CF Chiller purchase

[SacoDeToro]

I've been using a Therminator for 3 years now with zero issues. No clogging, no nothing. I've pushed well over 100 batches through it. IMO, it was well worth the money I spent on it. Like anything in life, you get what you pay for.

In comparison with the Shirron chiller, it has quite a bit more effective surface area, so if your cold liquor is cold enough, you can push wort through it pretty quickly. In the wintertime, my ground water is cold enough for me to knock-out 15 gallons in 10 minutes to 63-65 degrees. To note, I do use a pump to push wort from my boil kettle through the Fermenator to my conical. I have not personally done the gravity feed method, so I've never observed how it works without a pump.

[Mylo]

Build a JZ Chiller... You will thank me (and JZ) later.


Mylo

[yellowthere]

No dice Mylo. I'm looking for compact equipmenthttp://www.thebrewingnetwork.c ... 4&t=16078#, because I basically brewing in a closet sized patio. It sounds like I need to get a Therminator. Which is kind of what I was thinking anyway. I just hope I don't get it and figure out that I need a pump. Thanks for the advice guys.

Yellow

[Imakewort]

I use a combination of JZ's whirlpool chiller and the Therminator with the hop stopper. I use the whirlpool chiller to drop the wort temp to 140F, and keep whilpooling. This helps with 0 minute hops to keep the aroma in and then transfer thru the Therminator to my carboy. I use recirculating ice water in the Therminator and can get my temps to what I want by adjusting wort flow thru the Therminator.

[sinkas]

THe convoluted CF chiller was or is on deal of the day at morequeer at the moment, I snapped one up.

[yellowthere]

Ahhh.... Imakewort what is the deal with you avatar? That is the creepiest fucking thing ever. It's awesome is what i'm saying.

[Brandt]

I got the Shirron because it was cheaper. My tap water is 65 ish in Summer and the chiller does a great job. It cools wort almost to pitching temp on the first pass in summer, but I recirculate for a few minutes to drop the temp in the kettle. In winter I just go straight to the carboy. However, I never could get it to work on gravity alone, so I got the pump. Thery are both mounted on a board which is only slightly lager than a 5 gallon bucket. I have quick connects on the pump.

And yes, it is a pain to have to backflush PBW not only after a brewday, but also before I run wort through it. I found I was getting infections so started backflushing before the brewday and found that there was a lot of gunk in the chiller, even though it was stored clean and dry (ish). Solved the problem.

So my setup is compact and effecive, but I needed a pump, and I need to clean twice between uses.

[Imakewort]

Ahhh.... Imakewort what is the deal with you avatar? That is the creepiest fucking thing ever. It's awesome is what i'm saying.

it's a bulldog (like mine) swimming underwater, which mine like to do also. Very funny when in the pool or lake.