$1200 Stainless Counterflow Wort Chiller

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SuperiorBrew

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It looks schweeeet but not for that price.

$1200 Stainless Counterflow Wort Chiller only $449 + $75 shipping

Stainless Steel Counter Flow Wort Chiller Heat Exchanger for Home Brewing
Manufactured by Sentry Equipment, this BRAND NEW 100% stainless steel, dual "tube-in-tube" type counter-flow wort chiller (or heat exchanger) is of the highest quality available. If you are a serious advanced homebrewer, you already know that the counter-flow type heat exchangers available are super efficient, but chances are you wished they weren't made of copper. This model is Sentry's top of the line, for which I paid over $1,200, and have never used even once!
SENTRY EQUIPMENT Model DTC-SSB/SSD-8-1-1, P/N 7-02673D
316 SS, 0.50" OD Center tubing, 316 SS 1.00" OD Outer tubing, Total heat exchanger surface area is 2.52 ft²
Rated for 2400psi @ 1,000° F
Overall Dimensions: 18" height x 24" width, x 10" front to back (size can be reduced by shortening the stainless mounting bracket). Weighs approx 30lbs
Single Continuous Sanitary Tubing without crevices or dead spots
Fully drainable (inner & outer)
Spiral wound for maximum counter flow efficiency and constant fluid velocity
Type K hard copper silver brazed water connections with Parker brass garden hose adapters, and Nibco bronze flow control valve on water outlet
Swagelok stainless nuts and ferrules installed on both fluid end tubing connections.
Here's a Link to Sentry's 6-page Brochure with specs and addt'l info:
http://www.sentry-equip.com/Public/BrochuresandDataShee/DTC17.1.pdf

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There is no getting it.

"If you are a serious advanced homebrewer, you already know that the counter-flow type heat exchangers available are super efficient, but chances are you wished they weren't made of copper. This model is Sentry's top of the line, for which I paid over $1,200, and have never used even once!"

"Rated for 2400psi @ 1,000° F"

wow....

Even at $525, a folly extraordinaire...

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You could double your use out of that unit as a steam heat exchanger in a wort recirc system. Also easy to sanitize with steam. Still pricey...
 
It's getting up to the price of a Minex10 plate and frame chiller which I'd much rather have. I've pretty much decided that anything more expensive than a 12g conical is just too expensive for a hobby (wait.. that opinion goes for the conical too).
 
That only slightly better than when they try to sell an item for like $5 and then put the shipping at $100
When I see that I always want to ask the seller some smart assed question but never bother.
 
Not even if I won the lottery...............ok well maybe for brew art in my new brewpub or house bar.
 
The thermal conductivity of stainless steel is 15 W/mK, while copper is 401 W/mK. Why in god's name would someone want a stainless chiller? Even aluminum comes in at around 237 W/mK, which is still MUCH better than steel.

This makes no sense to me at all. Is the inside easier to keep clean maybe?
 
It'll work one way or another. I've made many stainless heat exchangers, and for the most part, it's just a matter of adjusting the flow rates.
 
mr x said:
It'll work one way or another. I've made many stainless heat exchangers, and for the most part, it's just a matter of adjusting the flow rates.

I'm just curious if there's any benefit to stainless steel that I'm missing.
 
Nyxator said:
I'm just curious if there's any benefit to stainless steel that I'm missing.
I think ss is less reactive to many chemicals, which is probably of benefit in beer making. I steam sanitized my copper CFC one day and was horrified at the sludge that came out. I've never had a similar problem with ss, but I haven't made a ss chiller for beer either...yet. I am planning something similar the unit pictured, but for heating recirced wort in my MLT. But SS is free to me, so it's a no brainer. For most peeps, I don't think it's cost effective unless you won the lottery.
 
mr x said:
It'll work one way or another. I've made many stainless heat exchangers, and for the most part, it's just a matter of adjusting the flow rates.
Sure, but here's the deal. No matter how you adjust your flow rates, that chiller is 20x less efficient than copper, so no one in their right mind would want one unless it cost a small fraction of what a copper chiller does. I guess rubber hoses would eventually work, too, but I don't see anyone saying that's a good idea.
 
I've built a lot of heat exchangers out of ss, and I haven't had any complaints. And the 20x number doesn't mean much other than on paper. Put another way, you don't use 20x more water to get the same results.
 
mr x said:
I've built a lot of heat exchangers out of ss, and I haven't had any complaints. And the 20x number doesn't mean much other than on paper. Put another way, you don't use 20x more water to get the same results.

I haven't used SS to chill, but I talked to one of the guys at the HBS about a SS immersion chiller he uses. Takes him about 25-30 minutes to chill a 10-gallon batch, versus 10-12 minutes for my copper beast to chill 5 gallons. So, it seems there's a difference, but not extreme.

Still haven't heard a pro-SS argument for this chiller that convinces me it's any better, though...
 
There really isn't any practical reason for most peeps to use ss. But I look at the Blichmann/Shirron plate chillers and think, if copper is so much better, why are they using ss?
 
It really depends on the chemical you are using. Chlorine is acidic and is very hard on ss, whereas high strength H202 is also very acidic but quite non reactive to ss.
 
Still, I can get 1 of these for less than half the money and it will chill faster. The effort to keep it clean is the same.

chillzilla-cropped.jpg
 
mr x said:
I've built a lot of heat exchangers out of ss, and I haven't had any complaints. And the 20x number doesn't mean much other than on paper. Put another way, you don't use 20x more water to get the same results.

no you won't need 20x as much water but the amount of energy exchanged will be 20x more in a given period of time.

Sorry but I'm really for using the right tool for the job.


Hammer to pound a screw anyone?
 
Hmm....for $1200 I could re-outfit my entire brewery with new gear or buy one chiller that's likely to be less efficient than the one I already own...decisions, decisions...
 
z987k said:
Sorry but I'm really for using the right tool for the job.
So you think Blichmann and Shirron use the wrong tool? Go back to post #17 for practical example.

Keep in mind this is an industrial unit that uses 1" and 1/2" tubing. It really isn't meant for home use. But it does has some possibilities for certain individuals. If one doesn't get too hung up on just using it as a chiller.
 
$300 bucks? How can you afford not to buy it? I mean it's a chiller....that's immersed!
 
mr x said:
So you think Blichmann and Shirron use the wrong tool? Go back to post #17 for practical example.

Keep in mind this is an industrial unit that uses 1" and 1/2" tubing. It really isn't meant for home use. But it does has some possibilities for certain individuals. If one doesn't get too hung up on just using it as a chiller.

I don't see how anyone in post #17 is using the SS at an advantage to copper.

And while it may use 1" SS tubing, 1" copper will work better and be cheaper.

What are you using this for besides chilling?
 
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