Chiller question

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coulter

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Hey guys, needing some of your expert knowledge. I'm slowly building up my equipment which includes a single tier, 3 keg setup but was wondering what chiller you think would work best. From all I've read looks like a lot of people use the counter-flow chiller. Is there any pros/cons to using the counter-flow chiller as opposed to the immersion chiller or plate chiller? I will be using a pump if that matters. I can solder and pretty good at DIY as well. Thanks for all the input!

Cheers
 
With an immersion chiller, it's best to agitate the wort around the coil. I usually do this by "swirling" the chiller in the kettle. This ensures a more efficient heat exchange. CFC's and Plates accommodate this by constantly providing newly chilled water that can stay in contact with the wort. Other than that, I think it comes down to what type of hops you use and how you plan to clean the chiller.

I'm trying to decide what type of chiller to upgrade to right now myself. The immersion just doesn't cut it anymore with big batches. Plus, in the summer time, I am using a pre-chiller in addition to my immersion chiller.
 
Thanks for the info Grizzly. Well I'm not sure what kind of hops I will be using but I do know that I will probably start out with 5 gallon batches and then once I find something I really like will more than likely do it in a 10 gallon so it sounds like I should stay away from an immersion chiller. Just so I don't have to make/buy something twice.

It looks to me that a counter-flow chiller would come in contact with more wort due to the bigger mass of it, which would cool quicker....But I could be WAY off.
 
will your setup be elctric or gas? i use an immersion chiller becaue i do not have a good strainer on my bk to keep stuff out of a plate chiller, also do you plan to buy or build a chiller? how fast do you want to chill? 10min, 15 min 30? i built an imersion chiller, 50 ft of 5/8 od coil, works fine for 10 gallon batches but required modification for 5 gallon batches. access to cold water . sorry little long winded you asked for pros cons, i can only offer pros/cons for the immersion.
Pros -easy to build, can easily make it to fit your setup, even integrate it into the keggle, doesn't clog up if your screen doesn't catch all the nasty stuff in the bottom, easilty can work for both 5 and 10 gallon batches

cons - can be a pita to clean if stuff gets stuck to it, goes in your boil befor the boil ends, requires agitation or wort movement to work at its best, one more thing to clean that is not a set it and forget it item.

hope this helps.
 
That helps a lot thanks. I will be using gas on my setup. As far as buying or building I can do both. I like to DIY as much as possible but not a deal breaker on any one chiller. I really don't know how fast I would want to chill, I'm still new and learning but I'm assuming you would want to chill as quick as possible but either one as long as it works and doesn't ruin the wort.

Ahh I didnt' think about how tough it would be to clean. That makes a lot of sense. How did you modify it from 10 gallon to 5 gallon? I'm hoping to find something that could be used with minimal amount of adjusting depending on what size I brew.

Thanks again!!
 
in my case, i have an electric element in the botom of my keggle, my immersion chiller had to fit around it. if i was still using gas then no big deal. it would sit on the bottom. when i make 5 gallon batchs not enough wort to comes into contact with alot of the chiller because of the way it is elevated over the electric element, with 10 gallon most of the wort contacts the whole chiller. i like my immersion chiller, works well for me, i am sure there are plenty of people that i am sure love there plate chiller, or maybe a home made counterflow. Here is a pic of mine before i moded it to use in an electric keggle, chilled plenty fast, i did ad 90degree elbows to point the hose connectors down.
 
Thanks for the pics! It's all slowly starting to make sense now. So the next picture with the green tub is your pre-chiller where the hose water mixes with the ice and then pumped to your IC where it cools the wort and then out to drain wherever.
 
I made an IC using 20 feet of 3/8" OD soft copper tubing (utility grade) last week. I used it on Sunday to cool down a 5 gallon batch. I didn't have enough tubing/line to run to/from the sink, so I left the chiller soaking in StarSan while the boil finished. I pulled it out of the sanitizer, gave it a moment to drip the excess off, then placed it into my wort. Connected up the remaining fittings for the feed water and was good to go. I did stir the wort with the same spoon I was using while it was boiling, during the chill-down. Took under 15 minutes (closer to 10) to cool down to below 70F. I'm going to get some more tubing and a few other fittings so that I can place the IC into the boiling wort and still have the water to/from the sink. Once I do that, I'll also have about 18.5'-19' of copper inside the wort for the cooling.

Since I've only used my chiller once, I cannot say anything about stuff getting stuck to it. I will say, it came out of the wort cleaner than it went in (or has more shine on it).

If you decide to make your own IC, I would suggest getting either some high temp tubing to go at the pot side, or the fiberglass reinforced tubing (such as from Lowe's)... With what comes out of the hot end of the IC, the tubing won't have any issue (barely warm to the touch on the outside of the tubing, at less than 6" from the end of the copper). The reinforced tubing also has the advantage of being stiffer so less chance of it kinking on you. I'm planning on using that for both the feed and drain ends of my IC. Simple SS tubing (worm screw) clamps are all you need to connect the tubing on either end.

I am thinking about getting another 10' of copper to make a pre-chiller for the summer months. IF the tap water gets too warm to chill the wort within a reasonable amount of time. Although, I suspect that the tap water in this section of MA won't get above about 70-75F so it shouldn't be much of an issue.

Pro's: Can be a DIY project without much issue at all. Effective cooling as long as you're aware of what you need to properly use it. Faster/easier than the other chilling methods I've used. Also requires no cleaning of internal parts between brews (I would be concerned about something being left inside either a CFC or plate chiller). I'm cooking on a gas stove right now, so the IC works great. I would imagine that when you go from 5 to 10 gallon batch size (if using different pots) you could easily make a second IC to go inside/outside the other one's coils. Split the feed water source to supply both (not that difficult to do) and then just drain.

Con's: Boil kettle/pot needs to be larger than copper coil. If not making your own, you need to get one that works best for your batch size.

You also have a range of different copper coil sizes to work with (if you DIY)... While I wouldn't use the 1/4", you could. You can go up to 1/2" if you wish.

Ultimately, I see it as an item that is more personal choice, and what goes best with your setup. Ask a dozen different home brewers and I bet you'll find people using every possible method.
 
Thanks for the pics! It's all slowly starting to make sense now. So the next picture with the green tub is your pre-chiller where the hose water mixes with the ice and then pumped to your IC where it cools the wort and then out to drain wherever.

actually that was somthing else i tried, i had a bilge pumpe in that picture with snow/ice/water in it. then i pumped it through the chiller,back into the tub, kinda like a recirculation thing. in that pic you can see the extra elbows i added for the hoses , that way they don't collapse on themselves. i did find out that my bilge pump couldn't pumpe the cold water high enough, it could omly get up like 3 ft.
 
nothing wrong with 1/4 inch if you have enough coil, i have a smaller immersion chiller i made for stovetop batch that is made of 1/4 inch that works fine for those, Golddiggie is absolutle correct about being correctly sized you your bk
 
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