Cedar Rapids Brewing Society

Not a new concept at all, just bored, cold and wanted a simple DIY project.

Trying this on on the cheap, next step may be to source the mesh in stainless. The bags are so cheap it saves me time cleaning so I may never go stainless. I made one of each, 1 gallon and 5 gallon. I doubt the 1 gallon works for any of my needs, so if anyone wants it I'd be happy to give it to someone.

Parts per spider
1 - 4"x3" PVC reducer $3.00
3 - 5-5.5"x1/4" carriage bolts $0.60
3 - 1/4" nuts $0.60
3 - 1/4" wingnuts $1.50
1 - SS clamp $1.50
1 or 5 gallon paint strainer bags (packaged 2 in a bag) $3.00

Total price was ~$10/ea

Drill 3 holes in the 4" section of the PVC and the rest is pretty straight forward.

Yep, a DIY hop spider made brewing a lot easier for me... makes cleaning up after an IPA brew soooo much easier and the drain strainer doesn't get clogged when transferring to the carboys. I also use the Menards/Home Depot paint strainer bags... when they get too funky I just toss it and put on another one. I have not had any problems with hop utilization, but I do stir the hops around in the bag while things are boiling.

Good to know they work...and even better that they work more than one use if I choose to deal with that aspect.

My BK has a whirlpool so I hope that helps keep a lot of nasties out of the carboy. I can't wait to get this setup online and learn how to use it

Well the PVC failed about 40 minutes into the boil, so I am going to switch to a stainless piece for that OR invest in an all stainless hop spyder if I can find a deal on one for a keggle.

How did it fail?

I use a single wooden dowel instead of the carriage bolts. It allows me to move the bag off to the side while I stir the wort. I have used it twice without issue. I was going to use the carriage bolts, but I was concerned about heat transfer and ultimately melting.

daryl wrote:How did it fail?

I use a single wooden dowel instead of the carriage bolts. It allows me to move the bag off to the side while I stir the wort. I have used it twice without issue. I was going to use the carriage bolts, but I was concerned about heat transfer and ultimately melting.

It failed around the bolts, so I tend to buy your solution with a wood dowel, thanks. I caught it before it went into the wort, but the bag fell in and I retrieved it with a long pair of pliers, clamped it to the side of the keggle and left it alone for the rest of the brew. Heck I bet clamping it to the keggle with simple office clamps would solve all the issues.

Do you know if you used schedule 40 or 80 PVC.... Did they have CPVC fittings? As they may be more temperature resistant.

whitedj wrote:Do you know if you used schedule 40 or 80 PVC.... Did they have CPVC fittings? As they may be more temperature resistant.

No idea, maybe it has the tag still on the other one I made to check. It was $4 and not the $9 super heavy duty one I had in my cart before finding this cheaper alternative

If you want a welded stainless one More Beer sells one for $35.95.

http://morebeer.com/products/morebeer-k ... pider.html

Matt F wrote:If you want a welded stainless one More Beer sells one for $35.95.

http://morebeer.com/products/morebeer-k ... pider.html

I saw that and don't think it's worth it. I have other ideas to eliminate the PVC or buy an all stainless filter for $80 at some point.

I am not sure which it is; it has "Genova PVC 70 | 32" stamped into it.

I bought some dowel material; probably 3/8 round and about 2 ft long. I drilled two opposing holes in center of the wide portion of the PVC reducer, the holes are large enough for the dowel to pass through the center.

Like yours, I used a hose clamp to hold the bag. The dowel keeps everything up and out of the wort. I slide it off to the side. But from your experience, I will be mindful to keep it off of the metal, so the sides do not melt.

I am going to try the dowel idea on my next batch and will report back. A simple $2 dowel is worth a shot

Chris - did you try the hop spider with the dowel?

I am finishing my fourth batch with mine and I have had no problems.

daryl wrote:Chris - did you try the hop spider with the dowel?

I am finishing my fourth batch with mine and I have had no problems.

Bought the dowel and then bought a large 6" diameter x 14" cylindrical stainless filter. As much as I like it, I which I had saved my $$ and kept using the paint strainers. Glad the dowels were the solution.