advice on chiller for 20 gal batches

dputt88 · Jan 9, 2015

so ive been looking into plate chillers for a system that im just about done making that will brew 20 gal batches. when i read old posts most people talk about the number of plates and not the length of the plates. i did some reading on plate heat exchangers and have read and agree that its the length of the plate that is the most important factor. so i want to know what length and plate count you recommend for me. i would like the cooling time for 20 gal batches to be around 10 min but im not really in to much of a rush. plus im a tight wad and dont like spending a lot of money so im really looking at cost as well.

all that said, tell what length and plate count you would recommend and if you have experience with a plate chiller please tell me you have and what numbers you're getting

thanks,
Doug

augiedoggy · Jan 9, 2015

dputt88 said:
so ive been looking into plate chillers for a system that im just about done making that will brew 20 gal batches. when i read old posts most people talk about the number of plates and not the length of the plates. i did some reading on plate heat exchangers and have read and agree that its the length of the plate that is the most important factor. so i want to know what length and plate count you recommend for me. i would like the cooling time for 20 gal batches to be around 10 min but im not really in to much of a rush. plus im a tight wad and dont like spending a lot of money so im really looking at cost as well.

all that said, tell what length and plate count you would recommend and if you have experience with a plate chiller please tell me you have and what numbers you're getting

thanks,
Doug

http://www.ebay.com/itm/B3-23A-20-P...t=LH_DefaultDomain_0&var=&hash=item51aea4fd41

I'm using this one and it cools my wort to 60 in one pass... whole 10 gallons in about 7 minutes...Id say it would do 20 gallons down to 70-75 in well under 10 minutes...(in the winter with cold ground water) I know it says 1.5 gallons per minute but that may be with warmer ground water since mine seems quicker..
You want longer plates vs short and more plates... longer chillers are more efficient than the short ones like the therminator..

ThreeDogsNE · Jan 10, 2015

I have put 15 gallon batches through the 40 plate version of the B3-23A on this page: http://www.dudadiesel.com/heat_exchangers.php

I throttle back the water flow using a boiler drain valve to avoid overcooling of the wort draining by siphon through 1/2" hose from my single tier rig into fermenters on the ground below. My brew club got the same thing for our 100 gallon big brews, with similar results using gravity drainage from the boil kettle through 1/2" hose. I picked that size because it seemed to be at the break point, above which the price/plate began to rise more abruptly.