Counterflow Chiller Full Guide For Homebrewers

[@joshbuhl9824]

Hi David. Thx for another informative video. One tip you didn‘t mention and might not be aware of: I have a garden ball-valve attached to the cold-water-inlet so that I can regulate the amount of cooling water going in. Since I have cold ground water, my cooled wort would be too cold if I used the full through-put. Together with a thermometer on wort-out, you can regulate the final temperature very well by regulating cold-water throughput. Another thing you mention, which you can often read elsewhere, is the (IMHO myth)/statement that a CFC cannot cool (via recirculation) to hopstand temperature well. I find this works very well and quickly, and saves setting up and cleaning an additional piece of equipment for a small step. Since you need to recirculate thru the CFC for sterilization anyway, it‘s a simple matter to do this at the end of the boil and then continue down to Hopstand temperature. This saves a lot of time. The key to this, though, is to first fill the jacket with cooling water, then turn off the flow of cooling water, then recirculate the wort thru the CFC back into the kettle. This allows the temperature in the CFC to heat up to sterilize the CFC (until the wort out temperature is at least 60°, better 80°), but the stationary cooling water in the jacket will protect the outside jacket of the CFC from overheating if this is not SS.

[@DavidHeathHomebrew]

Good ideas and points Josh, thanks for sharing. This could be useful for those with high water pressure too. I just regulate mine with the tap though personally.

[@KeithDawson-i4d]

Thank you for another informative video! I have to admit watching this lead me to a "Doh!" moment. I've never had a counter flow chiller until I purchased my Grainfather. I somehow had my mind set on cooling the entire 20L batch rather than just the wort outflow. I have the Wortometer attached to my wort outflow tubing so I could see that what was passing through the chiller was at the proper temperature, but I was just recirculating back into the Grainfather so the wort was heated again. I have a feeling that using the chiller properly will save me a lot of time and water usage.

[@DavidHeathHomebrew]

This is not uncommon but yes this is not how to use a CFC the intended way. You will certainly save much time and water doing it the intended way 🍻😎🍻

[@Waspdog]

Hi David, I note that you did not mention plate counter flow chillers. I use one and am very pleased with it

[@DavidHeathHomebrew]

Yes, this was just a focus on CFC and it was easy to compare some points to immersion chillers on the way as they are very common.

[@chrisnewton9788]

I agree with your point thats its best to have both. Lots of messing about tring to a whirlpool if trying to cool with a cfc. I use the G30 CFC but do get frustrated with the amount if tines it gets a blocked pump, even with a false bottom (instead of the crappy filter it comes with) and the ball snd sprimg removed. So without an immersion chiller would be pretty stuff at those times.

[@DavidHeathHomebrew]

Great to hear. Naturally others will have their own feelings too. We all need to make our own choices on these things. 🍻🍻🍻

[@CraigHH]

Another really helpful video thank you! Where did you get the camlock fitting for the Brew Monk from?

[@DavidHeathHomebrew]

Cheers Craig. These cam lock fittings are a standard, this one came from Kegland.

[@landoffireandice-08]

Hi David, how do you mitigate the cold break during the transfer from BK to FV? Thank you

[@DavidHeathHomebrew]

I find that the debris acts as a filter for the wort to pass through. It causes me no issues.

[@leocarlsson3753]

This is freaky coincidence since I bought a CFC yesterday and got it delivered today! I bought the Kegland G2, to use with my Brewzilla gen 4 35l. However, I feel the flow was a bit low with the standard pump, wondering if 12mm/1/2 inch silicone hose was a bit to wide to get a good flow with the very small pump.

[@DavidHeathHomebrew]

Another coincidence is I have a pump upgrade video, which is shown on Brewzilla GEN 4 , coming very soon!

[@leocarlsson3753]

@@DavidHeathHomebrew Oh wow! I didn't know you could upgrade the 35l pumps! :D Looking forward to it!

[@DavidHeathHomebrew]

@leocarlsson3753 You sure can 🍻🍻🍻

[@leocarlsson3753]

@@DavidHeathHomebrewLooking forward to the next video then!

[@DavidHeathHomebrew]

@leocarlsson3753 🍻🍻🍻

[@fsbbs]

I am in the lucky position to call a Grainfather Glycol Chiller my own. I am planning to attach one of its channels not to fermentation equipment but to my Brewtools CFC. Although it will require approximately 8 meters of insulated tubing, I expect some benefit, most of all less water wastage. Do you have any comments on this idea? I never read about anyone using such a setup, and wonder wether this has a reason.

[@DavidHeathHomebrew]

Hi Frank, I would advise against this use in accordance with Grainfathers specification. These glycol chillers are not designed nor intended to cool boiling wort or anything close to that temperature. They do ok at temperature in the 30s deg c down to 5 or 6 but even this it is best to do in two stages to avoid ice up within the fermenter. Use from boiling will cause ice issues and overwork the unit shortening its life.

[@fsbbs]

@@DavidHeathHomebrew​​⁠Ah! Thank you for this important advice! I will RTFM again on this point, but I am sure you are correct. Thank you very much!

