How to unclog a ChillZilla?

Yup.....I'm an idiot. I used whole hops in a celebration ale clone yesterday. It was a 10 gallon batch, so I used about 4 oz whole and 2 oz pellets. I have a basic 1/2" diptube at the wall of the kettle, and I guess I figured the whole hops would form a nice bed and allow the wort to pass.

I couldn't have been more wrong. The chilzilla CFC clogged after 5 mins, and HARD. I even attached silicone tubing to the hose and tried to blow it out, but the pressure made the hose balloon out like a water weenie!

I tried to run a small tubing brush inside there, but there's a good obstruction that won't loosen.

I'm thinking about trying:

1. Put it in the oven at 200f for a few hours to dry the whole hops out. They won't be so swollen and should shrink as they dry.

2. Use the safe, enzymatic kind of drano?

3. Hook a pressure rated, braided hose onto it and try again to flush it out....

4. Somehow hook up my co2 to it at a high PSI and try to blow it out?

What do you guys think? Anyone have this happen to them? I'm for sure going to use some kind of braid if I do this again.

I'd do the oven and the CO2.

One thing though -- when you turn on the CO2, don't look down into the hole

Oh yeah, and video tape this - It would make a great YouTube!!

"Rocket Lauched Hops"

lrr81765 said:

Oh yeah, and video tape this - It would make a great YouTube!!

"Rocket Lauched Hops"

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Definitely video! I am looking into getting you some sort of distinction for being one of the few if not the only one to plug up that type of CFC!
You are good! :rockin:

I think I'd try the braided hose and some water pressure. The silicone tubing I have is only rated to 5 psi so I can imagine it not allowing you to put much water pressure behind it (I've had the same issue with it balooning out when I'm cleaning out my CFC with house water pressure)

conpewter said:

I think I'd try the braided hose and some water pressure. The silicone tubing I have is only rated to 5 psi so I can imagine it not allowing you to put much water pressure behind it (I've had the same issue with it balooning out when I'm cleaning out my CFC with house water pressure)

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Good to know....I knew it wasn't rated for pressure....but I didn't think it was as low as 5 psi. Scared the hell out of me when I saw the hose ballooning, because it's expensive stuff. It seems to be intact and functional, so I should be good to go.

Actually, sink water pressure is surprisingly high. I think the easiest way would be to try again with a different hose, and just put the whole thing in a basin to contain the blast. If that doesn't work, then I think I'll put the thing in a warm oven for several hours to dry it out, and try using co2. Draino, while *supposedly* safe, should be the last resort.

I'd soak in hot PBW. If that doesn't do it then straight up sodium hydroxide or caustic will dissolve about anything but I'm not certain what the chillzilla was brazed with so I'd ask around it caustic is safe for the brazing.

Backflush with city pressure with any hose that is NOT silicone. It will work.

runhard said:

I'd soak in hot PBW. If that doesn't do it then straight up sodium hydroxide or caustic will dissolve about anything but I'm not certain what the chillzilla was brazed with so I'd ask around it caustic is safe for the brazing.

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This is a great question. It appears to be soldered with a bronze/gold material....why they didn't choose to solder with silver solder, I don't know. Maybe it's for higher temps? This is the main reason I'm leery about putting it in the oven.

wouldn't think the temps you're talking about would be an issue for solder or brazing. I mean, the thing is rated at LEAST for 212F (boiling point) and the solder requires more than that to melt. I'd be a little more nervous about adding caustic.

Steve recommended I ask this here:

Not to take this off-topic but my understanding is that there's no issues with having the cold break in the primaries (6 gallon carboys) correct? I swear I read that somewhere here. If yes, and the cold break compresses nicely over time, why do some people try and keep the cold break out of the fermenters?

(FWIW, I'm trying to determin if I should do the recirc through a CFC back into the BK to have the cold break in there or just go right into the fermenters).

Kal

If you try to recirc and filter the cold break, you're gonna have some serious clogging of whatever filter you use.
Most people try to keep cold break out because they think it improves the clarity. Now that I've used a cfc and dumped the cold break right in the fermenter, I can say that it doesn't affect things.

