Couple years back I bought two large stainless steel welded “hop spiders” in 300 and 400 mesh.
These are absolutely the best in the kettle, 300 mesh for pellet hops and 400 mesh for whole hops.
Multiple pellet hop additions during the boil by just pitching the hops into the hop spider.
Whole hop stands in the 400 mesh at the end of the boil.
Mine are very well used over the years.
That said they have been a challenge to keep clean.
The 300 mesh (larger screen) cleans up well with hot PBW or oxyclean / TSP and lots of elbow grease.
Not so the 400 mesh.
The 400 mesh inside and out come clean.
But in between where you cannot reach has become encrusted with crud.
So much crud it has become no longer useable.
I have been working on trying to clean the hop spider the past year.
I soaked it in hot PBW.
I soaked it in hot oxyclean / TSP.
I painted it with CLR.
I soaked it in muriatic acid.
I soaked it in Acid#5.
Nothing worked.
I gave up and was ready to order a new 400 mesh hop spider as I felt this one was at its end of life.
Then I was out power washing the pond and I thought, what the heck, power wash the hop spider.
If it breaks, I was going to buy a new one anyway.
It is unreal how well that worked to clean the stainless steel mesh.
Both these hop spiders are spotlessly clean.
Did not break the welds.
Put new life into both these hop spiders.
