Which Jaded chiller for Brewzilla Gen 4 35 liter, brewing 4 gallons

[kohalajohn]

I am trying to choose between two chillers from Jaded.

The Concentric is appealing because it's packed lower down than the original Hydra. As I am only brewing four gallons, that is attractive as I don't want any lines up in the air above the wort.

But the Skylla is also appealing, as it is expressly stated to be for one vessel brewing, which I am doing. It looks a bit narrower, perhaps.

But then viewing the how - to video by the maker, he shows the Skylla and shows how it has space at the bottom to allow it to go around the immersion heater.

But I have a Gen 4. I no longer have an immersion heater in the kettle itself. The floor is bare and smooth.

So now I am back to looking at the Concentric.

Your ideas appreciated.

 

[kohalajohn]

I think I"ve answered my question. The measurements are on the web site, so for my Brewzilla, the Jaded Scylla is the right size.

 

[Willy]

I think I"ve answered my question. The measurements are on the web site, so for my Brewzilla, the Jaded Scylla is the right size.

I use a syclla in Gen 4. Yup... Fits nicely. Get that.

 

[kohalajohn]

Thanks

 

[agentbud]

I use a syclla in Gen 4. Yup... Fits nicely. Get that.

In the gen 4, how long does it take to get from boil down to pitch temp (ie around 70 degrees) when using the skylla?

 

[Willy]

In the gen 4, how long does it take to get from boil down to pitch temp (ie around 70 degrees) when using the skylla?

Depends on how cold it is outside, do you remove the insulation, how cold the water is u send it ... Etc.

That said. Fastest I have seen it. Wonderful. From 213 to 95... Very very fast. It is less efficient when the temp differential is just 30+ ° F . Use some ice water ... Bang.

 

[kohalajohn]

Willy,

How would you use the ice water?

Would you use an ice chest and a pump?

 

[doug293cz]

Willy,

How would you use the ice water?

Would you use an ice chest and a pump?

Yes, use a water reservoir with ice in it, and recirculate thru the chiller with a pump. Use tap water until you get down below about 90 - 100°F, and then use ice water to cool from there. If you use the ice water from the beginning, you are wasting most of the ice's cooling power.

Brew on

 

[Willy]

Willy,

How would you use the ice water?

Would you use an ice chest and a pump?

That would work. I use a kid pool with ice cubes and big chunks of ice... And a sump pump.

First just use hose water until you get the temp below 100. Finish with the ice water if you got it... If not, just know it will take longer to cool as the temperature differential diminishes.

 

[kohalajohn]

Makes sense.

I'm not going to do this, but a fun idea is to buy two gallons of glycol, and three gallons of water, in a five gallon bucket and put it in a freezer a couple days before brew day.

Instead of a cooler with ice use the pail of glycol. Even colder than ice.

I realized a real $1,000 glycol cooler is not needed as that is a system for commercial brewers where you have to keep going.

For me, I don't care that the bucket is warm afterwards. I'm not going to be needing it for another two weeks.

 

[Bobby_M]

The SS chiller that comes with the brewzilla is pretty decent but they bent the leads to hang on the top of the boiler such that the coil doesn't reach the bottom. I typically cut the leads just below the bend so they are both left vertical and attach the hoses there. Of course you have to be extra careful it doesn't leak so a couple extra clamps for safety is in order.

Of course, there's no question that a Jaded is going to be way faster so it's a worthy investment.

Assuming you recirc back into the same bucket, If you only use a pail of cold glycol/water mix, you don't get the benefits of a phase change so you'll just average the temps out landing both the wort and bucket at about 40C. If you had 3 gallons of ice and 2 gallons of water, it would be more like 17C averaged out.

Now, Willy's post is correct though. Directing HOT coolant back into the cold reservoir is counter productive because it immediately compromises your temp delta. You'd want to pump from the cold bucket and collect in a hot bucket.

In every scenario, running even warm tap water through for the first half of the cooling is always going to be better unless we're in a dire drought period.

 

[kohalajohn]

I see.

Just out of curiosity, it seems that the bucket of glycol would only work if running cold water was used for the first portion of the chill, and then switched over to the glycol to finish it.

All interesting stuff. But the convenience of an immersion chiller is most attractive to me. Especially with only brewing 15 liter batches.

 

[Bobby_M]

I thought the whole discussion WAS in regard to an immersion chiller.

All the nuances are around where the liquid that flows through the coil comes from.

It's almost always from tap water. In cases where that is too slow or too warm to achieve desired final temperatures, that cooling is augmented with other sources.

 

[kohalajohn]

I have been now using my Jaded IC. Simple tap water.

It's excellent. Super fast. Easy to clean.

 

[Skeeter686]

I have been now using my Jaded IC. Simple tap water.

It's excellent. Super fast. Easy to clean.

Do you have any problems with it resting on the bottom of the kettle?

I'm asking because, as Bobby pointed out, the one that they sell for the system is designed to not touch the bottom. I assumed that was to prevent it from crushing the perforated "false bottom" and the "heat exchanger disc" (if you've purchased that).

 

[Brockness Monster]

I need to pick one of these up. My current 1/2" ID SS chiller takes forever to chill down to mid 80's right now for a 5 gallon batch. That will change in the winter, but I would like to be at pitching temp in a reasonable amount of time.

 

[kohalajohn]

You will like it.

The speed of it is not just due to stainless vs copper. It’s that it is three coils connected in series. In normal IC, after a few feet, the cold tap water gets hot and is no longer effective. You could make the coil a mile long and it would not help much

But in a Jaded then the second and third coils introduce fresh cold water.

When you see all the clever plumbing work in it, you will see why they cost more.

 

[doug293cz]

it is three coils connected in series.

Just to be pedantic, it is three coils in parallel.

Brew on

 

[mac_1103]

Just to be pedantic, it is three coils in parallel.

I don't think that's pedantic. Putting the coils in parallel is kinda the whole point. Three coils in series is pretty much just one long coil.

 

[Willy]

I use the Jaded Scylla - initially for the 35L Brewzilla and now on the 100L too. Jaded offers other designs better suited for the 100L Brewzilla, but so far (4 batches in, just got it)... The Jaded Scylla is doing fine. Not as well as their model designed for that size, but still very effective. Best if the batch is at least 8 gallons so the IC is fully immersed.

 

[Yooper]

I'd like to get one- but I already have the IC that comes with the Brewzilla (but 1/2 of it is out of the wort since the 'arms' are above) so I am thinking of taking Bobby's advice and just cutting those. I also have a CFC laying around from my big 1/2 barrel system, as well as a couple of March pumps I could use. And of course, my original IC, made out of copper from my first set up 20 years ago. It's hard to think about spending $200 for a chiller when I already have three..............but please, someone talk me into it!!!!!

 

[kohalajohn]

@Yooper I think trading is the answer to your issue.

For example, I have now dropped from five gallon to three gallon batches. And in ebiab.

This means my Scylla is now protruding a bit above the top of the wort. It still works great, but I look at the Jaded ones that are lower.

I would only buy a new one if I could sell my Skylla and make space for the lower model. Where are you located?

 

[Yooper]

@Yooper I think trading is the answer to your issue.

For example, I have now dropped from five gallon to three gallon batches. And in ebiab.

This means my Scylla is now protruding a bit above the top of the wort. It still works great, but I look at the Jaded ones that are lower.

I would only buy a new one if I could sell my Skylla and make space for the lower model. Where are you located?

The gear is in the UP of Michigan, where we have about 8,000 people in our entire county (maybe less now) and one red light in the county. So not a huge population!