Closed System Wort Cooling Works

The Pol · 10-07-2009, 11:47 PM

Tested it tonight on my E-HERMS... worked like a charm.

Basic premise:

Use my HLT complete with HERMS coil as a heat exchanger to cool the wort after the boil. Using a March pump to pump the wort and whirlpool it in the kettle.

Here are the stats.

5.5 gallons BOILING (IN KETTLE)
4.0 gallons 65F water and 44 pounds of ICE (IN HLT)

5 minutes in:
COOLING WATER TEMP 50F
KETTLE TEMP 148F

10 minutes in:
COOLING WATER TEMP 54F
KETTLE TEMP 99F

15 minutes in:
COOLING WATER TEMP 52F
KETTLE TEMP 81F

20 minutes in:
COOLING WATER TEMP 50F
KETTLE TEMP 66F

25 minutes in:
COOLING WATER TEMP 48F
KETTLE TEMP 57F

30 minutes in:
COOLING WATER TEMP 48F
KETTLE TEMP 57F

**olllllo** · 10-07-2009, 11:55 PM

Was there any ice left?

JesseRC · 10-08-2009, 12:02 AM

that's awesome, but what is your target temp? Did you also use an IC in the kettle, I know one of the guys had mentioned it.

The Pol · 10-08-2009, 12:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by olllllo

Was there any ice left?

Ice was gone in 20 minutes, which is perfect. This means the heat transfer was pretty eff.

The Pol · 10-08-2009, 12:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JesseRC

that's awesome, but what is your target temp? Did you also use an IC in the kettle, I know one of the guys had mentioned it.

Nope, whirlpooled in the kettle, just the HERMS coil in the HLT in the cooling liquid.

My target temp. tonight was as low as I could go as a test.

**AZ_IPA** · 10-08-2009, 12:41 AM

nice! you should also post this in the other thread you started where the math you and Bobby_M were doing made my head hurt.

**MultumInParvo** · 10-08-2009, 12:49 AM

I've been watching this from your other thread and thought it was really interesting. Great to hear that it works. Any chance you took a picture of the whole thing in action? I am more of a visual learner...

The Pol · 10-08-2009, 01:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AZ_IPA

nice! you should also post this in the other thread you started where the math you and Bobby_M were doing made my head hurt.

I posted it there too...

The math worked to the DEGREE! When the ice was melted, the cooling water was at about 48F... exactly where it predicted. It had plenty of cooling power for nearly 6 gallons.

I am pretty pleased with it, especially because I can utilize exactly the equipment that I already have for my HERMS.

The Pol · 10-08-2009, 01:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cford1

I've been watching this from your other thread and thought it was really interesting. Great to hear that it works. Any chance you took a picture of the whole thing in action? I am more of a visual learner...

Sorry, no... I threw this together tonight in a few minutes to test it.

Basically, all I do is hook up the pump inlet hose to the kettle and pump it thorugh the HERMS coil in my HLT. The HLT has 4 gallons of tap water and 44 pounds of ice.

As you can see, the HLT temp rose to a point, but since there was still ICE in the HLT consuming those heat calories and the "wort" was cooling, it then again began to cool off, adding some extra cooling punch at the end.

JesseRC · 10-08-2009, 01:27 AM

so how does this compare to using an IC with Ice water? I know most of the things you do are specific to your setup, and I know you want a closed system, but what about recirculating the ice water in the IC in the kettle. I guess you would have to have a whirlpool going and that would require another pump? I am just so against pumping the wort out of the kettle for fear of infection. However , this does seem super easy for your setup.