switching to a plate chiller

[perfecxion]

ive been using an immersion wort chiller since i began brewing, and this summer it has been taking me as long as an hour in some instances to chill my wort just to 80.

so im wanting to get a plate chiller since the duda diesel ones can be had for 70 or 80$, but i need some help understanding the best ways to keep trub out of the plate chiller (i usually just dump all the trub in the fermentor).

My plan is to add a weldless bulkhead to my kettle with a stainless steel hose or diptube inside the kettle then use gravity to drain to the plate chiller. ill start whirlpooling the wort in the kettle, and if necessary ill start using hop bags in the boil.

Am I understanding all this properly? I want to be sure before dropping the money. would a diptube be better than a stainless steel hose? the diptubes seem to be the preferred method.

Ill start putting my IC in a bucket of icy water and run the ground water through it before off to the plate chiller.

 

[Dr_Horrible]

Here's a tip for improved performance out of your immersion chiller. Get a bucket full of ice water and a sump pump ($30-40), and instead of attaching the immersion chiller to your hose, attach it to the sump pump. Then put the chiller's output back into the bucket, creating a closed loop. In the texas heat I can usually chill it down to ~80-85 in about 15-20 min. I just keep adding ice to the ice bucket to help improve the cooling

 

[perfecxion]

What I was planning was to put the IC in a cooler with ice and run the ground water through it to a plate chiller, according to the duda disiel website I could chill 10 gallons in 13min for $65; ..

 

[Dr_Horrible]

Absolutely - I had a sump pump already on hand so there was no additional cost

 

[sandyeggoxj]

I have a duda diesel b3-36a-40 plate chiller. It is incredible. I can run the wort through as fast as a chugger can go and it is the temp of the water. I just backflush with hot pbw every time I use it for about 45 minutes. Then every few times I flush it with acid#5. No issues. And I LOVE hops.

 

[userzero]

I use a B3 23A 20 Duda chiller. I have a 15 gal stainless steel pot with a 48 inch braided SS hose that goes around the bottom right against the side. I have a 6x14 300 micron SS hop filter, I use Whirlfloc and I whirlpool with a long spoon. I cool 10 gals of wort to 66 deg F in 10 minutes with tap water at 60 deg F. The cooled wort runs freely and is pretty clear, and the cold break alone is not enough to clog the plate chiller. I don'T have a pump, it's all done by gravity.

 

[perfecxion]

I use a B3 23A 20 Duda chiller. I have a 15 gal stainless steel pot with a 48 inch braided SS hose that goes around the bottom right against the side. I have a 6x14 300 micron SS hop filter, I use Whirlfloc and I whirlpool with a long spoon. I cool 10 gals of wort to 66 deg F in 10 minutes with tap water at 60 deg F. The cooled wort runs freely and is pretty clear, and the cold break alone is not enough to clog the plate chiller. I don'T have a pump, it's all done by gravity.

So you recirculate through the hop filter before sending the wort to the chiller? Could u describe that process?
Thanks

 

[lousbrews]

I don't want to sound like a total ****** but I'd say save your money and use a HDPE container and wait over night for it to cool to pitching temps. Its only going to be an issue (wort chiller) in the warmer months when you have warmer running water but in the winter months it will be okay since the water will be colder.

If I still haven't deterred you use moss and stir for like 5 mins and let it sit 15 mins. This will allow most of the trub to settle and will be good to go. This is the method I personally use in the winter months with my plate chiller. Also you can use a hop bag to not let in hop particles into the plate chiller.

Hope this helps in some way!

 

[Roadie]

I have a duda diesel b3-36a-40 plate chiller. It is incredible. I can run the wort through as fast as a chugger can go and it is the temp of the water.

This is the same chiller we have and this has been our experience as well. There is no recirculating back to the BK to chill, we go directly from BK to a filter and from filter directly to carboy. In the winter you have to really slow down the water or you overchill in a single pass.

 

[sandyeggoxj]

This is the same chiller we have and this has been our experience as well. There is no recirculating back to the BK to chill, we go directly from BK to a filter and from filter directly to carboy. In the winter you have to really slow down the water or you overchill in a single pass.

How are you monitoring output temps? I keep track of my water temp at the beginning of brew day but once things get much colder I am going to have to figure out an accurate way to gauge how much chilling water flow.

 

[ndinh]

I was using a 50-plate plate chiller and it was great. Got my wort down to pitching temp in about 5 minutes (5 gallons). Just remember to drain your wort semi slow to do it in one pass. I was using a bazooka tube inside my BK and it left quite a bit of wort behind. Needless to say, the wort came out pretty clear. Now, I'm using a dip tube and a CFC. The wort doesn't come out quite as clear, even with whirlpooling, but I'm transfering more wort and I don't have issues with cleaning.

 

[sandyeggoxj]

I was using a 50-plate plate chiller and it was great. Got my wort down to pitching temp in about 5 minutes (5 gallons). Just remember to drain your wort semi slow to do it in one pass. I was using a bazooka tube inside my BK and it left quite a bit of wort behind. Needless to say, the wort came out pretty clear. Now, I'm using a dip tube and a CFC. The wort doesn't come out quite as clear, even with whirlpooling, but I'm transfering more wort and I don't have issues with cleaning.

The number of plates simply has to do with water pressure. The true measure is the length and contact area. If the chiller is too short you have to work harder. If the chiller is sized appropriately then you can run the wort at full speed.

 

[userzero]

So you recirculate through the hop filter before sending the wort to the chiller? Could u describe that process?
Thanks

No the hop filter does the same thing as a bag except the holes are really fine. You put the hops in it and let it hang in the boil. When it's time to drain the kettle you remove it and whirlpool. I don't recirculate. The wort is cooled in one pass through the plate chiller as it goes into the fermenter by gravity alone. you can see the hop filter on the work bench in this picture. (it's upside down)

My brew stand and the plate chiller attached to the side of the boat winch. No relation between the two, only a convenient place to attach it.The hop filter can also be seen in this picture, it's on the retaining wall outside right by the garage door. I removed it from the boil before raising the pot to its higher level, so it drains better.

The wort being cooled in one pass and going directly in the carboys

The inside of the boiler. With this setup I lose about two quarts of wort including the trub.

 

[Gareth68]

I bought this pump..

http://www.ebay.com/itm/310801787509?_trksid=p2060778.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT

I put it in a cooler with ice water.

I used my immersion cooler as normal to drop the wort to about 90....switched hoses and fired up the pump.

It yanked it teh rest of the way with a quickness.

 

[AndytheBeave]

Here's a tip for improved performance out of your immersion chiller. Get a bucket full of ice water and a sump pump ($30-40), and instead of attaching the immersion chiller to your hose, attach it to the sump pump. Then put the chiller's output back into the bucket, creating a closed loop. In the texas heat I can usually chill it down to ~80-85 in about 15-20 min. I just keep adding ice to the ice bucket to help improve the cooling

this is exactly what I started doing 2 batches ago. Very effective - but you gotta find a pump that gives you decent flow.

 

[Roadie]

How are you monitoring output temps? I keep track of my water temp at the beginning of brew day but once things get much colder I am going to have to figure out an accurate way to gauge how much chilling water flow.

We aren't. We've been able to guesstimate very closely. If we are a couple degrees off I put in fermentation fridge (where we can heat/cool to within 1 degree) for a little while prior to oxygenating the wort and pitching.

 

[userzero]

We aren't. We've been able to guesstimate very closely. If we are a couple degrees off I put in fermentation fridge (where we can heat/cool to within 1 degree) for a little while prior to oxygenating the wort and pitching.

For the first few quarts, I stick a (sanitized) thermometer in the stream of wort going into the carboy, and I play with the water flow or wort flow until I hit the desired temp. If the wort is too cold, I reduce water flow. If it's too high, I reduce the wort flow.

 

[Shaneoco1981]

How are you monitoring output temps? I keep track of my water temp at the beginning of brew day but once things get much colder I am going to have to figure out an accurate way to gauge how much chilling water flow.

Personally, I have a pump that I use to pump it back into the pot and use the thermometer on my pot to tell me what my temp is, and then pump it into my fermentation vessel. Before I had a pump, my system was built with 3/8 tubing. I built a small contraption to tell me my output temp. It is a footlong piece of 1/2 copper with 1/2 to 1/4 reducing couplings soldered on both sides and an inch long piece of 1/4 in copper. Then I smashed one side relatively flat and stuck a stick on thermometer on it and used that to tell me my output temp.

 

[sandyeggoxj]

Personally, I have a pump that I use to pump it back into the pot and use the thermometer on my pot to tell me what my temp is, and then pump it into my fermentation vessel. Before I had a pump, my system was built with 3/8 tubing. I built a small contraption to tell me my output temp. It is a footlong piece of 1/2 copper with 1/2 to 1/4 reducing couplings soldered on both sides and an inch long piece of 1/4 in copper. Then I smashed one side relatively flat and stuck a stick on thermometer on it and used that to tell me my output temp.

See I was looking at building a couple triclamp t fittings before and after the hex so I can have a probe at each and log my temps into the fermenter. Or maybe getting two smaller plate chillers and using them in series as a two-stage option. One with hose water and one with ice water or glycol.

Either way I still love my Duda diesel plate chiller. It is amazing.