IC,CFC or PC?

[HolidayIF1488]

So its time to upgrade my system again. I've been using my own semi creative wort chilling method that works very well actually but I feel like trying something new. Before I go out and make a purchase I thought it wise to ask my good friends here on HBT some opinions. So far the advice I've gotten on the forum has been top notch and extremely helpful. So what should I buy or make to chill my wort is the question.

 

[Piratwolf]

I use a CFC and I love it. Chills 5gal of wort from 200 degrees to 65 in about five minutes.

The downside, I guess, is the cleaning. But really, all I do is fill my bottling bucket with a few gallons of hot Oxyclean water, run it through into a carboy that needs cleaning, then do the same with a few gallons of StarSan.

 

[Teromous]

I use an IC. It's a pain in the ass and takes longer than the 5 min. people are claiming from CFC's and PC's. It's also unwieldy to carry this big wound up piece of copper with hoses connected to each end (probably no more annoying than any other piece of gear, but I find it especially annoying). Mine also seems to find a way to get a kinked hose or spring a leak no matter how tight I attach the tubing. I'm probably going to get a PC to replace it. The only real plus side I can think of, is that I made it myself and it was cheap.

 

[DogTail]

Depends on your current setup, do you currently have a pump or two to use a CFC or PC, if not stick with an immersion chiller. If you have a pump and a good BK with a spigot then spend the money up front and buy or make a CFC.

 

[phenry]

I use an IC, 20' of 3/8" copper tubing. Made it myself so it was relatively cheap, and it'll cool wort down to pitching temps in about 30 minutes or so (except for over the summer, where I have to recirculate ice water through it with a pond pump). I use that time to sanitize the fermenter and everything else, and it's a nice time to relax after brewing.

If I were to upgrade I'd probably go with a CFC, mostly because I could make that myself as well. But what I have now works plenty fine, so that's not until the far future.

 

[stratslinger]

I've got at least some experience with all three... What I've seen:

IC - works well, but can be slow (especially if you plan to step up to 10 gallon batches or larger).

PC - works really well, but I wouldn't try to use one without a pump. A friend of mine has one that he uses exclusively, and it only takes a little throttling on the pump's output to zero in on the exact temperature you're looking for. We recently chilled a 12 gallon batch in about 10 minutes. Cleaning can be a bear though; we always use hop bags to minimize the hop material that could get stuck in the plates, and it takes a while to flush and backflush the thing to get all the sediment out that still makes it into the PC.

CFC - I just got one of these for my birthday, and I've gotten to use it once. I tried to gravity feed through it; I'm going to experiment a little more with heights and such to try to get it right, but I think an investment in a pump is in my future - my first attempt using the CFC brought 6 gallons (or so) of wort from 200+ down to 52F, in about 15 minutes, because the flow rate was very low. I suspect that with a pump, or a better figured height differential on the gravity feed, I could get a much higher rate and a little closer to appropriate pitching temps. I feel like it was easier to manage than my buddy's PC though; no worry about hop bags or anything, and only a few minutes flushing everything out with hot oxyclean and hot water.

 

[gunner65]

I first made an IC which did fine but when I switched to electric and had the pump available I built a bobbym cfc and it is really nice. I have no comparison for chill time between the two seems like it takes about 15 minutes give or take. That all depends on your water temp. In the summer when the ground water is warmer I use a cheap pond pump to recirculate icy water from a cooler through the chiller.

EDIT: The main reason I switched is because I did not want the IC sitting on my electric element otherwise I would not have done so.

 

[passedpawn]

I have a plate chiller (therminator) and love it.

 

[psubrewer]

I run a home made 3/8" - 20' cfc in a gravity system and it works great. From experience, I would recommend buying one instead of making it though.

 

[day_trippr]

Home made IC, 50' 3/8" tubing, and a bedrock well that runs 55°F or colder year round (a bitch on the water heater bill but wicked pissah good for chilling). Stirring or pumped-recirc, it'll drop 6 gallons of boiling wort to 68°F in under 14 minutes, takes seconds to clean, and zero effort to sanitize - I just drain it and stick it in the boil for the last ten minutes, et voila!

