I can see the value of a wort chiller now

[Chris Craig]

Maybe a pond pump?

[ECH]

Maybe a pond pump?

Actually my wife said the same thing. I was thinking something like a fountain pump....but not sure if they are a submersible, or if it gets water from a pick up. Alot of pond pumps and submersible pumps are high GPH, like in the 1000+ of gallons per hour.....don't need anything that strong. Cheapest submersible I could find at PA is a 1/6 hp, and still about 740GPH, and still about $70, however can get fountain pumps from 45 to 130GPH, which I assume would be good enough just to circulate water from a cooler into the chiller and back out, for $20-$40 depending on the size.

[ECH]

Even better, found this fountain/aquarium/hydroponic pump on Amazon for about $14



Even a guy on there than commented on how he bought it to use with his wort chiller, circulating ice water from a cooler. Exactly what I had in mind, and can't beat the price!

[Two Wheeler]

Ok, for all of you plate chiller folks I'm looking for advice. Outfitting the OBK plate chiller and I'm just wondering if most people will use a single pass from the BK through the chiller into the fermentor, or if you recirculate from the chiller to the BK and do a few passes?

I'm also thinking I could set up my immersion chiller to pre-chill the water before it hits the Plate Chiller.

[Chris Craig]

The best thing you can do is use the immersion chiller to drop the temp in the kettle to about 140ºF, then run it through the plate chiller.  You'd be able to run the wort through the plate chiller at full speed if it starts off at 140ºF.

Remember, getting the temp of the wort below 140ºF as quickly as possible is important to reduce the DMS in your beer, and for preserving the aroma of the last hop addition.