Socket Position For Whirlpool Inlet

[Crusty]

Hi guys,
Getting a few 1/2" sockets welded onto some kegs shortly & wondering if you guys could post some pics of your whirlpool inlet positions on your kegs. Looking at placing one on the left of my ball valve socket & just below the first ring from the bottom of the keg.

Roughly like this,

Will also be adding a socket for digital temp control / monitoring. Same height as my ball valve socket but 90 deg in relation to ball valve.


Crusty

 

[Banshee]

stir

 

[Crusty]

stir

I don't want to stir for 10 mins.
I was looking to do what Screwy does & begin to whirlpool through the plate chiller for the last 10 mins of the boil without cooling water & after flameout continue whirlpooling & turn on cooling water. Continue for a little longer than slowly into fermenter. Just looking at where to place the inlet.

 

[Banshee]

stir for ten minutes? I only stir for like 20 - 30 seconds you only need to get a whirlpool going. When we where kids it didn't even take use 10 mins to get the pool whirlpooled. I seen a micro brewert that had outlet at base of vessel at a 45 degree horisontal and used gravity for whirlppol one motion.

 

[Crusty]

stir for ten minutes? I only stir for like 20 - 30 seconds you only need to get a whirlpool going. When we where kids it didn't even take use 10 mins to get the pool whirlpooled. I seen a micro brewert that had outlet at base of vessel at a 45 degree horisontal and used gravity for whirlppol one motion.

10 mins is basically to steralize the plate chiller. I have been whirlpooling in the past for like you said, about 30 sec or so. Takes no effort to whirlpool. I may ommit the whirlpool inlet out but I see beerbelly & a lot of others have been making good use of the whirlpool inlet.
You don't bother with one?

 

[Jono_w]

Mate I have it written somewhere but i think it was a tangental inlet 1/3 of the depth from the bottom is the preferred, I might be wrong, I'll try and find it.

 

[Banshee]

Use an imersion chiller then you whirlpool in kettle and chill with coil and leave cold break in kettle. less hassel. More coil faster the cooling.

 

[kevin_smevin]

Its commonly placed 1/4 to 1/3 of the way up the pot. The most common entry angle is 30 degrees to the tangent. I think a whirlpool inlet and a pump is far easier and more effective then stirring. Can of worms?

 

[Crusty]

Its commonly placed 1/4 to 1/3 of the way up the pot. The most common entry angle is 30 degrees to the tangent. I think a whirlpool inlet and a pump is far easier and more effective then stirring. Can of worms?

+1
If I'm getting a pump I may as well use it. I was planning to start the whirlpool in the last 10 mins of the boil to steralize the chiller & after flameout start cooling water flow & keep whirlpooling for as long as needed. Allow it to settle then slowly transfer to the fermenter.
If using hop pellets & a plate chiller, do you recommend using hop socks or something in the boil kettle to avoid a blocked chiller?

 

[kevin_smevin]

+1
If I'm getting a pump I may as well use it. I was planning to start the whirlpool in the last 10 mins of the boil to steralize the chiller & after flameout start cooling water flow & keep whirlpooling for as long as needed. Allow it to settle then slowly transfer to the fermenter.
If using hop pellets & a plate chiller, do you recommend using hop socks or something in the boil kettle to avoid a blocked chiller?

I recirculate boiling water from my HLT to sterilize my plate chiller. I dont run the wort because its full of hot break and hop particles. The main reason for a whirlpool is the separation of hot break and hops from the wort so you can run clear wort through your plate chiller and not clog it up. Using a hop sock would help but you'd still be running hot break through your chiller which i would avoid. If you have a HLT, i would simply use the water from that. Then after you've chilled your wort you can use the hot water in your HLT to back flush your plate chiller and pump for cleaning.

I whirlpool for 10minutes at the end of the boil, followed by a 10 minutes rest, which is important to let the trub settle and form a cone. I then drain the wort from the kettle through a beer belly hop screen, into the pump and then into the chiller. I recommend some kind of straining device to ensure no bits get in your plate chiller. You dont have to use something fancy. They have been made from stainless steel wool, those balls you use to make tea with. A Bazooka hopscreen would work too.

Hope it all goes well

 

[JonnyAnchovy]

A Bazooka hopscreen would work too.

I've just started using a homemade version of this. With lots of hop flowers I'm getting the clearest wort into the fermenter I've ever seen.

 

[Crusty]

Thanks yum,
I will use the HLT for sterilizing the plate chiller. I am ordering a hop screen off beerbelly probably tomorrow as well as a few stainless bits & pieces & his wort return dish for my mashtun.
I was looking at getting his deluxe stainless pickup tube for the whirlpool, would that be ok?
Where I placed the red dot for the whirlpool inlet look ok?

Crusty

 

[kevin_smevin]

Thanks yum,
I will use the HLT for sterilizing the plate chiller. I am ordering a hop screen off beerbelly probably tomorrow as well as a few stainless bits & pieces & his wort return dish for my mashtun.
I was looking at getting his deluxe stainless pickup tube for the whirlpool, would that be ok?
Where I placed the red dot for the whirlpool inlet look ok?

