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**RedIrocZ-28** · 03-02-2009, 04:03 PM

Guys, I have gotten some pretty good results with this new chiller design I made last week. I have done 2 brews with it thus far and the results are better than expected.

I used 22' of 3/8" Refrigeration tubing. I don't have pictures to show how I made it, so I will be as descript as possible.

I began by marking the center of the length of tubing. I then wrapped the tubing using a paint can to make the coils. I started at each end of the tubing and wrapped toward the marked center point. When I was done I had 2 opposing coils and 12" of straight tubing at the beginning end of each of the coils. Next I spread the coils apart a little and then meshed them together much in the same way you would do with your fingers like you are taught to pray when you are a little kid. After that I bent the straight ends so they went vertical and then bent the downturns so they would reach up, out of, and over the side of the pot.

Here is the finished product.

This will stand up high enough to reach out of a 7.5gal turkey fryer.

The results are kind of hard to believe but this was done with a timer last night so I have to just accept that I have created a fantastic chiller for next to nothing.

I chilled 5gal of wort from a boil to under 70* (67* to be exact) in just shy of13 minutes. I did immerse the pot in my sink, using the "spent" water to circulate a cold water bath around the pot. I also raised and lowered the cooler in the wort every few minutes to make sure that everything was stirred up nicely.

flyangler18 · 03-02-2009, 04:08 PM

What is the temp of your source water? That's going to be the biggest factor.

**RedIrocZ-28** · 03-02-2009, 04:25 PM

Its Michigan in early March, so "Friggin' freezing" would be accurate. Exact temperature of the water coming in has to be between 45-55* I will check when I get home.

Memorex88 · 03-02-2009, 04:33 PM

That's a beauty! Great job. Looks and sounds like it works great

LakeErieBrew · 03-02-2009, 05:03 PM

I stuck a pic of mine in another thread, but it seems like it fits better in the DIY section. I pretty much took your design and made an ugly version. The design is great because it only uses 20 feet of 3/8" copper tubing. I bent it by hand and used a gallon jug of wine to make the coils.

I cooled 5 gallons of wort down to pitching temp in about 10 minutes yesterday. I had a great cold break left in my kettle after I whirlpooled and siphoned.

**RedIrocZ-28** · 03-02-2009, 05:10 PM

Awesome, my first field tester! About 10 minutes? Awesome.

I also had a fantastic cold break yesterday, there was a good inch left in the bottom of the pot.

You can't beat the cost outlay for this thing. I spent $11 on hose and fittings to connect to this old faucet without standard size threads. How much did you spend for the tubing?

LakeErieBrew · 03-02-2009, 05:26 PM

The tubing was $37 at Lowes. I could have saved a few bucks buy buying online and waiting for delivery, but I'm an "I-gotta-have-it-now" type of person.

I don't know why I didn't make one of these sooner, it really beats the hell out of sticking the kettle in an ice bath. I have a 15 gallon pot, so the less I have to pick it up and move it around, the better.

If anybody is thinking about making one of these, just do it. You will be satisfied with the results.

**FSR402** · 03-02-2009, 07:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RedIrocZ-28

Its Michigan in early March, so "Friggin' freezing" would be accurate. Exact temperature of the water coming in has to be between 45-55* I will check when I get home.

word, it's damn cold. On my brews yesterday I kept turning the chilling water on and off the whole time.

The chiller looks like it will work well.

**RedIrocZ-28** · 03-02-2009, 07:38 PM

FSR402, I was outside until 8pm last night completing my first full boil in my new turkey fryer I scored on craigslist! Talk about cold! The wind was something yesterday huh? I wish my Camaro wasn't in the garage so I could have brewed in there.

By the way, off topic for a minute, do you know what Sicilianos charges for hops? I swear they only charge $1.99/pkg because every time I go there i expect to pay $XX based on online prices and I usually walk out for cheaper than the online prices.

Back on topic, if anyone has any questions on how to do this I'd be more than willing to be more specific. My reasoning behind this cooler design was so that there is always a nearby coil, spaced pretty evenly throughout the wort, BUT the coils aren't right on top of eachother; in effect, you're not trying to cool the wort that the coil above or below just cooled as I imagine it works with the standard single stack of coils. Build one of these and let me know how it works.You won't be disappointed and neither will your wallet!

P.S. If anyone wants one but isn't mechanically inclined enough to build one, I'd happily make one for just the cost of parts and shipping, no labor cost

**FSR402** · 03-03-2009, 12:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RedIrocZ-28

FSR402, I was outside until 8pm last night completing my first full boil in my new turkey fryer I scored on craigslist! Talk about cold! The wind was something yesterday huh? I wish my Camaro wasn't in the garage so I could have brewed in there.

By the way, off topic for a minute, do you know what Sicilianos charges for hops? I swear they only charge $1.99/pkg because every time I go there i expect to pay $XX based on online prices and I usually walk out for cheaper than the online prices.

Back on topic, if anyone has any questions on how to do this I'd be more than willing to be more specific. My reasoning behind this cooler design was so that there is always a nearby coil, spaced pretty evenly throughout the wort, BUT the coils aren't right on top of eachother; in effect, you're not trying to cool the wort that the coil above or below just cooled as I imagine it works with the standard single stack of coils. Build one of these and let me know how it works.You won't be disappointed and neither will your wallet!

P.S. If anyone wants one but isn't mechanically inclined enough to build one, I'd happily make one for just the cost of parts and shipping, no labor cost

Yes it was damn cold. I brew in the garage so I was warm until I had to clean up. I got done around 9pm and started at 11am. 20 gallons of beer and 5 gallons of wine made.

As for the hops I don't know for sure but I "think" it's 2.99 for pellet and 3.99 for leaf. But like I said, I don't know.
I get a discount for being a Primetime Brewer and I'm always getting a bunch of stuff at a time so I never really know what I'm paying. lol