Plate chiller brand/size for 15 gallon batches?

[riored4v]

Looking for a plate chiller that will handle 15 gallon batches with no problems.

From what I'v gathered, it looks like long plates are the best for cooling?

Ground water is usually no higher than 70* and I'm trying to find a chiller that I can go directly from the kettle to the fermentors instead of chilling the entire batch down first.

I saw the Duda Diesel 60 plate, but it seemed a tad expensive at $270.

Any other suggestions?

 

[mswebb]

I'm using the B3-36A which is a $40 plate chiller. Only used it for 1/2 Bbl batch so far but will be upping to full 1 Bbl in the next couple of weeks. I go straight from kettle to fermenter through the chiller. The chiller was $209 US with $60 shipping to Canada. I ordered it based on the expected amount of cooling water required per liter of hot wort.

 

[atoughram]

I've got a Duda B3-23A - for less than a buck fordy.... I was amazed at how well it does, it can get the wort too cool.

 

[riored4v]

I'm using the B3-36A which is a $40 plate chiller. Only used it for 1/2 Bbl batch so far but will be upping to full 1 Bbl in the next couple of weeks. I go straight from kettle to fermenter through the chiller. The chiller was $209 US with $60 shipping to Canada. I ordered it based on the expected amount of cooling water required per liter of hot wort.

How did you like the performance of it? Thats the one I'm currently looking at

 

[chezhed]

I chill 12 gallon batches direct from kettle to fermenter using a Blichman Therminator.....and ice water pumped through it because my ground water seldom falls to 70. It takes 40 lbs of ice dumped in a washtub with a submersible pump and the water is recycled continuously....I gravity flow the wort and in 20 minutes or less, I can have 60 degree wort. Pump and Therminator were a lot less than $270.......and the left over warm water makes for a nice dog bath or good start to clean up

 

[riored4v]

I chill 12 gallon batches direct from kettle to fermenter using a Blichman Therminator.....and ice water pumped through it because my ground water seldom falls to 70. It takes 40 lbs of ice dumped in a washtub with a submersible pump and the water is recycled continuously....I gravity flow the wort and in 20 minutes or less, I can have 60 degree wort. Pump and Therminator were a lot less than $270.......and the left over warm water makes for a nice dog bath or good start to clean up

I already have the pumps. The Therminator is $200. I'm not sure of the plate count on the Therminator, but the 40 plate Duda I was looking at was $209.

 

[chezhed]

I don't know the plate count either but I know it chills circles around the 40 plate chiller I used to have....the flow must be better is all I know.
If I pump thru it, I get 10 gallons to 74 in no time.....and that is when it is 100F ambient temp.
And there is a nice mounting bracket too

 

[riored4v]

I don't know the plate count either but I know it chills circles around the 40 plate chiller I used to have....the flow must be better is all I know.
If I pump thru it, I get 10 gallons to 74 in no time.....and that is when it is 100F ambient temp.
And there is a nice mounting bracket too

I do like the mounting bracket. Duda's have nice mounting studs that will bolt in nice to the current mount I made. I have a 40 plate "shorty" style plate chiller that i'm looking to replace with these longer style ones. Worked good when I could recirculate, but its not keeping it with direct transfer to the fermenters.

I'm not knocking the Blichmann by any means. I've heard great things about it. But if I can get a bigger one for the same price, I'd rather do that for the little extra chilling it might give me.

 

[chezhed]

If I hadn't stumbled upon a super deal on a Blichman, I was seriously considering the Duda....stated results look very good.
I'm just convinced there is more to it than number of plates...

What we need is someone doing Consumer Reviews in side by side tests of some of this equipment...burners, chillers, heat sticks, etc.......hmmmm, maybe I should quit my day job

 

[riored4v]

If I hadn't stumbled upon a super deal on a Blichman, I was seriously considering the Duda....stated results look very good.
I'm just convinced there is more to it than number of plates...

What we need is someone doing Consumer Reviews in side by side tests of some of this equipment...burners, chillers, heat sticks, etc.......hmmmm, maybe I should quit my day job

Agreed. And i definitely have recently found out its not just about the plates.

I wish the Terminator had more stats on the site like Duda. Almost seems like Duda has nothing to hide or keep a secret.

Just looking at purely the size, the Duda seems to have alot more surface area which seems like it would chill better, but who knows.

 

[riored4v]

Called up Duda and after talking with them I decided on the 40 plate version. Hopefully it gets here before the weekend so I can test it out this weekend

 

[JaDeDBrewing]

Hey guys,

We have been working on getting some comparisons of various chillers together and this is what we have so far:

The JaDeD Difference

We obviously have more to add, and will do so as time permits. We have verified the results multiple times under controlled conditions to eliminate as many potential variables as possible.

The Therminator's secret is that it is not a 40 plate short chiller, it is a 20 plate long. The wort goes from the top to the bottom, passes through an opening, and goes back up to the top.

As far as plate chillers go, the longer it is, the better the usage of your chilling water will be. From there, it is simply a matter of getting enough plates to give you an acceptable wort flow rate for your needs.

As you can see from our site, we do not carry plate chillers or standard CFCs. We have a problem with the idea of that much surface area inside a plate chiller or CFC being completely closed off from a visual inspection. The only "hobby" sized cleanable plate chiller currently availible is from Sabco. It costs $749, and is comparible in chilling speed to the Therminator/20 plate long duda.

We are not saying that you can't make good beer using a plate chiller, or even that there is no way to get them clean, we just feel like the extra effort, time, and water needed to clean a plate chiller negates the 30 seconds faster chilling speed compared to one of our triple feed chillers (for 5 gallons to 10 degrees above tap water temp).

 

[day_trippr]

Agreed. And i definitely have recently found out its not just about the plates.

I wish the Terminator had more stats on the site like Duda. Almost seems like Duda has nothing to hide or keep a secret.

Just looking at purely the size, the Duda seems to have alot more surface area which seems like it would chill better, but who knows.

Unlike Blichmann, Duda sells a broad spectrum of chillers, so they don't have their entire marketing focused on a single solution. They can be totally open about performance. Short, long, 20 plates on up, all you need is to look at Duda's performance numbers and pick the one that suits your needs and available cooling water supply.

I honestly don't know why anyone would buy a Therminator with the above knowledge...

Cheers!

 

[chezhed]

Not at normal price....agree!

But 2 for one is hard to beat...ya gotta admit.

 

[mswebb]

How did you like the performance of it? Thats the one I'm currently looking at

Performance is great. I use a chugger pump from bk to chiller and can run it almost fully open.