Crusty

The pickup tube will work ok, though its not ideal. I know a couple of people use the hopscreen pickup tube as it injects the wort at a better angle to create a whirlpool. The normal pickup tube will inject the wort directly back onto the wall of the kettle - no as smooth flowing and therefore not as efficient. I've attatched a pdf of what i'm planning for my whirlpool - its basically and 100mm length of 12mm diameter stainless tube with a thread on one end. I'm getting it welded into the wall of my vessel to get the injection angle i'm after.

The red dot should be fine. You could possible go a little higher, maybe just above that next ring on the keg.

View attachment whirlpool_tangent.pdf

 

[Crusty]

The pickup tube will work ok, though its not ideal. I know a couple of people use the hopscreen pickup tube as it injects the wort at a better angle to create a whirlpool. The normal pickup tube will inject the wort directly back onto the wall of the kettle - no as smooth flowing and therefore not as efficient. I've attatched a pdf of what i'm planning for my whirlpool - its basically and 100mm length of 12mm diameter stainless tube with a thread on one end. I'm getting it welded into the wall of my vessel to get the injection angle i'm after.

The red dot should be fine. You could possible go a little higher, maybe just above that next ring on the keg.

View attachment 40408

Do you mean they use the beerbelly hopscreen as the whirlpool?

I like the look of your planned whirlpool inlet, nice.

 

[kevin_smevin]

Do you mean they use the beerbelly hopscreen as the whirlpool?

I like the look of your planned whirlpool inlet, nice.

They just use the pickup tube, without the actual perforated stainless hop screen part. It's not listed by itself on the website but you can buy it on its own, probably just have to give them a call. I know Kleiny uses one for his whirlpool so you could always PM him if your after more info, he's a very helpful kinda guy.

 

[jjeffrey]

You want about 2-3m/s fluid velocity coming out of your nozzle. You want the nozzle discharge to be as tangental as possible. Space it about 30-50mm from the wall of the vessel.

About 1/4-1/3 the way between the floor and top liquid level, as others have said.

However you start your whirlpool (either by stirring, or by recirculation), you need to let it stand for at least 10 minutes without stirring to allow the cone to form properly. This is because the sediment that collects in the cone has to actually settle down the sides of the vessel, before it is augered into the cone along the bottom of the vessel by the bulk movement of the fluid. Flow from the nozzle or eddies from the paddle will actually disturb this settling. The important thing to understand is that the nozzle/paddle is there to impart the kinietic energy into the fluid get the whirlpool going. The actual settling of material into the cone arises as a result of the fluid body moving and slowing down. Settling does not occur whilst the flow is coming out of the nozzle.

Pictures of my nozzle:
Whirlpool nozzle
Whirlpool nozzle installed in kettle

Video of me crapping on about my kit, inc. whirlpool nozzle (towards the end I think):
Kit Overview

Video of me using the whirlpool via heat exchanger during chill (towards the end):
Mash & Boil

jj.

 

[Crusty]

You want about 2-3m/s fluid velocity coming out of your nozzle. You want the nozzle discharge to be as tangental as possible. Space it about 30-50mm from the wall of the vessel.

About 1/4-1/3 the way between the floor and top liquid level, as others have said.

However you start your whirlpool (either by stirring, or by recirculation), you need to let it stand for at least 10 minutes without stirring to allow the cone to form properly. This is because the sediment that collects in the cone has to actually settle down the sides of the vessel, before it is augered into the cone along the bottom of the vessel by the bulk movement of the fluid. Flow from the nozzle or eddies from the paddle will actually disturb this settling. The important thing to understand is that the nozzle/paddle is there to impart the kinietic energy into the fluid get the whirlpool going. The actual settling of material into the cone arises as a result of the fluid body moving and slowing down. Settling does not occur whilst the flow is coming out of the nozzle.

Pictures of my nozzle:
Whirlpool nozzle
Whirlpool nozzle installed in kettle

Video of me crapping on about my kit, inc. whirlpool nozzle (towards the end I think):
Kit Overview

Video of me using the whirlpool via heat exchanger during chill (towards the end):
Mash & Boil

jj.

Holy heck dude,
That setup is sweet. Thanks for the advice.

Crusty

 

[raven19]

Holy heck dude,
That setup is sweet. Thanks for the advice.

Crusty

:icon_offtopic: Check out JJ's RIMS thread also fella if you haven't yet. A great read there.

Edit: Linky added

 

[Crusty]

:icon_offtopic: Check out JJ's RIMS thread also fella if you haven't yet. A great read there.

Edit: Linky added

Thanks Rav,
I had a good read of his & yours, awesome info.

Crusty

 

[kevin_smevin]

Its true that you shouldn't whirlpool faster then 3m/s. I dont think these speeds are possible with a march pump. http://www.1728.com/flowrate.htm This online calculator will determine the speed of the wort coming out of your whirlpool inlet, simply put the diameter of your inlet tube in and the flow rate in L/min (calc this by running water for 1 minute through your whirlpool and measuring the volume collected). It will then give you the velocity of your wort flow. Online calculators are great.