gift certificate from morebeer

My wife, Love her, got me a gift certificate from Morebeer for a wort chiller. 100 bucks. I'm making a keggle and have the stuff to do it so I would like to go to 10 gallon batches soon. I will also probably throw out some 5 gallon batches as well. Researching the wort chillers online I see they have a 5/10 split chiller or a regular "type" chiller without the split. 1/2 inch/50 feet. Which should I get? The split type or just a coil of copper type?

Never used a chiller but this is going to be a red letter year for me as things are coming together. Making a keggle and a mash tun this year but until then using extract.

A little help from the veterans would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks

http://morebeer.com/view_product/19523/102204


http://morebeer.com/view_product/19521/102204

Bump it up

If you're doing 5's and 10's the split will be more effective.

I have that B3 Superchiller. I just pushed it down to compress it and just about comes level with the top of a 5.5 gallon batch in a 13.2 keg (50 liter). It would still stick up a bit in a 15.5 keg and a 5.5 gallon batch because the 15.5 keg is larger in diameter than the 13.2. But why worry about that?

I think either one would do, but I'd rather have the maximum surface area inside the wort regardless of my batch size. I can't think of a real good reason for the split one.

Bill,
Thanks for your input.

Biermuncher,
Thanks for your input as well. Still up in the air about this as I tend to agree that the 5/10 split would work for different size batches but I still feel that the more copper in the wort is better as well.

I thought the choice would be easy once I got the money but now I gotta pick one.

Leaning toward the split...................

I'd get a plate chiller and use the money you save to purchase a weldless fitting and ball valve.

I see they are currently out of Shirrons, but I'd call to see when they'll be getting more.


I love mine. It chills all the wort I can pump through it to 80 degrees on the fly. I used to hate the chilling process too.


You can use gravity or get a pump. I'd seriously think about getting a pump now that you're moving to 10 gallon batches. That's alot of liquid to move around.


If you're dead set on the IC, I'd get the non-split.

The Shiiron is cheaper:
http://morebeer.com/view_product/6242/102206
(Yeah, they're out of it now, but are supposed to have them in a week) and unless you add a whirlpooler to the immersion chiller, which requires a pump, I believe cools faster. I gravity feed mine.

I second (third?) the plate chiller over the IC, especially if you plan to get a pump eventually.

It used to be that an IC was significantly cheaper than a plate chiller, but that was before copper started going way up in price a couple years ago. That B3 superchiller was under $70 when I bought mine, and I see it is $95 now.

Ouch. That makes the IC more expensive than the Shirron plate chiller, as a couple people pointed out. I didn't notice that at first. But still, if you factor in a pump, which in my opinion is essential for getting the most from a plate chiller especially in areas where the ground water is fairly warm, the IC still wins out in the price category.

Spyk'd said:

I'd get a plate chiller and use the money you save to purchase a weldless fitting and ball valve.

I see they are currently out of Shirrons, but I'd call to see when they'll be getting more.


I love mine. It chills all the wort I can pump through it to 80 degrees on the fly. I used to hate the chilling process too.


You can use gravity or get a pump. I'd seriously think about getting a pump now that you're moving to 10 gallon batches. That's alot of liquid to move around.


If you're dead set on the IC, I'd get the non-split.

Click to expand...

Right now I am using an immersion cooler ( for a 5 gal batch ) and it gets old ( real freaking old ) for a 15 gallon one. I know I need a plate chiller and the Shirron looks to fit the bill.

#1 ) How do you cool with one of these from your post I assume a Marsh pump. I would like to use gravity initially but I cannot figure out how to use gravity though a plate chiller.

If I need to step up to the plate and get a pump and chiller I will do it. I must admit I am pretty Druck right now

Dr Vorlauf said:

Right now I am using an immersion cooler ( for a 5 gal batch ) and it gets old ( real freaking old ) for a 15 gallon one. I know I need a plate chiller and the Shirron looks to fit the bill.

#1 ) How do you cool with one of these from your post I assume a Marsh pump. I would like to use gravity initially but I cannot figure out how to use gravity though a plate chiller.

If I need to step up to the plate and get a pump and chiller I will do it. I must admit I am pretty Druck right now

Click to expand...

It's pretty basic, really and like any other type of siphoning. Just position the fermenter lower than the kettle and put the chiller between them. Gravity will do the rest and you really can't go too slow; it'll just cool more.

Seriously though, if you're going to be doing 10 gallons, it just makes more sense to get a pump. I ran through my own procedures and realized I was lifting 5 gallons or more of liquids at many different stages and realized that, all things the same, I'd not even be able to brew without a pump.

Do a dry run on 10 gallons and check yourself. You may just end up with a pump anyway!

Yeah, if your burner is down low, a pump is going to be a must. I am doing 5 gallon batches on a 21 inch tall burner stand. No lifting of a pot full of boiling wort necessary. With a valved pot, the setup is just tall enough to gravity feed the Shirron chiller. When the tapwater is warm in the summer, the flow rate, gravity feeding from the pot is not the limiting factor. The flow from the pot needs to be limited to control the output temp from the chiller to the carboy. This time of year with cooler tap water, I could probably save 5 minutes with a pump. My last batch cooled to 68F in less than 20 minutes.