Anyone here have a separate whirlpool chiller?

SS is not real good at holding heat, so chilling the kettle is not a big deal in this context. I'd be surprised if you could transfer the wort to the chilling vessel in less time than it takes to chill the boil kettle, itself. I use what is essentially Jamil's design for a whirlpool attachment on my IC. With it, I can chill ten gallons of wort, including the kettle, from boil to pitching temp in 10-20 minutes, depending on the water temp, ambient temp, and the wind.

IMO, you're designing a solution for which there is no problem.

 

I used an old immersion chiller to make a pre-chiller for a counterflow. I can chill in 6 minutes while also transferring to a fermenter.

 

My point is that it only takes 10-20 minutes to chill the wort, including the kettle. That's not problematic. It would take at least a couple of minutes to move ten gallons of wort to another vessel. Imagine spraying down a hot, empty kettle with your garden hose. While I haven't tried it, I suspect it would cool down to near the water temp in well under the two minutes it would take to move the wort (Yes, that would be a valid demonstration. I can't explain the Physics involved. It's that 'Conservation of Energy' thing) . Then there's the additional time spent cleaning and sanitizing both the extra kettle and the chiller (the chiller doesn't need to be sanitized separately if you drop it in the boil kettle a few minutes before flameout). Granted, this could be done during the boil, so it doesn't add any time, but it's extra work, which I'm allergic to . Then there's yet another window of opportunity for infections to creep in.

An intriguing idea, to be sure. I just don't think it would yield any benefit.

 

The issues of hop aroma and DMS are also solved if you are chilling quickly. My entire volume gets to 70 degrees in minutes. Cold break is the only issue.

 

I use both...a small immersion chiller (in the boil kettle though) with whirlpooler and a counterflow chiller. It seems to cool well enough and as for the hops, just wait awhile before adding aroma/KO hops if you are worried about further isomerization. DMS should be a non-issue. I now wait to fire up my hot liquor tank for cleaning/recircing until the wort is in the fermentors, this added heat next to my boil kettle was slowing the cooling way down.

 

I did the same thing. Works like a champ. Not that this is any reason NOT to whirlpool, but if time is the primary concern, a pre-chiller makes all the difference in the world. It's also an absolute necessity, at least for me*.

*in the TX summer tap water would never be cool enough to get the wort below 70F, so the pre-chiller is also a necessity.

 

Instead of investing in an whirlpool chiller, I'd probably upgrade to a stainless steel kettle with an Aluminum false bottom... Just my $0.02.

 

Your aluminum pot isn't keeping your wort warmer than it should, it's your wort that's keeping your aluminum pot hot. Rather than another vessel, I would either upgrade your current pot, or purchase a pump and get the whirlpool jamil-o-chiller up an running.