Plate Chiller & Water Usage

[tfxm]

Morning!

I was wondering if anyone who uses a Plate Chiller / Heat Exchanger (like ones by beer belly, or blichmann) has measured the amount of water it takes to cool the batch? For an average 23L brew .....

Cheers!
T

 

[reg]

I have one on order from beerbelly.
I am going to recirculate from my water tank and back in.

No wasted water use.

 

[dicko]

Morning!

I was wondering if anyone who uses a Plate Chiller / Heat Exchanger (like ones by beer belly, or blichmann) has measured the amount of water it takes to cool the batch? For an average 23L brew .....

Cheers!
T

To get a close figure turn your tap on to equal approximately the flow required and measure how many litres are collected in a bucket over one minute.
Then multiply this amount by the number of minutes it will take to run all your hot wort thru the chiller. This will give you the amount of cooling water litres.
The time for the wort to run thru the chiller will depend on how it is supplied to the unit IE; pump, gravity tubing size etc.

Cheers

 

[BOG]

I've got one from BB also.

I purchased a cheap pond pump and a garbage bin from bunnings. (under $30)

Fill the garbage bin with water. (about 3/4) and recirc the water.

The freezer for the beer fridge has a number of PET bottles filled with water to form a "Cold Sink" to regulate the fridge temp. I drop these into the bin of water to chill it down during the boil.

The result is cold water and the plate chiller works fine. The amount of water used is about 40 Litres.


Also I pump the bin out with the pond pump into the garden at the end. Nohing wasted.

BOG

 

[tfxm]

Great, thanks for the replies.

Trying to work out what size tank(s) I would need to do exactly what you guys are doing and recycle the water. I would love to set things up with a traditional cold liquor tank and a hot liquor tank .... chill from the CLT and into the HLT for the next brew ... awesome.

Cheers guys,
T

 

[Screwtop]

I've got one from BB also.

I purchased a cheap pond pump and a garbage bin from bunnings. (under $30)

Fill the garbage bin with water. (about 3/4) and recirc the water.

The freezer for the beer fridge has a number of PET bottles filled with water to form a "Cold Sink" to regulate the fridge temp. I drop these into the bin of water to chill it down during the boil.

The result is cold water and the plate chiller works fine. The amount of water used is about 40 Litres.


Also I pump the bin out with the pond pump into the garden at the end. Nohing wasted.

BOG

Tried this and found the water got hot too quickly, I recirculate tank water through the chiller while recirculating wort back to the kettle (whirlpooling) until the wort temp is down into the 30's then pump cold water from the bin through the chiller. The flow rate of wort through the chiller is slowed to a trickle and the output sent to the fermenter. Easy to get down into the teens this way.

 

[Trent]

I fill 2 x old 23L fermenters with water and put them into my lager fridge overnight, so they are cold. I pour these into an old 60L fermenter, and use this as my cold liquor tank. I then run the 46L cold water through my chiller, it chills my 46L of wort in less than 20 mine. The hot outgoing water is run into the original 23L fermenters and left until brewday next week, when they go back into the fridge.
I get 4-6 uses of this water before it gets a bit manky, then it goes on the garden. Overall, about 10L per 46L brewday water use.
Previously infected fermenters still have a use
Trent