Immersion THEN CFC (plate)

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logdrum

logdrum

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Anyone ever try whirlpooling with an immersion chiller (using tap water for 5-10 min.) & then draining the kettle through a plate chiller? I have all the pieces, but have been using the immersion as a pre-chiller (not that great) & figured since I do a manual whirlpool, why not use the coil to stir & chill a bit at the same time. I don't have a March pump, but I could recirculate ice water through the plate chiller via a pond pump. Just thinking out loud here...

-d
 
You could, but why? It just seems to me like another piece of equipment to clean. Either a plate chiller or an immersion chiller (with ice water, if necessary) should be plenty to get your beer from near boiling to pitching temps, no?
 
I seem to be using way too much water. I capture 10gl for the next brew (all of my hose connections are drinking water safe) plus about 5gl for cleanup & still end up dumping 10gl. That's with the pre-chiller in place:( Maybe there's no perfect solution, I just hate wasting water.

-d
 
logdrum said:
I seem to be using way too much water. I capture 10gl for the next brew (all of my hose connections are drinking water safe) plus about 5gl for cleanup & still end up dumping 10gl. That's with the pre-chiller in place:( Maybe there's no perfect solution, I just hate wasting water.

-d
Click to expand...

True dat, but why would using half of your water in one and half in the other be more efficient than just using all of the water in the more efficient of the two?
 
My thinking is: If I chill to <100*F w/ the immersion, I could maybe recirculate ice water through the plate chiller for the last bit. Provided I could get to 100*F in 5 mins or so, I might be able to save some? Ah, you're probably right, I'm chasing phantom efficiency.

-d
 
logdrum said:
My thinking is: If I chill to <100*F w/ the immersion, I could maybe recirculate ice water through the plate chiller for the last bit. Provided I could get to 100*F in 5 mins or so, I might be able to save some? Ah, you're probably right, I'm chasing phantom efficiency.

-d
Click to expand...

Nah, that makes sense, because you're trying to conserve not only water, but also ice. Using just one of the two would likely require less total water, but more total ice since you can't split it up. With that in mind, it sounds like a reasonable enough solution. Trial and error will tell you how cool you need to get it on the immersion chiller before your available quantity of ice will be enough to drop it to pitching temps.

...until you break down and decide to get a pump, that is. :mug:
 
MalFet said:
Nah, that makes sense, because you're trying to conserve not only water, but also ice. Using just one of the two would likely require less total water, but more total ice since you can't split it up. With that in mind, it sounds like a reasonable enough solution. Trial and error will tell you how cool you need to get it on the immersion chiller before your available quantity of ice will be enough to drop it to pitching temps.

...until you break down and decide to get a pump, that is. :mug:
Click to expand...

Next year!

-d
 

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