Chiller - Plate v Counterflow

[Zorco]

Silicone and paint makes me the plumber I ain't!

 

[jibba02]

Plate chillers are great. But a total head **** to clean!!!!

 

[manticle]

For the record I've read a lot of threads and haven't found any specific recommendations or anyone actually talking about which way they went and if they enjoy it. They all seem to degenerate into putting down the other type to prove theirs was right...

In some ways maybe you missed the point because what you've done is potentially start yet another one of those without resolving any of it.

That said, there are pros and cons to both and ultimately it will be up to you to decide.

If you can, arrange to borrow the various types from other brewers and test for yourself. Alternatively, attend various brewdays and see both in action.

My understanding and limited experience is that plate chiller style is generally more efficient but carries some risk because the wort contacts the inside of the chiller. Also it will carry cold break to fermenter if you think that's an issue.

There are a lot of variables though on how efficiently and how low either will chill which go beyond just 'immersion vs plate'. Test drive the holden, test drive the ford.

 

[timmyf]

I've got all three, and pretty much exclusively use the ic or no chill.

Plate chiller: works as advertised with good efficiency, but a pain to clean and sanitise. Adds an extra 30mins or so to your brew day for cleanup. To clean it properly you'll also probably need a pump, so more money...I'll probably never use it again.

Counterflow: most expensive if buying. Works well. Good efficiency. Easier to clean than plate. I only use this if im using the hop rocket in between, so i need a pump also. Most wastage.

Ic: cheapest (excluding nochill). Easiest to clean and sanitise. Least efficient and takes longest. No wastage. Most versatile eg. i can quickly take off 15 deg for a hop stand (yes, you can with the other 2, but again you need a pump). Able to leave cold break in kettle.


Just my opinion. Ymmv...

 

[Ducatiboy stu]

There are a lot of variables though on how efficiently and how low either will chill which go beyond just 'immersion vs plate'. Test drive the holden, test drive the ford.

Then buy a Toyota :lol:

 

[Matplat]

Ic: cheapest (excluding nochill). Easiest to clean and sanitise. Least efficient and takes longest.

Just to add to this, if you whirlpool (by hand) or recirculate while operating the chiller, chill times are more than acceptable. You drop out of the isomerising 80-100°C range within 2-3mins max , and down to 25deg within 15mins.

 

[Ducatiboy stu]

Ic: cheapest (excluding nochill). Easiest to clean and sanitise. Least efficient and takes longest. No wastage. Most versatile eg. i can quickly take off 15 deg for a hop stand (yes, you can with the other 2, but again you need a pump). Able to leave cold break in kettle.

..

The biggest problem with an Immersion Chiller is that you need to agite/stir the wort to make it more efficient. What tends to happen is the wort around the coil gets cold, but the rest of the wort stays hot. so if you just place your nicely formed perfect coil in your hot wort and let it rip for 10mins you will notice that right in the middle the wort is still fairly warm,/hot but the chiller water is cold. Now there is a whole heap of really complicated maths and phsyics involved as to why this is so, but it will make your brain explode understanding it....

Now to get around this you either need to

A. Stir or agitate your wort

B Use a random "ball of spaghetti" made from copper tubing

C Wait hrs for it to cool down


Now whilst a nicely formed perfect coil looks the duck nuts, it is THE WORST style of chiller you can go for. Its almost a waste if effort if you dont agitate your wort. The only downside is you also stir up the trub, but it soon settles out after 10-15 mins of sitting still

A random spaghetti ball or agitated wort cools down quicker than you would think and are fairly efficient

 

[Mardoo]

Spaghetti ball HEX???

 

[Ducatiboy stu]

Spaghetti ball HEX???

Well...essentially thats what an IC is

 

[Moad]

I have used all 3, for small batches ic is the go however it may affect whirlpooling.

I find plate chiller to chill faster and more effectively than tube in tube CFC however it is susceptible to blockages. I haven't had one yet but I hear they can be a pain. I have a hop filter and a pickup before it gets to the plate chiller.

There is a bit more work involved with cleaning the plate chiller but I think its worth the extra effort.

Each one has pros and cons, find what works for you if you can borrow one

 

[Batz]

Plate chillers.

 

[Moad]

Wow! Surely there is something that could get to that while it was hooked up? Caustic?

 

[MastersBrewery]

And that's why comercial plate chillers can be stripped down.

 

[Benn]

That's crook,

 

[rude]

Ic chillers sound good if you had a pool especially in winter no wastage

A lot of talk about plate chiller blockage infection but what if youre kettle taps etc are'nt up to scratch
once you chill bloody infection problems same as a plate

Im a no chiller but would & will have a go one day at chilling

Have thrown the cube in the pool for a bit quicker no chill

In the end clean clean & clean then sanitise sanitise and sanitise

I recon Ide love to have a go at a good plate chiller but thats just me

Round & round we go but love talking chilling brewing any time any where except when the misus gives me the look

 

[amarks6]

I've used a Blichmann plate chiller for over three years on over 100 brews and never had a problem.

I back flush with PBW then water at the end of every brew day and I boil the chiller unit in water for 20 mins before each use (while I'm mashing).

Once every blue moon I soak the wort chamber in descaling solution (coffee machines) for about an hour and rinse it out.

Having said that, if I had a Grainfather with it's free CFC, I'd probably be happy to use that.

 

[sixfignig]

I've been debating this for a while myself and have decided on building a long copper IC. In the first instance will manually whirlpool, but will look to add a whirlpool return (and pump) sometime in the near future. Also have a pond pump on hand to recirculate iced water to knock the last 10C or so down to pitching temps.

 

[tugger]

I have a counter flow and a plate chiller but I use my old immersion chiller every time now.
I have found I get more consistent bitterness with large hop bills using the immersion chiller.
Long slow transfers from 80c to 25 seem to give me inconsistent bitterness.

 

[Matplat]

http://www.mrmalty.com/chiller.php

 

[Fraser's BRB]

I've not used other methods, but as in another post, I'm a big fan of my home made CF chiller. Less than 10 minutes, down to about 22 in summer, 17ish in winter, one pass, waste water on the garden. I get this time with a pump, much slower gravity fed.

This taken of my neighbour and the CFC on a recent brew day.