Cedar Rapids Brewing Society

I've been contemplating purchase of either a "Therminator" or a "Shirron" or Midwest's equivalent. I'm spending 20-30 minutes getting to pitch temp. and would like to improve on that. I've heard they can plug with trub and are difficult to clean (thoroughly). Any opinions?

jjbuck wrote:I've been contemplating purchase of either a "Therminator" or a "Shirron" or Midwest's equivalent. I'm spending 20-30 minutes getting to pitch temp. and would like to improve on that. I've heard they can plug with trub and are difficult to clean (thoroughly). Any opinions?

I have a Therminater and I'm very happy with it. I can cool to pitching temperature as fast as I can drain my brew pot.

I've only had it plug once and I was able to clear it without too much trouble. Since then I've bagged my hops.

For cleaning, I back flush it until the water runs clear, which is less than a minute. Then I hook it back up to my pump and run PBW through it for a few minutes, followed by StarSan, thus cleaning it, the pump and all hoses at the same time.

The harder question is whether it is that much better than a Shirron or generic plate chiller. I got mine on sale with a 10% discount on top which brought the price down enough for me to go with the Therminator. If I'd had to pay full price, I'd probably gone with a Shirron.

I own a Chillus Convolutus (tube-in-a-tube) CFC and really like it. I've never had a clog and am pretty sure anything my pump can pass will make it through the chiller, since its pipe ID is larger than the smallest opening on my pump.

Cleaning is similar to a plate chiller. It is also very easy to drain completely.

I am a whirlpool immersion chiller fan. No worries about cleaning. Chills fast, and leave all the trub and crap in the middle. Hop aroma and flavor is fantastic!

I use an immersion chiller, utility pump, and ice bath, and can chill fairly quickly.

Matt F wrote:I am a whirlpool immersion chiller fan. No worries about cleaning. Chills fast, and leave all the trub and crap in the middle. Hop aroma and flavor is fantastic!

Is there a trick or device for creating the whirlpool. I seem to redistribute the trub if I stir the wort more than once.

You need a pump to recirculate the wort. The wort pumps from the kettle to the pump and back in to the kettle through a copper return tube. It makes the wort whirlpool around the coil just like when you stir but the trub is left in the middle. You can turn off the pump and wait for the trub to fall out of suspension. Works great and simple to sanitize.

http://www.mrmalty.com/chiller.php

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