Plate Chiller as Step Mash Heater ?

I've been lusting after a plate chiller for a while. Do you think it might also work the other way around? I'm trying to justify getting one.

To explain:

I return the first runnings to the tun. Via a pump it circulates though the plate chiller and mash tun ...... while the HLT water, also through the chiller, has it's temp raised.

Am I missing anything?

it would have to be finely filtered otherwise any particulates will be getting stuck in there

[graysalchemy]

I think it would be riskiy putting the runnings from the mash through it to many particles.

Grays and djcorbetto

it would have to be finely filtered otherwise any particulates will be getting stuck in there

Ah .......... I never thought of that. Bugger.

I could come up with a filter I guess .... but it's starting to sound too messy for me. Note to self .... keep it simple.

use a Y filter on the tap it will catch all the bits but could block

Not really Mark. It would work briefly and then block. The pump might be able to force stiff through but eventually it will block. . . . Not enough area as a filter.

Yeah it's only a small fine drum filter in the Y ones

Do these plate chillers readily block when used for wort? When I first open the boiler tap I sometimes get a little cloud of particles ..... stuff that has settled in the manifold

You need a filter in front of them that stops anything larger than 0.5mm getting thorough . . . and obviously if you are filtering that fine, you need a large surface area. This is why I use a 8" diameter circle of #30 mesh in my copper

Also, surely the HLT water will already be at a higher temperature than the first runnings so you'd just end up cooling the HLT water and heating up the runnings?

Lol yep that's true.
Nice to see you on here James as well as twitter.

Also, surely the HLT water will already be at a higher temperature than the first runnings

My idea was to get the first runnings to say 35c, heat HLT to about 60c, run it through the heat exchanger along with the recycled runnings to raise to the next step, say 55c, again re heat HLT water to the next step and so on.
See what I'm getting at ....... I'm kinda using the heat exchanger as a heat coil in a RIMS set up.