39 replies to this topic

[zymot]

The big advantage a IM had is I can see how clean or how dirty it is. I sanitize it by putting in boiling wort.

A plate chiller and CFC you have to have a certain amount of faith that it is clean in there where I cannot see.

[HVB]

The big advantage a IM had is I can see how clean or how dirty it is. I sanitize it by putting in boiling wort.

A plate chiller and CFC you have to have a certain amount of faith that it is clean in there where I cannot see.

I can pump boiling wort through it. I get your point but I think the maintenance of a CFC is not as bad as many make it out to be. A plate is a different story.

[zymot]

I can pump boiling wort through it. I get your point but I think the maintenance of a CFC is not as bad as many make it out to be. A plate is a different story.

I was going back and forth. The $135 (now $105) Duda Diesel plate or the $160 Hydra. Then I saw a photo of a plate chiller cut in half. I said Hydra it is.

To get the Hydra's performance you have to satisfy a couple conditions. #1 sufficiently agitate the wort surrounding the coils. Most easily done by constantly moving the coil up and down. You cannot just drop the chiller in the wort, turn on the house and walk away. Also you have to push enough water through the chiller. JaDeD recommends a $65.00 sump pump from Home Depot.

Any chiller, a big factor is your source water temp and the pressure. Some of have to face the fact that we will need to acquire some ice.

[Bklmt2000]

I posted about this a while back, but one of the best upgrades I ever made was pairing my immersion chiller (ca. 2002; it's held up well) with an 1800-gal/hour sump pump.

 

After the boil, I use tap water thru the IC to knock the temps down to ~100°, then use a sump pump in a bucket of ice water to circulate super-cold water through the immersion chiller.

 

Works great, altho I'm very curious to see just how fast a Hydra, paired with my sump pump rig, could chill 5 gallons of boiling wort.

[denny]

I was going back and forth. The $135 (now $105) Duda Diesel plate or the $160 Hydra. Then I saw a photo of a plate chiller cut in half. I said Hydra it is.

To get the Hydra's performance you have to satisfy a couple conditions. #1 sufficiently agitate the wort surrounding the coils. Most easily done by constantly moving the coil up and down. You cannot just drop the chiller in the wort, turn on the house and walk away. Also you have to push enough water through the chiller. JaDeD recommends a $65.00 sump pump from Home Depot.

Any chiller, a big factor is your source water temp and the pressure. Some of have to face the fact that we will need to acquire some ice.

The best way to agitate the wort (if you have a pump) is to use their whirlpool arm.

[LeftyMPfrmDE]

I posted about this a while back, but one of the best upgrades I ever made was pairing my immersion chiller (ca. 2002; it's held up well) with an 1800-gal/hour sump pump.

After the boil, I use tap water thru the IC to knock the temps down to ~100°, then use a sump pump in a bucket of ice water to circulate super-cold water through the immersion chiller.

Works great, altho I'm very curious to see just how fast a Hydra, paired with my sump pump rig, could chill 5 gallons of boiling wort.

I have a like set up with a sump pump and the hydra In the dead of winter- 15 minutes from the boil to the mid 60s. This also uses a copper recirculation arm that moves the wort around the coil.

In the middle of summer, 20 minutes from boiling, to high 70s.

Edited by LeftyMPfrmDE, 29 December 2019 - 02:33 PM.

[zymot]

The best way to agitate the wort (if you have a pump) is to use their whirlpool arm.

Do you use the JaDeD Whirlpool arm?

 

I thought I read that JaDeD said that a whirlpool does not do the job and does not create enough wort movement.

[zymot]

At 1:20 Jaded  says a whirlpool is slightly slower than stirring.

 

 

My unscientific empirical testing procedure says that agitating the coil up and down is most effective. I base this on putting one hand on the water out side of the tubing, let the temp settle down. (takes a few seconds) When I stir, the temp rises up kind of slowly. When I move the coils up and down, you can feel the out side get hot much surprisingly quickly. Faster than I would guess the wort is traveling through the coli. Also, when I agitate, the output maintains a higher temp. Sometimes, too hot to hold with bare hands.

[denny]

Do you use the JaDeD Whirlpool arm?

 

I thought I read that JaDeD said that a whirlpool does not do the job and does not create enough wort movement.

I do indeed.  It works great for me.  Cut my chilling time in half, down to 6 min. from boiling to 63.

At 1:20 Jaded  says a whirlpool is slightly slower than stirring.

 

 

My unscientific empirical testing procedure says that agitating the coil up and down is most effective. I base this on putting one hand on the water out side of the tubing, let the temp settle down. (takes a few seconds) When I stir, the temp rises up kind of slowly. When I move the coils up and down, you can feel the out side get hot much surprisingly quickly. Faster than I would guess the wort is traveling through the coli. Also, when I agitate, the output maintains a higher temp. Sometimes, too hot to hold with bare hands.

It may be a little bit faster, but the hands off aspect is worth more than that to me.

[zymot]

It may be a little bit faster, but the hands off aspect is worth more than that to me.

