Plate Chiller or Immersion?????

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Plate Chiller or Immersion>>>

  • Plate Chiller

  • Immersion Chiller


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tmb59181

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Hello everybody!


I have been brewing for a while now and am upgrading to a cheap version of an all grain system. I have gotten by without having a wort chiller for a while now, but I feel that it is necessary for me to improve my brewing. I have about 120 ish to spend and have been debating what type to buy. If i buy a plate chiller I will most likely go with the Shirron plate chiller. If i go with the immersion, I will go with one for around 100 dollars. Which one is a better overall product for for varying circumstances? Also is it possible to use a whirlpool technique with a plate chiller or is that only plausible with a immersion chiller and a submersible pump? Please let me know you input!


Cheers!
 
I would definitely go with a platechiller.. As far as I know just about everybody who has made the switch from an immersion to a plate comments on how much faster they were able to chill. As for the whirlpool, I can't answer to that as I don't use the whirlpool technique. I would think that the old "stainless steel scrubbie over the end of the racking cane" trick would work to filter out your hops.
 
Jamil would vote for the immersion chiller because he argues chilling the entire volume of wort at once enables you to lock in the flavors and aroma of your late addition hops better. If you make a IC with 50ft of 1/2" copper you have so much surface area it would probably compare pretty well with a plate chiller in terms of speed (especially if you combined it with a submersible pump you can switch to ice water at the end). If you DIY you can easily make one for under $100. That being said I've never used a plate chiller and I'm currently happy with "no-chill."
 
Immersion. With appropriate agitation (whirlpool) it's unbelievably fast and cost effective. Plus it's far more sanitary - it's easy to clean, and it self-sanitizes in the boiling wort. Plate chillers are much more finicky to keep clean, keep from getting clogged, keep sanitized, etc. The total cost of ownership from a 'your time' perspective weighs in favour of the immersion chiller.
 
Immersion. With appropriate agitation (whirlpool) it's unbelievably fast and cost effective. Plus it's far more sanitary - it's easy to clean, and it self-sanitizes in the boiling wort. Plate chillers are much more finicky to keep clean, keep from getting clogged, keep sanitized, etc. The total cost of ownership from a 'your time' perspective weighs in favour of the immersion chiller.

Yep. Using the whirlpool/immersion chiller with an ice water recirc i get from boil to 60F in like 15 minutes.
 
I love my B3 superchiller (50' 1/2" IC).....but just purchased a 40 plate chiller for $79 shipped. If it's terrible I think I can make my money back.....but I doubt I'll want to get rid of it. I have an IC, CFC, and now a plate....the reason why I got it was the form factor.....it just sits there in such a nice neat package....very important on a brew rig where space is precious.
 
If you have a pump or plan on getting one I believe the Plate is the way to go. Boil it for 20 minutes before each use and backflush every time. Provided you have a pump its the way to go. I am currently doing gravity and its decent but I hooked my chiller to a friends pump and it literally took 4 minutes to get it to 70. Whatever you decide Good luck!
 
I am now unsatisfied with my immersion chiller. It's a 3/8" stainless 50' coil for 15 gallon batches. Takes me more than 45 minutes to chill to pitching even with recircing and/or stirring the hell out of it to make my own rigorous whirlpool (uuhhg, 45 mins). So, I'm getting a plate and pump. I'll just use my IC for starters (since it fits so nicely into my stockpot).

One thing is that the point about the Jamil-o-chiller being better is assuming you are not doing a recirculation for plate chilling. I'm making a Jamil-o-plate and recircing back into the boil kettle. From my calculations it should take around 7 minutes to chill the whole 15 gal batch, all at once.

Another plus for the plate: Less gear in the boil kettle to lift out dirty and dripping with hop sludge (I'm an indoor brewer, it's important). I'm going to mount my plate directly over my HLT so I can just clean post chill with hot liquor (created during chilling).

There is a reason that pro brewers all use plates to chill... size of batch. It makes more and more sense to do a plate chiller for larger than 5 gallon batches, IMO. I bet I can clean the plate in less than half the time I would still be stirring the IC.
 
use a pump to whirlpool, and set-and-forget while you clean up and put away your gear, or sanitize a carboy. Or build a stir rig with some lumber, a motor and a stir spoon to whirlpool.
There are always a million tasks to be done in the few minutes that it takes to chill your wort (12 gallon batches only take me 10 or maybe 15 minutes to chill).
 
I didn't vote, as I have a CFC now and love it!

I recirculate until the whole batch is under 110 or so (takes about 10 minutes), then send it to the fermenter at 65 degrees, or whatever temp I want to pitch at.

If I was going to get a plate chiller, I'd get a Therminator. My friend has one, and that's the way I'd go if I wanted a plate chiller. They are pretty close to $200.
 
I have a Therminator and love it for chilling my 1 bbl batches. But I voted for immersion chiller since I assume you are making 5 or 10 gallon batches. For the time and effort that goes into cleaning and sanitizing a plate chiller, its not really worth the effort on that scale IMO. I had a batch get infected from my improperly cleaned plate chiller. You never have to worry about that with an immersion chiller. But if you're making 20+ gallons at a time, I would strongly recommend a Therminator or similar plate chiller. They work amazingly well.
 
IC for 5 or 10 gallon batches. If you are brewing anything more I would go plate chiller.

