Can hop trub and cold break clog a plate chiller?

I am looking to add either a CC or a plate chiller to my brewery. I typically wind up with a fair amount of trub and break material in my fermenter.. would this be a problem for a plate chiller? Also,would it be a prob for a CC?

Yes, hop trub will clog a plate chiller. It can also clog a CFC if there is enough there, but it's much less likely. I bag my hops when using my plate chiller.

Ok,thanks. I assume break material will clog as well,although it doesn't seem as dense as hop trub?

With a chiller like a CFC or Plate Chiller cold break happens in the chiller. It doesn't clog up.

A CFC usually has no nooks and crannies for stuff to get stuck in. It's a straight shot in and out, whereas a PC not only has tighter quarters but also pressure drops and places where things can settle out.

If you're recirculating you might be better off with the CFC or a whirlpool/IC system. For one pass chilling the plate chiller seems like a good way to go since its more compact.

Lennie said:

If you're recirculating you might be better off with the CFC or a whirlpool/IC system. For one pass chilling the plate chiller seems like a good way to go since its more compact.

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I recirc with my plate chiller and don't have any issues, before I had a pump I used gravity with good results as well. Recircing I get down below 62F and use less water for chilling.

I use the Brewers Hardware Trub Filter inline before my Plate Chiller.
http://www.brewershardware.com/Trub-Filter/

Its been a great combo and it easily cools twice as fast as my old Counterflow did.

Last time I brewed I used a copper scrubby at the end of my dip tube. It did a great job of keeping any kind of chunk out of the CFC. I'm confident that it would work very well with a PC as well. They also make Stainless scrubbies, which would be a preferred option IMO.

wyzazz said:

I recirc with my plate chiller and don't have any issues, before I had a pump I used gravity with good results as well. Recircing I get down below 62F and use less water for chilling.

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Do you position your pickup tube up out of the trub? And do you sock your hops? Seems like some of the stringy looking pils break I get would hang up in a PC, but not having used one I can't say for sure.

Lennie said:

Do you position your pickup tube up out of the trub? And do you sock your hops? Seems like some of the stringy looking pils break I get would hang up in a PC, but not having used one I can't say for sure.

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My diptube draws from the center of my keggle, I do use a Hop Spider to bag my hops.