Counterflow Wort Chiller Build (and use)

Mojzis said:

I put this together yesterday and put it to work tonight. Works great. Got 5.5g down to 78 in about 10 minutes. When I eventually install a ball valve i'll be able to adjust the flow to get me lower.

Anyway, thanks OP for the design

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You're welcome!

For those that re-used tubing from an immersion chiller to build a counterflow, how did you do it? Leave the tubing coiled and slide the garden hose over it or straighten it out, slide on the hose then re-coil it?

I've been planning to build one for a while but can't decide about going cheap and cutting up my immersion chiller, with the potential of having nothing for a while. Saving $30 on copper that can be spent elsewhere seems like a good idea.

baulz said:

For those that re-used tubing from an immersion chiller to build a counterflow, how did you do it? Leave the tubing coiled and slide the garden hose over it or straighten it out, slide on the hose then re-coil it?

I've been planning to build one for a while but can't decide about going cheap and cutting up my immersion chiller, with the potential of having nothing for a while. Saving $30 on copper that can be spent elsewhere seems like a good idea.

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I straightened mine out and then re-coiled it around a corny keg, It worked great, got 15 gallons of wort to 72 in around 25 minutes using gravity.

dharbolt said:

I straightened mine out and then re-coiled it around a corny keg, It worked great, got 15 gallons of wort to 72 in around 25 minutes using gravity.

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Same.

dharbolt said:

I straightened mine out and then re-coiled it around a corny keg, It worked great, got 15 gallons of wort to 72 in around 25 minutes using gravity.

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Yep.

Just try to minimize the amount of coiling and straightening iterations with copper, as that can affect the integrity of the material. A couple times isn't a big deal, but don't count on coiling it and straightening it 5 to 10 times.

Straightening an IC and recoiling it as a CFC is perfectly fine.

If I have 1/2" OD Ref Tubing x 20' and 5/8" ID rubber hose, will that be enough water volume/space for the 1/2" tubing? I do plan on pumping ice water through the rubber hose, and more than likely recirculating back into my BK.

Thanks,
-G

HDIr0n said:

If I have 1/2" OD Ref Tubing x 20' and 5/8" ID rubber hose, will that be enough water volume/space for the 1/2" tubing? I do plan on pumping ice water through the rubber hose, and more than likely recirculating back into my BK.

Thanks,
-G

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I would either go with a smaller tube size, or a thinner walled copper tube type than REF.

So I should look into a 3/4" hose then as I already have both, and would be cheaper for the hose than new copper?

HDIr0n said:

So I should look into a 3/4" hose then as I already have both, and would be cheaper for the hose than new copper?

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That could work. How long of a length of copper do you have? What's your tap water temperature?

I have 20' of 1/2", our water temps here in SW Houston are pretty high. I was planning on pumping ice water through it and recirculating it until I reach pitching temps.

HDIr0n said:

I have 20' of 1/2", our water temps here in SW Houston are pretty high. I was planning on pumping ice water through it and recirculating it until I reach pitching temps.

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I'm not sure 20' will be enough. Although if your cooling water is around 32F and you can adjust the flow rate of your hot wort, then you should be fine.

Any idea if you can convert an existing IC into a CFC easily? I have a 25' IC that i'd like to repurpose into a CFC if possible instead of spending the money on the copper again...just not sure how easy it will be to get the hose on....

Getting the hose on is easy. Straighten out the copper, put some soapy water in the hose and slide it through.

I'd be more worried about the inside of the copper pipe though. What's in there vs new?

Went with a cheap hose the first time I built this. Wanted to upgrade the hose and put 1/2" threaded fittings on the ends of the soft copper. The nice rubber hose was on sale for 20$. Ended up breaking the soft copper and mashing two fittings during the refitting!

Oh well, you live and learn. At least now I'm all set for disconnects. Thanks again for this write up.

Mojzis said:

Went with a cheap hose the first time I built this.

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Can't say I didn't warn you....

Tiber_Brew said:

Don't use the cheap plastic crap from Walmart. I got good quality rubber hose from SEARS.

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Mojzis said:

Oh well, you live and learn. At least now I'm all set for disconnects. Thanks again for this write up.

