MLT/HLT/Wort Chiller all in one?

I have been thinking of ways to efficiently cool my wort now that I have converted to 10 gallon batches. Using a keggle makes the standard immersion chiller fall short, and I just don't have the funds for the Therminator. Well, more accurately it's a choice between the therminator and staying married and the therminator just isn't THAT veristile...

It also seems to me that the therminator is a better investment than a shirron plate chiller, but has anybody used both that can tell me if the price difference is worth it?

SO, back to the original point. Why couldnt you use the same MLT (http://https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f51/cheap-easy-10-gallon-rubbermaid-mlt-conversion-23008/) as a wort chiller? If you take the normal 3/8'' x 25' or 50' copper immersion chiller design without the threaded attachments, attach top to keggle ball valve by high temp rubber tube, attach bottom to MLT internal barb adapter with more rubber tubing and then fill MLT with ice/saline solution. If you gravity fed the wort through the coil using a good filter in the keggle (SS scratch pad, or other) draiining directly into the fermentor, it should effectively cool the wort without over heating the ice bath, or at least to the point where it's ineffective. Should be able to add ice or frozen bottles to keep up.

Any reason why whis would not work? I think this would be a much more efficient method of cooling than the typical immersion chiller. Certainly less water used. Of course you would have to carefully purge the coil and sanitize, but no different than a plate chiller. Any thoughts?

Any reason why you couldn't just use a counterflow chiller?

you can make a cfc for the price of the copper, a few fittings, and a rubber garden hose...

I thought about that, but it seems to me that you could cool the wort better if it was flowing through ice cold water as opposed to water from your hose spiggot. And this would definitely use less water.

you could run ice-water through the cfc as well with a pond pump and a bucket of ice water.

But if you want to try something new, by all means! Take pictures

why not just pump the "Ice cold water" through the IC and resirculate it, lots of people here do that. I think you have a good idea there though. Build it and report back.
Cheers
JJ

Here is my solution to cooling on the cheap. https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f51/hell-earth-wort-chiller-73315/

I just used my CFC for the first time a week or so ago. 10.5 gallons of boiling wort in, 10.5 gallons of 77F wort out. I think CFC is the way to go. If you want to go ice bath you should engineer a solution to move the water around in the bath. That's what makes the CFC effective. There are no hot or cold spots.

Since I already have the Easy MLT Cooler conversion, I think I will try this method first. It will save me from having to buy the rubber hose. To think I got rid of two after my last PCS too. the coil would definitely be safer within the confines of the rubber hose, but as long as all the components are stored in the MLT, it should fair well.

The only thing is, should I spend the money on the copper now, or save my pennies for the Therminator?

Do a search on ebay for heat exchanger if you want to go therminator. I had one bookmarked(cant seem to find it now) 50 plate for $135. All copper and SS construction, new. Advertised as wood stove or wort heat exchanger. My H.O.E. chiller ran about $65.

Someone put a link up to this one that is a little cheaper. I don't know anything else about it.

lrr81765 said:

Someone put a link up to this one that is a little cheaper. I don't know anything else about it.

Click to expand...

Several of us have talked about the dudadiesel plate chiller in this thread

The 30 plate model is comparable to the therminator at $89 + shipping. I'm lovin it.