Plate Chiller Advice

[Woodbrews]

I set up and used my plate chiller for the first time, but I need some more practice with it. I set it up to make one pass through the chiller and then drain directly into the fermenter. Unfortunately, with 75F tap water, the best I could do was cool it to 90F. Because the wort was already in the fermenter, I left it there and hooked the fermenter up to the Cool Zone jacket. By morning it was ready to pitch at 70F.

Is it common practice to recirculate through the chiller and back into the boil kettle until the temp gets down to pitching temp, and then drain from the kettle into the fermenter? (I did recirculate through the chiller during the boil to sanitize the chiller, so it is certainly possible).

How do you guys do it?

 

[blaster_54738]

I've only used mine once but I did recirculate until temps were down to about 120 then still went through the chiller into the fermenter at about 70. Still saved a boat load of time and water

 

[b-boy]

I recirculate as well.

 

[Woodbrews]

Thanks for the advice. Do you guys start circulating while the boil is still going in order to sterilize the chiller? If so, how do you handle late hop additions (my recipe called for additions at 5 min. and at flameout)?

BTW, I'm using a hop bag and spider, which has been great for keeping gunk out of the chiller.

 

[dobes]

I recirc til my temp coming out is ready to pitch or as close as I can get it.
I usually sterilize my chiller in the oven sometime before I use it. But when a time comes when I didn't get it sterilized in the oven I just run boiling water through it for about 20 mins or so before I chill the wort. Also i always run boiling water through it in both directions for about 15 mins after using it.

 

[Woodbrews]

I recirc til my temp coming out is ready to pitch or as close as I can get it.
I usually sterilize my chiller in the oven sometime before I use it. But when a time comes when I didn't get it sterilized in the oven I just run boiling water through it for about 20 mins or so before I chill the wort. Also i always run boiling water through it in both directions for about 15 mins after using it.

Thanks for the advice. Because I'm doing eBIAB, I don't have an easy way to circulate boiling water through the chiller. The best I can do is circulate the wort while it's boiling. I did it this time without clogging, but I guess there is always a risk of clogging, even though I use a hop bag and spider. As for cleaning up afterwards, I guess I could boil a few gallons of water after brewing and circulate that using my kettle. Probably would help clean the kettle too.

 

[ArcaneXor]

What plate chiller do you have? I used to recirculate with my old Dudadiesel chiller, but don't any more since I switched to a Therminator. Within a few degrees of tap water temperature on a single pass.

 

[Woodbrews]

I have a DudaDiesel 30-plate chiller (Model B3-23A). I could certainly try reducing the flow rate through my valve. Here's a pic of my system.

 

[acidrain]

With that chiller, you should be able to get it to ground water temp in one pass easily. Slow down the flow next time.
BTW, it's OK to pitch a little high... it get's the yeast going.
I would rather pitch a little high and allow it to cool overnight as opposed to letting the wort sit without yeast. Too much chance of infection/wild yeast.
You're not running wort through that snake hose are you?

 

[Woodbrews]

With that chiller, you should be able to get it to ground water temp in one pass easily. Slow down the flow next time.
BTW, it's OK to pitch a little high... it get's the yeast going.
I would rather pitch a little high and allow it to cool overnight as opposed to letting the wort sit without yeast. Too much chance of infection/wild yeast.
You're not running wort through that snake hose are you?

No, only tap water (in and out). I will try slowing down the flow rate next time. A lot to learn with this hobby, even with my little eBIAB rig!

 

[Brettomomyces]

I haven't even used mine yet, but here is my plan

http://www.williamsbrewing.com/WORT-MONITOR-THERMOMETER-P3081.aspx

Attach it to the exit on your chiller with a ball valve and simply throttle the outflow until the wort exiting matches your target temp. This won't take you down lower than tap water, but it'll get you the closest. My ground water won't be nearly as warm as yours though and this should work for me w/ one pass.

You could try this method using an igloo cooler filled w/ ice water though instead of tap.

 

[day_trippr]

I have a DudaDiesel 30-plate chiller (Model B3-23A). I could certainly try reducing the flow rate through my valve. Here's a pic of my system.

A B3-23A will totally kick sand in a Therminator's face given the same conditions. But orientation can make a huge difference. You have the wort-in and wort-out on the bottom, and there's a good chance that the wort chambers are not completely filling, especially if you slow the wort flow to try to get your exit temperature down.

I would stand that chiller on end, feed the wort from the bottom and the cooling water from the top. That will ensure that the wort totally fills its chambers regardless of how fast or slow you run your pump with any air rising up and out, while the cooling water will blow out any air on its side on its own.

In fact that's how I set up my B3-23A, and I can drop a 5 gallon batch from boil to under 70°F in one pass in under 10 minutes, easy (full disclosure: my well runs around 50°F year 'round)...

Cheers!

 

[tally350z]

I have my plate chiller set up with a sub pump. It sits in a bucket and I recirculate ground water until I drop the wort coming out of the plate chiller below 80. I have a thermometer on the output side, which is pretty handy. Than I fill my bucket with ice and recirculate directly into the fermentor. Than the temp of the wort going into the fermentor is low 60's. It sucks with this hot Florida water..

 

[Woodbrews]

A B3-23A will totally kick sand in a Therminator's face given the same conditions. But orientation can make a huge difference. You have the wort-in and wort-out on the bottom, and there's a good chance that the wort chambers are not completely filling, especially if you slow the wort flow to try to get your exit temperature down.

I would stand that chiller on end, feed the wort from the bottom and the cooling water from the top. That will ensure that the wort totally fills its chambers regardless of how fast or slow you run your pump with any air rising up and out, while the cooling water will blow out any air on its side on its own.

In fact that's how I set up my B3-23A, and I can drop a 5 gallon batch from boil to under 70°F in one pass in under 10 minutes, easy (full disclosure: my well runs around 50°F year 'round)...

Cheers!

I'll definitely try re-orienting my chiller. The only challenge is finding a way to secure it to the countertop (right now I'm using a makeshift clamp). I'll need to construct a stand of some sort, I guess. I'd also like a way to catch drips from it (right now I place a bucket next to the countertop that catches most of the drips). Finally, if I place it too low (e.g., below the countertop), it is hard to see the digital thermometer on the output. I need to design some sort of countertop stand with a built-in drip tray. Any ideas?

 

[day_trippr]

Does yours have mounting studs in the back?

For something temporary you could butt join a couple of short pieces of 2x4 in an L, stand it up and clamp one leg to the bench with the joint projecting over the edge a few inches, then clamp or duct-tape the chiller to the upright leg. Stick a bucket on the floor under it and you're good to go.

I got the mounting stud option on my B3-23A. If you did as well, use a piece of 1x4 for the upright leg instead, drill holes through it for the two studs and use the mounting nuts...

Cheers!

 

[Minbari]

I have a DudaDiesel 30-plate chiller (Model B3-23A). I could certainly try reducing the flow rate through my valve. Here's a pic of my system.

should have your ball-valve on the output of the pump too. throttling the input leads to cavitation.

 

[Woodbrews]

should have your ball-valve on the output of the pump too. throttling the input leads to cavitation.

I thought about this, but that's a lot of weight on a weldless fitting on my kettle. Instead, I should probably go ahead and build a PWM to control the pump speed electrically.

My chiller does have the mounting studs, so I'll probably build something easy with a 1x4 upright and a 2x4 base.

Thanks for all of the input, folks!