Counterflow Chillers

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floydmeddler
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Counterflow Chillers

Post by floydmeddler » Mon Nov 16, 2009 4:27 pm

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

crookedeyeboy

Re: Counterflow Chillers

Post by crookedeyeboy » Mon Nov 16, 2009 4:45 pm

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...

Scooby

Re: Counterflow Chillers

Post by Scooby » Mon Nov 16, 2009 4:47 pm

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.

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floydmeddler
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Re: Counterflow Chillers

Post by floydmeddler » Mon Nov 16, 2009 5:18 pm

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! :shock:

lancsSteve

Re: Counterflow Chillers

Post by lancsSteve » Mon Nov 16, 2009 5:26 pm

This link and thread may help confirm that thought:

viewtopic.php?f=6&t=26904&p=293335&hili ... er#p293647

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Aleman
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Re: Counterflow Chillers

Post by Aleman » Mon Nov 16, 2009 5:31 pm

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.

lancsSteve

Re: Counterflow Chillers

Post by lancsSteve » Mon Nov 16, 2009 5:53 pm

Fair point ^, forgot about the difference there :oops:

I still like immersion as you can see what makes contact, anything hidden that needs to be sterile will always worry me!

Scooby

Re: Counterflow Chillers

Post by Scooby » Mon Nov 16, 2009 6:43 pm

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! :shock:
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.

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floydmeddler
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Re: Counterflow Chillers

Post by floydmeddler » Mon Nov 16, 2009 8:11 pm

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!

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floydmeddler
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Re: Counterflow Chillers

Post by floydmeddler » Mon Nov 16, 2009 8:12 pm

Scooby wrote:
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! :shock:
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.
The hops can't filter the cold break materials though unless the wort is cold?

Scooby

Re: Counterflow Chillers

Post by Scooby » Mon Nov 16, 2009 9:28 pm

floydmeddler wrote:Have recently started recirculating the wort before it goes into the fermenter
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.

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

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floydmeddler
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Re: Counterflow Chillers

Post by floydmeddler » Mon Nov 16, 2009 9:33 pm

Scooby wrote:
floydmeddler wrote:Have recently started recirculating the wort before it goes into the fermenter
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.
Ah, get you now. When you put it like that, it sounds VERY GOOD.

speedtripledan

Re: Counterflow Chillers

Post by speedtripledan » Sun Nov 22, 2009 9:39 pm

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

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floydmeddler
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Re: Counterflow Chillers

Post by floydmeddler » Mon Nov 23, 2009 6:46 pm

Nice idea Dan. We should all be doing our bit really!

speedtripledan

Re: Counterflow Chillers

Post by speedtripledan » Mon Nov 23, 2009 7:07 pm

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 !!! :D

Dan

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