Coil Wort Chiller question.

Soulshine · 01-22-2012, 01:35 AM

Does it matter if the water runs in the line from the bottom of the coil up or should it run from top down through the coil? I have it set up to run through top of coil down but just figured I'd check if there was a right or wrong way.

As always...Thanks for the help!

sweet_corn · 01-22-2012, 01:42 AM

I am not sure it matters in practice, but I think bottom up may be the preferred way...

beninan · 01-22-2012, 01:48 AM

I set mine up to flow from the top to the bottom. Heat rises, so the top of the wort being chilled will be a bit hotter, so the colder water will hit the hotter part first.

In all reality it really doesn't matter. I'm not sure if one way or the other will really make that much of a difference. The most important thing you should do is keep the wort moving as it's cooling. Wort that isn't moving will take forever to cool down, because there is no heat transfer going on.

Soulshine · 01-22-2012, 02:53 AM

Thanks. Feel better now...once less trip back to Lowes in the AM. Thanks!

**brewstaedt** · 01-22-2012, 12:22 PM

I'm not 100% sure, but I think you'll get your wort to lower temps if the water runs from bottom to top. That way as the wort travels through the coil it is always exposed to the coldest water. I'm assuming you're talking about a counterflow chiller.

day_trippr · 01-22-2012, 12:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by brewstaedt

I'm not 100% sure, but I think you'll get your wort to lower temps if the water runs from bottom to top. That way as the wort travels through the coil it is always exposed to the coldest water. I'm assuming you're talking about a counterflow chiller.

Pretty sure he's talking about an immersion chiller...

beninan · 01-22-2012, 12:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by brewstaedt

I'm not 100% sure, but I think you'll get your wort to lower temps if the water runs from bottom to top. That way as the wort travels through the coil it is always exposed to the coldest water. I'm assuming you're talking about a counterflow chiller.

Oh, good point! I assumed the OP was talking about an immersion chiller.
With a counter flow, I'm pretty sure that top-to-bottom or bottom-to-top also doesn't matter, as long as the water and the beer are flowing in opposite directions.
But, which type of chiller are we talking about???

tektonjp · 01-22-2012, 01:03 PM

It is a minor point but I have observed that if the water is cold into the top, this will create a small movement in the wort, circulating itself from bottom to top on the inside of the coil. Watch it yourself. If course most people will stir the wort with the chiller to speed the process. But the natural process will get it done too, but slower.

**eanmcnulty** · 01-22-2012, 01:09 PM

In a counterflow chiller I believe you want the water traveling up and the wort traveling down. That is how I have mine. Im on my phone, and I can't find the wiki about it, but I think it mentions it in there.

**eanmcnulty** · 01-22-2012, 01:22 PM

Ah, yes, I wasn't thinking.
Here is the url for "How toBuild a CFC":
http://www.homebrewtalk.com/wiki/index.php/How_to_make_a_Counter_Flow_Chiller

If you look closely to the picture, the water IN is at the bottom. I looked at some others pics on Google and they were the same. Then I found the Brew Your Own directions for building a CFC, and it explained that the water enters at the end where the wort exits and the wort enters where the water exits, and they flow passed each other. Hence the name "counterflow". Don't know why I needed all that looking around. Its is the name! Funny.