Secondary wort chiller...

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Beernewb

Beernewb

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my wort chiller takes about 30-40 minutes to bring the temps of a 5 gallon batch down to 78-80 degrees...I was thinking of coiling my hose up in a round tub ($9 at target) and filling it with ice water...then running the hose end into the wort chiller from there in an effort to crash cool the wort. anyone ever try this? I can't see how this won't make a significant difference.
 
depends on the time of year, but seems to be steady 78-80...my temps drop pretty significantly in the first 20 minutes and then slow...then stall...last 10 degrees from 90-80 is painful to both me and my shrubs.

this November in Jersey isn't helping so far..70 Friday and in the 60's Saturday (brewday). To show how addicting this is becoming, I've had NO reason to have heat on in my house this week other than trying to raise the temp of my beer de garde in the basement in an effort to speed up fermentation. It's freakin HOT in here!

pahiker6 said:
What's the temp of your tap water? Are you stirring (gently) while chilling?
Click to expand...
 
I wonder how much heat that ice water will pull through a hose wall? Your tap water isn't likely to be all that warm, so the temp difference will be small enough that it'll be difficult to see much of a benefit for your efforts.If you were running your water through a copper coil in that tub then through the hose to the IC you'd see a much greater effect, but I don't think you'll see a gain just cooling the hose
 
That's pretty warm right now for tap. I think my tap water is around 65 right now. I don't think coiling your hose in a pool of ice water will work. Some people have set up a pond pump and a pool of ice water - using the pump to push ice water through the chiller. You might might want to look at that. I know there are some threads on here about that.

That's awesome about running your heat. I set up a space heater next to my fermenter, and build a little "fort" around the heater and fermenter when I try jacking the temps.
 
What kind of chiller do you have? what size tubing and length? I agree that putting the hose in the ice water would not be the best bet, as there is much less heat transfer through the hose wall than you'd want. What I did this summer (in Virginia, 100 degree brew day) is to use my 50' 3/8" IC with the 70 degree or a little more ground water until the temp is under 100, then I set the kettle into that tub with the ice water so it helps knock the temp down easier while running the IC. I was down to 72F in around 25 minutes if I remember correctly.
 
definitely will look into a mini heater this winter...good suggestion. This beer de garde is has been a PIA to get the sg down, this was a spur of the moment decision to get this sucker moving...it's a 7 week recipe including 4 weeks at 32-34. I'm at 18 days and haven't even dropped the temps yet.

pahiker6 said:
That's pretty warm right now for tap. I think my tap water is around 65 right now. I don't think coiling your hose in a pool of ice water will work. Some people have set up a pond pump and a pool of ice water - using the pump to push ice water through the chiller. You might might want to look at that. I know there are some threads on here about that.

That's awesome about running your heat. I set up a space heater next to my fermenter, and build a little "fort" around the heater and fermenter when I try jacking the temps.
Click to expand...
 
25 feet 3/8 tubing, I only do 5 gallon batches.

good idea on the ice water, thanks, sounds like your last 10-20 degrees slow also...maybe i'll fill the tub with ice water and drop the kettle in when it gets down to 100 or so.

knowltonm said:
What kind of chiller do you have? what size tubing and length? I agree that putting the hose in the ice water would not be the best bet, as there is much less heat transfer through the hose wall than you'd want. What I did this summer (in Virginia, 100 degree brew day) is to use my 50' 3/8" IC with the 70 degree or a little more ground water until the temp is under 100, then I set the kettle into that tub with the ice water so it helps knock the temp down easier while running the IC. I was down to 72F in around 25 minutes if I remember correctly.
Click to expand...
 

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