Plate Chiller w/ Thermometer

I've had my plate chiller for about 8 months now. I love it, but with the summer/winter temperature difference in the tap water here in Colorado, I can never get the wort temp dialed in quite right. I thought about the Blichman Thrumometer, but I didn't want something that I had to splice between two hoses. I wanted something more durable AND had a quick disconnect. I order some parts from Bargain Fittings and this is what I came up with:



All the parts for the build: Chiller (with quick hose disconnects from Lowes & Bargain Fittings); angled adapter & flow control for the tap water (from Lowes); Stainless Steel T, Camlock B Style, Camlock F Style, and 3" Bi-Metal Thermometer (all from Bargain Fittings)




Thermometer quick disconnect assembly







Attached to the Chiller

A few months ago I did a search to find info on a chiller and thermo but didn't find any good posts. I came up with this and I thought this was quite an intuitive idea. Since this hasn't recieved any hits, I just did another search and found some good posts on the subject... WTF! Anyway, I am going to retitle my post to "ANOTHER Plate Chiller w/ Thermometer"

How about plate chiller with tamp sensor?

Very Nice...humbled, but very nice! Where did you get the stainless connections for the Probe?

You did some nice work. Have you tried it out yet? Was is reasonably accurate? I've heard some issues using thermometers inline

I used to use a CFC for mash as well as chilling with a thermometer on it. It worked great. It will work and look just fine Doc.

Not saying anything bad about your design.... but what is the reasoning for the double camlocks? Why not get rid of the winged one... dont know type right now... and just use the tee with the male camlock... drunk

Is that a Blichmann plate chiller you're using with the thermometer on it?

ziggy13 said:

Is that a Blichmann plate chiller you're using with the thermometer on it?

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No, Blichmann connections are on opposing sides of the chiller.

sarsnik said:

You did some nice work. Have you tried it out yet? Was is reasonably accurate? I've heard some issues using thermometers inline

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I haven't tried it out yet. The thermometer is supposed to be +- 1* accurate. I am brewing next Sunday so I won't know until then.

wegz15 said:

Not saying anything bad about your design.... but what is the reasoning for the double camlocks? Why not get rid of the winged one... dont know type right now... and just use the tee with the male camlock... drunk

Click to expand...

I wanted to still be able to submerge my chiller in sanitizer and make it easier to clean the thermometer connection. I just figured a lot of crud would get stuck in the elbow so that is why it disconnects.

ziggy13 said:

Is that a Blichmann plate chiller you're using with the thermometer on it?

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It's a 40 plate from Duda Diesel.

What length probe did you use on the thermometer? Is it actually sticking into the plate chiller at all (I don't have one yet so if this sounds stupid that's why)?

I am thinking of doing what you did but just threading the tee onto the wort out and then having a type F on the tee.

I did the same thing. With a valve on the pump you can pretty much dial in your wort-out temperature to within 3-4 degrees of ambient water temps. Last week I was able to chill my wort down to 58F here in Denver. Seeing the actual real-time wort temp is awesome.

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My set up.

Nice setups.

What length of probes did you folks use?

Jeebas said:

Nice setups.

What length of probes did you folks use?

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Three inch.

Pat

So I see that some people put an ball valve coming out of these tees (before the male camlock). It is on this - http://www.rebelbrewer.com/shoppingcart/products/RebelSmart-Thermocouple-for-Plate-Chillers.html - as well. If I have a pump feeding into the plate chiller, like this -

Hose #1 - BK Bottom Port (Valve) to Pump In
Hose #2 - Pump Out (Valve) to Plate Chiller Wort In
Hose #3 - Plate Chiller Wort Out to BK

Do I really need a valve on the output of the plate chiller? Furthermore would restricting the possible Valve on the plate chiller out have negative effects if the valve on the pump out is on full blast?

I did something very similar. I also have the same quick disconnect on the 3/4" fitting as ghart999. Since I brew outdoors, I've build my system to be very modular - thus, all the plastic toolboxes (CP, pump, chiller). My chiller is a Blichmann Therminator in that toolbox.

Here's some shaky cam work from my last brew day that shows the dial during the beginning of chilling. Rainy day, so even though I brew under a covered patio, the rain was hitting my chiller.

My only beef with the setup is that dial thermometers don't really lend themselves to the fast response you want when dialing in the flow rate.

This is how I roll:




One reason you might want to make the assembly disconnectable is so that you can use it inline with any other process if you like. For example, maybe you're running a direct fire RIMS system and would like to see the output temp of the mashtun.

Bobby: that is an elegant solution. I think HBT should highlight a product every month and this should be the first.

Hey thanks. One thing I forgot to mention is that a couple people emailed me about this and said something like "too bad you have to dedicate a digital thermometer just for that purpose" but the great thing about compressing orings for the seal is that you can hand loosen the nut one full turn and pull the thermo out. Use it all brew day and then pop it back in just before you start chilling. That goes equally for any probe thermo, even the beloved thermapen.

That is awesome Bobby! Adding that to the never ending list of future upgrades

Bobby_M that is pretty sweet take on it. Price difference would only seem to be a few bucks to go digital judging by a quick look.

The reasons for making a setup like this disconnectable (#1 plug and play elsewhere and #2 cleaning) seem to be worth it as well.

So after some more looking it is seeming like the ball valve on the output really isn't necessary if the wort flow is controlled from the pump out already.

On that note, who wants to trade a Camlock B and F for a 2 piece SS Valve?

Bobby_M said:

My only beef with the setup is that dial thermometers don't really lend themselves to the fast response you want when dialing in the flow rate.

This is how I roll:

One reason you might want to make the assembly disconnectable is so that you can use it inline with any other process if you like. For example, maybe you're running a direct fire RIMS system and would like to see the output temp of the mashtun.

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You should offer this setup up on your website...can't find the thermometer.

Sorry, I was out of stock on the thermometer for a week or so. It's back up now.

I have everything you need to make it, just not as a kit.
1/2" Tee
1/2" to narrow probe compression fitting
CDN DTQ450
Whatever wort output fitting you want, camlock type F or hose barb.

Ordered the parts from Bobby yesterday to convert from an analog 3" face thermometer to the digital. Looking forward to instant readout.

I will post pics when I get it setup.

vinylicious said:

Ordered the parts from Bobby yesterday to convert from an analog 3" face thermometer to the digital. Looking forward to instant readout.

I will post pics when I get it setup.

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How did this go?

How much of a lag can there be? Are you recirculating your wort or just dropping it in a carboy? I hate buying batteries and we all know SST is a heat sink. Analog for me seems the best choice. But which is better? Opinions?

*Edit - Didn't see the post about using RIMS

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willpower71 said:

How much of a lag can there be? Are you recirculating your wort or just dropping it in a carboy? I hate buying batteries and we all know SST is a heat sink. Analog for me seems the best choice. But which is better? Opinions?

*Edit - Didn't see the post about using RIMS

Click to expand...

There is quite a bit of lag in the bimetals. This is more an issue when your coolant water is significantly cooler than your desired wort outlet temp. When you make a single cooling run to your fermenter, you dial in your flow rates so the wort comes out at the right temp. Small adjustments can make big temp swings and you'll always chase it if you have thermometer lag.

The battery lasted at least 2 years on the first one I bought.