Plate Chiller

[slacker]

Would anybody here have any interest in purchasing a plate chiller that can be taken apart and cleaned, won't leak (if properly assembled), works as well as any other plate chiller, and costs less than a therminator?

I'm in the middle of development on a new plate chiller and I just need to know if I'll be able to sell any. Pictures pending... waiting to hear back from the patent lawyer. The German company Alfa Laval has a lock on almost every heat exchanger patent and I have to see if I can get a new provisional patent. Otherwise I'll have to license an existing one.

Anyway... let me know.

 

[olllllo]

Would anybody here have any interest in purchasing a plate chiller that can be taken apart and cleaned, won't leak (if properly assembled), works as well as any other plate chiller, and costs less than a therminator?

I'm in the middle of development on a new plate chiller and I just need to know if I'll be able to sell any. Pictures pending... waiting to hear back from the patent lawyer. The German company Alfa Laval has a lock on almost every heat exchanger patent and I have to see if I can get a new provisional patent. Otherwise I'll have to license an existing one.

Anyway... let me know.

Does it come with a Holy Grail?

I think if you can pull that off you'll sell a few here.

 

[slacker]

Oh it works... and it can be done. The only reason it hasn't yet is because nobody wants to spend the time doing it. Aside from homebrewing, there aren't very many applications for a serviceable small scale heat exchanger. therminators and shirron chillers are just remarketed brazed plate heat exchangers originally engineered for other applications, namely closed loop refrigeration. Just do a google search for "brazed plate heat exchanger" and you'll find dozens of companies selling them.

Nobody's approached making a plate chiller specifically for homebrewing because in the grand scope of things, it's such a small market. but for a guy like me, if I sell even 1000 of these at a fair price, I'm that much better off...

 

[Dude]

I'll commit--I'll buy one.

 

[Brewing Clamper]

I'll take two!!

 

[Todd]

i'd probably buy one. I agree that it should not be that hard to make something for a good price.

 

[slacker]

wow. okay so there definitely is an interest. This post hasn't even been up that long.

I still have to tweak the design to make manufacture more cost effective. And this patent research process isn't progressing as quick as I'd like. I can say right now if it ends up that I have to license someone else's patent I probably won't end up selling these... but I suppose making a few on the side and propagating the information online won't hurt. Either way, my timeline is to get this ball rolling before summer's end. I'll definitely come back here looking for testers willing to buy one at cost in return for feedback.

Thanks guys.

 

[Lil' Sparky]

I'd be up for one. Let us know what you find out.

Cheers.

 

[Dude]

I think you've got a gold mine here, I really do. I love my plate chiller but it pisses me off that I can't see inside it. I'm confident it is clean, and I am confident that my cleaning process works--but I'd like to know for sure.

REALLY looking forward to your results!!!!!

Keep in touch!

 

[user 4295]

I'll be following this with much interest!

 

[GoBrewers]

I'll be watching this one too!

 

[Brewiz]

Count me in......

 

[Kokamantratarius]

I'm new to this game so how much give or take is this plate chiller you are talking about?

 

[the_Roqk]

I'm interested in what your design is and the overall price. Make it affordable and you got a winner.

 

[slacker]

Well... as I've said before I'm already involved in a patent request for the product so I can't really give too many details out. I'm sorry... I know that's kind of a jerk thing to say but there's a reason for it, and that has to do mostly with the economics of making one versus making a lot. It's too cost prohibitive for somebody to just make one of these. But I've sourced the materials and manufacturing and I can mass produce it for a fraction of the cost of the prototype. So basically, if I gave away any details about the design it wouldn't be any good to you guys because it would cost too much to make. The only people who would benefit would be somebody interested in producing these en masse. Basically somebody trying to make money off of my work. I'm a small time operator, and without the protection of a patent, I can't risk that.

But believe me, when a patent is secured (or denied, which is also possible) I'll gladly share all details about the product. Who knows, perhaps you guys will have more resources at your disposal than I do and could make one for cheaper than I did. I have absolutely no problem with anybody trying to make one of these themselves because I started this thing as a DIY project and I totally respect that.

Final price still has yet to be determined... but I'm shooting for about $150. I will say this, the bulk of the cost is in two essential parts. Without those, it would only be about $50.

again, sorry i can't be more forthcoming. i hate withholding from my fellow beer enthusiasts. I hope you understand.

 

[whodwho]

I had looked into non brazed plate chillers, there was not much in the way of sizes that we would use. I had stumbled across this one which was perfect but they do not manufacturer this size anymore. I would love to see you pull this off!

 

[billpa]

Any updates?

 

[Brewing Clamper]

...again, sorry i can't be more forthcoming. i hate withholding from my fellow beer enthusiasts. I hope you understand.

