Proper way to use a Plate chiller

[orion7144]

I have had good success using my plate chiller till my last batch when my ground water has gone up 10 degrees to 71f. My normal chill time was less than 20min for a 15 gallon batch. I would recirc my wort to the top of the boil kettle on full blast until I would get close to 100F (usually I would see 115-120 coming out of the chiller back into the pot when first turned on) then dial down the output till I was in the 68f range and go right to the conical. This last time took me almost an hour for this process. Made my normal 4 hour brew day extended to 5.

I still have my old immersion chiller so I will probably use the ice batch method next brew day. If I do choose this method is it still normal to chill the wort down by reciring first then add the IC t the ice or just try a one pass?

Here is how my chiller is oriented on the top tier


water in water out
chiller
wort out wort in

 

[passedpawn]

I use mine almost the exact same way (recirc for about 5 minutes to get the kettle temp down to about 150, then decrease flow and redirect into fermentors).

Since I use my poolwater for chilling, and I don't use ice, I can only get the wort down to about 85-90 in the summer.

I just toss the fermentors into the chest freezer and they are at pitching temps in only a few hours. Then I pitch yeast.

 

[orion7144]

Yea I may have to stop using the conical during the summer and use buckets. That will be a PITA so I may try the IC in an ice bath.

 

[mpride1911]

I recirculate it against ground water until it hits 100ish. At that point I switch the input to the cooling side of the plate chiller via ball valves and begin to recirculate ice water from my HLT. It works pretty good for me. I haven't timed it yet though, maybe I will tomorrow.

 

[Bobby_M]

Yup... even knocking the whole kettle down to 140-150F is a good start and then feed the plate chiller with icewater and go direct run to the fermenter through there. If you don't have the second brewery pump, a submerssible pond pump makes a lot of sense.

 

[BigFloyd]

I've been using one of these - http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_792_792 to recirculate ice water out of a 5-gallon igloo cooler into my plate chiller after the wort gets down to around 85-90*F using hose water. Works fine.

 

[mpcluever]

+1 to recirc to anything under 170, then go to fermenter

 

[orion7144]

Yup... even knocking the whole kettle down to 140-150F is a good start and then feed the plate chiller with icewater and go direct run to the fermenter through there. If you don't have the second brewery pump, a submerssible pond pump makes a lot of sense.

I was just browsing your site as usual and came across your whirlpool tube. Is this how you recommend to recirc or should the recirc be higher in the kettle?

 

[Cerealkiller]

Question:

Can you freeze the actual plate chiller in the freezer? i'm thinking setting the whole chiller into a container filled with water and letting it freeze, like a giant block of ice but with the top just exposed so I can connect the fittings.

will this damage it internally? i have never used a plate chiller, and i don't want to kill the thing.

 

[mpride1911]

Question:

Can you freeze the actual plate chiller in the freezer? i'm thinking setting the whole chiller into a container filled with water and letting it freeze, like a giant block of ice but with the top just exposed so I can connect the fittings.

will this damage it internally? i have never used a plate chiller, and i don't want to kill the thing.

I'm pretty sure that won't work. The point of the chiller is to have cool water constantly flowing in the opposite direction of the hot wort. It's not like a car radiator that's heat transferring with the outside air. So the outside of the plate chiller won't have that much effect. In fact the input side of the plate chiller will get close to 200 degrees and melt the ice.

 

[lpdjshaw]

I noticed the last time I chilled I ran the cool water from the output side of the chiller back onto the chiller itself and got a 2-3 degree drop in temp.

 

[orion7144]

So I used old IC in ice water after getting down to 110 in the pot and was able to cool 16 gallons to 69 under 20 min this time vs just over an hour last batch. I noticed that if I stirred the water around the IC it lowered the temp by 5 degrees.