Plate chillers vs reg counterflow chillers

So I've almost got my AG equipment ready to go, but still need a chiller.

I've been doing a bit of research on the plate chillers, and I'm still not quite sure how they work. I've seen a video where it ice is used in a bucket, and I've seen another where nothing like that seems to be used. Also, I noticed that most people with plate chillers seem to have pumps, as opposed to just using God given gravity. Is this a necessity or just a recommendation?

I'm leaning towards just a regular counter flow chiller, but I confess it's more due to ignorance than preference. So HBT, what say you?

I asked the same question a few weeks back. I ended up making a counterflow chiller, which, if you aren't a DIYer, you can buy for $69.99 at Austin Home brew.



My thread is here and there are a bunch of good responses.

Plate chillers can be very difficult to clean/sanitize and all but require a pump. I use a pump with my counterflow chiller, but gravity is possible as well. It works incredibly well. One pass in the winter gets the wort TOO cold, but you just adjust the flow of the water/wort to get to your target.

Im not an expert but if you dont have a pump you might be better off with an immersion chiller. That is what i use and gets my wort down to 70 in about 18min.

Electrician_LU_357 said:

Im not an expert but if you dont have a pump you might be better off with an immersion chiller. That is what i use and gets my wort down to 70 in about 18min.

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Immersion chillers work well with 5 gallon batches and are a struggle with 10 gallon batches...they are also nice if you aren't lazy. For me 20 minutes isn't acceptable. There are plenty of brewers who use a counterflow chiller like mine without a pump, although cleaning and sanitizing are more of a PIA. If you think the odds that you will get a pump eventually are greater than 50%, I would go with a counterflow chiller. They are relatively cheap and incredibly effective. I bought a counterflow chiller for $50 when I first started brewing from my LHBS...I wish I didn't since it only cost about $70 to build my counterflow chiller.

The counterflow chiller at AHS how does this work exactly? I am stuck brewing in my apartment (no hose hook up) so another words, can I use this without a hose, and just pump in ice water or something from the sink...any thoughts?

Like doc said depends on your set up for 10 gal i could see an immersion chiller not being good enough specially since i live in vegas. But for my 5 gal batches works well for me and i hate having to sanitize it all the time plus i got my copper for free from a friend thats a plumber.

daveooph131 said:

The counterflow chiller at AHS how does this work exactly? I am stuck brewing in my apartment (no hose hook up) so another words, can I use this without a hose, and just pump in ice water or something from the sink...any thoughts?

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Nothing is impossible. There are quite a few logistics that would be involved, and one would involve getting a garden hose fitting for your sink.

daveooph131 said:

The counterflow chiller at AHS how does this work exactly? I am stuck brewing in my apartment (no hose hook up) so another words, can I use this without a hose, and just pump in ice water or something from the sink...any thoughts?

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From what I've experienced, you would need a flow of water to come in. You might be able to rig something up with your sink, but I've not done that before.

Big help thanks...I think I have some ideas. Do you need to pump sanatizer through the section where the wort contacts the coil or do you not worry about sanatizing this?

daveooph131 said:

Big help thanks...I think I have some ideas. Do you need to pump sanatizer through the section where the wort contacts the coil or do you not worry about sanatizing this?

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FOR SURE!!!

daveooph131 said:

Big help thanks...I think I have some ideas. Do you need to pump sanatizer through the section where the wort contacts the coil or do you not worry about sanatizing this?

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If you are using a pump just pump boiling wort through it, recirculating it back to the boil the last ten minutes of the boil. This must be done before turning on the cooling water flow.

MAKE ONE!!! Who says immersion chillers aren't sufficient for larger batches? Couldn't he just use copper tubing of a larger diameter than you see most people using?