Counterflow Chillers
- floydmeddler
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Counterflow Chillers
Like the idea of these. However, presumably the cold break material would go into the fermenter as it wouldn't have a chance to form as a mass and be left behind on the hop bed the way it would with an immersion chiller?
Or am I missing something?
Cheers
Or am I missing something?
Cheers
Re: Counterflow Chillers
Exactly what I was thinking Floyd. Althought I would assume you would just have a thicker sediment on the bottom of the primary.
Not a bad thing but Im already fed up with the loss of beer on transfer anyway! I dont want to lose more because there is some fluffy trub in there...
Answers on a postcard to...
Not a bad thing but Im already fed up with the loss of beer on transfer anyway! I dont want to lose more because there is some fluffy trub in there...
Answers on a postcard to...
Re: Counterflow Chillers
It's normal to let the wort rest for at least 15mins after you switch off, especially if you are steeping hops. In this time the hops will settle and form a filter bed around the hop screen and the proteins will start to coagulate.
If you are gravity feeding the CFC and it is of the hosepipe design the flow will be slow and it could take 25+ mins to cool a batch so more of the break will have formed in the boiler and will be filtered out.
But to answer your question, yes some of the cold break will separate out in the FV but not all of it and it really isn't a problem as yeast like to munch on it.
If You wanted to minimise it you could collect the cooled wort in a transfer vessel, allow time for sedimentation then rack to the FV.
If you are gravity feeding the CFC and it is of the hosepipe design the flow will be slow and it could take 25+ mins to cool a batch so more of the break will have formed in the boiler and will be filtered out.
But to answer your question, yes some of the cold break will separate out in the FV but not all of it and it really isn't a problem as yeast like to munch on it.
If You wanted to minimise it you could collect the cooled wort in a transfer vessel, allow time for sedimentation then rack to the FV.
- floydmeddler
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Re: Counterflow Chillers
Cheers. I'm happy with my immersion then if that's the case. Have recently started recirculating the wort before it goes into the fermenter and am now obsessed with it being crystal!
Re: Counterflow Chillers
This link and thread may help confirm that thought:
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=26904&p=293335&hili ... er#p293647
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=26904&p=293335&hili ... er#p293647
- Aleman
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Re: Counterflow Chillers
There is of course a difference between a Plate Chiller and a Counterflow chiller (Length of copper tube in a length of hosepipe ) the CFC does not have all those indentations to collect hop debris that makes it through the hop filter, and is pretty easy to flush through.
Re: Counterflow Chillers
Fair point ^, forgot about the difference there
I still like immersion as you can see what makes contact, anything hidden that needs to be sterile will always worry me!
I still like immersion as you can see what makes contact, anything hidden that needs to be sterile will always worry me!
Re: Counterflow Chillers
Ah.. If you mean pump circulation then your hop bed will filter out all the break no matter what method you choose to cool. The CFC will no doubt use less water and cool faster.floydmeddler wrote:Cheers. I'm happy with my immersion then if that's the case. Have recently started recirculating the wort before it goes into the fermenter and am now obsessed with it being crystal!
- floydmeddler
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Re: Counterflow Chillers
I chilled my wort to 22c in 15 mins last week by stirring vigorously when the immersion cooler was in there.
I'm sticking with my curly wurly!
I'm sticking with my curly wurly!
- floydmeddler
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Re: Counterflow Chillers
The hops can't filter the cold break materials though unless the wort is cold?Scooby wrote:Ah.. If you mean pump circulation then your hop bed will filter out all the break no matter what method you choose to cool. The CFC will no doubt use less water and cool faster.floydmeddler wrote:Cheers. I'm happy with my immersion then if that's the case. Have recently started recirculating the wort before it goes into the fermenter and am now obsessed with it being crystal!
Re: Counterflow Chillers
In my book recirculating means out of the boiler and then back in. If you recirculate through a CFC the wort going back in is cold so eventually the whole of the wort is cold and you redirect the wort to a FV instead of back into the boiler.floydmeddler wrote:Have recently started recirculating the wort before it goes into the fermenter
The same applies to cooling with an IC, instead of stirring the wort you recirculate as above but not through a CFC and when cooled redirect to the FV. this is often called the 'whirlpool' method as the action of the wort sets up a whirlpool depositing the hops and trub in a neat cone in the middle of the boiler.
Wort pumped through a CFC will cool quicker and use a fraction of the water required by a IC
- floydmeddler
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Re: Counterflow Chillers
Ah, get you now. When you put it like that, it sounds VERY GOOD.Scooby wrote:In my book recirculating means out of the boiler and then back in. If you recirculate through a CFC the wort going back in is cold so eventually the whole of the wort is cold and you redirect the wort to a FV instead of back into the boiler.floydmeddler wrote:Have recently started recirculating the wort before it goes into the fermenter
Re: Counterflow Chillers
I was using a imersion chiller but made a counterflow which is better but as stated the wort is more cloudy than the ic type. the finished beer is the same thou in each case what i have done to save water is fill a waterbut up (which i drop a bit of hot tub cholrine in every now and then to keep clean) i use a clark sub pump to draw water from the butt and pump through the coil using garden hose and fittings beer cools very quick and no water is lost.. just felt a bit guilty spraying it across the garden.
Dan
Dan
- floydmeddler
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Re: Counterflow Chillers
Nice idea Dan. We should all be doing our bit really!
Re: Counterflow Chillers
Had all the bits lying around so i thought why not and if you are on a water meter then you would be mad not to ! the water butt is actualy a rescued 55gall adblue container.
I like making summit out of nothing cheaper the better !!!
Dan
I like making summit out of nothing cheaper the better !!!
Dan