My brew day was yesterday and I did a full boil on a 5 gal. batch. I had a lot of trouble chilling the wort afterwards so I put it in my chest freezer thinking it would help. It took forever! I put a fan in there thinking it might help but nothing. During all this I had the lid to my bucket resting on top but not completley covering it because I was trying to let the steam escape. When I put the fan in there I just took the lid completely off for like an hour and then just gave up. At this time it was around 90 degrees 5 hours after boil and I put the lid on with the airlock and set the temp control to 64. Got up this morining at 6 a.m. and pitched my yeast. So I pitched my yeast 12 hours after I stopped the boil. I've read about no chill brews turning out ok but what about me leaving the lid off before I gave up and let it sit overnight? Is there a chance for infection here. I have damp rid in my chest freezer and I do spray it down with Star San here and there.
Trouble Chilling Wort
- Thread starter Ryan11
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homebrewdad
Well-Known Member
You'll be fine. For future reference, the beer would have chilled much quicker with even a tap water bath (ice water would be better) - putting it in the freezer is very inefficient, as you discovered. 
gandalfiii
Well-Known Member
I always fill my bath tub and throw some ice bottles and ice packs in there. Just set the brew pot right in and it usually cools in about an hour for me.
here is a pretty good solution as everywhere summer has hit with hot weather will be effected. Here is a parts list.
32 quart cooler
little giant submersible pump
(possibly needed) 3/4 mip to male garden hose adapter
garden hose
lots of ice or ice packs
Simple build:
Take the cooler and fill it with some water and ice
place the adapter on the male side of the pump
screw garden hose onto this adapter
screw the wort chiller to the other end of the garden hose
place the pump into the cold water ice mixture
turn pump on
make sure the other end of the discharge is in the cooler as well to bring water back to the cooler
Add ice and water as nessasary
Alternatively :
use your tap to hook up to the chiller and cool as far as this will go on a hot summer day
next follow the above instructions to bring it down the rest of the way.
Hope this helps.
32 quart cooler
little giant submersible pump
(possibly needed) 3/4 mip to male garden hose adapter
garden hose
lots of ice or ice packs
Simple build:
Take the cooler and fill it with some water and ice
place the adapter on the male side of the pump
screw garden hose onto this adapter
screw the wort chiller to the other end of the garden hose
place the pump into the cold water ice mixture
turn pump on
make sure the other end of the discharge is in the cooler as well to bring water back to the cooler
Add ice and water as nessasary
Alternatively :
use your tap to hook up to the chiller and cool as far as this will go on a hot summer day
next follow the above instructions to bring it down the rest of the way.
Hope this helps.
I use a large plastic tub, the kind with rope handles. I put a garden hose in the tub, running slowly. Put the brew pot in the water bath, remove the lid and occasionally stir the wort. That will get you to 90 pretty quickly. Remove the pot and the hose, add 5 lbs of ice and repeat. When the ice melts remove the pot, add 5 lbs of ice again and stir. That should get you down around to 70. Works well for me...
rmaloney86
Well-Known Member
Check the DIY section for counter flow chiller build, very cheap, very easy, and it will cool your wort to 70 degrees as fast as it can run through the chiller. I usually drain 4 gallons of wort into the fermenting buck in under 6 minutes.
get a plate chiller from dudadiesel.. probably the best investment i've made with my setup.. my pennsylvania water brings it down to pitching temps in just one pass.
Arod_3
Member
I'd love to figure this out! Anybody know where I can get something like that for cheap?
I'd love to figure this out! Anybody know where I can get something like that for cheap?
Not without making it yourself, which is what he was prescribing. Refrigeration tubing, garden hose, fittings, voila.
I had the same thing last night and at 12:00 was too tired, so I left mine in the water/ice bath over night (lid on though). Pitched this morning w/out issues. I've had this happen before from trying to brew too late in the evening (I've got a little on to work around). It has turned out fine. I'd certainly suggest always keeping the lid on. Fans can be pretty gross. But I'm sure you will be fine. I just was given a wort chiller to avoid this in the future, I'd suggest you getting one as well.
I've had a lot of luck with the following method chilling 6 gallons to 70F in ~10 minutes.