While I'm attracted by the compactness of a PC and ability to be hard-plumbed, dealing with the hidden insides of either a PC or a CFC isn't worth it to me, riddled with OCD as I am. I have a lifetime streak of uninfected brews to protect and no matter that a bazillion people use both of them successfully, I still find those things scary

Cheers!

 

[gunner65]

I run a home made 3/8" - 20' cfc in a gravity system and it works great. From experience, I would recommend buying one instead of making it though.

I am curious why it was such a bad experience? It is a fairly simple process yes you do have to solder the fitting but that does not take much to accomplish.

 

[psubrewer]

Cost.

You can get the copper inside garden hose variety for ~ 80 online. When u put together the cost to build one I'm not sure u can do much better... That is unless you already have the materials/fittings.

If I had to do it over this is one of the few things I would not DIY.

 

[Homercidal]

Assuming you aren't using a pump:

IC is cheap and easy and effective, just not as effective timewise as the other devices.

CFC chills more efficiently and quicker per batch, but harder to clean (at least to SEE that it's clean) and only a little more to build than in IC.

PC most expensive, most compact, and probably the fastest and most efficient method.

With the IC, you are chilling the whole volume of wort at one time, and with the others you are chilling only the portion that has gotten into the chiller. What's still in the kettle is still hot.

If you are using a pump, though, you can recirculate the wort and get the best of both worlds!

The time difference between all of these methods are probably minimal at any rate. Could you tell the difference between batches chilled in 10 minutes with a CFC and the same batch chilled in 18 minutes with an IC?? I doubt it.

I'm seriously considering getting a plate chiller. More compact, and I can recirculate with my pump. Plus you can bake them in an oven to sterilize. Can't do that with a CFC.

If I had to start over and had limited fund, I'd probably go with an IC for ease of use and whole batch chill effect. No worry about clogging with hops, and easily sanitized by boiling for 15 minutes before end of boil.

 

[Homercidal]

Cost.

You can get the copper inside garden hose variety for ~ 80 online. When u put together the cost to build one I'm not sure u can do much better... That is unless you already have the materials/fittings.

If I had to do it over this is one of the few things I would not DIY.

You can get a 30-plate PC for about that amount:

Duda Diesel Heat Exchangers

 

[psubrewer]

You can get a 30-plate PC for about that amount:

Duda Diesel Heat Exchangers

+1.

If I had a pump this would probably be a good choice.

However, from what I gather PC do not run well on gravity systems.

 

[gunner65]

Cost.

You can get the copper inside garden hose variety for ~ 80 online. When u put together the cost to build one I'm not sure u can do much better... That is unless you already have the materials/fittings.

If I had to do it over this is one of the few things I would not DIY.

Understood.....

But, for around $70 (give or take) I made two 25' and sold one of them to a friend for $50. That is the best way to go just buy a 50' hose and 50' of copper tubing.

 

[scottland]

I just built a CFC to replace my IC. If you have a pump, a CFC is a much better solution in my opinion. Without a pump, I still feel an IC is the way to go.

 

[maffewl]

Cfc ftw!

 

[Homercidal]

+1.

If I had a pump this would probably be a good choice.

However, from what I gather PC do not run well on gravity systems.

I think this may be true. I can see there being quite a bit more resistance in a Plate Chiller.

 

[Piratwolf]

FWIW, I gravity-feed my CFC. It requires getting the wort up to about chest height, which is a breeze with 5gal but CAN be challenging with 10g of boiling wort. I can do it, but I have a burn on my chest from spilling... and have started thinking single-tier system for 2013

 

[HolidayIF1488]

Thanks all for the input. I'm hearing CFC w/a pump,or IC without. From the beginning I thought a PC would be difficult to clean. I think I'll try a CFC I can always go IC there really not that expensive. This is what I use currently. Almost like an IC and works in 12 min. With 5gal.



I freeze 6 of these aluminum water bottles after sanitizing inside a sanitized plastic container.

 

[day_trippr]

Gawd I hate cell phone cameras...

 

[HolidayIF1488]

Gawd I hate cell phone cameras...

Worse iPad 2. My cellphone camera is way better. For some reason this flips the pics.