I have a converted sankey keg as my boil kettle. I currently use a sure screen and hop spider to help keep things clean going into the chiller and carboy.
I am thinking about putting a pickup tube on the kettle so I dont find myself trying to fill the carboy with one arm and tilt the keg with the other to get that gallon plus of wort out of there.(also in the HLT but thats easy). I run kettle to chiller to pump back to kettle or into carboy.
My question is, do any of you have experience with using a pickup tube on the kettle? Can you filter it somehow before it exits the kettle. Is this even an issue with the break material at the bottom? Can you cut the pickup tube somehow to avoid the break material?
Thanks!
I use a pickup tube that goes to the edge of the kettle. I only use pellet hops and when I am done chilling, I do a 15-20 minute whirlpool to get all of the trub to the center of the kettle. Works great. I have never tried this with leaf hops, but if I had to, I’d put 'em in a bag.
I also have the tube to the side, about 1/4 inch below the bottom weld. I picked up a L shaped copper pipe at home depot an cut the close end and tube barb off and flared the shorter end to attach it the the kettle. Works great if you whirl pool since the trub will be in the middle and not to the outside, though I do leave about 1/2 gallon behind.
I got mine at bargain fittings and bent it over my knee until it curved correctly. Have it hooked up to a stainless street elbow that hooks up to the weldless female fitting.
Naw, you want you pickup tube to go in the same direction as your whirlpool. The purpose of the whirlpool is to get all the trub and such to settle into the center of the kettle. Once it’s settle in the middle, then you can drain the kettle. If the pickup tube and whirlpool go in opposite directions, then, as you’re whirlpooling, you’re forcing trub and such up into the pickup tube.