Equipment:
2 Immersion Wort Chillers
1 Insulated cooler big enough to fit 1 wort chiller
1 large plastic container big enough to hold your kettle.
Frozen water bottles and/or jugs.
Hook garden hose to one wort chiller and place in cooler filled with water/ice bottles. Hook that WC inline with your second WC which you place inside your kettle. Fill plastic container with water/ice bottles to create an ice bath and place your kettle in there. Between the super chilled water coming out of your first WC and the ice bath, it's very effective.
Equipment:
2 Immersion Wort Chillers
1 Insulated cooler big enough to fit 1 wort chiller
1 large plastic container big enough to hold your kettle.
Frozen water bottles and/or jugs.
Hook garden hose to one wort chiller and place in cooler filled with water/ice bottles. Hook that WC inline with your second WC which you place inside your kettle. Fill plastic container with water/ice bottles to create an ice bath and place your kettle in there. Between the super chilled water coming out of your first WC and the ice bath, it's very effective.
BrewinHooligan
Well-Known Member
Not as effective as using a chiller, but since I don't have one, I have found that I can get to 70f from boiling in 30 minutes with a tub of water and about 20lbs of ice. First, take the brew kettle and place in the tub of water (no ice yet) and stir the wort. When the water in the tub gets hot, dump it and replace with cool water. Place kettle back in and stir again. Again dump the hot water and replace with fresh cool water and about 20lbs of ice and stir. Not perfect, but it's what I make work for me until I can buy or build a chiller.
jarrodaden
Well-Known Member
Water is a far more efficient way of cooling than air. An ice bath or running water will do the trick but a wort chiller is the greatest if you are impatient like me.
Still takes me 10 - wo minutes with a wort chiller down here in Texas in the summer months. People with cold tap water do much better.
If you have time, cover it and leave it in the fridge or on the counter over night.
Most people recommend cooling and pitching quickly to avoid the possibility of contamination.
Me personally, I am not waiting over night.
Still takes me 10 - wo minutes with a wort chiller down here in Texas in the summer months. People with cold tap water do much better.
If you have time, cover it and leave it in the fridge or on the counter over night.
Most people recommend cooling and pitching quickly to avoid the possibility of contamination.
Me personally, I am not waiting over night.
Buy this
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002JBL0OS/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20
And shop here for 3/8 copper compression to garden hose fittings.
http://www.plumbingsupply.com/hoseadap.html
You could make 2 chillers. Sell one to cover the cost of both!
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002JBL0OS/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20
And shop here for 3/8 copper compression to garden hose fittings.
http://www.plumbingsupply.com/hoseadap.html
You could make 2 chillers. Sell one to cover the cost of both!
Last edited by a moderator:
It was 3/8ths inner diameter? I was at HomeDepot this weekend and bought a 50' 3/8th's coil for $60:
http://www.homedepot.com/webapp/wcs...alogId=10053&R=202287109&catEntryId=202287109
Perhaps it was the 1/4" coil?
http://www.homedepot.com/Plumbing-P...=10053&langId=-1&keyword=copper&storeId=10051
Or maybe I just got hosed! (Pun intended)
It was 3/8ths inner diameter? I was at HomeDepot this weekend and bought a 50' 3/8th's coil for $60:
http://www.homedepot.com/webapp/wcs...alogId=10053&R=202287109&catEntryId=202287109
Perhaps it was the 1/4" coil?
http://www.homedepot.com/Plumbing-P...=10053&langId=-1&keyword=copper&storeId=10051
Or maybe I just got hosed! (Pun intended)
The first link you posted comes up as $45 when I click on it. Maybe it's showing me local in-store pricing, IDK. I ordered online and picked up in store.
tre9er said:
Quick lesson in ID and OD of copper pipe if yu want 3/8 inner diameter pipe the box will say 1/2" OD if you buy 3/8" OD pipe the ID is 1/4". Standard wort chillers use 3/8OD pipe.
That explains it... what a crazy the price difference. You should set up an arbitrage business.
Thanks, didn't quite need the lesson, but sure someone else did. I realize copper tubing is referenced by the OD. I've had both 1/2" and 3/8" chillers. I knew what I was buying when I did so.
Also, this first link here is 3/8" OD, 1/4" ID. Copper tubing is referred to by the OD.
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