Which plate chiller

[Belter]

I am going to buy a German plate chiller from Wiltec.

Something like http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll? ... 257wt_1180

Just curious as there is a vast amount of plates and KW sizing etc. Which one is the definitive Plate Chiller for home use. I currently only have a 5Gallon Set up but intend on expanding to 100L in the next year. I will only ever be on a standard mains water supply from my house.

Has anyone tried and tested these and which one did you go for?

Anything else I need to consider? Flow control, adapters etc.

Cheers

Belter

 

[graysalchemy]

Rob themaltmiller does a 60 plate 130kw one for £79 which ithink is a fair price. It is also similar size and plate number to ones recomende on here. :thumb:

 

[Belter]

Looking at posts some people recommend a 30 as it has a larger surface area?

 

[Northern Brewer]

I use a 66kw Wiltec and if I turn up the cold water flow, turn down the wort flow to a couple of litres a minute or so (which I find helps with aeration in the FV) then I can get it down from the post boil rest of just over 90c down to low 20c in one hit. That was in this years "summer" which was pretty crap in the Pennines. To be safe I would go a bit higher if buying again, somewhere near a hundred.

Also important to get the pipes connected the right way round, I find if I've connected them the wrong way round then I get around mid thirties swap the cold flow and return around and get low twenties. I will label them eventually

Cheers
NB

 

[Aleman]

I have this 60 Plate one which works ok in my 100-150L setup. . . . if I had my time again, I would go for fewer plates and a larger size Such as this 30 Plate model

What I've found over time is that once past a certain number of plates is that you don't get any more cooling, and the size of the plates becomes much more important.

 

[The Goatreich]

Are these overkill for a 5 gallon plastic setup? The cooling stage is the most frustrating for me and to get the wort down to a pitchable temperature quickly would be great.

 

[Springer]

Great things a counter flow cooler, I have a simple 10m, coiled pipe down a hose set up, which works well.
The thing is these things need carefull cleaning and sanitising, I use oxi and videne but it is a faff, need to sort a small dosing tank. :hmm:
A, has documented his cleaning regieme somewhere but I can't find it . :? (Wouldn't work of my copper anyway. :lol: )
How easy is it to get these block up, what is the space between the plates?

How about different fitting on the ends to stop you getting :? NB.

 

[Northern Brewer]

Hi Springer

Cleaning a plate chiller isn't too bad, just don't leave anything in them afterwards, especially if its acidic as you will get electrolytic action resulting in copper salts forming and a nice metallic tang to your beer :sick:

I use one of Aleman Inventions Incorporated hop filters so only get very fine powdered bits of hop through the plate chiller. I've found as long as I wash it through in both directions then I have no issues.

My method is once the wort is in the FV, clean out all the solids out of the vessels as usual then I put a solution of hot oxy through my pumps, plate chiller etc from my boiler into my mashtun, swapping the direction of flow through the plate chiller half way. I then use the resulting oxy on other stuff like bottles or cornies. I then pump hot water from my HLT through the same system into the mash tun then back into the boiler to rinse this then finish off with cold.

The cold water connections on the plate heat exchanger are 3/4" BSP, I may convert this to 1/2" BSP and put on some camlocks and put a blob of blue paint on one to show where the input should be.

Cheers
NB

 

[Belter]

Are these overkill for a 5 gallon plastic setup? The cooling stage is the most frustrating for me and to get the wort down to a pitchable temperature quickly would be great.

As far as I'm aware the size is pretty irrelevant. As it cools 'on the fly' you could either put 5 gallons through it or 100L and it will do the same job. Is this correct?

 

[Northern Brewer]

I think that sums it up - its happy doing 5 or 500 litres - unless your on a water meter then it ge's a tad expensive :shock:

 

[Springer]

For what its worth, my opinion Goat, is that they are not worthwhile for five gallons, to much cleaning for the extra efficiency. :)
NB, I did a trial today and can videne my cooler coil with 1 litre of solution, fed from the mash tun, that will do for me. :thumb:
Your idea of a bleed off on the pump outlet is the best thing I have heard for a long time, not just on this forum. :thumb: :lol:
Never mind the bleed off bit, it absolutly the dogs whats its, close to my heart,

:lol: for draining the system, without just undoing couplings.

Don't know why I didn't think of it myself.............

maybe.
S

 

[Northern Brewer]

Aye - its true, it doesn't get much easier than dunking an immersion chiller in boiling wort and only running water through it. Very easy to clean. However as I have herms and pumps then i need to clean it all out anyway so sticking a plate chiller in't middle is much more of a faff.

Glad to see the bleed valve worked for you S

I have them on my Totton and will be sticking them on the solar pumps. I've got my feelers with a parastaltic pump manufacturer near Doncaster that sounds promising.

 

[Belter]

Aye - its true, it doesn't get much easier than dunking an immersion chiller in boiling wort and only running water through it. Very easy to clean. However as I have herms and pumps then i need to clean it all out anyway so sticking a plate chiller in't middle is much more of a faff.

Glad to see the bleed valve worked for you S

I have them on my Totton and will be sticking them on the solar pumps. I've got my feelers with a parastaltic pump manufacturer near Doncaster that sounds promising.

Have you done a post on bleed valves?

 

[Northern Brewer]

Not specifically B, just menitoned in a post about pumps and their annoying habit of stopping being a pumpa at merest bubble.

A little bleed valve is far easier than taking off a pipe - and safer with hot wort.