Plate chillers

[beermanpete]

Thats the filter that I have. It has plugged everytime that I have used it. I hope you have better luck than I do.

When you use the filter does the heat exchanger still block or just the filter?

 

[brick_haus]

When you use the filter does the heat exchanger still block or just the filter?

Honestly, I dont remember. Its been a while since I have used it. Good question though. Since I(we) already have it, maybe we should try putting a filter bypass line in the system so we can bypass the filter if/when it plugs. This would certainly delay the HX plugging.
On a side note, I used the Brewershardware filter to strain the turkey drippings yesterday and it worked great!!! I was glad to get some use out of it!

 

[schematix]

Filters are a losing game with hops. The only filter that wouldn't clog would be so massive it wouldn't be cost effective.

Something as simple as an immersion chiller really is the best solution for home brewing when you consider cost (medium), performance (medium-hi), sanitation (hi) and cleaning (hi).

 

[beermanpete]

@brick_haus: That is one expensive gravy strainer!

@schematix: Yes, that may be the case. I will find out in a week or two how this system works.

 

[augiedoggy]

From what I understand, the plates form parallel chambers, so the liquid only takes two 90° turns. One into a chamber and one out.

.

Well it was the two 90 degree turns which in my mind is really 0ne 180 degree bend the liquid travels that I'm referring too but we mean the same thing I think. Unless I'm mistaken on how the liquid passes through these?


I got the 20 plate longer duda unit which was like $ 100-120 shipped from. Dudadiesel eBay store if I remember right. (140 there now) It actually outperforms the therminator so at the time I figured Why not? It works more than well enough during winter months but I could see it being lacking with warm ground water.

Duda actually sells a chiller with the identical amount of plates and size as the therminator only the ports aren't at one end.. I believe it's about $80 shipped if I remember right which is why I made the earlier comment.

If you get a hop spider I suggest getting the larger 6x13 one if it will fit in your kettle. I tried the smaller one and it's only good for like 2 oz of hops.. the larger one does not seem the clog like the small one did.
As Ientioned earlier I also use a 30" piece of braided stainless line I cut and removed from a new dishwasher water line I bought at the home depot.. this goes in the bottom corner of my kettle around the circumference of it and attached to my dip tube.
Both of these measures has kept my chiller 99% clean meaning I get some discoloration when cleaning with pbw sometimes and maybe one or two pieces of tiny solids in my drain bucket but that's all I've ever seen, even when back flushing and soaking (which is not ideal with starsan or pbw because it attacks the copper in the chiller resulting in green tinted water coming out. The fact that I get no hop residue and very little trub protein in the bottom of my conicals also indicated the spider and braided filter are working well. Of course I believe some of this is because I recirculate during my mash so the wort is clear going into my BK.

 

[captjpr]

I use a hop back after the chugger pump and before the plate chiller. The hop rocket seems to work fantastic as a filter and I have never experienced a plug, but I do worry about build up inside the thetmimator. After about a dozen brews, I dis assembled the pump head on the chugger pump and was surprised to find a significant amount of brown staining on the inside of the pump housing and impeller. I can't help but wonder what has built up on thx inside of the plate chiller.

 

[DasBierBaron]

I have the same exact chiller as augiedoggy and have never had a problem with flow or clogs. I always wondered why people complained about plate chillers as the only adjustment I've made is bagging pellet hops which a lot of people do anyway to keep them out of their pump+ fermenter. I've run wheat beers, used whirlflock, tons of double IPAs, no issues.

I thought about a stainless hop basket when I saw one for 12$, but heard they can plug up. Going by how quickly a bazooka screen plugged, I can see this being an issue. I would save yourself the money and just get a bunch of nylon bags that will work just as well. Maybe sell or return the therminator and give the less expensive duda a try if you want the fast cooling times of a plate chiller.

 

[augiedoggy]

I have the same exact chiller as augiedoggy and have never had a problem with flow or clogs. I always wondered why people complained about plate chillers as the only adjustment I've made is bagging pellet hops which a lot of people do anyway to keep them out of their pump+ fermenter. I've run wheat beers, used whirlflock, tons of double IPAs, no issues.

I thought about a stainless hop basket when I saw one for 12$, but heard they can plug up. Going by how quickly a bazooka screen plugged, I can see this being an issue. I would save yourself the money and just get a bunch of nylon bags that will work just as well. Maybe sell or return the therminator and give the less expensive duda a try if you want the fast cooling times of a plate chiller.

I did a salted caramel porter last night with the 6x14" hop spider...This was only 5 gallons and only had 1.5 oz of hops in it but you can see how clean the bottom of my kettle and my stainless braid attached to my diptube was directly after pumping to the plate chiller and conical. the fact that I recirculate during the mash helps. Ive done other beers with more hops and have had much more trub that the stainless braid catches prior to it going through the plate chiller.

 

[Yeastieboy]

Just eBay'd my plate chiller. Good riddance! Ugh... such a PITA! There's two types of plate chiller users; those who lie about never having clogs and those who eBay their plate chillers.

 

[schematix]

Just eBay'd my plate chiller. Good riddance! Ugh... such a PITA! There's two types of plate chiller users; those who lie about never having clogs and those who eBay their plate chillers.

I am actually thinking about re-incorporating mine back into my system but it'll be limited to just water. I figure after recirculating a few hundred gallons of near boiling water through it, it might get cleaned out.