[@DavidHeathHomebrew]

Feel free to reach out to GF on this, they will confirm

[@fsbbs]

@@DavidHeathHomebrew Thank you, David! No need for that confirmation any longer. I spent an additional thought for a moment, and with no doubt, I am now convinced that it would be a bad idea to pump the glycol-mix back to the glycol chiller - a device that is purely intended for fermentation cooling - at a temperature of maybe 95°C during the first minute of cooling the wort! It was a bad idea by myself. It just felt to smart at the first place, since the Brewtools CFC is not really performing well at the end of the process from 35 towards 18 or even 8°C (my last batch yesterday was a Czech Lager targeted at 8° pitching temperature). Thank you David, that you share your years of experience for such a long time with all your passion! BTW, it was to some degree you, who made me get a GF30 back in 2018 and I was really very happy with it for quite some time. THANKS!

[@DavidHeathHomebrew]

Cheers Frank 🍻🍻

[@stefanplug5560]

I bought a beast of a CFC from crafthardware and I’m very happy with it. I am currently thinking if it would be possible to use it as an external HERMS coil as well when I buy a new kettle. I’d simply pump hot water from my old kettle into the “cooling” coil and pump in the wort as normal. This would have the added benefit of sanitizing the CFC during the mashing stage i would think? As for drying I simply put it into the oven for half an hour or so after cleaning 😅

[@Pazey1]

To be honest i was going to give this a try i know it works seen others do it also, once your done with the hot water you could also reverse flow through the wort side to sparge the grain so your not wasting the water trouble is ive got pipework everywhere trying to set it up but i think it be worth it for sure.

[@stefanplug5560]

@@Pazey1 true, but I think i wouldn't want to use the water to sparge with as i don't clean my cooling coil after my brew day, it's just water after all... but then again I'm a bit nervous about any muck growing in there when it's laying around, maybe I'm just being paranoid though :)

[@Pazey1]

@@stefanplug5560 I know what you mean i usually store starsan in both the wort and cooling side between uses and close them off with valves for peace of mind im very paranoid lol

[@DavidHeathHomebrew]

Its typical to run boiling hot wort through a CFC to sanitise it . However this can be reduced in temp some, though I would probably not rely on it. Certainly the coil could be used other ways.

[@Whatisgoingonhere2021]

Could you not recirculate through the counterflow chiller with cold tap on to get to hopstand temperature, turn the cold tape off and use the wort out hose, clamped to the side, to do your hopstand? Then move the hose to your fermenter and open the cold tap again... Or am I missing something?

[@connorhulegaard2012]

Short answer: Yup Longer answer: yeah you can totally do that. Works great.

[@Whatisgoingonhere2021]

@@connorhulegaard2012 but you never see anyone doing it in videos 😂

[@Pazey1]

It is very easy to overshoot with this method but if your careful and have a good whirlpool and shut off the cold intime its what i do

[@joshbuhl9824]

yes, exactly. I do this and it works a treat. No need to use an immersion chiller for cooling to hopstand temp. Since you need to recirculate through the CFC to sterilize it anyway, these two steps can even be combined saving time! Two things that are a big help: a thermometer on cold-wort out and a gardenhose-ball-valve attachment on cold-water-in. With these two things you can dial-in the wort-out temperature

[@DavidHeathHomebrew]

If you find that works well for you then by all means.

[@paulrobertson9439]

Very useful as always, cheers :)

[@DavidHeathHomebrew]

Many thanks Paul 🍻🍻🍻

[@Mikkogram]

Appreciation to your work :)) i have to "use" your video here for a different question :D in an old video you said you dry your yeast (in regards to normal brewing yeast) just like you do with Kveik. Do you keep the flakes airtight or do you freeze them just like kveik?

[@DavidHeathHomebrew]

Hey Mikko, sure, no problem. A bit of both in fact. Mostly I only freeze if I am not going to use the yeast in the immediate.

[@hcl1314]

Hi David, Thanks a lot for again an amazing and informative video! I have recently got a counter flow chiller. This is great. One thing I still struggle with is how to get the whole wort out in the fermenter. At some point the whole wort has been pumped out of the brewing system (G40 in my case) so the pump needs to switched off. But there is a "full counter flow chiller” worth of wort. Last time I tried using lung power (quoting you here :) but that seems 1) not super sanitary 2) burns because the end of the chiller is still warm. 2) might be a mistake on my end because I directly go from ending boil (or some hop stand) to fermenter instead of running it first for one minute as you suggest. But still...how would you advise getting all the wort out of the chiller in the fermenter?

[@ianharrison295]

After switching off the pump, I quickly disconnect the CFC inlet hose from the boiler and raise the end to a height above the top of the CFC, then gravity takes over and remaining wort continues flowing through to the FV.