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Glad to help!

I really enjoyed reading this thread. Like most home brewers, I just finished building 2 - 25 foot CF chillers, one of which I sold. Thanks to all who replied to this thread, especially Tiber Brew for starting this thread. The chiller works great.

Anyone have any tips for getting the wort flow rate up other than buying a pump? Fed by gravity it took about 25 minutes to go through by gravity. I got excellent heat transfer though, the wort coming out was about 56 degrees.

pksublime said:

Anyone have any tips for getting the wort flow rate up other than buying a pump? Fed by gravity it took about 25 minutes to go through by gravity. I got excellent heat transfer though, the wort coming out was about 56 degrees.

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What diameter ball valve and tubing?
Whats the distance between the pot, cfc and fermenter?

P.s- I recently bought the 20$ little tan pump and so far its great.

Mojzis said:

What diameter ball valve and tubing?
Whats the distance between the pot, cfc and fermenter?

P.s- I recently bought the 20$ little tan pump and so far its great.

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Which pump? I'm guessing it's buried in the thread somewhere...

1/2" ball valve on a megapot
3/8" REF tubing

I had the pot connected with 18" tubing which dropped the top of the chiller about 6" below the pot. carboy was directly under the out of the temp probe T

pksublime said:

Which pump? I'm guessing it's buried in the thread somewhere...

1/2" ball valve on a megapot
3/8" REF tubing

I had the pot connected with 18" tubing which dropped the top of the chiller about 6" below the pot. carboy was directly under the out of the temp probe T

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This is the pump:
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f11/cheap-compact-wort-pump-375904/

I do not know about longevity of this pump yet, but I have 5 or so brews with it and it is nifty.

And if I were you I would drop the chiller lower. I used to brew counter height, drop drown to chiller on a chair (~2 ft) then from chiller to bucket on floor (~1.5ft). I had at least 3.5 ft from kettle to bucket for a good draw. I was getting ~5g done in ten minutes.

Thinking of building one of these, looks pretty good. A couple of questions though.
1. I currently have an aluminum turkey fryer pot that doesn't have any valves, would using an auto siphon to start a gravity feed work? Sub-question: up to what temp are auto siphons safe (ie not melty)
2. I have a 25' IC that I use hose water to get temp below 100 then recirculate ice water with a pond pump to get down to pitching temps. If I use the IC as a prechiller, what length CFC should work?

The Auto siphon will melt.

I wouldn't use an auto syphon with boiling water. It will melt or be ruined. Use a step bit to drill out your aluminum pot and install a ball valve. It's pretty easy to do. That's what I did to my aluminum pot. You could also use a stainless steel or copper racking cane with silicone tubing if you don't want to drill out your pot.

I have a 25' CFC that I pump ice water through and it works like a charm. Cools 5.5 gal down in about 15 minutes gravity fed.

I built mine out of 1/2" copper inside 1" rubber hose. I have teed the end to hook up pump for is and hose to tap. I run tap to get it down in summer and switch to ice and can get down to lager pitch in 20 minutes.

OK, this thread just sidetracked my build focus to getting CFC assembled and figuring out my options.
Build is single tier two pump Herms set up to recirculate BK on flameout. 10 gallon batch size.

I've acquired 50' rolls of 1/2" Type L and 3/8" OD X.032, 50' 3/4" automotive heater hose and assorted 3/4" copper - tees/couplers/adapters/reducers.
Initial thought was using 1/2" for better flow, and 50' long to make up for minimal water "jacket".

Never checked summer water temp, but ambient frequently pushes 100 F. Not interested in pre-chiller or using ice.
Anyone with thoughts/experience?

Thanks, Dale

buzzno said:

I wouldn't use an auto syphon with boiling water. It will melt or be ruined. Use a step bit to drill out your aluminum pot and install a ball valve. It's pretty easy to do. That's what I did to my aluminum pot. You could also use a stainless steel or copper racking cane with silicone tubing if you don't want to drill out your pot.

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How thick is your aluminum kettle wall? I have the similar setup to the guy you were replying to, a turkey fryer. It does have a drain valve for the intended hot oil, but it's way too small to efficiently transfer wort. So I'd like to change it out for a weldless ball valve, but I'm a little concerned that the aluminum is too thin for the relatively heavy ball valve.

