How good are Therminators?

[BarnBrian]

Disregarding the price, how good are Therminators. Do they bring the temperature down as fast as claimed.
Any Pros and Cons?

Brian

 

[simon12]

Assuming you mean this https://www.blichmannengineering.com/products/therminator its a normal plate chiller. Yes they cool very quickly but are hard to clean and will need a pump to use and clean. I would only recommend if you already have a setup that uses a pump and has a very good hop filter and even then if your doing 50l batches or less any time saved cooling will be used cleaning it. If you are still considering it the counter flow chiller you get for the grain father or home made version are much better for cleaning and not getting clogged up but are much bigger.

 

[JonBrew]

I've heard that as far as plate chillers go the Therminator is one of the easiest to clean - cleaning issues of course being one of the main drawbacks to plate chillers - but I have no direct experience.

Out of interest though, why not go for an immersion chiller?

 

[BarnBrian]

I've heard that as far as plate chillers go the Therminator is one of the easiest to clean - cleaning issues of course being one of the main drawbacks to plate chillers - but I have no direct experience.

Out of interest though, why not go for an immersion chiller?

I've already got an immersion chiller but I was just looking at cooling quicker and use less water. In addition my toybox is just about full of shiny things and I've got a spare £200 which would just about make the box full.

 

[Dads_Ale]

I imported one of these from the US. Will cool down to cooling water temp in one pass, use minimal water, in fact you have to be careful you don't overchill.

Obviously you have to add on import duties to the price, but it is a nice bit of kit. I did adapt it for gravity flow which just meant putting the gauge at the bottom.

https://www.exchilerator.com/product/maxx-counterflow-wort-chiller/

 

[MyQul]

I imported one of these from the US. Will cool down to cooling water temp in one pass, use minimal water, in fact you have to be careful you don't overchill.

Obviously you have to add on import duties to the price, but it is a nice bit of kit. I did adapt it for gravity flow which just meant putting the gauge at the bottom.

https://www.exchilerator.com/product/maxx-counterflow-wort-chiller/

A couple of place have them on pre-order. I dont know wether that means they will be getting some in, wait till the've got enough orders till they buy a load or order one specially for the custoomer though

 

[JonBrew]

I've already got an immersion chiller but I was just looking at cooling quicker and use less water. In addition my toybox is just about full of shiny things and I've got a spare £200 which would just about make the box full.

The using less water thing makes a lot of sense. I cringe every time I use my immersion chiller thinking about the amount of water I run through it trying to cool a batch.

 

[Dads_Ale]

A couple of place have them on pre-order. I dont know wether that means they will be getting some in, wait till the've got enough orders till they buy a load or order one specially for the custoomer though

Was that somewhere in the UK?. I ordered direct from the manufacturer as couldn't find any outlets over here.

The grainfather chiller is also very good if you could get it separately.

 

[MyQul]

Was that somewhere in the UK?. I ordered direct from the manufacturer as couldn't find any outlets over here.

The grainfather chiller is also very good if you could get it separately.

I googled therminator as I didnt know what one was and a couple of UK HBS links came up

https://www.the-home-brew-shop.co.uk/acatalog/Blichmann-Therminator.html

https://www.brewuk.co.uk/blichmannther.html

 

[Mungri]

Was that somewhere in the UK?. I ordered direct from the manufacturer as couldn't find any outlets over here.

The grainfather chiller is also very good if you could get it separately.

You can get the Grainfather chiller from here https://www.brewstore.co.uk/grainfather-wort-chiller
£135.00
I haven’t had a good look though, may be able to get it a bit cheaper.
The counterflow chiller is what I like most about the Grainfather.
Knocks spots off my immersion chiller.

 

[LeeH]

I'm sure they are the dogs.

I've just cooled 45L from 95 t0 18 in 20 mins, could have done it quicker too with the one below.

https://www.brewbuilder.co.uk/125kw-30-plate-chiller.html

 

[Sbond10]

Theres a helpful guide in the how to section on building your own cfc

 

[James]

Yes it brings the temp down fast, I usually throttle back the cold flow to avoid over chilling. Gravity flow from my Braumeister.
I am careful to avoid hop matter - it’s great in combination with a hop rocket!
However - I’m going to make an immersion chiller to try the alternative and to leave cold break behind.
I bought mine from More Beer in the US when the pound was stronger but the CA sales tax was a blow.
I bought two of the back flush hoses as the easiest way of getting a full set of correct connectors and I always back flush straight after use. I do worry about what lurks inside it.

 

[DCBC]

I imported one of these from the US. Will cool down to cooling water temp in one pass, use minimal water, in fact you have to be careful you don't overchill.

Obviously you have to add on import duties to the price, but it is a nice bit of kit. I did adapt it for gravity flow which just meant putting the gauge at the bottom.

https://www.exchilerator.com/product/maxx-counterflow-wort-chiller/

Hello! Sorry for reviving an old post but I was wondering if I could ask if the exchilerator fits the standard UK garden tap fitting (3/4 BSP I think?) without any adaptation?

I currently have a dedicated copper pipe in my brewery which is earmarked for chilling only, so I can do what I like with it in terms of taps/fittings etc., so if I am going to go for the Exchilerator (and this seems likely based on everything I have read!) then I may as well set the plumbing up to take it!

Cheers!