[@Pazey1]

Connect HLT to pipework and chase wort until you get clear water at the FV

[@DavidHeathHomebrew]

As you see there are methods as stated by others here. I have nothing more to add 🍻🍻🍻

[@janhanchenmichelsen2627]

In my town the tap water is well below 10C year around, and there are no restrictions on water use (the rainiest city in Europe!). I bought a second hand all-copper counterflow chiller for around USD 75 some years ago and never looked back. A large, heavy beast, but a true time-saver. Straight from boil to bucket. I keep the pump valve fully open, adjust the faucet. I use my beloved Thermapen no nail the settings. Never any need for full flow on the cooling water. If a hop stand is needed, the process is not that slow. Less that ten minutes for a 50l batch. Possible issues: The Brewzilla pump is not very strong and can now and then struggle to initiate circulation with very hoppy brews. And there is ALWAYS some water left in the chiller, ending on the floor. PS: I would not buy a fragile plastic chiller, nor a budget version with small diameter tubing. Spend the money on a heavy duty version.

[@DavidHeathHomebrew]

Sounds good to me, I agree 🍻🍻🍻 Pump wise I am covering a Brewzilla upgrade soon.

[@matthi9384]

Hey David What would you recomend, a conterflow Chiller or a Jaded Immersion Chiller?

[@DavidHeathHomebrew]

I recommend having both but if it has to be just one then the Jaded chillers are hard to beat.

[@arnienz1962]

Why does a counterlfow chiller work for hopstand? Can't you just recirc into the brew system until the temp is low enough then do the hopstand as usual?

[@DavidHeathHomebrew]

This would be a very slow process compared to using an immersion chiller as the CFC is only cooling a smart part of the wort at a time. Which is not only an issue with time but clarity too. So for these reasons a CFC is not viewed as suitable for such tasks.

[@biralleebeerbrewing2373]

I tried one of the KegLand counter flow chillers with my BrewZilla 35L 3.1.1 but found the built-in pump wasn't strong enough to push the wort through it. Tested it with water and it worked OK - a bit over a trickle coming through, but when trying it with boiling wort I couldn't get anything through the CFC and ended up resorting to my trusty immersion chiller. Anyone else had a similar experience?

[@Pazey1]

I would invest into a decent pump to be honest and water would be ok but boiling wort it cavitates from the air at boiling temps so its normal some pumps struggle at them temps.

[@DavidHeathHomebrew]

Thats odd. Ive used both the Gen 4 and 3.1.1 Brewzilla systems with CFC without issues. Did you have lengthy hoses? Its good to minimise the hose in especially.

[@DavidHeathHomebrew]

But yes a more powerful pump will be useful 🍻🍻😎

[@A2an]

The G70 chiller is mutch more efficient than the G 30, I had to reduce the water flow to keep the same temperature compared with the G 30 however, the G 70, is not so handy as the G30 I guess you can't have it all 😊

[@DavidHeathHomebrew]

Many thanks Allan 🍻🍻🍻 The G70 CFC is very large for sure!

[@vexy1987]

I would encourage homebrewers consider no chill. I always brew with the no chill method and simply allow my wort to cool in my fermenter overnight and add yeast the next morning. Less equipment to store, clean, and many litres of water saved. Sure, it adds a few extra hours to my turnaround, but saves much effort and water. With a well sanitised fermenter, theres no risk of infection in fact the hot wort sterilises the fermenter also!

[@DavidHeathHomebrew]

I guess its something most do not think about unless they have to. Ive never actually tried it, one for my list 🍻🍻🍻

[@vexy1987]

@@DavidHeathHomebrew I do wonder if the practice of chilling was initially driven by commercial concerns, after all, wort sitting in a vessel longer ultimately costs the brewery time, and time is money, but clearly not a concern for a homebrewer. Not to mention, smaller vessels cool much faster than commercially scaled fermenters.

[@Pazey1]

To be honest chilling down past 80c then leaving nature do the rest is great, I'm a pro brewer so i go the extra steps and I'm not metered i pay a set monthly bill regardless of water usage.

[@DavidHeathHomebrew]

From my perspective I am keen to move forward and pitch my yeast. Cooling is very fast with Norwegian water temps 🍻🍻🍻

[@davidmelching5590]

Recipe for a „homebrew-tasting“ beer in my opinion 😉

[@suwirwong]

I am lucky I have pool I uses it to circulate my couterflow chiller😂😂😂 no waste in water

[@DavidHeathHomebrew]

Sounds good if its cold 🍻🍻🍻

[@petersmith3931]

A ‘con’ for the CFC is the cleaning - so much easier with the Immersion

[@Pazey1]

Your cleaning your kettle and pipework anyway so it isnt a con your CFC get cleaned with everything.. After transfer i hookup HLT to pipework to flush remaining wort to FV until clear water i then backflush with hot water opposite end and recirculate PBW for 10 mins as im pitching yeast..

[@joshbuhl9824]

I disagree. Since you need to clean your kettle, hoses, pump anyway, it‘s simple to recirculate 60°C water with oxi-cleaner/pbw through the whole system including the CFC. I do this for 20 minutes while cleaning all the other bits using the warm waste water from the CFC, then another 10 minutes with fresh hot water w/o pbw.

[@Pazey1]

@@joshbuhl9824 Yeah exactly don't know why anyone would list this as a con its a lot more easier to clean than any other chiller i hated cleaning my immersion chiller especially if i used leaf hops loose lol

[@DavidHeathHomebrew]

I find it very easy personally as it fits into your normal cleaning.