Wort Chillers - Whats Best?

[dr K]

I use a COnvoluted Copper Conter Flow Wort Chiller.

Very very effective.
Check it out at More Beer - Convoltus Maximus.

GMK..you finally bought one then...????

 

[razz]

Are they easy to clean? Anyone have the Chillout Mark III that ross sells? how does that go?

Always backflush mine with 90-95 degrees water from the hlt as soon as all the wort is in the fermenter. It helps to only let a bit of trub go through the chiller, all my hops go in a hopsock.

 

[captaincleanoff]

ok, I'm going to get either the Chillout Mark III plate chiller, or a copper coil (this one):

which one do you guys think is the best option? Obviously both have to be flushed clean.. but which is the easiest to work with? The copper chiller doesnt come with any fittings, so might be easier to go with the Chillout Mark III.

whats best?!?!

 

[enoch]

Fittings are easy. Two cheap Garden hose females quick disconnects, A peice of 1/2 inch hose for each, fix with couple hose clamps.

 

[drsmurto]

Here's the plate chiller i use courtesy of beerbelly.

Brewed warrens 'just a trickle' dark mild on sunday and got the wort down to 22C on a single pass!

 

[therook]

Here's the plate chiller i use courtesy of beerbelly.

Brewed warrens 'just a trickle' dark mild on sunday and got the wort down to 22C on a single pass!

Dr,

how do these things go with the hop sludge? do they block up?

Rook

 

[drsmurto]

I have a hopscreen as well....

But i find if i whirlpool at flameout and then gently raise the kettle for the last few Ls i get bugger all hop crud/trub coming thru. I wash it out straight away with hot water and then a sanitiser. Had no issues at all and makes life easy, the mild was bubbling away before i called it a night.

Works even better when i use plugs and i have a few bags of flowers to try as well.

 

[Doogiechap]

I have a hopscreen as well....

But i find if i whirlpool at flameout and then gently raise the kettle for the last few Ls i get bugger all hop crud/trub coming thru. I wash it out straight away with hot water and then a sanitiser. Had no issues at all and makes life easy, the mild was bubbling away before i called it a night.

Works even better when i use plugs and i have a few bags of flowers to try as well.

Dr Smurto, I'd like to know where you got the thermometer from, I know Jye has a similar unit but after much searching couldn't track down a supplier. My Herms Return would love one of those mounted via a tee fitting.
And to keep things on track I am sooooo happy about my Chillout MkIII
I have used both an immersion chiller and a CFC in a length of 90mm poly pipe and the plate is very effective with less water usage to do the job for me.

 

[drsmurto]

The chiller and extra fittings are all the work of BeerBelly

 

[pokolbinguy]

Are the hosetails removable from the MashMaster Chillout Mark III???

Cheers, Pok

 

[Doogiechap]

Are the hosetails removable from the MashMaster Chillout Mark III???

Cheers, Pok

No not the MkIII but you can get this 30 plate one from Brissybrew for the same price with threaded couplings.
Cheers
Doug

 

[captaincleanoff]

doogiechap, good to hear you are happy with the Chillout, I think I'm going to get one. Just wondering, what size batches are you doing? I'm going to be doing 50l brews with it, you done anything that big with it?

 

[BrissyBrew]

No not the MkIII but you can get this 30 plate one from Brissybrew for the same price with threaded couplings.
Cheers
Doug

The 30 plate units have about the same surface area as the MKIII, the MKIII however as a longer cross over (plates are longer in length) and barbed fittings so you dont need to worry about sanitising/cleaning threaded fittings.

 

[Doogiechap]

doogiechap, good to hear you are happy with the Chillout, I think I'm going to get one. Just wondering, what size batches are you doing? I'm going to be doing 50l brews with it, you done anything that big with it?

Bloke my standard batch size is 40l and I pump my wort fairly quickly through it with the output being very close to my tap water temp (at least in summer @ 26)
Much faster than my other attempts. For me it's money well spent.
I will be storing chilling water in some 200l drums behind the shed and using a submersible pump to transfer that water in the near future.
PS Thanks Brissy for clarifying the minimal plate area difference between the two models.
Cheers
Doug

 

[simonab]

Hi Captain

If you're going to buy a March pump (see bulk buy) then I would definitely try a whirlpool immersion chiller, http://www.mrmalty.com/chiller.php

I have a normal immersion, a convoluted CF chiller and a whirlpool chiller. The whirlpool chiller (combined with settling overnight in the boiler in the cool evenings in Melb) is as quick as the convoluted CF chiller but has the advantage of leaving the cold break behind. I did a 45L batch of Kolsch on the w/e and the runoff out of teh boiler was crystal clear. I havnt tried a plate chiller.

Cheers
Simon

 

[Back Yard Brewer]

I pass mine through a Convoluted Copper Conter Flow Wort Chiller and then through a SS coil which is immersed in ice. Works a treat. The only problem I have encountered is the SS coil can freeze up if the wort does not go through first. I can get it under, well under 20c.

BYB

Here is my set-up from brewing on saturday. The smoke is the dry ice, I have used ice in the past that has been made a few days earlier but since I have access to dry ice why not use it. I got my wort from 80c down to a nice even 17c

 

[stueywhytcross]

Is it possible to just use a coil of hose running through a ice bath. The more hose the greater surface area thus the quicker the wort would cool down. After a while you would be able to adjust your length of hose in the ice bath/pot to get very close to you desired pitching temp in one pass?
Im considering trying this instead of cfc, immersion or plate chillers. What do you reckon?

 

[BoilerBoy]

Is it possible to just use a coil of hose running through a ice bath. The more hose the greater surface area thus the quicker the wort would cool down. After a while you would be able to adjust your length of hose in the ice bath/pot to get very close to you desired pitching temp in one pass?
Im considering trying this instead of cfc, immersion or plate chillers. What do you reckon?

G'day disco stu.
I use a 9m copper coil that runs directly into a plastic storage crate filled with water and ice.
The wort leaves the kettle straight into the ice bath and then into a plastic cube.
I freeze up about 25L of ice made in old yogurt containers of about 1L each several days before brew day.
After the boil I let it rest for around 10-15 min then gradually add the ice and stir the water continously for about 15-20 min and by adjusting the flow from the kettle tap the temp gets down to 18C even lower if I use slightly more ice and restrict the flow further.

All the water is retained within the platic storage crate and used on the garden.
It takes a bit of planning before brew day, but then I have to do that with yeast anyway.

Been doing this method ever since I started AG 3 years ago, I guess its the "poor mans chiller"

Cheers
BB

 

[Darren]

Here is my set-up from brewing on saturday. The smoke is the dry ice, I have used ice in the past that has been made a few days earlier but since I have access to dry ice why not use it. I got my wort from 80c down to a nice even 17c

Hey BYB,

I hope that was on a 40C day?? I get my wort to 28 C on a 40C day without ice.

Autumn day I usually get to 23

Winter less than 18 C flat out


Disco,

Yo will need copper to transfer the "cool" effectively
cheers

Darren

 

[pokolbinguy]

Here is my set-up from brewing on saturday. The smoke is the dry ice, I have used ice in the past that has been made a few days earlier but since I have access to dry ice why not use it. I got my wort from 80c down to a nice even 17c

Hey BYB how do your garden hose fittings on your hoses go handling the hot liquid etc? And where did you get that hosing?

Pok