Whirlpool arm 101?

[mrbeachroach]

Hello friends. On some of my recent post about brew pot essentials, A few folks mentioned a whirlpool arm.

Can someone please explain what this is and show pictures of how they work, possibly how efficient they are.

Thank you.

 

[Jtk78]

It is a piece that you pump the wort through and is aimed to make the wort "whirlpool" in the kettle. It can help chill times, keep wort moving during whirlpool hop additions, and move the debris to the center of the pot so you drain less of the debris into your fermenter.

There are many different kinds out there. Some you drill a hole into the pot and put a weldless bulkhead with an elbow, others can go over the pot and not require a hole. I made mine out of some copper I was I had. The copper goes about 2/3 down the pot, and I put a bend at the bottom to aim the wort in a whirlpool fashion. It worked great for my needs.

20171130_070354

• Jtk78
• Jan 25, 2018

Pump and whirlpool arm

 

[leonardoreges]

I use brewing spoon and my own arms.
Works as exercise as well.

 

[Jtk78]

I use brewing spoon and my own arms.
Works as exercise as well.

I did this before I added my pump. However I am now able to do other things during chilling and whirlpool hop stands. If I do a 20 minute hop stand, that could mean 40 minutes or so of cleaning / prepping other things. That's a nice time saver.

 

[Hwk-I-St8]

I started out doing it manually with a spoon, but with the NEIPAs I brew, that can lead to 45 minutes of stirring between a WP hopstand and chilling. Plus, if I tried to stir, take a break, stir some more when it slows down, etc. I had to find a place to set the spoon down and then re-sanitize it each time. Huge PITA.

Plus, I brew in my garage. During the summer, bugs can be an issue. Fortunately, I have a kettle with a lid that features a cutout. I can run the WP arm and the immersion chiller arms through that cutout, then I drape a star-san soaked tea towel over the opening and arms. Bug free WP and chilling and I can be cleaning and putting stuff away while it happens.

I'd be fine with a WP port and short internal arm, but I didn't want to spend for a custom kettle and I'm not a fan of weldless fittings.

 

[mrbeachroach]

I started out doing it manually with a spoon, but with the NEIPAs I brew, that can lead to 45 minutes of stirring between a WP hopstand and chilling. Plus, if I tried to stir, take a break, stir some more when it slows down, etc. I had to find a place to set the spoon down and then re-sanitize it each time. Huge PITA.

Plus, I brew in my garage. During the summer, bugs can be an issue. Fortunately, I have a kettle with a lid that features a cutout. I can run the WP arm and the immersion chiller arms through that cutout, then I drape a star-san soaked tea towel over the opening and arms. Bug free WP and chilling and I can be cleaning and putting stuff away while it happens.

I'd be fine with a WP port and short internal arm, but I didn't want to spend for a custom kettle and I'm not a fan of weldless fittings.

Do you have a picture of that lid with a cut out?

 

[Hwk-I-St8]

Do you have a picture of that lid with a cut out?

Brewbuilt kettle

 

[MichaelBD]

I use a chugger/march pump and just clamp my 1/2" silicone hose at the rim of my kettle.

 

[SFC Rudy]

I use brewing spoon and my own arms.
Works as exercise as well.

If it's stupid and it works, it ain't stupid.