Plate Chiller questions

[LuizArgh]

Ok, i'm developing my "2.0" eco-friendly equipment, so I decided to retire my old immersion chiller and go for a plate one. However, before I commit myself to the 200 dollars + shipping + import taxes (I live in Brazil) there are still some things I don't quite understand about the toy.

1) do I need to recirculate the wort into the kettle until it starts running out at the desired temperature? or it'll be already be near the 70ºs when the first drops leave the chiller? in the first case, how do you do that without disturbing the trub?

2) for a 25 gallons batch, which kind of plate chiller is optimal? is a Therminator like this one ( http://www.northernbrewer.com/brewi...hillers/counterflow-chillers/therminator.html) enough?

3) how do you cool it to 55º if the tap water temperature is around 65ºC? do you pre-chill the water?

4) why is the Therminator twice the price of the Shirron? is it really that worth it? and what about those at duda diesel (http://www.dudadiesel.com/heat_exchangers.php) ?

cheers to all,
Luiz

 

[HollisBrewCo]

i picked up a duda diesel off ebay for a reasonable price, about $70, i need to refine my method a bit to measure the wort temperature coming out of the chiller but i believe that if you want to get down to pitching rates fast you will want to pre chill your water.

 

[buffalobrewer]

Luiz,

1. If your water is 65 you should be able to get the temperature near 70 by adjusting the amount of cooling water used and the speed of the wort flowing through (more water less wort = cooler wort coming out).

3. To get the wort cooler than the tap water you would have to prechill. You can use your old immersion chiller to do this. Put it a cooler of ice water and run the tap water through it before it hits the plate chiller.

i'm not sure how eco friendly the plate chiller is vs the immersion chiller, it seems like they both use a lot of water to absorb the heat.

 

[passedpawn]

Plate chillers are definately the most ecofriendly choice.

I run my pool water through my therminator. When it is cold (less than 60F), I can run ales straight into the carboy. Otherwise, i just put it on recirc (wort goes back to the boil kettle). So, the answer is "it depends on your cooling water".

You can put your immersion chiller into a container of icewater, then run your cooling water through that, then through the plate chiller, and still do it with one pass. I used to do that, but I don't like buying ice so I quit that.