Home of the BrewNosers

I built a hop spider last night, pretty much identical to the one in the December 2011 BYO. 7" carriage bolts were just about perfect for my 15 gallon OBK kettle.

http://byo.com/stories/projects-and-equ ... r-projects" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

The only issue: I couldn't find a turn key hose clamp in the right size. I used a regular one with a screw, but that will get annoying over time. CT has the 3" ones for sewer pipe, but they are too small. Any idea where to find the dryer sized ones? They are 3 1/2" to 4 1/2". Amazon has them, but after shipping they cost more than the entire project.

looks cool....
I think I may need a hop spider...cut the gunk

You may be able to put two together.

Sandy

You can find large clamps at Busy Bee Tools in Burnside. They are meant for dust collection systems and are available in 3, 4 and 5"

http://www.busybeetools.com/products/HO ... -4IN..html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

One thing to be careful of if you used the plastic coupling is that it doesn't heat to the point of softening. My first batch with a hop spider was going good until the last 20 minutes of the boil. I walked out to take a peek and the whole thing was sagging down into the pot. The steam from the boil, along with the weight of the hops allowed the coupling to melt and flex down into the pot.

I've got a steel one now, but it rarely gets used as I normally dump everything into my fermenter. This one isn't falling into the pot...