Help using CFC, pump recommendations

[RPh_Guy]

I recently acquired a 25' 3/8" copper counterflow chiller.

My first brew day with it I tried a gravity method. My fermenter was on the ground, the CFC on a table, and the kettle elevated above the CFC. I opened the valve on my kettle and it worked great for a couple minutes but then it slowed to a crawl and eventually clogged.

My guess is it clogged because the 5 gallon batch had 2.5 oz of loose pellet hops and no filter of any kind.

Gravity-fed CFC users: How do you prevent clogging? Would just bagging the hops help prevent a clog? Would a kettle screen or hop spider be a better choice?

Pump users: I'm taking suggestions for a quality pump. Riptide seems well recommended. I don't completely understand what features I need. Some can't be primed with gravity? Or get damaged if they run dry?
Do you always whirlpool to cool the entire batch quickly? Is that another piece of gear I need?

Cleaning, sanitizing, and storage: Is it reasonable to just run some Star San through it before use and fill it with oxyclean to soak for a while after use?
Obviously if I had a pump I would pump through the cleanser.

Thanks in advance.

 

[govner1]

First, managing the trub in your boil kettle and keeping it out of your tubing & CFC would be a good place to start if you’re going to continue gravity feeding your chiller to fermentor. It will also be a great idea if you’re going to a pump. Otherwise you are going to clog your CFC & most likely your pump as well.
Using a hop spider or bag would go a long way to reducing your hop debris but don’t forget the proteins, etc. I’ll hat will still be present. You can control most of this by a manual whirlpool and adding pickup (90° elbow with a nipple) works for me but Brew Hardware has an accessory that’s reasonably priced, too.
Second, as for a pump, March works well but you’ll need to add a ball valve and connector to control the flow. The Riptide comes with this included plus a built in switch and you can remove the entire front end since it is attached with a tri-clover clamp. This allows easy cleaning after every use. Plus the flow rate is outstanding and it is very quiet.
Third, if you decide to whirlpool with a pump through your chiller and back you can easily make a whirlpool arm out of cooper tubing or pipe. Again, Brew Hardware has an accessory called a Spin Cycle which requires some drilling but functions very well. You’ll still need a pick up to control trub pick up.
If you want to really get fancy you can add something like a hopback filled with rice hulls between your BK and pump to trap any debris and keep it out of your pump and CFC.

 

[RPh_Guy]

Good ideas, thanks!