 

[augiedoggy]

I haven't recently been pre-filtering. I have tried the Brewershardware filter, but it plugs too so no net benefit. I'll give the scrubby a shot.
But to go back to my question, are all plate chillers equally susceptible to plugging?
Any other methods of pre-filtering that you all are successfully using?

Yes shorter chillers with more plates are more likely to have plugging issues. This is one reason why the therminator is not such a great choice despite having the trusted name behind it

 

[augiedoggy]

Just eBay'd my plate chiller. Good riddance! Ugh... such a PITA! There's two types of plate chiller users; those who lie about never having clogs and those who eBay their plate chillers.

Curious what model plate Chiller did you have was it a blichmann therminator by chance? I have never had anything close to a plugged chiller and I've been using my plate Chiller for 4 years honestly the most I've ever had come out of it while cleaning would fill a quarter teaspoon measuring cup I really believe the difference is some of us pre filter and don't expect to pump solids through the plate chiller of course I also use small DC pumps so I go by the practice of leaving the solids in their respective kettles and only pumping the wort to avoid plugging them up.

 

[Yeastieboy]

It was a Duda B3-23A 20 plate chiller. I used a pre-filter and still struggled. Plus, total PITA to clean. Of course my experience differs from others but it is what it is. Loving the good old immersion chiller once again, same way I'm loving being back to single vessel brewing vs three. Simplicity.

 

[augiedoggy]

It was a Duda B3-23A 20 plate chiller. I used a pre-filter and still struggled. Plus, total PITA to clean. Of course my experience differs from others but it is what it is. Loving the good old immersion chiller once again, same way I'm loving being back to single vessel brewing vs three. Simplicity.

Yeah it differs from mine and Ive been using the same duda chiller for 4 years now with no issues whatsoever so your prefiltering must not have been as effective as whatever im doing.
As far as cleaning it, I run hot water through mine for 30 seconds or so right after brewing and if the water is clear im done. every 3 brews or so I run PBW through my whole setup including the chiller... Thats always been the extent of my chiller maintenance. its permanently mounted. never been in any ovens or under high pressure...

 

[Yeastieboy]

Its all about finding what works for you. That's the key.

 

[mtnhunt]

At the brewery I worked at we had a 1/2bbl pilot system. I dont remember what the plate chiller we used was, might have been the therminator, but we were brewing on that system about once a week for the 1.5 years I was there and never had a clog. We just had a simple capped off braid that was ~20in long and whirlpooled. No issues with the filter clogging either. After we would just run Glosan for 15 minutes through everything, rinse, and let dry.

 

[augiedoggy]

At the brewery I worked at we had a 1/2bbl pilot system. I dont remember what the plate chiller we used was, might have been the therminator, but we were brewing on that system about once a week for the 1.5 years I was there and never had a clog. We just had a simple capped off braid that was ~20in long and whirlpooled. No issues with the filter clogging either. After we would just run Glosan for 15 minutes through everything, rinse, and let dry.

Thats what I use as far as the braid in the BK, simple and it works... Only instead of whirlpooling I use the stainless hop spider with it myself.

 

[beermanpete]

I know this is sort of old now but I wanted to follow up on this. I finally have my brew system together with the Brewers Hardware wort strainer and Duda Diesel heat exchanger.

The first batch took a long time (about an hour as I recall) to drain into the fermenter due to a blockage in the strainer. I used pellet hops, did not whirlpool the wort or wait for it to settle very long after flame-out, and tried to run the flow full speed. All the hops ended up in the strainer but it seems the strainer kept the hops and hot-break out out of the heat exchanger.

The second batch went much better. I used pellet hops again, whirlpooled the worth and let it settle for about 10 minutes before beginning runoff. Run off was intentionally slow from the beginning. This time the flow never reduced and there was almost no hops or hot break in the strainer. The time to run off the 5 gallons of wort was about 15 minutes. No problem with the heat exchanger.

Perhaps the strainer is not necessary if suitable practices are used but since I have it I will keep it in the system. Since it is easier to clean than the heat exchanger it offers some utility, even if only to protect against a mistake. The only downside seems to be the wort that is trapped in it and the cost.

 

[Yeastieboy]

Super into my immersion after the last few batches. Super glad someone else now owns my plate chiller. To each his own.

 

[dryboroughbrewing]

I loved my PC until I bought a new IC... As a heavy IPA brewer I appreciate being able to 'free ball' it. As a fan of not getting chemical burns I appreciate the lack of lye in my cleaning regiment.

 

[Duda_Energy]

Duda actually sells a chiller with the identical amount of plates and size as the therminator only the ports aren't at one end.. I believe it's about $80 shipped if I remember right which is why I made the earlier comment.

Anyone reading this who hasn't purchased yet, please don't buy our unit that is the same size as the therm. Our 23a-20 plate is only $5 more and 35% more efficient. We only carry the other one because some people don't look at specs and want the one that looks like the blichmann for half the price. But its the worst unit we have per dollar.


But to OP's question, the main factor is the distance between plates - but the units on the market (ours and competitors) whose plates are far enough apart to matter are much larger overall and meant for microbreweries, doing several barrels at a time. So for the homebrewer, not much difference.

A good hops spider is the number 1 thing to consider for having a clog-free brew.