Hopefully I finally solved my chilling concerns

[Airborneguy]

Someone (I’m sorry, I forgot who) posted a link yesterday to an old thread where someone else (again, forgot who) combined two immersion chillers that fit one inside the other. Well having recently tried every which way and being on the brink of dropping $200 on an exchillerator, I figured I’d give this a try since my two immersion chillers fit together. Here it is:

The test run commences as soon as my boil finishes.

 

[day_trippr]

Do the loops in those two coils have any gaps or are the loops slammed together?

I have a 50' 1/2"D SS IC that came tight AF. I watched the kettle circulation go around it instead of through it, so I spent an afternoon threading 1/8" SS wire through it to gap it. I'd guesstimate it cut cooling time by a third...

Cheers!

 

[Airborneguy]

Ah, thanks for that. There’s no gaps, but I can mess with them to create some separation. Seems stainless chillers tend to be all looped together unlike copper which can be easily separated.

 

[Airborneguy]

Well round 1 was MUCH faster than is usual for me. I didn’t time it, but I’m thinking close to half the time and a great amount of water saved.

 

[oakbarn]

Two words: Plate Chiller

We did the two coils years ago. Moving to a Plate Chiller was way better.

 

[Airborneguy]

Two words: Plate Chiller

We did the two coils years ago. Moving to a Plate Chiller was way better.

I have a plate chiller but I don’t trust the cleanliness having heard all the horror stories. I may eventually switch to a counterflow but since I already had the two immersions to do this, it was worth a try.

I love this all in one system but in a few years I’m likely going back to 3 vessel with a stronger 30amp element. Then I will go the full on pump and counterflow route.

 

[oakbarn]

I was worried about the "cleaniness" of a Plate Chiller as well, but we clean it for at least an hour with PBW after a brew and sanitize with 185 degree water for 45 minutes during a brew, We have not had any issues for years.

 

[day_trippr]

Two words: Plate Chiller
[...]

Two words: Yeah, right.

I have a Dudadiesel 30 plate 12" long PC.
Just imagine the cleaning nightmare this wort would cause if I tried to run it through my PC.

That's why I use my 50' 1/2" SS IC...

Cheers!

 

[mashdar]

I love the double IC setup. Parallel flow is interesting; I assumed series before seeing your photo.

Why do all these SS chillers have such short stub outs, and why are they all horizontal? WTB a 6" turnout that faces down to keep the dang lines unkinked and drips away from vessel.

Hardware store only has 3/8" tube bender tool, and the risers on my IC are so short I may have issues if I bend it lower. Sigh.

 

[Airborneguy]

I was worried about the "cleaniness" of a Plate Chiller as well, but we clean it for at least an hour with PBW after a brew and sanitize with 185 degree water for 45 minutes during a brew, We have not had any issues for years.

I can’t rationalize that much extra work.

 

[govner1]

Try the hop blocker from Electric Brewing. I will save you a lot of time with a CFC, plate chiller or IC.

 

[wdavis2003]

I just used a CFC chiller for the first time.. so much extra work involved trying to clean and sanitize before and after the brewday. Not to mention just dumping in 1 effin' ounce of hops straight into my kettle nearly clogs the entire flow so it was barely flowing through the CFC resulting in 0 time saved chilling vs my IC. The ground water is very cold right now so I'm definitely disappointed.

I just checked out the hop stopper from Electric Brewing. That would solve my problems.

 

[govner1]

They were having a sale, too.

 

[day_trippr]

Try the hop blocker from Electric Brewing. I will save you a lot of time with a CFC, plate chiller or IC.

lol! I use a Hopblocker V2 and I would say it definitely does not hasten lautering the boil kettle. The Electric Brewery folks recommend drawing wort slowly so as not to plug-up and pancake the Hopblocker (which they will not warrant). I would guess I run out at maybe two quarts per minute, which for a 10 gallon batch means a solid 20 minutes.

It does put nice bright wort in the fermentors though. For me it's worth the wait

Cheers!

 

[JohnDBrewer]

I use a plate chiller, never had a issue. I do have a 3-vessel system, so once I get my mash going, I put a couple gallons of water and sanitizer in my boil kettle to recirc through my plate chiller for 15-20 minutes. Same sanitizer is pumped into my fermenter to sanitize it. At the end of the boil, I use my spoon to whirlpool the wort for 20-30 seconds, let it sit for 20 minutes, then pump it into the fermenter. Always have a nice hop/trub cone left in the BK. Never an issue with the the plate chiller. To clean I just use the water I used to cleaned the BK with, recir for a few minutes in reverse through the plate chiller. If I do have a large hop bill I will use a hop spider, though.

 

[redrocker652002]

I will plus one for putting some space in your coils. I did that per the recommendation sheet that came with the IC. It is much easier to clean it as well. I have not used any wire to space them, but might look into it. But, for me, a little space between seems to have helped.

 

[Airborneguy]

I was able to open the rings of the outer coil. The inner coil has so far defeated my attempts.

 

[sibelman]

btw, I believe @Bassman2003 has a dual nested coil chiller setup.