Plate Chiller Orientation

[VVbrewery]

What is the best orientation of a plate chiller to get maximum efficiency out of it? By that I mean horizontal/vertical, wort outlet up/down etc. I was thinking that feeding the wort in from the lower port would insure that all the air was out and give maximum contact. But then the cooling water would be the opposite and air could get trapped in that part of the chiller.
Or am I just being anal and I should quit thinking about it and have a beer?

 

[batty]

Large, industrial plate chillers are generally horizontal- but the truth is the plates are so thin the fluid will force out any air no matter the orientation.. rdwhahb

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[CastleHollow]

Water in --> Water out on one side
Wort out <-- Wort in on the opposite side

I don't think air bubbles are going to have much of an impact on your cooling capacity, your water will be flowing at such a rate as to make contact interference negligible. There might be a physics major around here who will prove me wrong to 3 standard deviations, but that's too much math for me to worry about on brew day.

 

[batty]

IF you had major air bubbles trapped in a corner you certainly would decrease cooling capacity.. that surface area wouldn't have efficient heat transfer. Significant? Depends on the size of your bubbles and a myriad of other factors.

In any case doesn't matter, as noted.. these are designed such that bubbles will be blown out with very minimal flow no matter the orientation.

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[VVbrewery]

OK, I was right. I'm being anal and should should have a beer instead. I think I'll wait until after breakfast.

Thanks all