Adding a pump and plate chiller to speed up brew day? Pump Q's

[mcfire12]

Hi guys, i've been brewing using a converted keg boil kettle as well as 2 - 10 gallon yellow coolers for my mash tun and HLT. Started getting into things again and I remember how big of a pain it is to use the gravity system. Also, I really need to knock some time out of brew day for various reasons. Lots of questions so get ready...

I have done some reading on plate chillers and I know this will knock a LOT of time out for me. I currently use a home made immersion chiller out of a 50 foot roll of copper, the line is pretty small I do not remember the diameter right now. But, last brew it took about 50 mins to chill down to almost ideal pitching temps... something has to be done about it. Now, I read some people use these by gravity, and some by a pump.

I've seen people use their old immersion chiller to set up some kind of herms system.

I only have one burner and stainless keg right now. So I guess how much is a pump and chiller going to benefit me? I batch sparge, and I guess some how this will eliminate the vourlauf (spelling) technique? Can a pump make batch sparging any easier for me? I've read about people recirculating during the mash to get better efficiency as well as to clear the beer.

Maybe I just can't picture in my head how exactly this all comes together. It would be so nice to eliminate the 3 tier system and just be able to have quick connects on stuff. Can someone help me with an equipment list i'll need to upgrade to this type of setup?

Feeling a little overwhelmed with this for some reason, hopefully someone will chime in and help! Thanks in advance!

 

[Dcpcooks]

What's your typical brew day time and what are you shooting for? Your only going to save a bit of time after you clean more stuff. Don't get me wrong I love a plate chiller, but know it's a bunch of stuff to clean.

 

[mcfire12]

Usually I mill grains and get water ready and set everything up the night before. I'll wake up and light the boil kettle that has all my strike water measured out already for the mash. I preheat the HLT and mash tun right away with water from my stove while the strike water gets to temp. Then I start... Mash in, batch sparge 3 times typically, then boil and add my hop additions. I always have another guy with me and with cleaning the mash tun and stuff up during the boil, were both stuck sitting the last 45 mins waiting for stuff to cool down to pitching temp, then clean up and thats it. I'd really like to get brew day down to 3 hours.

 

[schematix]

Plate chiller is a little faster than IC... unless you get something like the JaDeD Hydra, then it's really closer.

But also consider the amount of time you need to add to clean out the chiller when it plugs, plus the number of times you need to flush and backflush the chiller when you're done.

In the end i think time is a net 0... edge goes to IC for simplicity. What water are you using to chill? Maybe you can optimize what you have.

 

[MidAtlanticBrew]

A pump and a plate chiller doesn't shorten my brew day. The chill time is fast, maybe 15 minutes for 11 gallons but the added cleaning, recirculation, hose manipulation brings me to about 30 minutes. I was at about 30 minutes with an immersion chiller. Alot of this depends on you water temperature.

The benefits I see with a pump are wort clarity via recirc at the end of mash and end of boil whirlpool to keep most of the "stuff" out of the plate chiller and fermenter.

Here's a BIAB link with a pic of a simple pump set-up though. I have heard mash recirc imporve BIAB efficiency

http://www.brew-boss.com/

 

[mcfire12]

Well i'm a little blown away by the responses. I really thought this would shorten the day. I am currently using my well water. It's always pretty cool even in the summer months. I guess I need to start moving it non stop when we cool down. But it just stirs up everything, almost not even worth adding irish moss or a tablet as all the junk stay suspended in the beer and don't drop out. I'm going to start using gelatin to clear my beer up. So is there really any gain in adding a pump and plate chiller then?

 

[Bobby_M]

A pump can be beneficial with an IC as well. Use it to whirlpool while chilling for speed. Remove chiller and whirlpool another 1 minute. Let rest for 5 to 10 mins for settling then run off to fermenter.
By the way, whirfloc isn't just to settle things out in the kettle to keep junk out of the ferment. It has lasting effects that help particles resettle faster post ferment.

 

[k1ngl1ves]

A pump is one of my favorite purchases! A plate chiller was not, unfortunately.

Now I use a counter flow chiller. I love it, and it cools quickly. If I do a 10g batch, or want to cool a 5g quicker, I use the CFC and an IC together. My kettle is set up with a whirlpool arm, so it works wonderfully.

 

[markstache]

A pump is super convenient, but probably won't save you time. I think the big benefit of a pump is safety, actually. You don't need a big tippy gravity system and you aren't moving hot liquids by hand.

If your goal is time savings, I find the biggest savings can be had by getting to strike and boil faster. A heat stick from brewhardware would cost about as much as a pump and could be combined with your current propane system to get you to temp much faster.

 

[mcfire12]

Well I'm interested in whirlpooling now. I do have an arm in my brew kettle. I've just never used it. I installed it 2 years ago with the intention of upgrading at some point. Has an arm inside and 3 piece ball valve outside. Maybe a pump could still help a bit. Not sure where to go from here.

