Cleaning plate chiller

[jkhlt1210]

G'day guys how the hell do you clean your plate chiller??? I've done everything boiling water, soaking overnight, numerous things but never ending hop crap comes out. How do I clean this thing properly?

 

[DJ_L3ThAL]

I dont have one but id say PBW recirculating through it should do the job followed by hot water recirc and then starsan recirc?

 

[Mr. No-Tip]

I give mine a very solid flush with a hose to remove all hop and break material.

Then a soak in the kettle with PBW.

Then a flush with hot water for a minute or so.

Then a 60 minute bake at 220 during my next mash.

 

[technobabble66]

Reverse the flow with tap water for 5 mins, then run hot water w sodium perc or PBW thru it (in reverse also) for 10-20 mins, then run fresh hot sod perc back thru it normal way for a few mins. Drain and seal. Or partially seal to stop dust getting in there and let it slowly air dry internally.

Before you use it next time, circulate hot water with citric acid in it to dissolve the oxidized copper, then flush w tap water, and you're ready to rock.
(Edit - and then sanitize with starsan if you're draining into the FV, of course)

The crap you're still flushing out in you're OP is most likely hops fragments. The sod perc should sanitize that (and dissolve protein fragments), so in between brews I'd assume you're very unlikely to grow moulds/fungi/bacteria in there, once it's sealed. Just my opinion though - the oven thing while sealed with aluminium foil as the final stage is probably best practice.

 

[Screwtop]

The sod perc should sanitize that (and dissolve protein fragments)

Sodium Percarbonate breaks down organic material, it is a "Cleaner" and should be used after use then the item should be put away to dry ready for next use. Sanitiser, preferably a no rinse such as Starsan or similar should be used prior to use.

After use fill your plate chiller with a hot caustic solution or PBW solution and leave for an hour or so then rinse with clean water and put away to dry. Prior to use fill with no rinse sanitiser and drain - OR - if you have a pump recirculate boiling wort through it for 15 min prior to turning on the water to chill to sanitise.

Brew Well and Cheers,

Screwy

 

[Parks]

Only problem I have Screwy is you can't dry them. Water sits inside.

I do recirculate with hot water again prior to use to ensure any possible mould has been washed through.

 

[MaltyHops]

Only problem I have Screwy is you can't dry them. Water sits inside.

I store mine with a hacked up coat hanger like this:

[zoom]

After the post-brew flush/clean/etc, I hang it with one end lower for an hour or so, then shake with that lower end point down to get as much water out as possible.

Then switch to hang other end of chiller low ... repeat a few times.

 

[Screwtop]

I store mine with a hacked up coat hanger like this:

[zoom]

After the post-brew flush/clean/etc, I hang it with one end lower for an hour or so, then shake with that lower end point down to get as much water out as possible.

Then switch to hang other end of chiller low ... repeat a few times.

Same!

Screwy

 

[kcurnow]

yep pretty much the same as everyone else. i normally back flush with hot water to get rid of any hop and cold break residue from inside, drain and let air dry. Then recirc sanitiser prior to next chill. Then every few batchs run hot PBW through it to clean out anything that might be caught inside.

 

[motman]

I have done similar cleaning steps as most here but I also added an hour in the oven at 180. Seemed to completely dry it.

 

[Truman42]

At end of brew I back flush water through my chiller and use the outflow to rinse and clean my kettle and anything else I still have left to clean.

Then a few days later or when I could be stuffed I flush hot PBW through the chiller but have a hop sock over the end of the hose. You would be surprised how much **** still comes out that would otherwise sit inside the plate chiller.
I reverse flow and do it again for another 15 mins or so then rinse and hang to dry. I then cover the ends with plastic caps and on red day fill with sanitiser using a short hose connected to both outlets.

It seems to have fixed a problem that I was having where I would get a low level infection on beers that were aged longer than a few months.