I have the Midwest entry level 25' copper chiller, which cost $50 two years ago. I recently upgraded it by swapping the leaky hose-clamp fittings with compression / hose fittings, $20. With our 55F well water, it takes the full 5-gallon boil down to 70F in about 21-22 minutes. This is fully acceptable to me. Then, all I do is hose off the chiller and throw it back in the basement until the next brewday.
I have thought about other chiller types, a CFC being the only logical alternative choice for me, but I have rejected it as not only being more expensive, but taking more cleaning. It may take less time to chill, but how much will it actually reduce it when cleaning time is added back in? We visited O'Dells' Brewery in Ft. Collins CO last weekend, and of course they've got an industrial plate chiller sitting there.......but it's also doing the chilling for a 15 bbl. boil pot! Part of this is having one's equipment proportioned to the size of the operation.
To me, it violates the K.I.S.S. principle, which I like to follow in my brewing. I do maybe 25 x 5 gal. batches a year, and it's strictly plastic buckets to ferment, Better Bottles for secondary, 30 qt. cheap SS boil pot, commercial throwaway bottles, and Grandpa's old bench capper. I'll spend money where it matters (my thermometer, a Thermapen, cost twice as much as my boil pot), but my rig works well and produces great beer. As a matter of fact, I fail to see a substantial benefit in RIMS, HERMS, March pumps, and all the rest of it to produce ≤ 200 gallons of beer a year.
