Immersion Chiller Sanitation
 

Question... If i am going to use an immersion chiller to cool my wort after the boil, I am assuming that the entire copper tubing must be sanitized before dropping it into the wort? What is the best way to make sure that it is completely sanitized? Do you spray it? Drop it in another large bucket/kettle with sanitizer?

I still have a lot to learn from you veterans!

Thanks in advance.

I have never sanitized my immersion chiller, I simply set it in the boil appx 5 mins before flame out, this sanitizes it.

I have always just let it soak in my sanitizer bucket until i need it. I use like a 3-5 gallon bucket and just soak anything i need sanitized.

I was home with my brother brewing a Farmhouse Ale this weekend and he wanted to drop his chiller in the boil for the last 5 minutes to sanitize it rather than just soak it in sanitizer.

Turns out the vinyl tubing couldn't stand the heat conducted by the copper pipe. The tubing expanded and got really really soft. When we hit the water to chill it, the tubing had gotten so soft due to the heat, the tubing leak hose water in the the beer.

I will never again drop a chiller in the boil, just let that baby soak in the sanitizer until you need it. I have a spray bottle to get the nooks and crannies but splashing it around would probably do the same

There is no need to sanitize it - the boiling wort does that for you.

Just clean it thoroughly before you use it, and make sure that it is fully rinsed. Drop it in your wort with fifteen minutes left in the boil, and you are golden.

The chiller should have been made with different tubing. Do a search on this, boiling is by far the most common method of sanitizing a copper immersion chiller.

You don't need 15 minutes. You need about a minute at boiling to pasteurize the chiller. It doesn't hurt to do it with 15 minutes remaining. Just get it in there near the end of the boil between those last hop additions and all that extract.

Great help guys! Thanks.

I bought a piece of radiator hose from a parts store for the outgoing tubing on my chiller, no issues with that whatsoever, it's obviously made to withstand high temps.

Boiling with all that copper tubing doesn't impart some metallic flavors? Is a stainless steel Ic better? I'm sure it doesn't matter, since everyone does it, but just wondering...

Copper conducts heat much much better than SS does thus it is much better for use as a heat exchanger. It doesn't impart any flavor to the beer. It is the same copper that's used in household plumbing