If you want to do a simple experiment, try this. Set up as is your regular practice. Get the water flowing, the pump whirlpooling. Put a hand on the water exhaust tube and hold it. Get an idea of how hot the exhaust water is. Then left up the IM a few inches. Return it to the original position, left it up again, and return.

What do you feel? If the exhaust side gets hotter when you move the coil, that is the increase efficiency. If it cools when you stop moving the coil, that is the inefficiency.

The hard part is assigning a usable value to any changes you observe. OK, it got hotter, so what? How does that translate into real world cooling duration? And is the extra effort worth it?

When I did it with my conventional IM I was surprised by the amount of change in temperature and how quickly the change happened. Almost instant change.

[SchwanzBrewer]

I got myself a new dip tube for the kettle from anvil. I was using a bazooka screen but it was a pain in the butt. I couldn't whirlpool and it didn't really keep debris out of my plate chiller. The tube worked really well last night and I was able to empty the kettle without any debris. I almost got the blichmann whirlpool arm to use as a dip tube so I could get even closer to the edge of the kettle, nut it was $60 and the anvil dip tube was $18.

 

My next present to myself will be a new mash paddle. I need a wooden one so I avoid cutting my BIAB bag. Only needs to be another 3 or 4 inches bigger than a regular cooking spoon.

[zymot]

 

My next present to myself will be a new mash paddle. I need a wooden one so I avoid cutting my BIAB bag. Only needs to be another 3 or 4 inches bigger than a regular cooking spoon.

I had fun making my own mash paddle. Got a hunk of hickory, (maybe maple - I forget) roughly the size and shape of a paddle. Use a jig saw and cut it to shape. Got a paddle drill bit, drilled some holes and cut between the holes to make some slots. Next some filing to round the corners, and sand paper to smooth it out.

 

I got  a one of a kind paddle.

Edited by zymot, 01 January 2020 - 03:04 PM.

[SchwanzBrewer]

I found my old maple mash paddle. I had hung it on the wall in the office but took it down when we painted. Going to customize it tomorrow.

Cheers!

[SchwanzBrewer]

Modified my old mash paddle. Learned some lessons...

 

Lesson #1: Use sharp tools.

Spoiler

 

The hole bit tore out at the end. Should have gone to the store and got a proper drill.

 

Lesson #2: Tools are SHARP!

 

Spoiler

 

I have a combo 1" belt sander and disc sander and somehow I managed to reach into the disc sander with my thumb when I went to turn off the switch. It's not too bad, just an inch gash in my thumb about 1/16 deep.

[zymot]

Got the Hydra wort chiller. A magnificent beast it is.

Not going to be able to do any brewing this weekend. I can do some trial and measure what kind of flow rate I can get from my tap and my bilge pump. Also measure my winter tap temperature.

[Stout_fan]

I found my old maple mash paddle. I had hung it on the wall in the office but took it down when we painted. Going to customize it tomorrow.

Cheers!

Use a Forster bit on a drill press with a sacrificial board underneath. Set the depth stop so only the pilot goes through the board. Drill from the first side. A scratch Awl will help enlarge the pilot hole on the second side. Complete the hole from the second side. Even if off by a bit it will still look better. And if you feel like adding glitter to the paddle... Stop.. Just stop.

[SchwanzBrewer]

Use a Forster bit on a drill press with a sacrificial board underneath. Set the depth stop so only the pilot goes through the board. Drill from the first side. A scratch Awl will help enlarge the pilot hole on the second side. Complete the hole from the second side. Even if off by a bit it will still look better. And if you feel like adding glitter to the paddle... Stop.. Just stop.

Yeah you're a little late. I drilled it out and screwed it up along with my thumb on the belt sander.

It works better, it's just not pretty.

Should I use food grade mineral oil on it to seal the wood you think?

[Stout_fan]

My mash paddle is a cut down canoe paddle from wally world. I sanded off the poly on the lower part that comes into contact with the wort. I just rinse it off and let it air dry. The problem I think in using oil would be if any got into solution. We all know what oil does to foam stand. That said my paddle is 15 years old. It has a split in one end where I dropped it. It still works fine. IMHO, it's just a hunk of wood, don't overthink it.

[SchwanzBrewer]

Good point.

[denny]

If you want to do a simple experiment, try this. Set up as is your regular practice. Get the water flowing, the pump whirlpooling. Put a hand on the water exhaust tube and hold it. Get an idea of how hot the exhaust water is. Then left up the IM a few inches. Return it to the original position, left it up again, and return.

What do you feel? If the exhaust side gets hotter when you move the coil, that is the increase efficiency. If it cools when you stop moving the coil, that is the inefficiency.

The hard part is assigning a usable value to any changes you observe. OK, it got hotter, so what? How does that translate into real world cooling duration? And is the extra effort worth it?

When I did it with my conventional IM I was surprised by the amount of change in temperature and how quickly the change happened. Almost instant change.

sure, maybe so, but to what end?  How much faster than 6-8 min. do I really need?