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We have an old, inefficient 30 bbl whirlpool (concave bottom, stand-pipe, etc). We have up to a barrel of unrecoverable wort with some of our brews. I'd like to look into cutting out the bottom, re-routing the plumbing and upgrading it to a more efficient, modern vessel. Any suggestions for finding design specifications or help with creating a design?
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Can you provide pics? someone might be able to give you some suggestions that you might not have considered yet -
I can post pictures if necessary, but the whirlpool is just a round single-walled vessel, 6 feet in diameter. The inner part of the bottom is concave with a 4" drain hole in the center. Wort exits to the heat exchanger through a short stand-pipe located on the raised part of the bottom about midway between the center and the outside edge. I've seen and heard about better whirlpools that have flat bottoms and a dam in the vicinity of the wort outlet. Ours does a fine job of keeping hops out of the heat exchanger; it just wastes too much wort and I'm tired of sending it down the drain. I'd like to find out the ideal placements for the inlet, outlet and dam and any other pertinent information.Comment
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I've not brewed on a kettle with dams, but have heard that it makes cleaning difficult. One major issue that I know makes it difficult to clean is if the outlet is on the side at the bottom--vertical plane. Outlet should always be on the bottom horizontal plane. Best whirlpools I've worked with are roughly 2:1 diameter/height, have flat bottoms, two side outlets--one higher than the other to initiate drawoff without influencing trub pile, and the floor tilted slightly toward the drain. Keep a mill finish on the whirlpool floor. No need for a slick, mirror finish. Good luck!Phillip Kelm--Palau Brewing Company Manager--Comment
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Every kettle I have ever worked on (7bbl+ at any rate) has had a dam, cleaning them out is not an issue at all. You have a wort outlet on the outer edge of the dish, behind the dam, and a full outlet in the middle at the bottom of the dish.. when the wort is all pulled off, you spray the trub pile with water and open the bottom port to drain... takes maybe 5 minutes in most casesComment
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