Any reviews/advice on the ExChilerator?

Williams 728
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You'd be the second.

Be sure to post a review. Assuming there really was one sale, that buyer has yet to post a review...

Cheers!
 
Quick question before I order. I live in South Carolina. The tap water temp is running about 85 Deg (July August) Thinking about using the Exchilerator and a immersion chiller packed in ice water and salt to bring the temp down. Right now it's taking about an hour to get the temp under 90 using a ice water bath and the chiller. Any thoughts.
Thanks for your help;
ArtieD.


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I live in FL. Tap water temps alone are not enough for me to chill to pitch temps.
I have multiple chillers, and what I find works best for me is, a large immersion chiller with pump recirculated wort.
I am rather surprised that for extended, up to one hour chilling, that your tap water remains at 85°. I'm further south and my tap water is usually below 80°. My goal in using the immersion chiller is 80°. If I want to chill further, I will often just transfer to fermenter, and put that in my ferm chamber overnight and pitch the next day.
I have tried the Lonny Mac method, recirculation through a plate chiller with an ice water bath. This clogs the plate chiller though.
I've taken that plate chiller and used an ice batch to run off the wort into the fermenter, and I've been able to achieve satisfactory results most days in hitting a pitch able ale temp. I now have the copper CFC from more beer an with this one, I can recirculate with using an ice bath, but usually I would pre chill with the immersion chiller. I'd prefer that more beer unit over the one on eBay there. No brass. The 45-60 minutes it takes me to get near 80 allows clean up time.

TD




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I ended up buying one of these. While I have yet to use it for a brew, I took it for a hot water test spin the day after I got it. Using gravity only and water directly from my hose (about 75 deg) I was able to get it to about 77-78 in one pass. Getting any better will obviously require a pre-chiller of some sort. Build seems good, and including the thermometer and valve, it was a good price point.

I did buy through paypal directly from the site and that saved me about $15 in shipping. I'll leave my impressions after I brew this weekend.
 
I am also interested in this CFC chiller. I am looking forward to your review. As of right now I use a garden hose CFC but I like the idea of using chiller water in the next batch instead of wasting it. For anyone wondering why I can't use my chilling water now is because garden hoses house bacteria that are harmful for you and they give the water a bad taste. Thought of using a potable water hose but it was not rated for the temps the chiller is going to exchange off. The PEX lines in the Exchillerator seem like a good idea.


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I'm surprised to see the use of PEX as that stuff deteriorates in sunlight. You can get UV resistance PEX, but that stuff's only resistant for 90 days or so, long enough for it to be installed behind walls away from UV. Most PEX manufacturers will say 30 days max.

Kal
 
That's good to know Kal. What do you think about using it in an indoor brewery?


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I've never used it myself so I can't comment on the suitability/performance. Sorry! But given my previous comment about PEX, I wouldn't spend money on it myself.

Kal
 
I'm still waiting for someone's review as well. I might just have to jump out there and get one.


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I just used my Exchillerator for the first time yesterday. This thing is freaking AWESOME!!

I've gone from the archaic ice bath to the immersion chiller, to finally a counterflow chiller. Typically it would take over an hour and god knows how many gallons of water through the immersion chiller to bring the wort down to 80 degrees or less before I could move it into the fermenter. With the Exchillerator, I was able to move a 5 gallon batch leaving the BK right at flame out to the fermenter at 68degrees in approximately 10 minutes using a pump. Granted the water is a little colder this time of year. There is a valve on the side that will allow you to control the flow of wort so it's not too hot (or too cold) as it exits the chiller. I'm planning on re-purposing the immersion chiller in the summer months when the water is about 75-80 degrees by recirculating the chill water through an ice bath.

The the bimetal thermometer can be easily outfitted with a digital thermowell if you so choose. Also, I wouldn't be worried about the outer PEX material becoming damaged too soon by UV unless you are planning on storing this unit outside. Don't know why you would anyways.

In summary, I think this counterflow chiller is a great addition to anyones brewing equipment. It's one of the few pieces of equipment that will actually give you a return on your investment by what you will save in water costs.

