Plate chiller?

[Jiffy176]

Thinking of going for a plate chiller.
Question is for 20l brews what size do I actually need. How many plate.
Thanks.

 

[RichardM]

I've got this one https://www.themaltmiller.co.uk/product/stainless-steel-plate-chiller-kit/?v=79cba1185463
It does a good job of chilling 20l of wort. Depending on the temperature of the water (colder in winter) I have to adjust the flow of the wort.

 

[JockyBrewer]

What do you currently use?

Plate chillers are great for 50 litre+ brews, but at 20 litres they’re a hassle to clean and sanitise compared to an immersion chiller.

 

[RichardM]

What do you currently use?

Plate chillers are great for 50 litre+ brews, but at 20 litres they’re a hassle to clean and sanitise compared to an immersion chiller.

But chill the wort much quicker and don't use as much water

 

[JockyBrewer]

Personally I found jiggling the immersion chiller for a few minutes way quicker. The cleaning/sanitising made the plate chiller take much longer overall.

When you do 50+ litres the immersion chiller is too slow, although even then I’d probably get a counter flow chiller over a plate chiller.

 

[Sadfield]

Beyond speed of cooling.

It might be worth considering how you kettle hop your beers before deciding. If you hop at flame out, whirlpool at say 75°C or steap hops as you cool then the logistics and result of that will change with the kinetics of time and temperature change. Also, more trub of hot and cold break will end up in your fermenter, which may or may not matter to you.

 

[MashBag]

But chill the wort much quicker and don't use as much water

Absolutely not. See jaded copper coils.
They are the faster and easier to clean.

Tbh. Unless you have to, I would not chill. Just leave it overnight to chill.

 

[Agentgonzo]

Absolutely not. See jaded copper coils.
They are the faster and easier to clean.

That's an unfair comparison as the jaded chiller is huge and contains an enormous length/mass of copper compared with the plate chillers. I'm pretty sure that if you daisy chained sufficient number of plate chillers together so that it was comparable with the length/mass of the jaded chiller, then the plate chiller cluster would beat the immersion chiller hands down.

 

[MashBag]

Yeah. I reckon physics would agree with you. Plate chillers are just terrible they have there place but small batches ain't it, perhaps another example of commercial boys use it so it must be right.

 

[MashBag]

Thinking of going for a plate chiller.

Can I ask why?

 

[RichardM]

Yeah. I reckon physics would agree with you. Plate chillers are just terrible they have there place but small batches ain't it, perhaps another example of commercial boys use it so it must be right.

Well I brew small (20 litre) batches and my plate chiller cools the wort much quicker than my immersion chiller and is easy to clean and sanitise.

 

[lancon]

Yeah. I reckon physics would agree with you. Plate chillers are just terrible they have there place but small batches ain't it, perhaps another example of commercial boys use it so it must be right.

I think I agree there, commercial plate chiller can be taken apart. Always had a problem with mine, now use counterflow chiller, good buy.
A thread on commercial and historical methods, and reasons for, that are used would be interesting .

 

[Brewshed]

I am very happy with my plate chiller. It cools a 22 litre batch down to pitching temp in about 10 minutes. I often have a hop addition at flame out but have a false bottom in my kettle so never have problems with blocking. I make sure I flush it through with plenty of hot water as soon as I can after use and sterilise it before use by filling it with two changes of boiling water over a 30 minute period (I don't have a pump so cannot circulate boiling wort through it as some do).

 

[MashBag]

I buggered about will all of them a few years ago. immersion x 2 with Pump on & pump off, plate, counter flow and ice.

Is worth noting not all coils are the same. Pump on makes a difference. So did copper over stainless.

Also everyone's setup if different. Some brew indoors some out, some both. Different configurations, recipes, time, objectives even shoes

But to my mind there were 2 stand out points.
"No chilling" is quickest & easiest.
Secondly if you can chill quicker than a jaded coil, you have invented time travel

 

[Sadfield]

How can no chill be quickest, if you have to leave it for hours?

 

[The Baron]

I think Mash is referring to the process Sadfield, it obviously not quicker in real time. I do it to save on water and time in the brew day

 

[Sadfield]

But the process isn't quicker, it's just delaying the next step until another day.

 

[Jiffy176]

I can't do no chill due to time.

So I picked up this from a guy that used to work in a brewery for a bargain.

I ran a caustic soda solution through it both ways for about 45 mins yesterday and then followed by a water flush then pbw for 45 mins followed by a hot water flush.

I will stick it in the bottom of the oven next time it is on amd then run some chem san through it prior to use.
Question being. The pbw went green/ blue after a while.
I've never used it before and a but of googling suggests it is the pbw reacting with organics in the chiller.
In this case do I need to run more of it??

 

[lmbollinger]

I have a 20 plate chiller. For me, this doesn't get a 20L batch down to pitching temp unless using a kviek or belgian strain.

The advantage for me is that it's easy to store and works with the flow of my brewhouse (i.e. garage). Hot break and hop material will make it through the kettle filter and into the chiller even with a false bottom and bazooka screen. I collect the hot water runoff and run it back through to clean the unit immediately after use and have never had contamination issues.

Ultimately, it's never about copying a pro brewery setup, just find what works for your needs.

 

[lmbollinger]

I can't do no chill due to time.

So I picked up this from a guy that used to work in a brewery for a bargain.

I ran a caustic soda solution through it both ways for about 45 mins yesterday and then followed by a water flush then pbw for 45 mins followed by a hot water flush.

I will stick it in the bottom of the oven next time it is on amd then run some chem san through it prior to use.
Question being. The pbw went green/ blue after a while.
I've never used it before and a but of googling suggests it is the pbw reacting with organics in the chiller.
In this case do I need to run more of it??

I thought the discoloration came from prolonged contact of the cleaner with the copper. I'd run liquid through to make sure none of that is coming out of the unit, especially on the wort side.