Plate Chillers again

[Chris_S]

Is there a correct way to connect the water and wort pipes, or does it not make any difference.

I‘ve seen a photo whIch labels the water inlet on the opposite end to the wort inlet.

 

[Chippy_Tea]

I don't use one but the stand out thing is the different diameter of the connectors, i guess so you cannot get it wrong.

 

[Chris_S]

I don't use one but the stand out thing is the different diameter of the connectors, i guess so you cannot get it wrong.

Yep, got that, but does the entry port of both liquids make any difference to the cooling effect. Just to reiterate, my plate chiller has no labels such as in the photo.

 

[Chippy_Tea]

I will bow out now and let the experts sort this i am in territory i should not be in

 

[The-Engineer-That-Brews]

Yep, got that, but does the entry port of both liquids make any difference to the cooling effect. Just to reiterate, my plate chiller has no labels such as in the photo.

Yes, the direction of flow 100% definitely matters :-)

The thing that makes plate or any other kind of counterflow chillers so efficient is the way that they keep as high a temperature difference as possible between the two fluids, in different physical parts of the device. This maximises the amount of heat energy transferred (i.e. the cooling power).

A good description of this can be found in the following straightforward explanation by a manufacturer of industrial heat exchangers: What is counter flow? Why is it more efficient? - EJ Bowman

A less technical way of looking at this is as follows:

• When the fresh cooling water enters the device, it is running next to the host wort that has already flowed through (and therefore been cooled by) most of the rest of the device. Therefore the wort already at more-or-less the right temperature, and the fresh cool water just has to "finish the job off".
• Conversely at the other end of the device, really hot wort is flowing in, and is met by fairly hot cooling liquid that has already flowed through most of the rest of the device. However this 'fairly hot' cooling liquid also does a really important job of "taking the edge off" the really hot wort, meaning that the rest of the device has less work to do.

Hope that makes sense?

 

[The-Engineer-That-Brews]

Just to reiterate, my plate chiller has no labels such as in the photo.

Normally the IN and OUT connections appear at opposite physical ends to the device (like in the photo above)... if that's not clear then try a test run using hot and cold water, and see which direction works best.
The two paths themselves are completely symmetrical - i.e. you can swap the IN as the OUT if you like, just so long as you have the 'other' half of it connected oppositely.

Sorry, that sounds confusing. For example if you feed wort in on the left, then you should feed cooling water in from the right (or visa versa)

 

[Chris_S]

Normally the IN and OUT connections appear at opposite physical ends to the device (like in the photo above)... if that's not clear then try a test run using hot and cold water, and see which direction works best.
The two paths themselves are completely symmetrical - i.e. you can swap the IN as the OUT if you like, just so long as you have the 'other' half of it connected oppositely.

Sorry, that sounds confusing. For example if you feed wort in on the left, then you should feed cooling water in from the right (or visa versa)

Totally understood, just wanted a simple explanation. Hot in one end, cold at the other, simple

 

[Chris_S]

Sorted all the connections, but have a small leak from the wort ports. Best method to seal them? I’ve applied white PTFE but still it leaks.

Have I not wrapped enough, or is there a more suitable tape to use?

 

[The-Engineer-That-Brews]

More tape is probably the answer, unless the connectors are meant to have an ‘O’ ring in them to seal up against the end of the threaded part…?

If you don’t mind leaving the connectors (semi)permanently attached, then you can put silicone sealant in the threads

 

[foxbat]

put silicone sealant in the threads

Not advisable unless you're very sure you've got a food grade sealant safe at beer pH. The VOCs in ordinary sealant are toxic.

 

[Chris_S]

Guess it’s more wraps then

 

[simon12]

What type of fitting are you using?

 

[Chris_S]

What type of fitting are you using?

Camlocks

 

[AdeDunn]

Just a tip, if you swap which side you use for wort, and which for water (if you can, mine has the same sized connections each side), each time you brew, it basically means you are flushing the chiller through for an extending period each brew day, in addition to your normal cleaning cycle. I find that it helps, giving it an extended rinse.

Oh and yeah, if you have a bit of a leak, more PTFE tape. :) You may find that you need to replace it every now and then too. Moving things around seems to wear it.

Photo just to break up the wall of text.

 

[Chris_S]

Wort ports are 1/2” water are 1” unfortunately

 

[The-Engineer-That-Brews]

Yeah, plate chillers benefit from a bit more flushing than pipe-in-pipe ones.
Personally I've made up a little adapter from 3/8 tube to 1/2" BSP so that once I've finished chilling I can fit the hose to the wort side and give it a good flush through :-)

 

[private4587]

wish i had a penny for every leak that i had come across were more tape was applied in attempt to fix the leak. It is a BIG no no. strip the joint, clean it ensuring all remains of tape removed, use liquid sealant such as loctite and leave to cure

 

[Chris_S]

Oh and yeah, if you have a bit of a leak, more PTFE tape. :)

Simplest solutions are the best, re-wrapped with several more turns and sorted it, even with the pressure from the ‘Zilla recirc pump running full bore for over 30 minutes.