Trippel-A said:

How thick is your aluminum kettle wall? I have the similar setup to the guy you were replying to, a turkey fryer. It does have a drain valve for the intended hot oil, but it's way too small to efficiently transfer wort. So I'd like to change it out for a weldless ball valve, but I'm a little concerned that the aluminum is too thin for the relatively heavy ball valve.

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I'm not sure offhand what the thickness is but I'll measure it when I get home later. I have the Bayou Classic 60 qt pot as listed in this Amazon listing. I don't see the thickness of the wall listed in the description though.

Bayou Classic 60qt Pot

I made the same system...love it. I use my HLT with ice water and recirculate with my pump. It doesn't waste water and is cools very quick! nice pics....

I used a immersion chiller that I straightened out. had to use a tube of K-Y to get it thru......used to that anyway.LOL

Hey, just a thought, but if you drain from your kettle into a corny, then use co2 at a low pressure, you could push your hot wort through into your CFC. haven't tried it myself, but was wondering if anyone could think of a reason not to? you can control the flow rate this way. you could also use a ball valve downstream of the corny to restrict the flow to get your desired flowrate.

Considering doing this on my next batch. my last batch got really messy when my CFC got clogged.

Scott9002ca said:

Hey, just a thought, but if you drain from your kettle into a corny, then use co2 at a low pressure, you could push your hot wort through into your CFC. haven't tried it myself, but was wondering if anyone could think of a reason not to? you can control the flow rate this way. you could also use a ball valve downstream of the corny to restrict the flow to get your desired flowrate.

Considering doing this on my next batch. my last batch got really messy when my CFC got clogged.

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You'd pressurize your boil kettle? Interesting thought, though I'll stick with my pump.

stlbeer said:

You'd pressurize your boil kettle? Interesting thought, though I'll stick with my pump.

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nono, drain it into a corny keg, and use the pressure from a CO2 tank to get it through the CFC. just an alternative to a pump. I just ordered a pump from ontario beer kegs (the black brew pump is on sale for 50$ from 70$), so i'll probably go with that anyways. I might also order some of the really cheap ones on ebay as a back up, or for other parts of the process. its just my engineering mind spitballing ideas.

Beer_Guy said:

Good work. Thanks for posting this. Here is a quick drawing to explain how it fits together. I think. Edit: Pic edited as per post by designer.

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Could you're repost this picture and the other with thermometer? I think the link is out of date or something.

Great build. I like the thermometer add on. Do you have to prime the chiller to get it to flow or does gravity do it?

lotusworker said:

Great build. I like the thermometer add on. Do you have to prime the chiller to get it to flow or does gravity do it?

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Gravity should do it for you. It has for myself. Use your autosiphon here... or mouth like the ghetto folks (me).

Mojzis said:

lotusworker said:

Great build. I like the thermometer add on. Do you have to prime the chiller to get it to flow or does gravity do it?

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Gravity should do it for you. It has for myself. Use your autosiphon here... or mouth like the ghetto folks (me).

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Yup. Gravity will do the work, as long as you have adequate head pressure from the post-boil wort.

can you say next project??

in addition, 2 things....

First, in order to sanitize, could you recirc during your last 15 min of boil? or would that melt the hose?

second, I saw on a youtube video (cant remember the poster) who used a 1 mil copper wire and coiled it around the copper tube. soldered it every 4 ft and used that inside a rubber hose. this created a convoluting effect making more contact of cooler water to the tubing. he used clear platic rubber so you could see the effect. pretty cool.

About reusing the copper from a IC; How would one clean the inside of the tubing properly to feel safe using it? I have seen moonshiners distill vinegar through it to clean it. Would just soaking it in something work? Should I just boil a bunch of water and drain it through? Hot PBW? Starsan? Or should I just buy new copper and rest my worrisome mind? Or just quit worrying?

I also saw the youtube video with the soldered copper wire around the tubing. Anyone else try this? Did it help? I figured it would at least keep the tubing off of the wall of the hose a little better.