Plate Chiller Cooling

[WallyBrew]

And form the USA we have same diagram/picture and lots of information

The codes for the exchangers are identical to the German ones (must be made in China then?)

For wort cooling you will see that they suggest connecting the water (greater flow) to the bigger connection

And click this link in the web page Beer wort chilling chart (pdf)

[barneey]

It might not make that much difference on a smaller number of plates, but it does ask the question why the hell did I buy a 60 plate model? apart from the fact its more difficult to clean!!

EDIT was typing this before reading the above links - now to read somemore on plate numbers.

Now to try out one of my ideas I had last year using a recycle supply viewtopic.php?f=6&t=44233&p=468624#p468624

[barney]

It might not make that much difference on a smaller number of plates, but it does ask the question why the hell did I buy a 60 plate model? apart from the fact its more difficult to clean!!

Because when you get the bug and decide to upgrade the brewery to an 120ltr all in jobby, your plate chiller will be up to the NEW task at hand. Future proof!

[barneey]

It might not make that much difference on a smaller number of plates, but it does ask the question why the hell did I buy a 60 plate model? apart from the fact its more difficult to clean!!

Because when you get the bug and decide to upgrade the brewery to an 120ltr all in jobby, your plate chiller will be up to the NEW task at hand. Future proof!

At the time of buying if I could have found a larger pressure cooker, I would have bought the longer model ...... 120ltr me think there are a few heavy drinkers on here

And form the USA we have same diagram/picture and lots of information

The codes for the exchangers are identical to the German ones (must be made in China then?)

For wort cooling you will see that they suggest connecting the water (greater flow) to the bigger connection

And click this link in the web page Beer wort chilling chart (pdf)

NIce link + PDF doc is very interesting.

Cheers

[stevetk189]

I want one of these but don't want a tonne of cold break in my FVs. Wat do? Run off through chiller to whirlpool then to FV?

[barneey]

From what others have said on the forums and I`ve never noticed anything different is to leave the cold break where ever it ends up ie. in the fermenter.

My other solution as I`m lucky enough to have a conical is to tap it off afterwards.

Regarding cooling then whirlpool etc never tried interesting idea?

[stevetk189]

Yes I've read that the cold break material can help yeast in the early stages of fermentation. I just wondered if anyone using plate chillers had something in place to get rid of the majority of the break material.

I certainly like the sound of the efficiency of plate chillers.

My IC works well but it still means running a tap for 30 minutes - much longer in the summer when the tap water is warmer. I do have a well that's 12 metres to the water. The water is lovely and cold but really dodgy quality. It's ok for watering the gardens etc

I plan to pump it through my IC and return it to the well or divert the outflow to a large water butt. I'm just a lot bothered about the shitty water somehow finding its way outside the IC circuit. Splashes and sprays on connect and disconnects etc

External plate chiller would be better I'm sure.

[barneey]

the old paranoid water issue I always tended to try and use the best fittings to prevent any mishaps, spills, sprays with an IC. + depending on what your well water is like, a simple mesh filter might be required to filter any larger stuff out (dont want the plate cloggin up)

Sorry to be a damp squib but the problem might also manifest it self internally on a plate chiller if theres any small leaks more paranoier at least with a IC you can do a simple bubble air test to see if there are any problems.

There are some lovely examples (works of art almost) of ICs on Jims which look and apparently are very efficient, for me tho (for the time being) a plate is the best option. (best not easiest )

[stevetk189]

I regularly pump water from the well, no signs of debris etc in it but bloody hell it stinks foul. I'm 100% sure my IC is leak free and I designed it so the hose connectors are away from the boiler when it's in place but it's just sods law that one day a fitting is going to give or I'll disconnect while there's water pressure in it and spray it all over the place.

I was quite surprised to see the pricing of those German plate chillers, I was expecting them to be several hundreds of quids.

Hmmm it's my birthday in December... I might have try and be nice to the wife until then.

[gregorach]

Yes I've read that the cold break material can help yeast in the early stages of fermentation. I just wondered if anyone using plate chillers had something in place to get rid of the majority of the break material.

Why bother? It's certainly not harmful, and quite possibly beneficial. I really don't get why people worry about it...

[Aleman]

I just wondered if anyone using plate chillers had something in place to get rid of the majority of the break material.

I do, It's called a conical fermenter

Not that I worry about it at all, If my yeast is ready to go then I'll pitch without removing the break . . . More usually though I pitch 12 hours later and just drop out any transferred break proteins

[stevetk189]

Yes I've read that the cold break material can help yeast in the early stages of fermentation. I just wondered if anyone using plate chillers had something in place to get rid of the majority of the break material.

Why bother? It's certainly not harmful, and quite possibly beneficial. I really don't get why people worry about it...

Cheers Dunc.

[FUBAR]

Well I have recently got a 20 plate chiller,although its not been used on a brewday yet its had a couple of trial runs with boiling water.The first one was done using the 3/4 posts as the wort side and it was not working very well at all almost coming out the chiller at the same temp as it entered,tried running it using the 1/2 posts as the wort side and it worked perfectly,did wonder if the amount of plates that the chiller has makes a difference to how it performs depending on what way its fed.Must say thank you to Barneey who gave me the stainless couplings and silicone hose to use with my chiller.