Plate Chiller

[2005STi]

Hi everyone, I just brewed my 4th AG batch and 8th overall. Ive been using a 30 plate Dudadesiel chiller for my last 3 batches. I never get good cooling out of it. Its a gravity fed setup which hasn't clogged on me. Tonight my ground water temp was roughly 80* and after 2 passes in 20 minutes, I was still at 95*.

I have a 5 gal set up and I even waited until the temp dropped to 175 to run it through the chiller because of my vinyl hoses. I'm ready to sell my plate chiller and buy more copper to add to my 20' immersion chiller. It took longer but it's simpler. Duda says this chiller chills 10 gal from boiling to a few degrees over the GW in 10 minutes. And I can only get 2 passes of 5 gal in 20 min to 100deg.

I'm getting sick of brewing and having to wait hours after brewing to pitch.

Thanks for reading

 

[atreid]

I'm sure you did but did you try reducing wort flow (with tap water at max)?

Also, what I like to do, with a PUMP of course, is to recirculate to kettle for a while until temp is close or at target and then make the final pass to fermenter. Without a pump I'd probably fill a not too big bucket and throw it back into the kettle and do this 3-4 times.

but with 80 degrees tap water you'll always stay higher than that. No miracles there...

 

[Pratzie]

Try using a bucket of ice water and circulating that thru the water end of the chiller. U'd need a pump but I know a lot of people on here have used sump pumps or smaller submersible pumps. Drop that right into the bucket of ice water with say one or two five lb bags of ice. That'll get it down pretty good, although u may wanna recirculate one pass thru and back into ur BK to drop it down a bit before u use the ice water method.

 

[chawkfan]

Couldn't you hookup the water hose to your copper chiller that's submerge in a bucket of ice to cool the incoming water?

 

[uatuba]

Use your immersion chiller inline in a bucket of ice water so that you can cool the incoming water to the plate chiller. I've also heard of people putting their plate chillers in a bucket of ice water but since I've just now ordered a plate chiller, I haven't tried it. Also, restrict your wort flow so that passes more slowly through the chiller.

 

[2005STi]

I've actually tried that too. It's really only a problem in the summer when the groundwater is warm. Now that's it's getting cold, my copper IMC has been working better. Next summer I'm going to feed my immersion chiller with a submersible pump in ice water when the wort gets below 140.

Still for sale

 

[mattd2]

The only thing I can think of (other than restricting wort flow) is to make sure you have it plumped the correct way - wort in and water in at opposite ends of the chiller. You should be able to get the temp down pretty close to the tap water temp expecially if you have is slowed to a trickle.

 

[schiersteinbrewing]

Tap water where I live isn't cold enough to use either an IC or plate chiller, and get adequate cooling. To solve the problem I bought a submersible pond pump, hoses, clamps and fittings. Saved about 20 plastic water bottles, fill them with water and freeze them. I place the pump and frozen water bottles in a cooler, fill the cooler with water. Then connect my plate chiller, turn on the pump to circulate the ice water through the plate chiller. Next crack open the valve on my BK and use gravity for wort flow. I can chill a 5 gal brew from boiling to 70 deg in about 20 min.

Very similar to this

 

[atreid]

If I may add:

You should always use tap water to lower temp as much as it can be lowered and THEN, use ice to lower it more...

Otherwise you're just wasting ice... (unless you have an enormous stock if ice of course)

 

[IslandLizard]

If I may add:

You should always use tap water to lower temp as much as it can be lowered and THEN, use ice to lower it more...

Otherwise you're just wasting ice... (unless you have an enormous stock if ice of course)

Spot on!
Simple thermodynamics combined with economics and a dose of common sense.

2-3 pounds of ice and a couple ice packs are enough to bring 5 gallons of 80°F wort down to 60-65°F.