 

[plazola86]

You really want time saving? Do single vessel BIAB, a lot less to clean and your getting rid of equipment instead of buying more. I have an electric single vessel BIAB system AND have a pump for recirculating and whirl pooling. Never going back to three vessel system or propane!

 

[kristiismean]

I have an immersion chiller, a counterflow chiller and a plate chiller.

i run my cold water pump from an ice bath, and monitor it's temperature. At first I use cold tap water to 180, then start with the ice to keep it coming down faster. I can chill my 5.5 gallons in 10 minutes in winter. I use a mk II work pump, and recirc back into the pot. but I could just as well gravity it out, but like leaving the cold break proteins in the pot. for not reason other than that.

The counter flow is nice, just takes up more room than my plate chiller, but I use it with I am using anything more than 2 oz of hops. but I am looking into a 300 micro stainless mesh hop holder thing, but am worried about the hop utilization going down.

for me it's not time saved, it's about bringing the beer down to pitching temps as fast as possible. I like pitching 10 minutes after boil, (to 15) closing the lid, putting it in it's corner, and leaving it until I have to dry hop or boil...

 

[JonM]

I'll be the voice of dissent here:

My pump/plate chiller has never once clogged in, what, three years? Use a hop spider.

Cleaning is nothing. Once you're done chilling, pull the hose off the kettle and plug it into that bucket full of hot PBW (70 grams of oxyclean free, 30 grams of Ace TSP 90 and 3 gallons of hot discharge water from the plate chiller) and let it recirculate while you pitch your yeast and clean other stuff.

After 20 minutes, hook the garden hose up to the "wort out" fitting and let it back flush while you clean other things.

There's nothing to it.

 

[IndyBlueprints]

I have to agree with JonM. I use a steel mesh hop basket. Last 15 minutes of boil I drop in some irish moss, then start pumping my wort through my Duda Deisel 30 plate chiller to sanitize it. Whirlpool for 10 minutes, let sit for 10 minutes, then pump directly through my plate chiller into my fermenter. Running hose water through my plate chiller, and slowing the flow of my wort way down allows me to go from 200ºF down to 65ºF in single pass. This is actual operation using a Blichmann Thru-mometer:

That alone is a time saver. I've never had my plate chiller clog. When I'm done brewing, I fill my 15 gallon kettle with water & PBW, and circulate them for about an hour or more while I'm cleaning everything else up.

If you really want to cut your time down, upgrade your kettles all to 15 gallons, and brew 10-12 gallon batches. It will take a little more time, but it will cut your time/gallon down drastically.

 

[mcfire12]

I think I'm just going to go ahead and try the pump and plate chiller. I'll find out for myself I suppose. Popped on amazon and added the chugger SS pump and the dura diesel plate chiller to my cart and immediately got confused when I started looking at cam lock fittings to hook it all up... I have a ball valve on my BK HLT and mash tun. I have NO clue where to start with fittings and hoses. Anyone want to help me there?

 

[kristiismean]

what size hoses are you thinking of running, and are you going to go with standard 1/2 NPT?

 

[wyowolf]

I find that blasting water through the PC right after im done cuts clean up significantly... and 11 gal or so with an IC? good luck, its going to be awhile... even if you stir it, esp in the summer. if your water is already cool or cold from the well, to me, its a no brainer...PC or CFC.

 

[wyowolf]

pretty much what I do... except i hook it to faucet right after im done and blast it out both ways a couple times then do PBW.... never had any issues...

I'll be the voice of dissent here:

My pump/plate chiller has never once clogged in, what, three years? Use a hop spider.

Cleaning is nothing. Once you're done chilling, pull the hose off the kettle and plug it into that bucket full of hot PBW (70 grams of oxyclean free, 30 grams of Ace TSP 90 and 3 gallons of hot discharge water from the plate chiller) and let it recirculate while you pitch your yeast and clean other stuff.

After 20 minutes, hook the garden hose up to the "wort out" fitting and let it back flush while you clean other things.

There's nothing to it.

 

[JonM]

Quick tip: Cut a cheap bucket in half for a handy splash guard to put on top of the pump.

 

[TANSTAAFB]

I agree with JonM as well...I've had a pump for a few years but just switched to a plate chiller and couldn't be happier! I'll take pics of my camlock connections when I get a chance, but basically buy about 15' to 20' of 1/2" ID silicone hose, male camlock for the chiller and kettle, female for the hoses. You'll need a connection from the kettle to the pump, a jumper from the pump to the chiller wort in, and a line from the chiller to the fermenter. I have mine rigged for inline oxygenation as well. Pics to come!

 

[TANSTAAFB]

Here ya go...

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