Plate chiller advice needed

Titch · Aug 31, 2013

Been a while since my last post here so apologies,

i need advice and a supplier of a plate chiller ?

can i know all the usual suspects but any GREAT ones out there
thanks

Fil · Aug 31, 2013

Its something thats been on and off my wishlist for a while

, and the usual suspects have the best ive seen in the uk rob at the maltmiller and Mrlard at the homebrewbuilder.. both stock monsters with High Kw rating and low plate count which afaik should give you the best chill and flowrate and make flushing out after use more effective,

the downside with these other than cost is size so a standard pressure cooker may not be big enough for that particular sterility procedure.
but if you want to you could look at pressure canners imported from the US via ebay? but from what ive seen they are not exactly a budget item either..

Its also worth looking at a 2ndary filter like a Ystrainer to stick inline to catch anything before the plate chiller just in case..

It would also be nice to have em sold complete with connection options for both beer and water feeds after all your gonna have to use something to connect it up.

sorry i seem to have sidetracked onto a whinge about cost creep

well it is the reason i keep pulling the plate chiller off my wish list ..

thing is people buy em cos they do work well.

tazuk · Aug 31, 2013

i got my plate chiller 80 plate from malt miller its the dogs dangly bits

i love it :thumb:

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Southcoastjim · Sep 4, 2013

I'm in the process of ordering one from Mr Lard, who has proved extremely helpful with the questions I've been throwing at him.... I have been tempted into ordering cam and groove connections for the wort side though!

I don't have an external water tap at home, if I buy a garden hose for the water side does anyone know if it would connect to a kitchen or bathroom tap?

(Sorry for jumping on your thread but I think the answer could be helpful for others?)

Jim

nobyipa · Sep 4, 2013

see my
connecting a wort chiller to a mixer tap
thread

Runwell-Steve · Sep 4, 2013

Hi Titch

I'm also in the market for a plate chiller having just returned to brewing and reminding myself that my Immersion chiller really isn't up the the job of 10 gallon batches.

I had been looking at the Malt Millers ones, but they have the problem of being a bit too big to put in a pressure cooker, (not that I have one)

So I was looking at the one MrLard sells, the 50 plate 100kW one which should cool all my wort in about 15 minutes hopefully.

http://www.homebrewbuilder.co.uk/cooling.html

I don't know if this will fit in a pressure cooker, but if it doesn't are there other ways of cleaning it, Can't I just run some Oxy clean through it then rinse it out with either videne or starsan before use. Do i really need to stick it in the pressure cooker.

I'll be keeping an eye on this thread.

evanvine · Sep 4, 2013

I clean my CFC (similar to a plate chiller) with either thick bleach or Beer Line cleaner.
I leave it recirculating for an hour or so, then rinse with clean water.

Southcoastjim · Sep 4, 2013

Went to B&Q and bought the right connections for interior tap -> hose.

Screwed off the bottom of my tap and this is what I had.

So I bought one of these

Also bought a couple of extra normal tap connectors ready to fit my plate chiller when it arrives.

Hope that helps someone.

Runwell-Steve · Sep 5, 2013

What's this Ystrainer thing, anyone got a Linky.

I'm going for a 125 kW version from MrLard, and getting all my Camlocks while I'm at it :)

Fil · Sep 5, 2013

Runwell-Steve said:
What's this Ystrainer thing, anyone got a Linky.

I'm going for a 125 kW version from MrLard, and getting all my Camlocks while I'm at it :)

nice piccy here
http://www.oilybits.com/y-strainers-316 ... d_429.html
possibly cheaper elswhere and in brass,,

Cyclops · Sep 6, 2013

how much was the 125Kw version Steve?

Cyclops · Sep 6, 2013

That thing is a beast Aleman, think its a bit overkill for myself though, lol

Runwell-Steve · Sep 7, 2013

Cyclops said:
how much was the 125Kw version Steve?

The 125 kW 30 plate version is Â£82.50 from MrLard, I have just ordered mine along with a pile of CamLocks :)

Titch · Sep 7, 2013

ooohhhhhh

now can i class this as a business expense with the wife ( aka financial controller)

need some new elements aswell

i feel my CC melting

Baldbrewer · Sep 12, 2013

I have the 125KW version bought from Rob, if any one is struggling to source cam locks. I used a company called :

Colglo.co.uk they do the a good range of cam locks in stainless steel.

Excellent service too!

I am in no way affiliated with this company just a very happy customer my apologies if this breaks forums rules :wha:

Cheers, : cheers:

thedrayman · Sep 12, 2013

I concur with Baldbrewer about Colglo. Have used them on a few occasions and received a great, quick service from them. :thumb:

Runwell-Steve · Sep 15, 2013

I thought I'd do an update. I decided to get the 30 plate 125 kW chiller from MrLard. I ordered it last weekend and it arrived on Thursday along with a load of CamLocks, which I have wanted for a long time just never quite got round to ordering.

My first impression when the chiller arrived was I thought it was too small, I couldn't, and still can't understand how something so small can cool boiling water to pitching temperature quickly.

Yesterday was spent tinkering in the brewery and connecting everything up using the CamLocks, of course I messed up my planning and have had to order one extra CamLock. Luckily not a critical one, well not until brew day.

I did a test run to make sure everything was water tight and boiled up approx 40 litres of water in the boiler as I wanted to rinse the chiller through with boiling water.

After leak fixing, it was time to see if it worked, so I turned the cold tap on such that I had a steady flow of water going through, then opened the boiler tap fully and let it drain through the chiller into a spare fermenter. The whole 30 litres was out in under 10 minutes, I didn't actually time it, temperature in fermenter 20.7 degrees.

Here it is

Bridgewater Brewer · Sep 16, 2013

An interesting thread. Just some reflections from me. By necessity things have to be budget for me so I used a vaillant065123 heat exchanger from a combo boiler ( stainless) and Â£16 off eBay and frankly its amazingly effective. Fits in a pan to boil, connection are taken care of by Vossy's hose - stretched over the connection and with the hosepipe simply stuffed inside- I don't even use jubilee clips.

Filter wise, a cheap solution is stainless pan scourers stuffed in some 22mm pipe with soldered reducer one end and compression the other so you can take it out.

Hope this helps

Bridgewater

Dronfieldbrewer · Sep 17, 2013

sounds a daft question but is there a reason why we cannot use a heat exchanger from a combi boiler?? There are some proper bargains if so??

Dronfieldbrewer · Sep 17, 2013

sounds a daft question but is there a reason why we cannot use a heat exchanger from a combi boiler?? There are some proper bargains if so??

Plate chiller advice needed

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