Dip Tube or Kettle Screen for Plate Chiller Setup?

[shawnbou]

Dear Collected Wisdom of HBT,

I'm currently chilling with an IC and then draining my wort through a 1/2" ball valve and straining on the fermenter side. I have to tilt the kettle to get the last gallon or so of wort.

Sometime between now and next summer, I'm going to upgrade to a Duda 30-plate chiller and March/Chugger pump setup. I'm part-shopping now.

Question: Should I upgrade my kettle with a dip tube to pick up that last gallon of wort? Or with a kettle screen to keep trub out of the PC and pump?

I brew 5-gallon batches and primarily use hop pellets.

My initial thought was the kettle screen, but given that I use mostly pellets I'm not sure how much good the screen would do. And having the dip tube would potentially save me from losing prime on the pump when the wort drops below the valve.

Thanks!

 

[ArcaneXor]

Pellets clog the kettle screen fairly quickly (at least they did for me). Whirlpooling, followed by a 20-minute or so rest period, and then draining the kettle slowly via a dip tube should give you a pretty clear transfer.

Being in Texas, I would go with a bigger chiller. Here in Florida, my 30-plate Duda chiller requires recirculation for about 20 minutes to get the temp down to 85 degrees. Several of my homebrew shop compatriots use a Therminator and can achieve the same result with a single pass.

 

[shawnbou]

Thanks, ArcaneXor. It sounds like the dip tube is the way to go if I can whirlpool. Which I always try to do, but I can't tell how effective my whirlpool is now because I have to tilt the kettle to get the last bit out.

I failed to mention that I'll be using a pre-chiller in ice water to get my coolant water down. Do you still think I need a bigger plate chiller? The Therminator is a big jump up in price from the Duda 30 and I want to make sure it's going to be worth it.

Thanks!

 

[ArcaneXor]

Ice water will definitely help. You can recirc with tap water for a bit, then run off with the prechiller. That should work fine.

I should also mention my the wort is returned to the kettle via a piece of copper tubing that is bent to conform to the contours of my kettle. This creates a very effective whirlpool on its own.

 

[Barnesie]

In my opinion the "last bit" isn't worth the trouble of all the gunk that comes with it in either the fermenter or in the brew kettle. I use a side pickup tube and leave plenty in the brew kettle to minimize what I have to clean back out of my 30 plate chiller. I have a similar philosophy with fermenters, leave the last bit of beer in the bucket rather then pull a little bit of trub with it.