a hop spider using a stainless garbage disposal ring and paint strainer. I was afraid it wouldn't handle 2lbs of hops but it worked fine. The only problem I had was stuffing a bunch of whole hops in the small hole but I guess it's no different then stuffing food down a garbage disposal...

7B1E3C59-8512-48DB-A658-BF4706A49110-683-000000589B16AAE4_zps485a5766.jpg
 
Thought I would post mine up here. I had the PVC rig for about an year until it finally melted. Never noticed any issues with it but then it never touched my wort. Anyhow I made this one and it is pretty much the same as the others just slightly modified.

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Another option could be the coupler neck from the cut off top of the sanke. I realize that is of no help if those tops are long gone to the scrap metal pile.
 

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