Therminator Users?

[EskiBrew]

if im honest my main concern is ensuring that the thing is clean after use

The main concern should be to stop stuff (hop debris) getting into it in the first place, as once in, it can be impossible to get out. The clearance between plates can be 0.5mm, so anything larger can get stuck :thumb:

You need a SS filter :lol:

 

[Vossy1]

You need a SS filter

:lol:
I/we may be able to help you there Wez, (V speaks for EB)....as it happens :lol:

 

[Wez]

Talk to me..

 

[Vossy1]

1st and only rule of sealed plate chiller club...don't let stuff into you spc.
Sealed plate chillers are fine, but ideally they need a pre filter, as do gasketed plate chillers. You can use them without one but beware, if stuff gets in it may not get out.
Whirl pooling, standing, or using a hop back are great preventative measures, but none guarantee that particles big enough won’t through to get stuck inside the chiller.

There's a lot of advice about forward and reverse flushing when using spc's for brewing, however, reverse flushing should never be required it the pc is kept clear of particulate in the first place. As always prevention is better then cure, with sealed pc's there may be no cure, whereas with gasketed pc's you can always take it apart and clean it :thumb:

Talk to me

Presently in the process of making suitably rated ss filters for use with a pc, as the quotes I received were horrendous :shock:
Pm for details :thumb:

 

[Vossy1]

It would be a lot cheaper and easier for you to change your copper pipe boiler manifold to a hop stopper
Very easy to make and the mesh company
a shop in Warrington, sell the mesh on E-bay or direct :thumb:

 

[ano]

Couldn't you use something like a fuel filter? The same concept anyway:

edit: damn the yank spellings! it's not my pic.

 

[Wez]

I've just given this a test drive ....

I'm very impressed from boiling to 17c at first - had to adjust cold water & 'wort' flow to get it to come out at 22c.

Hoping to give it a proper test tomorrow.

 

[Vossy1]

 

[A T]

Nice on centurion, nice one :thumb:

 

[Smod]

It would be a lot cheaper and easier for you to change your copper pipe boiler manifold to a hop stopper
Very easy to make and the mesh company
a shop in Warrington, sell the mesh on E-bay or direct :thumb:

The company I'm contracting for make industrial filters for water companies etc and they have some offcuts of mesh screen that I've taken. If you only need a small amount it's easy to get. I got about a couple of offcuts at approx 30cm x 30cm of very fine mesh. The idea would be to put it in a hop strainer tube as a secondary filter which could be taken out and cleaned.

Wez, if you want some I've got a few different sizes you can look. Have whatever you need.

 

[jamesb]

Vossy, did you ever look at UK Exchangers?

 

[Vossy1]

Nope, not seen that one jb, thanks for the heads up, I'll get in touch with them and compare units and prices :thumb:

 

[jamesb]

Let us know what you find out. I've been looking around at gasketted PHEs all morning and haven't got much further.

 

[fivetide]

I've had my eyes on a therminator for a while, but haven't seen 'em for less than £188 anywhere...

Anyone?

I saw one at a micro about a year ago, and they are very compact compared to other small scale plate chillers I've seen. You can sanitise them in your boiler, apparently...

 

[fivetide]

Wez - how do you use the Therminator in practice? Do you just let your copper settle after the brew, take some runnings and returns, then let the hot bitter wort flow through the Therminator directly to your fermenter? In which case, where does the cold break occur that you'd normally leave in the copper. I don;t understand the process properly :hmm: Apologies for dumb questions!

 

[ano]

It's true that cold break will end up in your FV but it will settle to the bottom as it would have done in the kettle. IMO this should not be feared.

 

[highwayman]

How about this then for a mixture of H & G and The famous Hop Stopper!!!

Dead easy to do...and it works really well. I used the Warrington Company for the SS Mesh. I cut down the H & G Hop Strainer. One A4 size sheet folded in half then hammered closed on 3 sides!! Made a pocket and pushed the Hop Strainer in and closed it up!! Easy and effective

 

[ano]

That wouldn't filter out cold break if the wort hadn't yet been cooled. Still good though :thumb:

 

[A T]

Nice bit of work highwayman :thumb:

 

[Wez]

It looks like he's so pleased with it, he framed it :grin:

Nice one HWM :thumb: