hop pellet strainer

hi, I currently use leaf hops but would also like to be able to use pellets. my concern is that my hop filter won't cope with pellets and will block; so I'm looking to get myself a mesh strainer. can anyone advise on the specification for the mesh? I've seen both 300 and 400 micron mesh strainers and wondered if either would be suitable? cheers boddington

I just picked up a 300m for my boil kettle. Is the pic below what you are looking for?

I have the 6" x 14" 300 micron filter from Arbor Fabricating. I've used it with both pellet and leaf hops; prior to purchasing it, I only used leaf hops due to clogging of my in-kettle filter. I can honestly say that it is the best purchase I've made in my homebrewing career, and I don't regret a penny spent on it. It's opened up a whole new world of hopping options, as the number of varieties available as whole leaf pales in comparison to those in pellet form. I can't recommend these filters enough--in fact, I loaned mine to our local nanobrewery to test out, and they immediately contacted Arbor and had them design and build a custom filter that works with their kettle size.

haerbob3 and cmbrougham, thanks a lot for your replies. the strainer in the picture is the one I had in mind and it's reassuring to know that it works so well with hop pellets. it's now on the shopping list. cheers boddington

I, too, just received my 6x14 300m strainer, and while it is good to know it works so well (I'll be using it for the first time on my next brew) it still begs the question; do you have any issues cleaning it? It seems to have plenty of areas where hop debris could get stuck. Would a good ol' dishwasher do the trick? Will is rust if you don't dry it in an oven (like my chinois)?

I turn mine over, thunk it a few times in pan or bucket, and 95% of the hop matter falls right out. Then I just put it in the utility sink and spray it down--first with it right-side up to knock stuff out of the bottom (it's recessed, so hot break tends to collect there a bit while boiling), and then I flip it over and spray it from the bottom. I don't bother to clean it with chemicals; the force of the water (I use a spray nozzle in the sink) cleans it out well enough. Takes me no more than a minute.

I basically treat it like my immersion chiller: I want it cleaned off enough that there aren't gobs of boil detritus left on it, but I don't care if it's sparkling, since it's going back in the boil and will be pretty well sanitized. I've used it for 6-7 batches, and it looks used, but functions like a champ.

You could probably use a dishwasher if you wanted, but I'd be certain to get all, or at least most, of the hop matter out first. I don't dry mine; I just spray it with the hottest water I can, smack it a few times to release most of the water held on by surface tension, and leave to air dry in the garage by hanging it from its integrated hook. It's 100% stainless steel, so it should be pretty resistant to rusting.

hi fellas, just to say that I picked up an arbor strainer and used it with pellets for the first time a couple of days ago. it did a great job and i'll now be using more pellets in future brews. thanks again for the sound advice. 

I wonder if 300 microns is too fine. Hop pellet particles are quite a bit larger than that.

We put almost 9 ounces of pellets into it last weekend for Big Brew, and it held back everything perfectly. Just before knock out, I pull it out of the wort and suspend it above the kettle to drain. In two minutes, you're left with a clump of hop debris and all your wort is back in the kettle. In conjunction with a pump to whirlpool, I'm getting more cleaner, clearer wort into the fermenter--well worth the extra bit of cleaning I must do.

I recently purchased a trub strainer from Brewers Hardware http://www.brewershardware.com/Trub-Strainer/
Its mounted directly off of my brew kettle, before my pump, and works great!  I've had up to 16 oz of pellet hops and it didn't clog or restrict the flow to the pump.
-Dan