I think crash cooling a beer is one of the best things you can do for clarity. After you're sure your primary is done, bring the whole thing down to 40F for several days. Everything drops out of solution at that temp and really clears things up. Breweries do this same thing in their "bright tanks".

I know this isn't exactly particular to CFC's, but I'm still pondering over some awesome way to filter out hop matter before it leaves the BK. SS scrubbies are back in discussion. I may try that...

Ultimately, I envision getting the largest one of these Stock Pot Baskets, 36 Quart Stainless Steel Basket that will fit in my keggle, drilling more holes (especially in the bottom), and lining the inside with coarse stainless mesh. The whole thing can be suspended in the kettle by a rod.

This would be similar to the "hop hanger" that uses paint strainer bags. I think it'll allow better hop utilization though because the stainless won't collapse/deform around the hops like a bag. It'll allow better circulation because there will always be a large volume of wort inside the basket (vs the bag which forms a "softball of hops"). When you're done boiling, you just pull the whole thing out and dump it....no turning the bag inside out, etc.

Bobby_M said:

Backflush with city pressure with any hose that is NOT silicone. It will work.

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+1 that should take care of it. The big thing is the direction. Backflush.

ScubaSteve said:

I know this isn't exactly particular to CFC's, but I'm still pondering over some awesome way to filter out hop matter before it leaves the BK. SS scrubbies are back in discussion. I may try that...

Ultimately, I envision getting the largest one of these Stock Pot Baskets, 36 Quart Stainless Steel Basket that will fit in my keggle, drilling more holes (especially in the bottom), and lining the inside with coarse stainless mesh. The whole thing can be suspended in the kettle by a rod.

This would be similar to the "hop hanger" that uses paint strainer bags. I think it'll allow better hop utilization though because the stainless won't collapse/deform around the hops like a bag. It'll allow better circulation because there will always be a large volume of wort inside the basket (vs the bag which forms a "softball of hops"). When you're done boiling, you just pull the whole thing out and dump it....no turning the bag inside out, etc.

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I have considered something like this as well.

Any luck on the video?!

I keep trying to upload thru youtube...lemme try again.

Okay. Here's the first section:

And the second:

Please don't try drano. It's made to break apart the sort of stuff that humans are made from. Anyone who has read Breakfast of Champions would tell you not to do drano.

never heard of 'breakfast of champions' but I know full well what lye is.
in any case, unless I missunderstood, he managed to clear the plug so this should be a non-issue.

Yeah...the videos are kinda anticlimactic, I know....but at least I didn't ruin a $180 chiller. Posting videos is fun, too. Way better than pictures.Thanks, Bobby, for the reinforcement on sticking with water. I mighta had to get medieval on this thing!

Thanks for the videos! I really like that chiller, I didn't realize it was 1/2" pipe on those.

Good job on the unclogging and the video!

conpewter said:

Thanks for the videos! I really like that chiller, I didn't realize it was 1/2" pipe on those.

Good job on the unclogging and the video!

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If it is a Chillus, I think the specs say that it is 5/8 convoluted tubing inside. That makes it a pretty massive piece of copper. Mine will be here next week if UPS doesn't let me down. So, you have to give Steve credit. If he can plug up that thing, he has done something!

So how are you guys sanitizing those before use? Recirculating hot wort through it?

I've onlly gotten to use it a few times...I've recirced wort and I've also pumped starsan into it. Once I get the chiller hard plumbed into my rig, I suspect I'll continue to recirc boiling wort.

bull8042 said:

If it is a Chillus, I think the specs say that it is 5/8 convoluted tubing inside. That makes it a pretty massive piece of copper. Mine will be here next week if UPS doesn't let me down. So, you have to give Steve credit. If he can plug up that thing, he has done something!

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It's actually a chillus convolutus. I just like calling it a chillzilla . The chillus is about $30-$50 cheaper, and all of the fittings face forward. I think the chillzilla has the hose input/output facing backwards, but I could be wrong.

ScubaSteve said:

It's actually a chillus convolutus. I just like calling it a chillzilla . The chillus is about $30-$50 cheaper, and all of the fittings face forward. I think the chillzilla has the hose input/output facing backwards, but I could be wrong.

