Enough! Getting a plate chiller stat!

[Jdk261]

Here I am sitting around at 1am, waiting for my ice bath to cool things down. What a pain this has become. I have just justified the purchase of a pump and chiller without question!

 

[emjay]

Nice. A pump is essential with a plate chiller, but the pair is one of the best purchases I've ever made for my brewery. I personally got a Boilermaker.

 

[Diver165]

Why not get a simple immersion chiller? They're cheap and you can even make it yourself or buy one. They work well too. Nothing against plate chillers.

 

[emjay]

Why not get a simple immersion chiller? They're cheap and you can even make it yourself or buy one. They work well too. Nothing against plate chillers.

"Work well" is a relative term. When compared to a plate chiller, I would entirely disagree.

 

[Diver165]

I never said or implied it worked better. Just throwing effective ideas out that cost a lot less.

 

[emjay]

You asked a question - "Why not...?"

All I did was answer it.

Obviously the OP can afford it, and I'm sure he's aware of immersion chillers. But so many people go with immersion chillers only to later seriously regret it and want to buy a plate or counterflow chiller instead but since they already wasted money, they often try just about everything to improve it, sinking even more money into it until eventually giving up and getting a plate chiller or CFC.

Ignoring the fact that a plate chiller is far more efficient with water (and ice, if required), reducing the cost of using it, the people who described above - even the ones who DON'T spend even more money trying to modify or improve it - would definitely disagree about the whole "cost-effective" part.

 

[Diver165]

Forget I even said anything...you obviously know what's best.

 

[brum]

Long winded bag of wind.....

I have an ic, don't regret it and will upgrade when I get some more disposable income.

 

[IrregularPulse]

Forget I even said anything...you obviously know what's best.

Yes, there is no reason Emjay, to provide useful data on a subject that other's may come across.

I didn't see Emjay's comment as belittling towards you or anything you said. He simply supplied his opinion about an alternative and his observations on this forum (it dos seem most IC users eventually switch away from the IC or start threads about some "new" idea they had that is just ridiculous trying to improve their IC) to possibly help someone save some coin in the long run based on personal experience.

Brum - You say you don't regret, which I'm sure you don't, it probably worked great for you, but you are still replacing it as soon as you have the money. This just backs Emjay's response.

 

[63belair]

Fight! Fight! Fight!

There are lots of options for upgrading/speeding up your chilling process. Different methods have different levels of effectiveness at different price points.

Good luck!

 

[Changeduser123]

Yeah let's fight!

Seriously though, I use the same IC I started with for my extract batches, and it works well enough for a 5 gallon full boil. Sure it does not take 2minutes to cool down the wort like a plate chiller would do. But the reason why I am not considering a plate chiller is that it would require more equipment, and more cleaning.

So if you are a BIAB brewer (like me), that wants to keep his equipment simple, you may consider an IC.

Otherwise, if I was brewing with HLT,MT,and BK, yes I would consider getting a pump, and a plate chiller.

It all depends at what level you want to bring your equipment!

 

[Firebat138]

My buddy is going through a divorce and would probably let you use his ex wife's heart for chilling... But I assume you don't want to freeze it though

 

[Bobby_M]

Forget I even said anything...you obviously know what's best.

Has my wife been coaching you lately?

 

[mredge73]

Nice. A pump is essential with a plate chiller, but the pair is one of the best purchases I've ever made for my brewery. I personally got a Boilermaker.

I wouldn't say a pump is essential with a plate chiller.
They will work just fine gravity fed, put a valve and thermometer at the output and chill it within 5 degrees of ground water temperature in <10minutes.:rockin:

But if you want a pump, get it. It will enable re-circulation but I have found that I have to recirculate for about 5-7 minutes and then dump to the fermenter for another 2 minutes, doesn't save much time if any. I am not saying that the pump cannot be used in other processes on brew day but that it doesn't really speed the cooling process up much.

 

[emjay]

I wouldn't say a pump is essential with a plate chiller.
They will work just fine gravity fed, put a valve and thermometer at the output and chill it within 5 degrees of ground water temperature in <10minutes.:rockin:

But if you want a pump, get it. It will enable re-circulation but I have found that I have to recirculate for about 5-7 minutes and then dump to the fermenter for another 2 minutes, doesn't save much time if any. I am not saying that the pump cannot be used in other processes on brew day but that it doesn't really speed the cooling process up much.

The reason I say it's essential is for sanitization purposes rather than chilling. You're pretty much bound to run into repeat infections (eventually) if you don't recirculate boiling wort through it.

 

[Bobby_M]

You can collect boiling wort out of the chiller and pour it back into the kettle. It shouldn't take more than a couple gallons to get the chiller up to 205F. Obviously this is done before running the coolant through.

 

[bmick]

Check out Dudadiesel or KegCowboy for good deals on plate chillers, I got mine from Duda direct, works awesome, even though it's only gravity fed.

 

[Diver165]

Fight! Fight! Fight!

There are lots of options for upgrading/speeding up your chilling process. Different methods have different levels of effectiveness at different price points.

Good luck!

Fight? Hardly... Move along...nothing to see.

I just was wanting to point out there that plate and counterflow are the Ferrari, you can get by with a Chevy (IC) and still make good beer if he wanted.

I too went from the ice bath method and got a IC for Christmas. What a world of difference. I can chill from boiling to pitching in a around 15 min with tap water. I didn't buy it buy it, but I found Santa Claus's receipt and it cost 69.00. I'm thinking I can take 15-20 min and clean up while my wort is chilling and save some bucks to spend on other brew toys. Can a plate or counterflow chiller do it quicker? You bet! But I can live with my chill time as can a lot of other brewers. No need to customize my IC. I guess I'm lucky enough to have tap water cold enough to freeze the balls off a well digger.

As for being belittled? I've got thicker skin than that. No harm ... But I've also got sense enough to not argue with someone who has a differing opinion than you. After all, opinions are like buttholes....everyone has one.

 

[day_trippr]

If y'all are done with the cat fightin'...

I've always used an IC (at this point it's mostly an inertia thing ) How does one keep cold break from ending up in their primary fermenter when using either a CFC or a plate chiller?

With my trusty, home-built IC and end-of-chillin' whirl poolin' (with a pump, fwiw) I end up with a big ol' mound o' break in the middle of my BK, and I draw pretty clear wort through the dip tube (drawn from the edge of the kettle). Is there an analogous procedure using a plate chiller or CFC?

Cheers!

 

[RobVT3]

If y'all are done with the cat fightin'...

I've always used an IC (at this point it's mostly an inertia thing ) How does one keep cold break from ending up in their primary fermenter when using either a CFC or a plate chiller?

With my trusty, home-built IC and end-of-chillin' whirl poolin' (with a pump, fwiw) I end up with a big ol' mound o' break in the middle of my BK, and I draw pretty clear wort through the dip tube (drawn from the edge of the kettle). Is there an analogous procedure using a plate chiller or CFC?

Cheers!

Crickets?

 

[PseudoChef]

If y'all are done with the cat fightin'...

I've always used an IC (at this point it's mostly an inertia thing ) How does one keep cold break from ending up in their primary fermenter when using either a CFC or a plate chiller?

With my trusty, home-built IC and end-of-chillin' whirl poolin' (with a pump, fwiw) I end up with a big ol' mound o' break in the middle of my BK, and I draw pretty clear wort through the dip tube (drawn from the edge of the kettle). Is there an analogous procedure using a plate chiller or CFC?

Cheers!

You can recirculate with a plate chiller as well. I have a SS mesh filter in my BK that traps most break material. For ale fermentations, though, break material is not necessarily a bad thing.