Blichmann BrewEasy Chiller Placement

[Normans54]

Hi all,

I have a Blichmann BrewEasy which (as you might know) normally looks something like this:

However, I (like most of you) am constantly looking for ways to improve my process. As a result, I am thinking about putting my counterflow wort chiller in between the boil kettle outlet and the pump so it looks something like this:

My goal in doing this is to 1) eliminate the need to alter my setup at all during the brewing session by having everything I need in place from the get go; 2) reduce wort loss by being able to easily pump out the wort that is usually left behind in the chiller after draining and eliminate wort that might spill out when connecting the wort chiller to the system at the end of the brew; 3) allow me to run cold water through the chiller during the mash to reduce my mash temperature in case I overshoot; 4) save time by allowing me to sanitize my chiller by running hot wort through it as part of the brewing process (rather than after flameout); and 5) allow me to clean the entire system all at once at the end of the brew/reduce the amount of tubing I need to clean. Does anybody see any problems with this setup? Thanks!

 

[Bobby_M]

It's an idea but I wouldn't do it because it will be dumping heat the entire mash.

1. Avoiding one hose change?

2. No. Once the pump sucks air, the pumping is over and that means anything downstream of the pump will have wort left in it including the chiller.

3. With a system like that, you'd really never have a reason to overshoot because you should target a few degrees low since the system can easily make it up quickly.

4. You really don't want to be pumping boiling wort. It's really tough on the pump due to the cavitation. It's less bad when you kill the heat input.

5. Even if you had to make that one hose change to insert the chiller into the loop, it's now in the correct cleaning configuration. We're really talking about one hose change.

It's kind of like driving a car with your left foot on the brake because hey, when I need to brake it's already in place.