What else to get with a plate chiller?

[BrewRick]

Hi all,

I've been doing the no chill thing for my BIAB brews so far, but want to buy a plate chiller.

My question is - what else do I need to get when I buy one?

I currently use a 40 litre Crown urn to brew in. I have a hose attached to the tap to transfer my wort to the no chill cube. I'm assuming I need to buy tubing to get my wort from the urn, through the chiller and into the fermenter, and also to get water from the kitchen tap through the chiller, and out to a bucket to use for cleaning.

I've emailed Craftbrewer but haven't heard back yet (I only sent it today though).

Also, would it be better to siphon the wort from the top of the urn, instead of using the tap at the bottom, to avoid trub being transferred? I've only brewed four brews so far, so don't have much experience.

Thanks in advance!

 

[eamonnfoley]

A pump is mandatory, despite anything you may hear. Mainly for cleaning.

 

[BrewRick]

Thanks for that foles.

 

[technobabble66]

+1 for OP's question.
One thing, BR, make sure your hoses handling hot wort are silicone.

If a pump is necessary, would a LBP suffice?

 

[Tex083]

Yep a LBP would work, they are great for pumping hot PBW back through the chiller to clean it. You can also pump starsain/defender through it to sanitise before use.

 

[Phoney]

I beg to differ that a pump is "mandatory", it's just one extra thing to clean so I avoid using mine when possible. You can use gravity for wort and tap water for cooling.

 

[Parks]

phoneyhuh - you didn't read foles post fully - he said mainly for cleaning and I definitely agree.

 

[fletcher]

i've used mine for 2 brews so far. gravity fed. just got some high grade silicon hosing for when the wort transfers from kettle to chiller and just vinyl tubing for the water in and out and beer out of the chiller into fermenter. works a treat and i haven't felt the need for a pump. having said that i hop in bags so don't have massive hoppy chunks and sludge. i also whirlpool to prevent as much trub and gunk as i can getting through it. a powerful hose sloosh and PBW and then iodophor does it for me

 

[Phoney]

phoneyhuh - you didn't read foles post fully - he said mainly for cleaning and I definitely agree.

Nah I read that, and I still disagree. I give mine a big blast of tap water through the wort inlet once I've finished, then pour in a mix of warm water & napisan & put it aside to soak overnight, blast it out with tap water the next day, then hang it up to dry. Clean as a whistle & I've never had an infection.

 

[Parks]

Nah I read that, and I still disagree. I give mine a big blast of tap water through the wort inlet once I've finished, then pour in a mix of warm water & napisan & put it aside to soak overnight, blast it out with tap water the next day, then hang it up to dry. Clean as a whistle & I've never had an infection.

I'm sure you think it's clean as a whistle but I would put my brewery on it not being.

I do the same as you, but once every 5-10 brews I do a recirc with 80+ deg PBW from the urn, through the pump, through the chiller (opposite direction to wort flow) and back into the urn via a hop bag and crud always comes out.

You may have not ever had an infection but I would say that the longer crud sits in there and has more buildup over time the closer you are to getting one.

-edit- grammar

 

[jlm]

I agree with the pump, many uses around the brewery...... Especially if you've got a plate chiller.

 

[adryargument]

I'm sure you think it's clean as a whistle but I would put my brewery on it not being.
You may have not ever had an infection but I would say that the longer crud sits in there and has more buildup over time the closer you are to getting one.

I'm another one of those that has never ran cleaning fluid through my chiller unless it has been sitting for a month or more without use.
And i find your comment misleading.

Surely there is a tiny bit of growth and bacteria / bugs. But they are dead enough once you start recirculating the wort through it for the last 10-15 minutes of the boil. Most users who cant be bothered to clean their chillers do this. It is just as effective as using pbw. I would bet my brewery on it

 

[Batz]

I'm sure you think it's clean as a whistle but I would put my brewery on it not being.

I do the same as you, but once every 5-10 brews I do a recirc with 80+ deg PBW from the urn, through the pump, through the chiller (opposite direction to wort flow) and back into the urn via a hop bag and crud always comes out.

You may have not ever had an infection but I would say that the longer crud sits in there and has more buildup over time the closer you are to getting one.

-edit- grammar

So true Parks, the distance between plates is less than 1mm.

Now that's about the same as a credit card or the diameter of a paper clip. Now tell me if you don't think there could be a piece of grain or hops stuck in there some place?....Wonder how it's looking right now?

Batz

 

[Mattress]

I gravity feed through the plate chiller and run the water to a sprinkler in the garden.
In winter I can run the wort through quite quickly and it will get down to fermentation temps.
In summer, especially a brew I did last week, I have to trickle the wort through the chiller to get the temp down. took at least 30 mins.
Not really a problem for me as the garden was getting a good soak.
Running the water out to a bucket would be a different issue though.

 

[Yob]

A water tank...

 

[Parks]

I'm another one of those that has never ran cleaning fluid through my chiller unless it has been sitting for a month or more without use.
And i find your comment misleading.

Surely there is a tiny bit of growth and bacteria / bugs. But they are dead enough once you start recirculating the wort through it for the last 10-15 minutes of the boil. Most users who cant be bothered to clean their chillers do this. It is just as effective as using pbw. I would bet my brewery on it

The PBW assists in removing the debris. If you never do this you will eventually either clog it completely or a chunk will come out and end up in your beer.

If that's a risk you're happy with then all good. Just don't tell people that a quick back flush is adequate because it quite simply isn't.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[HeavyNova]

I've just got myself a plate chiller and want to know if a tap (ball valve or butterfly valve?) on the 'cool wort out' side is recommended? My understanding is that using a tap in this location will ensure that the chiller is always 100% full of wort where as using a tap upstream i.e. on the kettle, may create a situation where this is not the case?

Advice?

 

[lswhi3]

Great thread, might grab a pump even though I reckon the sanitiser in the pot with the pipes would work fine too. Can use the pump to whirlpool in my braumeister inspired mash tun. Sweet

 

[Spiesy]

I've just got myself a plate chiller and want to know if a tap (ball valve or butterfly valve?) on the 'cool wort out' side is recommended? My understanding is that using a tap in this location will ensure that the chiller is always 100% full of wort where as using a tap upstream i.e. on the kettle, may create a situation where this is not the case?

Advice?

I'm more than happy to be corrected, but I don't know why you'd need your plate chiller to be full of wort. Surely if there was less hot wort v cold water, it would chill even faster?

 

[NewtownClown]

If the outflow is restricted/slowed with a ball valve, the wort spends a longer time in contact with the cooling liquid which is being replaced at a faster rate than the wort.
I found with my 30 plate DudaDiesel chiller (gravity fed), that if it is oriented so the inflow is located at the bottom and the wort flows "uphill" to the outflow, I have no need to restrict the flow from the kettle or from the chiller. My fermenter fills in about half the time and is actually 2C cooler than when I had the chiller oriented in reverse and had the outflow restricted (or not).

As for cleaning, a quick burst with a compressed gas will blow any remaining water out, or a 30 minuter "bake" in a hot oven will do the job. I use a 5 litre garden sprayer I have converted to pump cleaner, then a water rinse, then air.