Prost!
 
skidmarkbrew said:
Also, I wouldn't be worried about the outer PEX material becoming damaged too soon by UV unless you are planning on storing this unit outside. Don't know why you would anyways.
Click to expand...
It's not about the storage. Most PEX manufacturers say that their PEX shouldn't be exposed to UV for more than 30 days before being installed behind walls in complete darkness.

So assuming you brew outdoors that's probably only 30-45 brews. That assumes too that you store the unit in complete darkness for the rest of the time.

If you're ok with buying one with the understanding that it may deteriorate after 30-45 brews then go for it. It practice I imagine it would last considerably longer, but I always caution people against buying something that is used in a manner for which it was not originally intended. Especially when it'll likely limit the lifespan of the product.

I would recommend at least covering it in silver HVAC tape on all sides (similar to what the manufacturer does on the inside of the coil to hold it together).

Kal
 
I used mine yesterday. I agree with Kal (this thing is freaking awesom) It took a little longer with gravity feed, but still ok. I'll be buying a pump soon
ArtieD
 
This is swaying me in the direction of the Exchillerator instead of a plate chiller. My reservations of both types are this: a plate chiller can get clogged with hop debris, and the Exchillerator PEX will degrade when exposed to uv light. Kal's idea of wrapping it with reflective tape seems to be a good idea. I don't know the compromise for a plate chiller you can't take apart and clean. As of now, I am still on the fence but lean toward the Exchillerator.


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Not that wikipedia is a fantastic source of info, but it does have a good breakdown of positives and minuses of PEX vs. copper

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cross-linked_polyethylene

I'm more worried about permeability and effects of chlorine, which are documented below. I'd like to think most people using this would not have chlorinated water if they've invested in a pump/chiller/etc, but you never know.

http://failures.wikispaces.com/PEX+Plumbing+Failures

I was looking at the exchilerator seriously, but it sounds just like a cheaper plastic version of a copper chiller. It's like buying an IKEA dining table vs. a solid oak table. Both are probably ok but it depends on your situation.
 
bondra76 said:
Not that wikipedia is a fantastic source of info, but it does have a good breakdown of positives and minuses of PEX vs. copper
Click to expand...
But those pluses and minuses are only value when using both for their intended purpose which is as a water supply in a house. They assume the products are both installed and used correctly. Ie: PEX is behind walls and hidden from UV.

I'm more worried about permeability and effects of chlorine, which are documented below. I'd like to think most people using this would not have chlorinated water if they've invested in a pump/chiller/etc, but you never know.
Click to expand...
Sure they would. Most people chill with their CFC using tap water, and tap water in most (if not all) municipalities contains chlorine or chloramine. I wouldn't worry about this much though since PEX piping used in water distribution in houses in the last 10-20 years is also exposed to this same chlorinated tap water.

Studies (like the one you linked to) talk about a ~50 year lifespan for PEX when exposed to chlorine. But only 30-60 days for UV exposure. It's UV I'd be worried about.

I was looking at the exchilerator seriously, but it sounds just like a cheaper plastic version of a copper chiller. It's like buying an IKEA dining table vs. a solid oak table. Both are probably ok but it depends on your situation.
Click to expand...
At least with the table analogy both are "tables" and are used for their intended purpose. IMHO using PEX in a CFC is more like buying that IKEA table and using it as a dance floor. It's not the intended purpose and if you asked IKEA, they'd say "don't do that - it won't last". That's the same thing the PEX manufacturer would tell you if you told them you wanted to make a CFC out of PEX that you planned to use outdoors and expose to UV. They'd say "Don't do that - it's only meant to be exposed to UV for 30-60 days max after which it should not be used".

Kal
 
Stealthcruiser said:
"skidmarkbrew"..........Who do ya' work for?

Just curious, joined in Nov., and in love with this thing already, on a new thread...........
Click to expand...

Now that is some funny stuff right there! I noticed that too. But this product does look like it would work pretty well. I would like to make it recirculate. Put that cooling wort back into the kettle to try and get the total wort under 130 asap to prevent dms. Maybe recirculate for 5 minutes before pumping into your fermenter.

