Plate Chiller

Why buy two chillers? Just pump ice water through your plate chiller instead. Also, if you like hoppy beers I would stick with an immersion chiller. All it takes is some hop debris to plug up your plate chiller.

P.S. I use a fountain pump in a 10gallon cooler full of ice water to chill my immersion chiller. Works great.

 

No need for a plate chiller. Lot's of people have them, even fewer use them

I also do the pond pump and immersion chiller, works great if you use regular tap water first to lower the temperature to the low 100s range before switching to the pump and ice water.

 

I have two 10 gallon coolers that are retired mash tuns / hlt, I use one with tap and switch to ice when temps hit stasis. I've been toying with tying them together, putting the pump in one and the return in the other just to see how that goes.

 

Don't listen to @wspscott or @SFACRKnight , they're talking crazy . I've had both IC and Plate Chiller . . . the PC kicks some serious ass. I cut my chilling time in half when I donated the old IC to the museum. But you're looking at the wrong model, you want a longer chiller . . . I have B3-23a/20 plate (12"), if money is no object get the 18" model. For maximum heat transfer you want longer plates, more plates is to minimize fluid pressure drop which isn't a real player here. This is all explained on Duda's website. Pay careful attention to the type fittings when you order, no do-over here. If you configure with quick disconnects(hot side) you get to keep the skin on your fingertips.

Pre-chilling your inlet water doesn't work well 'cause it doesn't spend much time in the coil. Listen to what @wspscott and @SFACRKnight say , ditch the pre-chiller coil and run your ice-water straight through the chiller. I have 90 degree inlet water in the summer and it drops the wort to 120'ish, then turn on the ice slurry for the mid 60s (this is re-circulating).

It all works best when you re-circulate (and you don't need an expensive pump) . . . never a problem whirlpooling hops with a PC/pump/hop-spider. There's some effort in clean-up but less time than wasted with an old fashioned IC. LTB - BTL

 

Didn't you see where I filled my chugger with hops? I would annihilate a plate chiller. IC is for me.
Edit, I would put a hydra against a plate chiller any day.

 

Personally I wouldn't get a plate cooler out of fear of clogging those tiny channels. It would just be too easy. My municipal water never gets cold. Like sfarc, I use an immersion chiller with tap water. Once I get it down to 80-90, I switch it over to a pond pump sitting in ice water in an ice chest. Takes me below pitching temp of I'm not watching it. Plate chillers are faster, and will only get as cold as the ground water. I just don't trust them since I can't take apart the thing my wort is flowing through.

 

I have both and prefer the immersion chiller. As already stated, if your making hoppy beers using pellets the immersion chiller shines cause it wont clog on hop residue. However, if you are not using lots of hop pellets and your producing super clear wort a plate chiller is worth investigating. I have spring water which runs cold all year so the immersion is my go to.

 

I have never used an IC. I have used a Blichmann Therminator plate chiller for several years. I love it and have had no significant issues with it. It is a gravity system, no pump. My kettle is about 3 feet above the chiller set on a small stool on the floor. With hoppy beers I have a hopback in-line before the chiller and similarly there are no flow issues with gravity. The hopback works as a nice filter too. Even when I don't use the hopback, I have little in the way of hop debris or trub in the chiller, although I do use a filter in the kettle around the dip tube. The chiller has never clogged. And it works amazingly well. I'll open the ball valve on my kettle and it will chill 5 gal of wort down to pitching temp within 5 min (and the wort's already in the fermenter then too).

The only hassle is with cleaning. I pre-clean it with a soak in PBW for 20 min and flush it with water during the boil. I'll then sanitize it before hooking it up. I flush it immediately after use, meaning that as soon as the wort is in the fermenter I disconnect the lines and start flushing the chiller with hot water for several minutes even before I aerate the wort or pitch the yeast. Then I'll soak it in PBW for 20-30 min and flush again before I set it aside to dry.

 

This is the correct answer. For a home brew setup, 20 plates is all that is ever needed. While the 12" or 18" 20 plate units are better than what you are looking at, its actually even better per dollar to step down to the 8" 20 plate then to go with the 30.

If you let me know your water temp, water flowrate, desired pitch temp, and batch size I can calculate for you the amount of time and water needed with each model so you can use that info to decide

 

Thanks DudaE, I got my chiller-smarts from your website. Interestingly, before I sprang for my PC I called your company for some tech data. The lady who answered the phone apologized that all the engineers were out of the office, then gave a very thorough rundown on flow rates, surface areas, temp differentials, etc . . . I bet she's a beer drinker too.

Well, I think the "Godzilla" Duda-chiller would force the Hydra back into the sea. But that's just me talking. For the MODS: how 'bout sponsoring a "chill-off" with the Hydra vs Godzilla? If BA will spring for a Hydra IC to @SFACRKnight and a Godzilla Duda to me we'll test them and post the results. Think of the hits it will generate for The Bros. Are you in @SFACRKnight ?

 

I'm in. This sounds like the best idea ever. Ever.

 

I have a B3-36A 30 plate chiller and it is one of the greatest homebrew purchases I've ever made. I use the plate chiller in conjunction with a (400 micron) stainless steel mesh hop spider. Yes you have to take care to clean and prevent clogging the plate chiller. However, what in brewing doesn't take care and diligence. IMHO with attentiveness, there is no substitute for a plate chiller; it is just amazing!!!

 

The only thing I use are Blichmann quick connects and the tubing. Nothing else. Works great. There is no restriction to flow so I see no need for a pump, at least in my set up.

 

For @jbakajust1 , we are serious. I guess you have to run this by The Bros (for funding), but we're ready, willing and able to settle the IC vs PC battle . . . see who is king of the hill. I've got some hot wort standing by . . .

 

Maybe Marshall from Brülosophy could help out.

 

I could have swore I read a post where someone compared a couple of IC, to a counter flow, and a plate chiller. I thought it was on Brulosophy, but I didn't find anything in the search. If my memory serves me right, the plate chiller won. Personally I would still prefer an IC because I can visually inspect it for cleanliness and quality (no leaks).

 

Oh, found it. 2 things to note: Water was used in place of wort. Also, the tap water used to cool was 66.5 F. I know my ground water temp in the summer is 72-75ish so without recirculating, one-pass solutions would be difficult. They sure are efficient though.