How do you limit losses w/ Counterflow Chiller?

[mongoose33]

Setting up my electric brewery, one part is a counterflow chiller. Tonite I set it up for the first time and while it worked fine, there's a fair amount of liquid trapped in the hoses and CFC, perhaps as much as 1.5-2 quarts.

That's a lot because I need to account for losses later in the process, so the less here, the better.

How do you set up your CF Chiller so as to minimize that?

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One thing I'm doing w/ the CFC is after I preboil strike water to drive off O2 from it, I need to chill it down to strike temp, probably about 160 degrees. That's what the chiller is for, in addition to chilling wort after boiling.

So what I did was recirculate the boiling water (element turned off) back into the kettle using a racking arm from a fermenter. It's just a test, I'll do it more elegantly when I set it up permanently. (See pic below)

Seems like there should be a way to do this so the pump draws water (or wort) from the CFC on the bottom so it's emptied as much as possible and that liquid is returned to the kettle prior to my underletting the grain with it.

Any help or ideas appreciated. And yes, I can use shorter hoses or position the pump higher, that will help some.

 

[schematix]

1. Use the liquid in the hoses/CFC for your final gravity sample
2. Use shortest hoses possible
3. Get CFC/Hoses above fermenter so you can gravity drain them into the fermenter

 

[passedpawn]

Blow it through with CO2.

 

[day_trippr]

Chase it with leftover sparge liquor...

Cheers!

 

[augiedoggy]

I use gravity with my plate chiller by capturing the last bit with a small pitcher. I simply disconnect my output hose camlock from my plate chiller and collect there.

 

[dthompson79]

You could always use something like this to push co2 through your system to purge the liquid

https://www.brewhardware.com/product_p/cammfl.htm

 

[kh54s10]

In your closed system, could you reverse the hoses and raise the CFC above the pot to gravity drain it. Or as suggested a shot of co2 to force out the wort. Combination of the 2?

 

[Bean]

I too push liquid around my system with CO2 using camlocks. I will even put a pound or two of c02 in the hard piped lines between brews to limit any bacteria growth.

 

[Drumminguy81]

The only thing I see that I do differently is the flow direction on the chiller. I set mine up with the wort inlet at the top of the chiller so that the wort will gravity flow out. I lose maybe a cup of wort after transferring.
I am using the same chiller as well.

 

[Dland]

Gravity works for me too, as I send wort to fermentor in cellar with a long hose, it pulls all wort though from last kettle, pump, plate chiller, hoses.

 

[mongoose33]

I didn't want to confuse the issue, but the reason why I'm doing things this way instead of, say, an immersion chiller is twofold:

1. I'm implementing @BrunDog 's method of steam condensation so I can brew in the garage in the winter. Thus having the lid on is important for that, and the only way I could think of to chill that way was either a CFC or plate chiller.

2. I'm doing LODO brewing (no catcalls, please ), and wanted a stainless chiller. Stout tanks sells one, that's what I have. Being able to chill pre-boiled water with a stainless chiller is part of that process, but I don't want to lose so much water (and later, wort) that I have to overbuild the entire recipe. I'm already up about 10 percent above what a normal 5-gallon batch would be.

Good ideas above, I'm going to play around more with them and see if I can tighten it up.

 

[tnlandsailor]

Just from a quick look, it looks like your chiller isn't level. If you gravity feed, when the kettle runs dry, the low side of the coils will not drain. Even if you use a pump, as soon as the kettle is empty, your pump can draw air over the wort that is trapped in the downhill coils. If you level the whole thing, there should be a natural downhill in every coil and the CFC should drain completely.

 

[mongoose33]

Just from a quick look, it looks like your chiller isn't level. If you gravity feed, when the kettle runs dry, the low side of the coils will not drain. Even if you use a pump, as soon as the kettle is empty, your pump can draw air over the wort that is trapped in the downhill coils. If you level the whole thing, there should be a natural downhill in every coil and the CFC should drain completely.

Thanks. I noticed that too and I put a 3/4" slab of wood under the low side to level it out.

As things go, I'm going to take a combination of all the suggestions above and see if it helps. Shorter hoses, better placement, reverse flow in CFC, level it out, blow it out with CO2. I like the CO2 thing as it might potentially clear out both the pump and the uphill lines.

I will, of course, report back.

 

[passedpawn]

Thanks. I noticed that too and I put a 3/4" slab of wood under the low side to level it out.

As things go, I'm going to take a combination of all the suggestions above and see if it helps. Shorter hoses, better placement, reverse flow in CFC, level it out, blow it out with CO2. I like the CO2 thing as it might potentially clear out both the pump and the uphill lines.

I will, of course, report back.

Think about one of those little CO2 guns that take the little CO2 cartridge. Those normally have a ball lock disconnect on the output (I use one for pushing beer out of my 3g portable ball lock keg). Brewhardware.com has a ball lock post -> camlock adapter that would allow you to plug the CO2 gun right onto the end of one of your hoses. Just pull the trigger and you'll clear the line.

 

[mongoose33]

Think about one of those little CO2 guns that take the little CO2 cartridge. Those normally have a ball lock disconnect on the output (I use one for pushing beer out of my 3g portable ball lock keg). Brewhardware.com has a ball lock post -> camlock adapter that would allow you to plug the CO2 gun right onto the end of one of your hoses. Just pull the trigger and you'll clear the line.

I have one of those! I'll give it a try.

 

[GoeHaarden]

LODO brewing (no catcalls, please )

That SS counterflow sure is pretty!

 

[mongoose33]

A bit of an update.

Last night I was cleaning the system prior to brewing, running hot PBW through the RIMS tube and counterflow chiller. I shortened up the hoses, and used compressed CO2 to try to push the liquid through the counterflow chiller into the pump.

It seems to have worked. I haven't determined exactly how much loss there still is, but that seems a reasonable way to reduce it. There wasn't any water draining from the CFC when I was done, and I have eliminated the tilting of the unit, too.

I stuck a tube attached to the CO2 line into the camlock fitting and that worked OK. Now I'm going to try to find a more elegant way to do it. I wish I had a fitting with a male camlock on it that I could connect directly to the liquid hose female camlock. Have to see what I can gin up that might do that.

 

[FunkedOut]

Bobby’s your huckleberry.

https://www.brewhardware.com/product_p/cammfl.htm
https://www.brewhardware.com/product_p/camffl.htm