Cooling 15 gallons

TheMan · 06-10-2009, 05:45 PM

Myself and 2 friends joined in on brewing and we got a 25 gallon pot to brew15 gallon batches...What is the best way to cool this much? Immersion Chiller? We did not think of the cooling part when we bought the thing haha.

If an Immersion chiller is best, then how big? I would make it myself. How much copper and how wide of tubing would you suggest? .

Thanks

**Mirilis** · 06-10-2009, 05:57 PM

I would build a counter flow chiller.

hereis a good thread on building one.

You could also search for Bio Diesel plate chillers on ebay. Those are failry cheap as well, at least compared to therminator.

TommyBoy · 06-10-2009, 05:58 PM

CopperTubingSales.com :: ICS Indsutries ::

These guys are cheap. Get a 50' coil of the soft refrigeration tubing. Get 4' of rigid tubing, some copper elbows, "In" and "Out" connections for a garden hose, and some soldering equipment locally.

Find something at home to re-bend the tubing around for your coil. Don't bend it too much though as you will work harden the copper.

It's an easy build.

**Bobby_M** · 06-10-2009, 06:01 PM

If you go the IC route, the largest diameter tubing you'd probably want to work with is 5/8" OD.

TheMan · 06-10-2009, 06:16 PM

Would 50' of the tubing cool it efficiently with just the water straight from the spigot? I've read of recirculating ice water on here...does that just entail getting a water pump and filling a tub full of ice water instead of using the spigot?

**wilserbrewer** · 06-10-2009, 06:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheMan

Would 50' of the tubing cool it efficiently with just the water straight from the spigot?

Depending on tap water temps, IC's work great during the winter months, and not nearly as well during the summer.

ajwillys · 06-10-2009, 06:20 PM

I personally think that longer is not better (with an IC). If you think about it, at some point the water inside the pipe will reach the same temperature as the wort and after that point, will be worthless for cooling. If it takes 15 feet before the pipe water temp = wort temp, then the other 35 feet is worthless.

Using this idea, I constructed my IC with two coils that are 25 feet each. This way, given the same scenario where the water gets too hot at 15 feet, I actually have 30 feet worth of usable tubing.

I hope that made sense....

**IrregularPulse** · 06-10-2009, 06:26 PM

I would build a CFC for this large of a batch. I started with an IC, then straightened it out to make a CFC and could NOT be happier! And I don't use a pump. Gravity fed CFC.

Boerderij_Kabouter · 06-10-2009, 06:36 PM

I am a big supporter of the immersion chiller with a whirlpool. For your large volume I would also suggest a dual circuit chiller as described by ajwillys.

If you use a counterflow chiller I would recommend circulating the wort back into the kettle to cool the full wort volume as quickly as possible.

TheMan · 06-10-2009, 06:37 PM

AjWillys - I thought of this, but at some point when the wort cools enough the water should stay cooler longer and longer and make up for it, no?

Pulse - not sure how to phrase this....how far down is your cfc from your stockpot? And what method do you use to get the wort from the pot to the cfc?