I've made this argument in many other threads before but ice is much more costly than water. It seems most efficient to use water until it becomes useless, then switch to ice.
Even if you're pumping icewater for added chill speed, it's completely ridiculous to put the wastewater back into the your basin if you haven't "precooled" the wort with plain tap water. The output of the coolant at minute zero should be somewhere near 180F and it would make a lot of sense to collect the first 5 gallons or so for cleanup while replenishing the spent icewater with tap.
CFCs are a bit more difficult to sanitze and clean- you have to run sanitizer through them before you chill, and some kind of rinse afterward, but they are more efficient. They can chill five gallons a lot faster.
or just pump boiling wort through it...
I would do it but I don't feel like dumping $50 in fuel to boil all that water. The other issue is that of small variables. If I did it across multiple real batches, you'd have to consider the slight change in tap water temps and wort gravity even if I were trying to keep those things constant.
The other problem is that both my IC and plate chiller are not standard sizes. The IC is 3/8" OD x 30' and the plate is 30-plate at 5" x 18" which is larger than a therminator. Not quite representative of what anyone else would have.
If I could get my hands on a shirron, a 25' CFC, a 25' x 3/8" IC, a 50' x 3/8" IC, and both of those in 1/2", It would make for fun video... Pick a date and show up with them and we'll have a party.
I understand the difference between the two and their operation, I am just looking for people to convince me one way or the other what I need.
I'm going IC for my first chiller and am ordering it. I'd love it build something but for right now time is an issue. Whenever I go AG and can get a pump Bobby M's video on building an CFC is something I'll use.
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