Brewzilla whirlpool arm and transfer to fermentor

[hoppyscotty]

Hey everybody. It went well today. I did a dme brew coz I had a batch that needed brewing. However using the pump transfer to the fermenter, although it wad nice and easy, moved lots of proteins in the FV that would usually be left in the pan when using the u bend and the wand. Not sure if this will affect the brew, suppose wel'l find out. I didn't really want to have to take the collection bottle off a bunch of times fro the fermenter to clear it. Still trying to dial everything in. Trying to brew on a regular basis to get these things ironed out. Pic below of how much actual ***** is in there.
I'm also fermenting quite warm and under 20 psi to try a dr hans style lager thing.
View attachment 59725

Don’t sweat it. No problem there at all. It’s a conical fermeter so can de-trub at some point if it bothers you.
I’ve found that though the whirlpool arm gathers the hops into a nice cone, is the wort level drops around it when you transfer to the fermenter hops slide off the side of the cone and slip by the edges of the poorly fitting BZ false bottom. I’m trying to work out a way to seal the FB edge to prevent this. Mainly to protect the pump and maintain pump performance.

 

[Covrich]

What can also help is leave the brew to sit in the kettle before transferring, lets the crap settle out.. you will transfer much clearer wort in

 

[Make us a brew luv]

What can also help is leave the brew to sit in the kettle before transferring, lets the crap settle out.. you will transfer much clearer wort in

Yeah. Would still have to rack from top though?

 

[Make us a brew luv]

Don’t sweat it. No problem there at all. It’s a conical fermeter so can de-trub at some point if it bothers you.
I’ve found that though the whirlpool arm gathers the hops into a nice cone, is the wort level drops around it when you transfer to the fermenter hops slide off the side of the cone and slip by the edges of the poorly fitting BZ false bottom. I’m trying to work out a way to seal the FB edge to prevent this. Mainly to protect the pump and maintain pump performance.

I was considering attaching a bit of pipe to the hole where the pump inlet is so that it draws from a little bit higher therefore leaving everything at the bottom. This might mean a bit more wastage but I would usually of left that in the pan anyway racking from the top. I would also need to make sure the false bottom isn't resting on it too as I think this would block up pretty quick.

 

[hoppyscotty]

Yeah, you could attach a 90 degree elbow fitting and a bazooka filter. The height of the elbow fitting would give you an additional half an inch or so of height and the bazooka filter would help to filter out anything that might be sucked up as the flow into the pump inlet is established. Personally I'm not that fussed about hop matter or other solids going into the fermenter...it maters not...but I like my plate chiller and want to prevent too much crud going through that and risking blocking it.

I'd rather get the false bottom working as it should and the system working as intended. I'm generally happy with my Brewzilla and the results I get from it, but the crappy false bottom is a really poorly executed bit of design and manufacturing execution and kind of bothers me. I know the BZ is towards the more budget end of the spectrum, but if the FB cant be made to work properly then just don't bother with it. All it would need is a rolled groove in the side of the vessel so the false bottom sits on a step then you can put a gasket on that so it sits on the gasket creating a nice seal around its edge.

 

[Make us a brew luv]

Did you get it with the silicone ring thing? Mine didn't come with one. But imagine that would of worked??

 

[hoppyscotty]

No silicone ring with the Brewzilla...at least not with mine. I did buy the silicone ring from the grainfather top plate but no chance in stretching it over the edge of the brewzilla false bottom, and even if you did you'd stand no chance installing the false bottom without rolling it off. I want to make a stainless steel ring to expand around the edge of the BZ pipe...a bit like the ring that you rest the malt pipe on, and use some silicone tubing so the FB sits on top of that and created a seal.This is more like how FB's work in more expensive kit, it sits on a seal rather than having a seal around the edge.

Am wanting to try to use the ring that the malt pipe sits on...they're only a tenner to buy a spare, but the straight sections that will sit away from the side will let hops by so no point. Need some stainless steel rod and the means to bend it into a circle.

 

[Covrich]

Yeah. Would still have to rack from top though?

If you use the tap

 

[Covrich]

I use the pump for transferring sometimes but the problem is it can get blocked with hops and stuff

I do not use the spider. I think they make a big dent in you hops

 

[The Cat]

I'm another who uses tap and sieve.

Plenty of aeriation going on as the Brewzilla is on a milk crate above the fermenting bucket.

 

[hoppyscotty]

I find the tap can block up if there are alot of hop additions directly in the wort too. Pump isn't so much of an issue for me due to use of the whirlpool arm and I start running the pump shortly after 'flame out' to let the boil settle down and continue to run it thereby keeping it clear. Once I've finished with the whirlpool arm I replace with the recirculation arm for transfer.

But now I'm running a plate chiller I have been using a hop spider until I find a solution for the false bottom as explained above and have noticed a reduction in effectiveness of hop utilisation. The hop spider fine mesh just becomes blocked very quickly and the level of wort in the hop spider increases and it is a pain to let the wort out with some vigorous stirring and agitation of the wort within the hop spider with the paddle.

 

[Make us a brew luv]

I find the tap can block up if there are alot of hop additions directly in the wort too. Pump isn't so much of an issue for me due to use of the whirlpool arm and I start running the pump shortly after 'flame out' to let the boil settle down and continue to run it thereby keeping it clear. Once I've finished with the whirlpool arm I replace with the recirculation arm for transfer.

But now I'm running a plate chiller I have been using a hop spider until I find a solution for the false bottom as explained above and have noticed a reduction in effectiveness of hop utilisation. The hop spider fine mesh just becomes blocked very quickly and the level of wort in the hop spider increases and it is a pain to let the wort out with some vigorous stirring and agitation of the wort within the hop spider with the paddle.

Well I did use a hop spider with my last boil but I ran the recirculation pump during and pointed the tube just above the hops, a bit like a sparge but over the hops.

 

[Beer Please]

Right brilliant.
Been reading the other brewzilla feed for like an hour.
Cheers

Being a newbie to all grain who has just purchased a Brewzilla, where do I find this feed?

 

[Make us a brew luv]

Just search brewzilla and it's the top one

 

[hoppyscotty]

I would strongly recommend the Home Brew Network YouTube channel amongst others (David Heath, Short Circuited Brewers) for tips and tricks for brewing with Brewzilla and other similar systems.