Chiller options

[Runyanka]

I've been doing 10 gallon batches for about three years now and have a shirron plate chiller. I've found that in the Texas summers it lacks in the chilling department. I've wanted the therminator chiller for quite a while. Do you think it would be beneficial to buy one and use the shirron as a pre chiller sitting in ice water? Other options also welcome!

 

[KGB09]

I would suggest spending the money on an immersion chiller placed in a bucket with ice water right before the plate chiller. The cooling water goes through the ice water to drop temp then goes through the plate chiller closer to winter temps.

 

[tgmartin000]

I would suggest spending the money on an immersion chiller placed in a bucket with ice water right before the plate chiller. The cooling water goes through the ice water to drop temp then goes through the plate chiller closer to winter temps.

this.

 

[logdrum]

The shirron sitting in a bucket of ice water will not act as a pre chiller. You'd need to pump ice water through one side of the shirron, and run your garden hose (or whatever) in then out of the other side of the shirron, then into the therminator. I used a cheap pond pump in a 10 gl cooler to create a cold loop. The immersion chiller would work too, although you don't want to restrict your cooling water too much.

 

[Runyanka]

Thanks for the advise! I've read that the therminator has larger spacing between plates, and that's my downfall with the shirron, it clogs with 10 gallon batches. It worked fine on 5 gallons, but lately it's been a chore keeping the flow going through it.

 

[logdrum]

Have you checked out the Duda Diesel site? A bit more value for your $$, not sure about the size of the channels vs the Therm, tho.

 

[KGB09]

Not only cheaper but more effective depending on which plate chiller you buy.
I do 10 gallon batches with a duda diesel and never had a problem. They have so many different options, being quite different, I'm sure you can find what your looking for.

 

[LordUlrich]

If your problem is that your chiller is clogging you could look at other options, such as a screen in your kettle, put a diverter plate by the outlet, or doing a whirlpool.

 

[Curtis2010]

You might also add a pump to recirculate wort thru the chiller. I just did this and tested it on a batch today. Wow, big improvement, even with my 80F "cooling" water here in the tropics the temp dropped fast. Went from just below boiling to 100F in a few minutes...getting lower took longer because not much temp diff between wort and cooling water. A pre-chiller is next on my project list.

Much more convenient to circulate until you hit the temp you want than having a fermentor full of wort that now needs to be cooled further.

 

[Newsman]

I have a 50' IC. I used it for the first time today. I went from boiling to approximately 60* in under 10 minutes using standard city water.

 

[Curtis2010]

I have a 50' IC. I used it for the first time today. I went from boiling to approximately 60* in under 10 minutes using standard city water.

Must be cold there.

 

[Newsman]

Must be cold there.

Yeah... I'm in north Georgia (state, not country ) and the weather has been pretty chilly (sub-freezing at night.) The tap water is pretty chilly, that's for sure!

 

[Curtis2010]

Yeah... I'm in north Georgia (state, not country ) and the weather has been pretty chilly (sub-freezing at night.) The tap water is pretty chilly, that's for sure!

Brrr, I'm on the Caribbean coast of Guatemala at about 15.5 degrees N and only about 50 ft above sea level. My well water is about 82F year round...makes cooling wort a challenge. Lowest over night low I've ever seen here was 58F...that was after a cold front in December!

Picked up some parts today to start on my cooling water pre-chiller. Basically plan an IC installed in a 5 gallon bucket. Plan to route tube ends out upper sides of bucket with QD connections to make it easy to use. Store hoses in same bucket when not in use. Fill with water and put in storage freezer (about 40F) day before brew day to chill.

 

[Newsman]

Brrr, I'm on the Caribbean coast of Guatemala at about 15.5 degrees N and only about 50 ft above sea level. My well water is about 82F year round...makes cooling wort a challenge. Lowest over night low I've ever seen here was 58F...that was after a cold front in December!

Picked up some parts today to start on my cooling water pre-chiller. Basically plan an IC installed in a 5 gallon bucket. Plan to route tube ends out upper sides of bucket with QD connections to make it easy to use. Store hoses in same bucket when not in use. Fill with water and put in storage freezer (about 40F) day before brew day to chill.

Yeah. I picked up an extra 50' of copper tubing and I plan on doing the same thing for when I'm brewing during the summer. Obviously with winter water temps down probably in the 40's, I won't need a pre-chiller, but summer will be a different story.