Sat, 06/18/2011 - 19:31 — PHB2234
My old econo CFC is on its last legs. Time for a new wort chiller soon, so I thought I'd poll the readers for opinions or recommendations. I'm considering the Blichmann Therminator, or the Dudadiesel B3-12A or possibly the Chillus Convolutus from More Beer. Clearly the Dudadiesel has the edge on price only. Can anyone offer any other reasons for preferring one over any other here?
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I've been using the Therminator for the past few years. It's awesome at doing what it's supposed to, but it is a pain in the neck to keep clean, and almost impossible to dry fully. If I brew frequently enough it's not that big a deal, but if it sits unused for a few months it tends to funkify. Pumping hot PBW through it before every brew is pretty much a must.
My personal use is a Heart's Homebrew Super Chiller and have for pretty much my whole career.
I agree with Jimmy about my concerns with any of the plate chillers.
The other thing to explore is the new form of "whirlpool immersion chiller" concept that people have started using recently. The shop system uses one.
Either which way, I'd also recommend finding a way to get really cold. Some folks use an IC with regular water until the temp is around 100 and then use a pond pump to push ice water through the IC to really drop the temp hard. Others (like me) - pump from the kettle into a CFC and then out to an IC sitting in an ice bath.
The nice thing with either method is you can push your beer down to 60 or less even with lousy hot LA ground water.
It turns out that what I referred to in my original post as an econo CFC was in fact a Heart's Homebrew Super Chiller. I've probably had mine about as long as Drew has had his. Last time I used it, there was a pin hole cold water leak that sprayed water onto my garage floor. I was able to fix it by soldering a copper patch over what turns out to be a rust hole in the steel T fitting at one end of the large tube. But it's days are clearly numbered. Moral here: if you don't drain absolutely all of the cold water out of your chiller and also let it sit in a horizontal position between brew sessions, then you can expect it to rust out after several years. Thus the attraction to me of an all copper version, the Chillus Convolutus or one of the two stainless steel plate chillers. Thanks to those who have commented. Anyone else got any thoughts here?
I have used the Blichmann Therminator because it works so well. However, it clogs easily. I found that if I don't clear my line before running through the Therminator, it clogs. That's not that difficult to accomplish, but you should be aware.
For cleaning I run the remaining hot water from the liquor tank. To sterilize, I use super hot, boiling prefered from the liquor tank before running wort through it. So far it is working great.
Good Luck,
David
I've been impressed with the whirlpool immersion method employed on the shop system. It cools everything in place pretty quickly and it minimizes the problem of long-trailing off from bittering in the later hop additions as the wort remaining in the pot stays hot as you run off. It just requires the longest copper coil you can fit in your pot and a pump.