Plate Chiller not getting it done

[gbevs]

No idea what's going on but the last 3-4 times I've used my plate chiller with my pump, my wort has been coming out over 90 degrees. Water temp from hose is fine (not chilling but not warm either), pressure is good, I've cut down the output of my pump so the hot wart isn't going through too fast. Not sure what's going on. Anyone experience something similar or got any suggestions? What's the sense in having all this stuff (pump, plate chiller) if my wort still has to be put in a cool bath to get down to 70 degrees, WTF?

 

[Bobby_M]

You actually have to measure the temp of your tap water to know if that's the problem. Are you sure you're running the coolant and wort counterflow?

 

[rmullins]

No idea what's going on but the last 3-4 times I've used my plate chiller with my pump, my wort has been coming out over 90 degrees. Water temp from hose is fine (not chilling but not warm either), pressure is good, I've cut down the output of my pump so the hot wart isn't going through too fast. Not sure what's going on. Anyone experience something similar or got any suggestions? What's the sense in having all this stuff (pump, plate chiller) if my wort still has to be put in a cool bath to get down to 70 degrees, WTF?

What's the temp of the water you are using? How many plates?

 

[gbevs]

coolant and wort counterflow? Help me out here Bobby Guru. If you're asking if I've got it hooked up correctly, yes, I wasn't that drunk. Didn't check the actual temp of my tap/hose water. I know it's hot as balls out right now but when I filled my kids blowup pool today I know it seemed certainly cold enough.

 

[gbevs]

Only a 16? plate chiller. Not the thick one.

 

[samc]

If you are sure you are counter flowing and it previously worked for you then it might be clogged and you have cut the actual surface area that is in use. I know this for a fact because it happened to me. Once fully cleaned it has worked better for me. I still don't get the stellar results others do but low 70's from 64F input water is sufficient for me.

If you don't already, make sure your wort is filtered of hops prior to chiller.

 

[wired247]

My summer time water temp is about 30 degrees higher than my winter water temperature. In the summer I recirc the wort through hte plate chiller and back into the kettle until the kettle temp is 140-150 degrees. Then I run it into the carboy. Finished wort temp at that point is around 75.

 

[Bobby_M]

My tap is running 82F right now so that's the limit of my cooling on water.

 

[JuanMoore]

My tap is running 82F right now so that's the limit of my cooling on water.

It could be worse. Mine's low 90's right now, and was 96F last week.

 

[ultravista]

SAMC - how do you clean your chiller? I let a warm PBW solution sit in the chiller for a while, then flush with warm / hot water.

 

[Cpt_Kirks]

I'm using a submersible pump and a cooler full of ice water to feed my plate chiller now. It's not great, but it works. I go through a BUNCH of ice chilling a batch.

I'm going to try to use my old IC coil as a pre-chiller to feed the plate, but the flow will be restricted, so I don't know if I'll gain much.

 

[samc]

Flush it both ways with garden hose right after use, then do a PBW, Straight A or Oxiclean soak and flush like you do.

When it was clogged, I put every chemical in my house through that chiller along with a lot of hot/boiling water as well as an oven bake & boil in a pot. Every time my wife came in the kitchen over the course of a week I was at the sink flushing the chiller. Vinegar, beer line cleaner, Barkeepers Friend, Drain Cleaner Crystals (LYE) and things I don't even remember. I finally stopped when pouring a quart of boiling water through produced zero hop bits. It's pretty weird when you put vinegar in and blue water comes out.

 

[rcrabb22]

My tap is running 82F right now so that's the limit of my cooling on water.

+1 and the 2nd reason I do not brew during July and August.

First reason? I brew in an uninsulated garage and yesterday it reached 105F with a dewpoint at 68F.

I really really want to go electric so I can brew in my basement. But I also need electrical, plumbing and ventilation changes down there as well and beyond my budget

 

[erikhild59]

Just a thought, but can you run your cooling water thru an immersion chiller that sits in icewater before it hits the plate?

 

[dutchoven]

It's pretty weird when you put vinegar in and blue water comes out.

The blue color is copper dissolved by the acid in the vinegar.

 

[rmullins]

Just a thought, but can you run your cooling water thru an immersion chiller that sits in icewater before it hits the plate?

Yep. A few stores sell smaller ICs to sell as prechillers

 

[rcrabb22]

Yep. A few stores sell smaller ICs to sell as prechillers

Last time I tried this I bought (2) 22lb bags of ice for $12 and loaded 1 at a time into a 6 gal bucket with a pre-chiller IC and water. I first cooled the wort post boil to around 100F, then switched the flow to go through the pre-chiller.

I use a whirlpool chiller set up with a pump and I had a aquarium pump circulating water in the ice and bucket. I blew through the ice in 15 minutes and still ended up with wort at 78F. In my mind a waste of time and money.

I no longer brew in the heat of summer.

 

[rmullins]

I'm lucky to have well water that is 60-64 year round

 

[CaptKaos]

So I guess I'm privileged to have a fridge with an ice maker and a frost free chest freezer that holds my bulk deer kill and bulk costco purchases. I am only chilling 5 gallon batches but plan ahead for my brew date and put my ice machine to work by filling the garbage bag in my chest freezer to chill my brew kettle in an ice bath in my sink. When I go ag I will make sure I have enough ice to chill 10 gallons or more. I don't even own a plate chiller but can get my wort down to a reasonable temp and pitch yeast very efficiently. I do brew inside.

I am starting my plans for a single tier brew system.