Wort Chiller

Hello!

So I'm looking at switching to a full boil before I switch to all-grain, and I realize to do this, I need a wort chiller. I'd like one anyway because I don't always seem to cold-crash it well enough with cold water when I do a half-boil.

I was wondering if anyone has any recommendations on a wort chiller. I've noticed a lot of different types of immersion chillers (immersion is what I'd like at this point), but can't tell if there's really any true benefit to the longer tubing, at least for 5 gallon batches. I'm also on a budget, so there's that as well.

And in case anyone is wondering, I *have* used the search function (quite a bit actually, which is why this is only my second post on the site).

It's all about heat exchange so get the longest one you can afford. You can make your own from 3/8" copper tubing from HD or Lowes if you're a DIY kinda guy.

Check out ebay. Got a 25ft one with hoses and hose adapter for about $53. Totally worth the investment when my LHBS was charging $80 for 20 ft.

I am the DIY kind of guy, but I live in an apartment, and thus do not have the right tools to build one. That being said, I may be able to rent the tools, but it may not pay off in the end.

I'll look into the DIY avenue though, as my father-in-law does have a lot of tools. Thanks for the reply!

I went to home depot and they had everything i needed(tubing, pipe, hose claps, and attachment for sink) . Super easy to make. Only needed my hands and screw driver for the clamps.

I bought one from NYBrew for $37. It is 25' 1/4 copper and comes with to tubing and adapter. I have a friend who has been brewing a while and said he tested a 1/4" and a 3/8", both 25', side by side and the 1/4" cooled the wort faster.

I just got it and haven't tested it yet, so...

You really don't need any tools to make an immersion chiller, I wrapped mine around a paint can to get nice even tight coils

check amazon...25' go for around $50 shipped, 50' are about $80. i opted for a 50'.

Length isn't necessarily better, but you want the most surface area you can get. Personally I would rather have a shorter chiller with a wide diameter to promote more surface area and higher flow. I have used two friends wort chillers where one has a wide tube and one has a narrow tube and the difference is unbelievable. This is also one of the easiest homebrew DIY projects too if you know how to use the clamps as that is all you need. And lets face it, clamps aren't that difficult.

Agreed on the DIY aspect of this. I bought 25' of copper tubing, hose clamps, plastic tubing (it doesn't even need to be food grade since you're just transferring water that will be discarded), a fitting to attach it to my kitchen faucet, and a hose bending tool for the angles on the in/out ends of the copper (optional). Wrapped it around a corny keg (or use a cylindrical object of similar diameter) and then all you need is a screwdriver to tighten the hose clamps. So easy!

Absolutely. I thought I needed special tools to bend the copper!

Maybe I'll check out that avenue.

Thanks for the quick feedback everyone!

Agree with the above posters. It really IS that easy.

Yes Please don't buy one online imo.

Go to Home Depot or Lowes, get some soft curved tubing, I got 50 feet of half inch. Now you pull the already coiled copper pipe out of the package space the coils out and work on them gingerly pulling them into smaller coils. Now get some 1/2 ID tubing and 2 clamps. Done, and without a single tool. all you need then is a screw on adapter for your sink, wash sink, waterhose, or whatever you use, that goes to a 1/2 nipple

I made mine from 2 20' lengths of 3/8" tubing. Each roll was about $21 at Ace. Connected them with a coupler and some tubing at the end with a hose connector. I run tap water through it until it drops to about 100 degs (about 6-7 mins) and then I have a pump I bought at Harbor Freight that I have in an ice chest with some ice blocks I freeze the night before and I run that for about 10 minutes and I'm down to about 65 degs.

I'm sure it's easy to make one (and I have a full shop). But I'm not sure the cost savings is worth the trouble. A decent one is only about $50-60. FWIW, I bought a stainless steel one instead of copper, after a bit of research. Supposedly has less efficiency, but is easier to clean, maintain etc. I can go from 190 degrees down to about 70 in less than 15 minutes. Best investment I've made so far in home brewing.

Wow. Lots of information.

I called up Home Depot and Lowes. Lowes doesn't have anything longer than 10', and at Home Depot, it'd be $58 for 50' (nothing between 10 and 50).

Stainless does seem like less hassle, and 15 minutes is just fine in my book.

lots to think about!

Stainless steel is easier to clean and maintain. Copper is by far a more efficient heat sink material.

When I work on boards, and processors, you always use copper and aluminum. Copper transmits heat the best, and aluminum dissipates it the best out of common metals.

The new soft copper tubing that is more readily available everywhere already coiled makes construction of a wort chiller a breeze though.

Metals have gone up a lot though, and 3/8 is more than efficient enough for a full boil in 5-7 gallon batches. should be a good bit cheaper.

LarrySteeze said:

Wow. Lots of information.

I called up Home Depot and Lowes. Lowes doesn't have anything longer than 10', and at Home Depot, it'd be $58 for 50' (nothing between 10 and 50).

Stainless does seem like less hassle, and 15 minutes is just fine in my book.

lots to think about!

Click to expand...

That was "less than 15 minutes". Actually, about 12, last time I timed it.

I made one earlier this week. 20' of 3/8" ID copper tubing, some plastic hose, a barbed brass connector to connect the plastic hose to my kitchen faucet and clamps from Lowes. The tubing is already looped so it was easy to form the "slinky" I wanted by hand. I did make a kink in the tube when bending the the tube from the bottom to the top - I had a pipe bending tool but it was the wrong size so I had to use my hands.

It doesn't look great but it works fantastic. I chilled my 5gal 210F wort down to about 70 in 10 minutes which is much faster than I managed with the "sink full of iced water" approach.

I bought a 20' copper roll from HD last weekend 27$ its already coiled in the right size . just bend the ends up . I used a recirculating pump with cooler of ice took about 15 min to cool down ,mostly because it takes awhile to get the thick aluminum pot to cool down

check different HD and Lowes locations ,because they all carry different inventory 25 ' would be better will give you 1 more coil...