I have tried both. I actually sold my 40 plate chiller and went with a 50ft 1/2" IC with whirlpooling attachment. I found the plate chiller PITA to clean and set up. My IC cools 5 gallons much quicker.
 
I have used an immersion chiller for a while now it works well. I just recently got to use my dudadeisel plate chiller yesterday. I will never use an immersion again. I have mine pipe to 3/4" water feed. 3/4 outlets all around. I was able to cool 100 gallons of beer with a 1-1 ratio. I used the hot water for cleaning my kettles afterward. It was perfect. I like not having anything in the kettle when I want to stir hops.
 
Which model did you get? I'm going for the Small 40 plate cause that's the size I can fit on my rig. Assuming you are using one of the Mediums or Larges to do 100 gal.

One point I have learned from the Duda folks is that the more length the plate chiller has, the better it chills (vs more plates) ... but the shorter the chiller is the better the flow. So if you are recircing, it may be better to get a Small, where as if you are not and gravity feeding, you are trying to hit pitching temps in one pass and the Mediums are much better.
 
I am in school currently and do not have the space to do much more than five or maybe 10 gallon batches, but I graduate in the next year and am looking to maybe bump it up to 15 gallon batches by than...in the long run with that knowledge would plate than be the way to go?
 
I recently invested in a 25 ft immersion wort chiller. I dont know how I ever brewed without it. Besides the ease of use, it saves me freezing a dozen water bottles the day before brewing and about an hours time on brew day waiting for the wort to cool in the ice bath. I do partial boils in a 5 gallon pot (about 3.5 to 4 gallons being cooled) and the 25 footer takes about 15 minutes to cool it from boiling to 80-90 F. I have never used a plate chiller though, so I have no comparison, but for the use of use and cost, I love the immersion wort chiller.
 
Which model did you get? I'm going for the Small 40 plate cause that's the size I can fit on my rig. Assuming you are using one of the Mediums or Larges to do 100 gal.

One point I have learned from the Duda folks is that the more length the plate chiller has, the better it chills (vs more plates) ... but the shorter the chiller is the better the flow. So if you are recircing, it may be better to get a Small, where as if you are not and gravity feeding, you are trying to hit pitching temps in one pass and the Mediums are much better.

I got the 12" 30 plate with 3/4 female inputs. It works great.
 
+1 for the CFC. My homemade CFC cost less than $50 and it works better than an immersion chiller and doesnt clog like a plate chiller
 
i use a 50ft 1/2" immersion chiller. since i dont use a pre chiller i get warmer ground water temps in the warmer months but never anything terrible. august in st louis i can still chill a 10 gallon batch from boil temp to piching in 15-20 mins. this time of year (oct) i can get it down in 10 min easy. now if i go to brewing indoors (electric burners vs propane) ill probabaly go with a plate just for the tidiness factor.

easy, effective and durable. its a no brainer in my book.
 
I got the 12" 30 plate with 3/4 female inputs. It works great.

Just out of curiosity, what are you using to filter? For 100 gallon batches, it seems like it might be harder to get to a hop stopper at the bottom of a huge kettle.....
 
No filter. I just whirlpool with a spoon and let it settle. draw about a gallon off the valve then connect to the pump. Works fine for me. I will only be able to use pellet hops this way cause some trub gets through but the plates handle it fine.

edit: most of the trub is below my ports. I have them pointed up at a slight angle towards the wall of the kettle. I did an IPA yesterday and only had a bit of hops go through. I just back washed the plate chiller with water and it blew everything out.

IMG_11081.JPG
 
I have a Therminator and love it for chilling my 1 bbl batches. But I voted for immersion chiller since I assume you are making 5 or 10 gallon batches. For the time and effort that goes into cleaning and sanitizing a plate chiller, its not really worth the effort on that scale IMO. I had a batch get infected from my improperly cleaned plate chiller. You never have to worry about that with an immersion chiller. But if you're making 20+ gallons at a time, I would strongly recommend a Therminator or similar plate chiller. They work amazingly well.

how do you clean it?
 
I've used a 3/8" 50 foot IC for years. Now that I've added a recirc pump to it, I'm happy, although I probably will upgrade to 1/2" 50 ft.

While the idea of a plate chiller appeals to the gadget guy in me, I've just seen too many instances of infections from CFC and Plate Chillers. I just don't need to add that potential to my system. KISS
 
I plan on buying an IC soon bc I do small batches. Currently I borrow my neighbors which is 25', but I would like to chill quicker. The coils on the 25' already seems to be just a couple inches below the wort level. Wouldn't a 50' extend out of the wort thus not chilling the wort at all? Do 50' ICs generally have a larger circumference?

Also, I hate wasting so much water and would like to have colder water run through so can someone recommend a good recirc pump for an IC? Thanks.
 
i use a 50ft 1/2" immersion chiller. since i dont use a pre chiller i get warmer ground water temps in the warmer months but never anything terrible. august in st louis i can still chill a 10 gallon batch from boil temp to piching in 15-20 mins.

Find this hard to believe unless you are pitching in the 80s. I have a 50ft 3/8" immersion chiller in a 5.5G to 6G batch and I can't come anywhere close to that time and I stir constantly. I consider pitching temp around 65 to 68°.
 
You should have both. I do and I am finally satisfied. I use the IC for big hop loads and the plate for anything under 2 ounces (5 gallon batch).

Best of both to suit whatever beer I am making.
 
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