Plate chiller for a hop head?

[arborman]

I like doing big hoppy beers, and my IC chiller is quite slow. Been thinking of upgrading to a plate chiller, but hear lots of stories about them getting clogged. Any tips/advice on upgrading to a plate chiller? Thanks!

 

[tre9er]

Consider a CFC. That's the direction I'm going. Fast cooling, larger opening for particulate matter to pass.

 

[arborman]

I was looking at those..... Do they require a pump on the wort side? They seem pretty pricy also, but may be the best way to go so I'm not worried about clogs in a plate chiller!

 

[Pratzie]

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004D50LO8/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

I got this with my income tax refund. It kicks serious ass. Had some issues getting it to flow at a good rate since I had it on two milk crates and was using a diptube but once I figured out how low I had to get it below my keggle, its been good. Chills it really fast and the OD of the copper tubing is 3/8" so it provides a good flow rate against the water. I have very cold natural tap water so im actual getting below the desired pitching temp this time of year.

 

[tre9er]

I was looking at those..... Do they require a pump on the wort side? They seem pretty pricy also, but may be the best way to go so I'm not worried about clogs in a plate chiller!

I'm building one. The rubber hose cost me $20 shipped from Amazon (prime) and I had the 25' of copper 3/8" coil already, but I think that cost me $30?? at Homeboy Depot.

The fittings will cost another, $10 or so...so well under $100 and it will chill to pitching temp in one pass. No you don't need a pump provided you have it all set-up properly gravity wise ie.

Kettle
CFC
Fermenter

 

[MidTNJasonF]

I love my plate chiller and I love big hop IPA beers. Never had an issue. I use pellet hops for pretty much all kettle additions. I have a large hop spider/hop bag that is a 5 gallon paint strainer bag. I also have a Bazooka Tee screen on the bottom of my pick up tube. I get close to zero hop mater in my chiller. With ground water temps in the low 60's I can drop boiling wort (with the burner still on) down to ~70-72º out of the plate chiller. If I recirculate ice water with a cheap harbor freight pond pump I can reach lager fermentation temperatures straight out of the plate chiller.

 

[Schumed]

I love my plate chiller and I love big hop IPA beers. Never had an issue. I use pellet hops for pretty much all kettle additions. I have a large hop spider/hop bag that is a 5 gallon paint strainer bag. I also have a Bazooka Tee screen on the bottom of my pick up tube. I get close to zero hop mater in my chiller. With ground water temps in the low 60's I can drop boiling wort (with the burner still on) down to ~70-72º out of the plate chiller. If I recirculate ice water with a cheap harbor freight pond pump I can reach lager fermentation temperatures straight out of the plate chiller.

This

Hop Spider is the way to go

 

[kombat]

I use a 300 micron cylindrical hop screen (from Chad at Arbor Fabricating) to contain my pellet hop additions, and I also have a Hop Stopper fitted to the outlet of my boil kettle. The combination prevents virtually all hop matter and break matter from making it out of the kettle.

 

[OneHoppyGuy]

Best product is the Trub Filter sold by Brewers Hardware. We have included these on several systems.
Be sure to ALWAYS back you plate chiller after use.

 

[arborman]

Best product is the Trub Filter sold by Brewers Hardware. We have included these on several systems.
Be sure to ALWAYS back you plate chiller after use.

Wow, that thing is sexy!

 

[MidTNJasonF]

Sexy but there are several reports of it clogging fairly easily and badly with pellet hops here on this forum.

 

[krenshaw]

i 2nd the hop spider with the 5gallon bags.. they hold an awful lot of hops and i only get a minimal amount that seeps through, though that usually means i just need to replace the bag.. like $5 for 2 at lowes