Input on plate heat exchanger...

[Polarbeer]

Thoughts on this?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/40-Plate-He...ps=63&clkid=7308998623948306104#ht_720wt_1139

For $80 shipped that's a pretty solid deal. I figure I would have to put in another $15 in fittings but it wouldn't be that bad. Just wanted to see if this looks decent?

 

[Demon]

The 3/4" fittings aren't ideal. Look for something with 1/2" fittings on the wort side and garden hose on the water side. Pricing won't be too far off from that one. Check dudadiesel.com

 

[Elshauno]

I have a 40 plate chiller from duda diesel its works well with a pump just ok without one one as it can clog if you have alot of trub short of that perfect for a 5 or 10 gallon batch Mine has 1/2 inch fitting which are easier to find but if you can find them go for it.

 

[oldefrothingshlosher]

Its made in China.

 

[cobolstinks]

Its made in China.

what isn't?

 

[Polarbeer]

what isn't?

True.

Ya I was looking a dudadiesel but they were a little more expensive than this. Can you gravity feed a 40 plate? My wort is often pretty thick with hops and etc floating around even with a screen on my valve. Do plate gravity fed plate chillers get stuck pretty often?

 

[Demon]

Hop particles are a plate chiller's worst enemy. You'll want to use a hop spider or bag to keep as much sediment as possible contained in the kettle and not flowing through the chiller.

 

[dbrewski]

A homemade CFC is the next best option and hops gunk will not clog it. Copper is up in price, but altogether mine cost around $60. Using it without a pump may be a bit of a challenge but it is done by some.

 

[TheMan]

I have a 40 plate chiller from dudadiesel. It's friggin awesome. I would highly recommend them. I have not tried gravity feeding it, so I can't attest to that. But with a pump it's pretty sweet.

Filtering the hop material before it leaves the kettle is extremely important. Clogged chiller = sucky end to the brew day. I CAN attest to this lol.

 

[bucfanmike]

Anyone else worry about possible lead content in a product like this from china? I think I would stick with dudadiesel or another vendor here that others have experience with.

 

[mikescooling]

I have a 40 plate chiller from dudadiesel. It's friggin awesome. I would highly recommend them. I have not tried gravity feeding it, so I can't attest to that. But with a pump it's pretty sweet.

Filtering the hop material before it leaves the kettle is extremely important. Clogged chiller = sucky end to the brew day. I CAN attest to this lol.

I used my 40plate chiller from dudadisel for the first time tonight. It worked great!!!ten gal in, ten min!!! The guy from Dudadisel has a chart that tells you what plate chiller for what flow rate. I'd look at that.

 

[logdrum]

Has anyone experienced not being to clean there plate heat exchanger? I have heard that particles can get stuck in them and cause some funky flavors and so forth. Any feedback on this?

You really need to spend some time cleaning these. I pour boiling (homemade) PBW in the wort side, let sit for ~20 mins, repeat until it rinses clear. I then power back flush w/ full faucet pressure (hot & cold full on). You'd be suprized how much gunk comes out. This is using hop bags & whirlpooling (both to sanitize & to cone the break material) That said, I love my 40 plate from keg cowboy & have no plans of replacing it.