Just chilling

[Nmnbrewer]

This question is for those out there that use plate or counter flows to chill their wort. Do you transfer into your carboy as you are chilling or do you chill the whole kettle down first and then transfer? I've just started with a new setup and I was hoping to chill the entire kettle down and then transfer but it doesn't seem like this is going to fly. Too much stratification in the kettle to get the whole thing cooled dowN at the same time.

 

[Pappers_]

I use a counterflow chiller straight into my carboy. I keep the flow relative slow so that after maybe 2 or 3 minutes the water temp is down where I want it, with only a small amount of wort in the carboy at that point. I figure that even if that wort is warmer than I want, when I fill it up with the remaining 4.5 - 4.75 gallons of wort at the temperature I want, it will generally even out.

 

[Ruint]

You can do it either way...the one pass into fermentor, or going back into the kettle, which is used if you would like to do a hopstand at 180* F and don't want to wait for the wort to cool off by dissipation. The key factor for beating the stratification is to circulate the wort well. Either by stirring the wort in the kettle with a spoon or getting it to move with your pump, if you have one. Either method is referred to as a whirlpool.

 

[Dcpcooks]

I can get 15 gallons from the kettle to the fermentor in one pass through a plate chiller. That's easier in the winter and spring when ground temps are low. That can change in the summer with a lager. As ground water is too warm and pitch temp is too low. In those instances I'll prefer to let it chill to pitch temps in the ferm chamber.

I'm not a fan or running a plate chiller in a whirlpool set up. A counter flow chiller is great for that application.

 

[Nmnbrewer]

Thanks for the replies. I practiced this am with 10 gallons of boiling water and my cfc. I managed to figure out the correct pump throttle and went from boiling to 68 in about 12-13 min. That works for me. I think I was just worrying about the chiller flow too much as opposed to the wort flow. Lesson learned. Must have done something right. The 20 gallons that I brewed this weekend is bubbling away in their respective fermenters.

 

[Nmnbrewer]

So something that I've noticed about going from boiling, to chiller, and then directly to fermentor, is that there is obviously no chance for cold break to be removed or blocked before transfer. It looks pretty crazy in the carboy but settles fairly quickly. I've just never had to deal with that high amount of trub in my carboys before. Most of what I've read is that this is no big deal and is actually maybe good for the yeast.