No worries mate, can't blame a guy for trying to protect a possible livelihood! But do let us know how things are going and if it's looking good!

 

[eddie]

Any progress on this? It sounds like a great idea and I'd buy one in a heartbeat as long as the price was reasonable.

 

[ScubaSteve]

I'd definitely be interested. Plate chillers have a lot of pluses (size/efficiency/speed), and really the only big minus is the difficulty cleaning. If you could solve that, you'd have the perfect chiller.

 

[dplin2001]

Keep us posted on your progress.

 

[DAAB]

The problem with plate chillers is not so much cleaning but keeping out any hop debris. Once you let some get in there you'll be flushing forever trying to get it out (and use gallons of water in the process).

My original solution was to construct a hop back but in the mean time I was planning on using hop bags although they aren't ideal no matter how big they are. Just before I was about to brew today I came up with this solution. It worked perfectly although it doesn't look particularly impressive...

(there's a copper hop strainer under/inside the hop bag).

 

[Lil' Sparky]

How would it work with pellet hops?

This has been great at separating the hops for me. I plan to switch to a plate chiller soon. I don't think I'll be having any problems.

 

[DAAB]

How would it work with pellet hops?

If I were to use pellets, i'd use the same method except use a bag/material that didn't allow the pellet debris through, much the same as the example above except the pellets are still allowed complete freedom of movement around the kettle improving flavour, utilization and protein coagulation.

Using large grain bags to contain hops is nothing new, they've been used over here since the resurgence of the homebrew movement in the late 60's early 70's.

Although they do allow the hops greater freedom of movement than the example you have shown above due to the wider top opening, they still aren't an ideal solution as they can billow with the rising currents, restricting freedome of movement of the hops and reducing protein coagulation, (The problem with reduced utilization can be solved though by using more hops)

By the way, be careful not to catch yourself on those four pieces of stud bar sticking out

 

[Lil' Sparky]

That bag is HUGE - 18" long and much wider than the coupler it's clamped to. I don't think the hops are restricted from rolling around in the boil. I would be very surprised if there was any appreciable drop in utilization.

Are you saying that that you use the bucket with a hop bag (in the pic) as a way to filter the hops before you run it through the plate chiller? Or is that bucket what you boil in?

 

[DAAB]

That bag is HUGE - 18" long and much wider than the coupler it's clamped to. I don't think the hops are restricted from rolling around in the boil. I would be very surprised if there was any appreciable drop in utilization.

Are you saying that that you use the bucket with a hop bag (in the pic) as a way to filter the hops before you run it through the plate chiller? Or is that bucket what you boil in?

I guess it's not that clear,

this is a fairly widely used hop filter used for whole leaf hops (in the UK)

they are great for whole leaf hops as they hold back the bulk while the hops themselves form a filter holding back most but not all of the finer particulate. (normally this doesn't matter if you are using an immersion or cfc).
All I have done is stick a muslin hop bag over the the filter ie the filter is now inside the bag.

this holds back all the hop seeds and fine particulate which might have got through the original filter which is only some copper tube with loads of holes in. The hop bag is held in place with copper wire.

The picture you can see with the two kettle elements with a hop bag secured around the copper hop strainer is the boiler I use for boiling the wort. The finer mesh of the muslin holds back the hops but without actually restricting them.

btw I know those hop bags a big, but they aren't held open in any way so they wont necessarily fill the entire volume of the boiler. Even the bags I mention later on which have the neck secured around the boiler restrict the movement of the hops to an extent (it happens to be shown in a fermenter in the picture shown but it's the same principal)

 

[avidhomebrewer]

Interesting thread. Any update on the initial thread, the plate chiller? Even if you get a patent, some one could potentially still make them and sell them cheaper than you. What I'm saying is that a patent is still no protection; it makes your invention legal and will provide you some financial settlements if you can prove that someone violated your patent. It also makes your invention design public, meaning anyone can copy and sell for less. I have a patent and that is what happened. They are nice, but not what they are cracked up to be. They also cost a lot.

 

[slnies]

I'll be following this with much interest!

Me too, I like the sound of easily cleanable. S.:rockin:

 

[Bobby_M]

Nice thread revival there. The Minex10 is already on the market and it's $1000. If you can do it for $200, great but why do you think you can undercut your next competitor enough to make it worth it? I don't know what the Minex4 cost but I'd imagine it was more than the market it was intended for could bear.

 

[mrbowenz]

Not wanting to hijack any potential patents or ideas, but I just bought two of these, the transaction went perfectly, and the quality is superior. This chiller is 33% more efficient than the Therminator, and 66% more efficient than a Shiron chiller at less than half the price.

enjoy !

I have nothing to do with this company or seller, just lucky enought to have found them..

http://cgi.ebay.com/UL-Certified-30...ryZ20598QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem