OVHA Chat

I am going to be using a Shirron plate chiller for awhile on loan. All I have is the chiller, no fittings etc.

I know the 'standard' garden hose connectors will work for the cooling water side. My question is about the 1/2" NPT (?) fittings on the wort end. Did anyone who uses one of these get these from Home Depot parts? Or did you order something like the Quick Connects from Blichmann (link below) - or is that only for the Fermenator?

Any other advice about the Shirron would be appreciated as well.

http://www.highgravitybrew.com/productc ... oduct=1878

Chris, I picked up some plastic/brass fittings from Lowes for a couple of bucks a piece that are used with Pex tubing. The brass piece fits perfectly inside the wort in/out port if you don't use the rubber seal and you can tighten them with your fingers. I use them with some 3/8" PVC braided tubing that I got from Lowes also. I think they work much better than the ones that Blichmann sells, but I use gravity without a pump. I would think that they would work OK with a pump also.

Here is the information from the package:
ZURN PEX
3/8" X 1/2"
Barb X FPT (Swivel)
QQSFC23XLPK1

Fellers. How do you like that plate chiller? I started looking at them last night, to buy, and am wondering the ins and outs of which brand or type to get. Now that you've used it, what do you think?

Still on my Christmas List.

Here's one of the previous discussions on the topic: http://www.ovha.net/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=515

I decided on the Shirron plate chiller.
The only problem is my wife wants some things to put on my Birthday & Christmas list. So I added this and will have to wait....
I'll let you know in January how it works.

In the mean time I've built a stir plate.
All finished.. just need to get a 1000 mm flask and a 1" Stir Bar.

The Shirron sure works better when it's not 100 degrees out. All of my uses have been in hot weather up until yesterday ... got it down to 68 immediately using a pre-chiller. Lovely thing this chiller.

Oh, and I never posted back about my original question. I just got some plastic fittings from Lowe's and they work great.

So, going back to the other stream (sorry I did not look closely enough the first time), it looks like Dwayne is happy with the Shiron and he is using it like I would. Gravity feed.
I have been able to get partial batchs cooled to 80 in about 5 minutes with my immersion chiller and and ice immersion of the kettle. Once I went to the full boils, and even purchased a bigger tub for the ice immersion, I still can't get that cooled quickly. And, I can go through 5 bucks of ice each time. At that rate, 25 batches and the Shiron is free. Now that I have that figured out, I wonder about how a guy like me can keep the carboys warmer this winter. The basement temp shut me down from Dec to Feb last year.

If you are using a glass carboys, use a Brew Belt @ $20 or plastic use a Fermwrap Heater @ 30.
I have 2 electric 2' x 2' x1" heating elements I hook up to a Ranco Digital Temp Controller. I'm not sure what these square elements were used for. I found them when we moved into our new building at work 1995 and (being a pack rat) brought them home. I think they were used with an old ammonium blueprint machine.

Here is another cheap way to warm your beer.
http://www.homebrewtalk.com/f51/trons-b ... mer-42166/

I have a waterbed heater that is attached to the back of my fridge, it has its own thermostat, and it competes with the cooling of the fridge. Keeps things right where they need.

By the way, I use the Chillus Maximus from Morebeer. Instant cooling. I think they have upgraded it since I got mine a couple of years ago. Its not as cute and compact as the plate chillers.

Thanks for the link, Don. I may give that way a try. Davin told me that he uses a system like that. With a rubbermaid container and the aquarium heater. I am thinking that it would be better to have a container that immerses more of the carboy in the water, but the other side of that is that if that narrow wrap works, than the oil pan method should work just fine.

I have more questions about this stuff now. The fermwrap can only be temp controlled with an additional $80 in purchases. I am not sure if the oil pan, aquarium heater can control either. More thoughts and opinions?

Here is a Ranco controller like the ones I use for $49

http://www.climatedoctors.com/Items/ran ... %20Control

That may be the ticket. Does the sensor go in the beer, or in the wrap?

I've done it both ways.
I made a SS tube that went inside the carboy and used a two hole stopper, and I have also taped the sensor on the outside of the carboy and used a 4" X 4" piece of thin insulation duct taped to the side of the carboy.

There isn't enough difference so keep it simple.
Tape the sensor to the outside of the carboy @ the middle.

I have 4 of these Ranco controllers I use 3 of them to run my refrigeration systems and 1 on my heater blankets.