[LohseBasementBrewery]

I have a Sabco chill wizard. It works great, but I continue to have issues when brewing my next beer that there is hops/grain/microbial bacteria/etc. Every time I brew I clean it with PBW and Star San and still issues continue. This is probably due to the fact that I only brew around 1-2 a month.

My question is that I'm moving to a Counterflow Chiller. What is the best Counterflow Chiller out there that works great cooling 10-15 gallons of wort.

Thanks, Tim

[BrewBama]

Many brewers these days are concerned with the staling effect copper can contribute to beer (Fenton Reaction) so they opt for Stainless. If that’s not a concern for you Copper has a better heat transfer efficiency than Stainless. Pros and Cons. It’s all a balancing act.


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[majorvices]

I switched to an CFC for a few years then, out of laziness, one day plopped in my old copper IC into the kettle and then ended up never using the CFC again. IC is so much easier to clean and to inspect and you don't need a pump to operate it. Rather than having the frustration of first doing a clean then a sanitize on the CFC the IC can generally just be hosed off after using then dunked into the wort 10 min prior to flame out to sanitize. The convenience far outweighs the speed of the CFC, which, BTW, is really a myth unless you are using ice cold water.

I like my stainless IC chiller. Super easy to clean. The copper issues may or may not be a staling issue anecdotally but aside from the better conductivity there is no benefit to using copper.

[LohseBasementBrewery]

Thanks for the input. The plate chiller does work well when operational. I can get 10 gallons of boiling wort to 70 degrees in 5 minutes or so. I thought the second best thing would be counterflow chiller. I believe I'm going to try Stainless Steel to see how that goes.

I will be using the pump from my Chill Wizard so that shouldn't be a problem. It should be a fun modification project to the Sabco. 

Thanks!

Tim

[majorvices]

Even with a Sabco I'd still probably use an IC due to the convenience though at least you can do a full-bore CiP on a Sabco. And of course having a pump isn't going to be an issue.

While it is copper this is the one I used on my 1 bbl system for years

https://www.morebeer.com/products/wort-chiller-counterflow-triclamp-fittings.html?gclid=Cj0KCQiAv6yCBhCLARIsABqJTjaRTDoVq7J82p51QRBQ7jiANPMwRYgtl_lEolvkAidjbWQ7fcuQ2Y4aAku_EALw_wcB

[LohseBasementBrewery]

I'm definitely going to give it a try!

I also upgraded all my burners to banjo burner on the Sabco system and I can't wait to give it a try. I have a old Vision 120 series Sabco gas system. I was getting tons of soot on the bottom of my keggles.

My challenge is my LCD is going out and Sabco stated they have one for the Vision 350 series that would work. $800.00 though for the replacement.

[MDL]

I recently switched to a Stout Tanks stainless counterflow. Good price and great chiller.