Plate Chiller

[billtzk]

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

The overall physical dimensions are exactly those of the Therminator. The inlet and outlet port configuration and pipe sizes are different. I don't know how many plates the Therminator has without going out to count them on mine but it is probably identical based on the dimensions.

The Therminator is 316 stainless. I wonder if this one is too? Do you know the composition of the brazing material used to produce it? (Note: I don't know what is used to braze the plates on the Therminator, nor do I know much about brazing. But I'm guessing the composition of brazing rods might or might not be food safe and that the Therminator is made with food safety in mind -- just a thought, since yours is specifically targeted to HVAC and furnace use.)

That is a very interesting find, mrbowenz. I'd love to know how it performs. The price is certainly right. How did you figure the efficiency difference? Based on flow through larger inlet/outlet or did you have information from some source not quoted in the ebay sale?

 

[mr x]

I just asked the guy selling these about using this for food grade applications:

'Yes... without quetion. It is comprised of all stainless steel plates and brazed with copper.'

Might check into one of these myself

 

[mr x]

Not to hijack this thread, but I am curious about how mrbowenz arrived at that numbers above for efficiency. Comparing surface area (sq. ft.) and plates:

Blichmann 6.5 - 40
Shirron 2.4 - 10
as above 3.62 - 30

 

[mrbowenz]

I am guessing on the dimensions of each unit, the Therminator is made with 20 plates and has roughly the same outside dimension, this on has thirty plates, the shiron, has 10 plates, and although the size LxWxD are different, they would seem to be about the same as the Therminator from a square footage perspective, relative to the appearence/physcial size for the exception of this one having 30 plates .
This one is food safe, brazed in a oxygen free furance, and as far as I can tell, are probably made for many applications ( including HVAC, Solar etc..) Like I had mentioned, for the price, ( and I already have mine in hand) this seems like a really good deal.

I am not endorsing this one, but it works great , and cost half of the Therminator and about the same as the Shiron plate chiller .

 

[mr x]

Look at this page for specs as I listed above:

http://www.blichmannengineering.com/Therminator/Competition.htm

Looks less efficient on paper, but still a good deal.

 

[billtzk]

I am guessing on the dimensions of each unit, the Therminator is made with 20 plates and has roughly the same outside dimension, this on has thirty plates, the shiron, has 10 plates, and although the size LxWxD are different, they would seem to be about the same as the Therminator from a square footage perspective, relative to the appearence/physcial size for the exception of this one having 30 plates .
This one is food safe, brazed in a oxygen free furance, and as far as I can tell, are probably made for many applications ( including HVAC, Solar etc..) Like I had mentioned, for the price, ( and I already have mine in hand) this seems like a really good deal.

I am not endorsing this one, but it works great , and cost half of the Therminator and about the same as the Shiron plate chiller .

Therminator has 40 plates sandwiched between the front and back cover plates. That's based on counting mine just now. That's what Blichmann says on their site too. So it's not 20 plates. Where'd you get that number?

Also, there's no need to guess on the dimensions. Blichmann states that the hxwxd is identical to what the ebay item lists. Same size.

BTW, not that it matters if the one you bought on ebay does the trick, and it should considering that a Shirron works well also. Plus, that price is really good. Less than half what a Therminator costs, and about the same as a Shirron.

 

[Lil' Sparky]

This one should be the same as a therminator, and it's got 1/2" fittings instead of 3/4". Only thing, it's $120 + shipping. Still much cheaper than a therminator.

Linky

 

[billtzk]

Yup, that's a nice one too. But it's shipping from Hawaii, and cheapest shipping cost for me would be $20. Still, not too bad.

 

[mrbowenz]

Not to hijack this thread, but I am curious about how mrbowenz arrived at that numbers above for efficiency. Comparing surface area (sq. ft.) and plates:

Blichmann 6.5 - 40
Shirron 2.4 - 10
as above 3.62 - 30

You are very correct, my sincere apolgizes to all, I have never seen the spec sheet on surface area at the Therminator page, I don't own the Therminator and asked one of my buddies to count the plates BEFORE I ordered, ( I phoned a friend and used a bad lifeline )

Buy the one that works for you all , I am please with mine, looks like I will do some more research before throwing out % and numbers without an independent 3rd party for the cross-check and verify.

Therminator rules here, just a less expensive albeit lower efficiency heat exchanger , I have other Blichmann products that rock , no bump to them or their fine products.

Sorry ....

 

[billtzk]

no real need for an act of contrition mrbowenz. i'd be real interested in hearing your impressions after you actually use it. the price of the therminator makes it a tough sell for some folks; the more options people have and the more competition in the product market, the better for all.

 

[mrbowenz]

no real need for an act of contrition mrbowenz. i'd be real interested in hearing your impressions after you actually use it. the price of the therminator makes it a tough sell for some folks; the more options people have and the more competition in the product market, the better for all.

Thanks billtzk,

I am new here and didn't want to anger anyone, so far I love this board, it's awesome.

I will give a full report , I am doing the new brew system right now and that's were I plan on using it . Just seemed to be a really good deal, interesting note, that guy had 6 of them this AM , and now he is amost sold out. Anyone from here buy one today ?

 

[mr x]

I bought one. I smashed up one end of my cfc last week, and this may solve two problems if it works. Looks good on my CRT anyway.lol

 

[korndog]

Bump.

Any progress on the take-apart plate chiller? I was thinking about using one for HERMS, and it would be very helpful to be able to disassemble.

 

[nathan]

bump again?