I performed an over night soak and series of tests to confirm the material was in fact stainless steel, I am confident it is but you can never be to safe.
Here are some shots of the filter in action
As you might be able to see in the photos above, the orientation of my dip tube is down and to the side. I found that part way through transfer from boil kettle to fermenter, the filter became caked in hops and break material which greatly diminished flow. I use my pump when transferring. The pump never did lose prime but this process ended up taking near 1hr. Way too long. I found out near the end of the transfer that if I used my brew spoon and scraped off a portion of the filter, regular flow resumed, doh!
Moving forward, I have shortened the dip tube slightly, it can now sit upright which forces separation of the two screens. I am hoping this makes better use of the filters surface area and delays the amount of time it takes for the flow to slow.
Update April 3rd
Last evening I observed what appears to be rust (iron oxide) beginning to form in areas at the edge and center of the kettle filter. This means that either the material is not stainless steel, perhaps carbon steel, or the acidic environment of the wort was enough to remove the passive layer of chromium. I disassembled the filter and gave it a good scrub with a nylon brush, baking soda and vinegar. I will report back if the rust has returned.
Update April 5th
Pretty much status quo. Nothing had progressed.
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