I’m all set up for 10 gallon batches. But I’ve been doing 5 gallon batches just so I can use my set up more often and I worry my coil copper chiller may not cool fast enough on 10 gallon.
So was just wondering which would be the best upgrade?
Plus with the 5 gallon batches, I’m running out before the next batch is ready… Yeah and thats not cool at all.
Any guidance would be much appreciated.
I still use an IC…. since I have a pump and whirl pool while chillin’, I don’t have any problems chillin’ 10 gallons under 15 minutes…… With that said, I have read some stuff about plate chiller and counter flow, and counter flow appeared to be the clear leader. Sneezles61
Plate chillers are more effective, but they’re more prone to clogging if you have loose hops or a lot of break material in your wort. They also can be more difficult to clean. But they really chill VERY effectively.
If you like to make things yourself, you can make an awfully nice CFC with copper flex tubing, a rubber garden hose, and some copper fittings.
Yeah I made my immersion chiller. It cools 5 gallon in 10 to 12 minutes. I’m a HVAC contractor so I’m pretty handy with copper.
This is the one I made, cost me about $45:
I have a duda diesel plate chiller. Love it. Never an issue with clogging and very easy to clean. I DO bag my hops but I would anyway because I harvest my yeast.
Just back wash and rinse with boiling water after each brew session. Occasionally I’ll run pbw through the system as well.
Very doable… Nice price tag too. Thanks…
My son in law is making me a CFC but I’m still waiting. So in the mean time I added another 25 feet to my IC 50’ cools 11 gallons to about 70 in about 30 mins. I initially thought I would need the CFC for ten gallon batches but I’m fine with 30 minuets. I don’t pitch at 70 but drain and put it in the chamber then pitch later at ferm temp
Brewed Pils this morning. 11 gals in fermenters at 56 degrees in about 20 minutes with the plate chiller. My well water is typically about 54-56 degrees.
Just be forewarned… If you hate cleaning stick with an IC. Plate chillers and CFC add at least 30 mins to your cleaning regiment.
Good point. I think I prefer to spend my time chillin
I brewed a batch with a friend who had a duda diesel plate chiller. I was impressed with how fast it chilled the wort. All we used was gravity and cold hose water. Although it worked so well like others have mentioned you can’t see inside them and you can’t really filter out the cold break. I have a small diy IC I made with a 20ft copper tubing roll from the hardware store but like you mentioned for even a 5 gallon batch it struggled. I couldn’t imagine a 10 gallon batch. I’m looking into a larger SS one only because I hate the way copper looks after it sits between brew days. The only thing I don’t like is the price.
My current chiller is 50 ft of 3/8 copper. I have enough grain to do 10 gallon batch. May try it before spending the the money.
I have a fobia of protein haze.
So I’m a bit nervous.
I would think that ifn you had two IC’s put one in an ice bucket to lower the temp before it gits to yer wort… Sneezles61
You will be fine. Mine is 50’ and I have no problems with haze. You get cold break pretty quickly which is what you want. The time is lost getting it pitching temp. My well water is 55 if yours is to warm do as sneazeles said. I don’t have a recirculating pump but I stir as I chill.
Any tips on the build? I picked up some really nice 5/8" heater hose from work that was getting tossed out. About 22 ft of it.
If you know how to solder pipe, it’ll be a piece of cake. Otherwise, get a good flux paste, not the liquidy kind.
Get the hose as straight as possible, otherwise it’s a hassle to run the copper tube through it.
When you attach the hoses, run them radially outwards. I attached the outlet straight up, and it wants to buckle over when I use it. One of these days I’ll fix it, but haven’t gotten that annoyed with it yet.
It’s a fun build, let me know how it goes for you!