The uv light wouldnt effect me for one of these. I brew at night time for almost every brew session. It sure would speed up the process of cooling to dunk the actual counterflow made of copper (doesnt work in favor of the pex in this situation) into a bucket of ice during the whole process though.
 
If you are implying that I work for the folks that make the Exchillerator, you couldn't be further from the truth. I never heard of these folks until this product was recommended from a friend who was also raving about it.

Someone asked for a review. I give my review based on my experiences with other chilling methods.

Does waiting to join HBT until this month to leave a requested review make my review any less valid?
 
skidmarkbrew said:
If you are implying that I work for the folks that make the Exchillerator, you couldn't be further from the truth. I never heard of these folks until this product was recommended from a friend who was also raving about it.

Someone asked for a review. I give my review based on my experiences with other chilling methods.

Does waiting to join HBT until this month to leave a requested review make my review any less valid?
Click to expand...


Not at all, it just was quite noticeable, and struck me as ironic, as it's seen all the time on here, when people reply in such a fashion, that coincides with their "recent" join date.

Some folks call it "trolling", of a sort.



Lighten up, and welcome to H B T !:mug:
 
Reviving this old thread!

I'm curious to see what your experiences were and how the Exchilerator is holding up. Thinking about grabbing one but still not sure!
 
I don't have any real experience with the CFC yet. i just picked it up today. I found out Ken (the guy who makes them) lives about 20 min. away from me. He invited me over to see one in action. He was brewing about 15 gallons of beer. First thing he showed me was cooling the beer through the CFC and dumping back into the pot. He brought the temp down to about 180 in just a few minutes. He added some hops and then let it whirlpool and sett'e for a little bit. After that he chilled the 15 gallon to 68 degrees in about 10 min. (I did't watch a clock or anything).

I ended up picking a new model he is working on that use a type of PEX that has an aluminum covering to help protect from UV. It looks well made and I'm looking forward to putting it through its paces when I brew next. I'm planning on recording everything and ill post the numbers.

Another thing I want to mention is Ken has a CFC sitting in his backyard on a table. so far its been outdoors for 21 days (i think that is what he said). hes planning on leaving it out longer and then performing some integrity checks against it to see if there are any issue.

Just my two cent. Ill update again soon.
 
I've been using mine for about a year and it works great. Nothing more I can say.
 
I've got about 15 brews on it, all gravity fed with SoCal 68-73 deg water. Dropped the wort temp to the tap temp in one pass. Love the thing. No impending deterioration signs noticed yet. If give it my endorsement after starting this thread a while ago...
 
I used mine with the Brew-Boss system. Pumped the wort through the chillerator using tap water. The connection from my tap spigot narrowed the water flow and even slowing the pump down I could only chill to 75F. I got a new adapter to connect the garden hose to the tap spigot that does not narrow the flow and think that will fix my issue. I have a well with cold water, so I think increasing the waterflow will fix the issue. Have used chill plate before without this issue, but water volume through plate hose was unrestricted.
 
So I used my Exchilerator Maxx UV (http://www.brickriverbrew.com/#!product-page/cn4j/42e86379-ce68-5305-80c2-2a033771342a) for the first time this past Friday. I attached a picture of the thermometer built into the Exchilerator that was taken while pumping boiling wort through. I didn't take my tap water temperature but I would estimate it is about 60 degrees or so.

Not much more to say, it's built to do one job and it seems to do it real well.

Adam

CounterFlowTemp.png
 
I am bumping this older post, as I'm in the market for a CFC. Has anyone had any issues with the UV light and the PEX?
 
No issues here either. One pass gravity fed at about 3/4 open on the bottom valve usually results in tap water temperature for me. Does exactly what I want it to. A little tipsy if you don't mount it though. I need to figure that out... But I'd rather be brewing!
 
I bought the unit. I was able to get the temperature of wort pretty close to tap temperature. Sanitized by pumping the boil through it for a couple of minutes. Cleaned it by backflushing. All in all, I really like it.

Ken is decent to work with too.
 

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