Hybrid wort chiller question

dexeqex · 12-27-2009, 12:42 AM

Hello all,

I've been lurking for a while now and this is my first post. I've been brewing for a few years now without a wort chiller and I've decided that 2010 will be the year of the chiller.

I'm interested in building a counterflow wort chiller as seen in Appendix C of Palmer's how to brew (he calls it a hybrid wort chiller). A design can also be found in Brewware a book by Karl Lutzen and Mark Stevens. The plans in the book call for a coil of copper tubing inside short piece of large diameter PVC pipe. The wort flows through the coil and cold water flows through the housing in the opposite direction. The design in the book calls for 10 feet of 3/8" soft copper tubing.

My question is this: is 10 feet of tubing enough to cool the wort in one pass? I've scoured the internet for information but haven't been able to find any corroborating evidence. After reading many designs for counterflow chillers inside 50' of garden hose, I'm nervous that 10 feet won't be enough. Do you know anyone who uses this design? How much copper are they using? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks for all your help,
Dex

bohdan987 · 12-27-2009, 02:03 AM

i know what you are talking about. 10' of copper not going to give you alot of heat transfer. maybe it can but you going have to slow way down your flow rate or reserculate cooling water that is chilled by ice.
its up to you, how mach you are willing to spend? longer copper coil will give you a better heat transfer at faster flow rates and higher tap water temp.
i have a regular counterflow chiller that had a 25', 1/2"ID of copper tubing in a 1.7/8 cold water jacket. in one pass using a regular tap water i can chill wort to a yeast pitching temps with no problems.

**Bobby_M** · 12-27-2009, 02:35 AM

The only way I'd build a hybrid chiller is if you make the water chamber large enough to accept a large amount of ice. Otherwise, a tube in tube CFC is more efficient. 20-25' is plenty. I've seen very few people build them to 50'.