Need Advice on Chillin

**amrmedic** · 10-20-2010, 05:53 PM

I am brewing a experimental brew tomorrow. Going for an Irish red, but instead of using 8 pounds pale malt, I am using 5 pounds maris and substituting 3 pounds of smoked malt. Throwing in 2 pounds Munich and Carared with some roasted barley. Using Wyeast Irish ale.

Now to my question.

I live in Florida. I made a wort chiller from 50' of 3/8" copper tubing. I connect this to the garden hose at my house. Well, the temperature coming out of the tap is like in the 80's and it takes me a very long time to chill my wort from boiling to pitchable. Last time, I ditched the wort chiller after 45 minutes and the wort was still above 100 degrees. I upset the wife, when I stuck the whole boil kettle into the chest freezer (after removing an assortment of frozen meats and veggies to make room, but I was also hoping she would get the hint that I need that damn freezer for my brewing. Oh the lagering and other fun things I could do with it, like get rid of the minifrig I use for my keg now). But, I digress there. My thoughts tend to roam when thinking of brewing.

Does anyone have any ideas how I can chill my wort faster, besides evicting the steak and peas from the freezer again?

Thanks

**celticcolorado** · 10-20-2010, 06:02 PM

I lived in FL for a few years so I know what you mean about the temp of the tap water. before I had a wort chiller, I would just get a bag of ice and put my Boil kettle in the bath tub or large sink and fill with the ice and cold water so it was like an ice bath.

**lamarguy** · 10-20-2010, 06:06 PM

To bring down the temperature faster, you need agitation. A plate chiller or counterflow chiller provide such agitation. You could also recirculate back into the boil kettle with an immersion chiller.

Your next problem is 80F water. An ice bath or glycol chiller is the answer. If you're using an immersion chiller, chill to around 100F and switch to a pump pump immersed in an ice bath.

Of course, these solutions require a pump. Not sure if you have one?

Personally, I use two plate chillers flowing wort at 1 gal/min. My 30 plate chiller knocks down the temperature to the low 80s and my 20 plate chiller (with recirculating ice water) gets it in the upper 60s. I go through about 10lbs of ice per 10 gal batch. During the summer, my ground water is around 80F.

kettle -> pump -> 30 plate chiller -> 20 plate chiller -> fermenter

wyzazz · 10-20-2010, 06:06 PM

Pre-Chiller with an ice recirc.

**wilserbrewer** · 10-20-2010, 06:10 PM

As stated above, ice is the answer. One can only expect so much from warm "cooling water. I try and harvest a few batches from my kitchen icemaker and store it till brewing. 20 - 30 pounds of ice in a tub w/ water works wonders. If you want to be sophisticated, pump ice water through your chiller. Don't use your ice till the final stage of cooling, or you'll likely need more...hah.

DeBrewer · 10-20-2010, 06:11 PM

The method I am building now may work for you(I apologize for the lack of pics). I have an old cooler that is cylindrical that I am taking copper and making a coil in. Looks just like your drop in chiller but an exit at the bottom instead of the top. The cooler will be filled with ice and salt when time to chill and then gravity feed the hot wort into the chiller while pumping the return back to the kettle. This is basically the same principal as a RIMS uses to cool down it’s wort. In essence hot wort gravity feeds down from the bottom of the kettle to the top of the “chiller” and the chilled wort from the bottom of the chiller is pumped into the top of the kettle(voila a cooling circuit). This may not be desirable if you don’t want to spend the cash on the pump or want a slightly more complicated setup but a solution nonetheless. I am doing it this way because I hate to waste so much water and not get it down to target temps.

**amrmedic** · 10-20-2010, 06:17 PM

OK, I dont have a pump (been thinking of getting one to ease the strain on my back)

I am not familiar with plate chillers, how do they work vs an immersion chiller?

How fast does the wort need to cool in order to achieve "cold break"?

I am thinking of getting a rubbermaid container and placing the kettle into it once it gets on the cooler side and filling it with ice and continuing with the immersion chiller.

Thanks

maida7 · 10-20-2010, 06:25 PM

Get a small cheap garden fountain pump from lowes or Home Depot. The pump should not cost more then 10-20.00

Start with the chiller hooked up to the 80F water as you did the last time. But this time stir the pot while you run the chiller. This should get you down close to 100F in under 20 min. After you get close to 100F hook up the cheap pump and pump ice water thru the chiller. Recirculate the ice water from the pump set in a bucket of ice water so you don't loose it all down the drain. Keep stiring the pot. Keep adding ice as it melts. This will take you to any temp you want.

The pre chillers don't do jack.

**dchmela** · 10-20-2010, 06:39 PM

I live in Orlando and this is the hardest part of brewing in Florida. Currently, I have a 72 qt cooler that I fill with 40lbs of ice and water and drop my kettle there. It takes about an hour to cool to pitching temp.

Once I have I filled the fermenter and pitched yeast, I then stick the fermenter in the cooler (the water in cooler at this point is usually high 50's to low 60's). The cooler is great at regulating the temperature for the whole ferment. I use 2L bottles of frozen water to keep the temp down in the 60's.

As for a pump, I am currently fashioning one out of coy pond pump. They generally don't cost much and they just need a little tweaking to work with the immersion chiller.

**lamarguy** · 10-20-2010, 07:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by maida7

The pre chillers don't do jack.

Agreed, post-chillers or "after" chillers are much more effective than pre-chillers.