Customer Reviews

Worked Perfectly! Review by Kimbal

Rating

Big improvement over my home made immersion chiller. Brought a 5 gallon batch down to temp in about 10 minutes. (Posted on 5/11/13)

Cool!... Review by Let me be Frank

Rating

I got it today cleaned it in my Mark II carboy cleaner using the hose attachments and went to a friends house to help brew. I used my old immersion chiller as a pre-chiller in a ice bath and 5 gallons or so of boiling hot wort at pitching temp in a miniscule amount of time compared to baths and immersion. This is a must have! My former friend almost lost his other arm trying to steal it! (Posted on 3/30/13)

Not much upgrade over immersion Review by Ben

Rating

I've been using the Shirron for about two years now, and think it's time to spend the $$ on something with more plates. I'm in Wisconsin and this chiller works OK, when the ground water is cold, but if it's May through September, not so good. I usually have to slow my flow down to have the wort in the chiller longer, and many times, have to put the carboy in the fridge for a few hours to get it ready to pitch yeast. You can forget about getting down to lager temps unless it's the dead of winter and the ground water is super cold. Ten plates just doesn't cut it. (Posted on 10/7/12)

Not a review... yet Review by George

Rating

For those that have given lower marks because of finding it hard to clean, I found this video on the topic that was really well done. Check it out.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yi-Ib0vBnXQ&feature=colike

I haven't used my chiller yet, but hope to this weekend! 3 stars for now as it is solidly built, now we'll see how it chills. (Posted on 8/22/12)

Multiple Uses Review by Jaellman

Rating

If I could use a new one of these plates for each brew I would buy a stack and give this product 5,000 stars... But, sadly, I cannot afford that, and I've found after a dozen brew's, even after back flushing with hot oxyclean solution or PBW soak (at 180') directly after the brew process, I can't get this thing clean enough for my liking! I'm constantly seeing very small particles come from the wort side when back flushed, even after hours of hot water flushing. These particles MAY not be causing any issues/off tastes/infection issues, but I won't take that chance. I reverted back to a whirlpool IC due to cleanliness reasons. (Posted on 8/15/12)

crappy chiller Review by Gary

Rating

My chiller was either defective or simply does not deliver. And what a shock. I lost a five gal. brew because this thing simply did not chill to pitching temp. My water temp is cold enough, and my copper coil chiller does the job in a third the time. The Shirron required an hour! And what a waste of water. When I called and talked with a person at NB, they were non-comittal as to whether the chiller was defective, suggesting that some people run their wort through the chiller twice! A very very frustrating day.
I returned it, and my online account shows nothing about the credit. Bad chiller or bad company? I have made other purchases from NB in the past, but have never experience this level of difficulty. (Posted on 8/14/12)

worked perfectly Review by Chad K

Rating

I have brewed one 5 gallon batch with this plate chiller and it worked incredibly well. Wort came from the brew kettle around 200 degrees and went into the carboy around 62 degrees with the hose water on full. I turned the flow of the water down to keep the wort at around 68-70 to pitch the yeast. I highly recommend this plate chiller to save a ton of time. (Posted on 3/29/12)

Don't forget a garden hose coupling Review by KB12

Rating

This product works great and is much more affordable than the Therminator. Just remember you're probably going to need a garden hose coupling. Most garden hoses are male/female and you're probably going to have the female on the tap coming out of the wall, leaving you with a male to connect to the male chiller. Personally, I didn't anticipate this the first time but made due with electrical tape.

Also, this is a 3/4" male GHT, NOT 3/4" MIP (NPT type thread). I also made that mistake... (Posted on 2/12/12)

Excellent!!! Review by Tbone

Rating

Don't even waste your money on Immersion chillers. This product is amazing. Cooled my wort from boil to 72 in 10 minutes and that is with warm Florida tap water. Gravity fed worked very well. Flowed smoothly with a kettle screen/valve in place. (Posted on 1/8/12)

outstanding chiller Review by Patrick

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I am amazed at how well this works, outstanding! 10 gallons to 64 degrees in 15 minutes! A great piece of equipment. (Posted on 1/8/12)

Works Great! Review by carl

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Used an immersion chiller for years, but decided to upgrade to reduce brew time. Works much faster than immersion chiller during warm weather in North Carolina using well water. We use a thrumometer and pump with a ball valve to regulate flow and temperature. Outlet water fills the horses watering trough. Yeast can be pitched immediately once outlet temperature stabilizes. Yeast starts consistently. Very nice piece of brew gear. Recommended! (Posted on 12/25/11)

Amazing every time Review by Schmidty

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I've used my chill plate for several brews and it amazes me every time. Even in the summer with warmer tap water I can cool 6 gallons to pitching temps in approximately ten minutes. It also gives me an excuse to water the yard. One of the best brew investments I've ever made. (Posted on 11/9/11)

Its Greeeat Review by Shrimpboat

Really. all these people ain't lyin. This thing works super well. just watch out on the backside as there is a metal lip that is quite sharp. One of my favorite pieces. (Posted on 5/12/11)

Shorter Brew Day Review by SAP505

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Tried it my first time and over shot my temp (62F). I just ordered a thrumometer to monitor the out going temp to keep from doing it again. Really works well. (Posted on 1/10/11)

Great Time Saver Review by Blue Brew

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Got the Shirron Plate for Xmas and used it today for the first time. Have to say it worked awesome. Took my wort off the stove and the thermostat had it at around 200 degrees. Hooked it up and chilled it into my 1st fermentation bucket. It came out around 63 degrees. I decided to hook mine up on the cold water side of my washer and have the water dump right into the empty washer.

I used a 1/2 inch high temp line off the wort kettle and 3/8 inch line out of the chiller plate into the fermentation bucket. I read reviews that said it did not cool enough the first time through but with this system the wort cooled right down. The key is to have cool water going through the chiller and allow the wort to go slowly through the chiller.

This saved me so much time. I was able to top off my fermentation bucket and pitch my yeast with in 20 mins from taking the wort off the stove. (Posted on 12/30/10)

From Boiling Hot to Pitching Temp in the Time it Takes to Drain the Kettle Review by TheLIttleDuke

Rating

Forget ice baths and immersion chillers! If you want to minimize DMS this plate chiller will literally cool that boiling hot wort down to pitching temperature in the time it takes to drain the kettle.

In fact I sometimes have to mix hot/cold water on the input (St. Paul tap) in order to keep it flowing.

Mount it vertically with the hot wort in at the top to let gravity do all the work.

Don't let the "low-end" price fool you -- I'm not even sure that those bigger more expensive units would really work any better.
(Posted on 7/12/10)