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Yeah, you are right. That is the same reason I went with the Chillus Convolutus. Well, that and also the fact that you are my hero and I want to be just like you. </BS>
How are you going to hard-pipe yours since they didn't put a threaded fitting on the inner/wort tubing?

well, build-date for my AG rig is coming up soon (taking thurs. off (12/18) and I'm already normally off on fri, sat. sun. but thurs. is my birthday so I'm taking that off, and building my rig over the next several days, hope to test the rig with boiling water by sunday (if earlier, I'll dash to the LBHS and nab some ingredients and brew on sunday -hehehe).
I'll take pix, of course. The SWMBO (must need her psych meds adjusted, she actually told me to go ahead and order the plate chiller (therminator) I've been lusting over) seems to really be on board with all of this (lucky me, since she doesn't even LIKE beer of any kind -doesn't drink). If you can clog up that monster chiller (hell of a feat! Especially given the size of that pipe! ) the plate chiller wouldn't have a chance. I'd better learn from your example and try to find a screen to use in my kettle. Maybe a long braided line (without the line) would be what I need... would LOVE a false-bottom for my boil pot but that can happen later. I've spent far more than I expected to on this rig already. My plumbing diagram looks nightmarish as it is...

Yeah, if you're going with a therminator you really need to take some extra steps to protect it. That's the main reason why I never bought one, because I don't think I could deal with it getting clogged....also the fact that it's hard to clean. People seem to have good success with using hop bags and some sort of filter screen (hopstopper, false bottom, etc) at the bottom as a preventive measure.

If you guys have ever used whole hops (most people use pellets) you can see it isn't really THAT hard to clog a chiller. Some of the cones get to be about an inch in diameter once they're rehydrated. I think I'll go the ss scrubbie route next time....should work pretty good.

I'm becoming more a fan of the no frills method of just throwing hops right in (the hop utilization is WAY better). Also, whole hops tend to have higher AA's, so that makes for hoppier beer. A ss scrubbie should be just the coarse filter I need to keep the BIG chunks out. If some makes it past; oh well...the cfc can take it. If that fails me, I guess I'm going the hopstopper route next. I'm planning on getting a hopback sometime soon, so I guess there's always going to be some kind of hop matter making it past.

where do you guys find SS scrubbies? Is it something you just make, or do you buy it?

Nightbiker said:

where do you guys find SS scrubbies? Is it something you just make, or do you buy it?

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You buy them. You can usually find them at grocery stores; surprisingly I couldn't find them at Target. I actually got copper scrubbies today. You gotta be careful because some are galvanized steel or copper plated. Chore boy seems to make some quality scrubbies:



....the copper ones I bought are actually just copper wire woven into a pad. You can see where they tack them together with heat:



Alternatively, I almost bought these aluminum "lint screens". It's like an aluminum mesh sock you put over your dryer ducting. They're pretty good size, and you can get 2 for $2.50. They could very well be the next hopstopper, with proper implementation.

Now that I think of it, I might have to go back and get some

bull8042 said:

How are you going to hard-pipe yours since they didn't put a threaded fitting on the inner/wort tubing?

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I just did it today First time I ever soldered pipe! It came out ugly at first, but:
It doesn't leak
It seems to be a strong joint
It cleaned up well....hiding my lack of skill at soldering

I'll start a new thread for DIY purposes. Be on the lookout

ScubaSteve said:

I just did it today First time I ever soldered pipe! It came out ugly at first, but:
It doesn't leak
It seems to be a strong joint
It cleaned up well....hiding my lack of skill at soldering

I'll start a new thread for DIY purposes. Be on the lookout

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Great! I will look out for it.

That explains why I couldn't find 'em at the homebrew supply shops online under 'scrubbies' or 'screens'! Thanks for the info and the pix, I'll try for the copper ones, but SS will do as well. I like the lint-screen idea as well. I'll give 'em all a look.

showed the pix to the wife, she knew right where to get 'em and promised to acquire some for me this wk. More I think about it, I like the aluminum screen sock idea even better -I could put something in it (copper ring or something) to help it hold an 'open' shape during the boil, which would give me more surface area and hopefully help decrease total clogging -and of course, keep crap out of the plate chiller.

Developed a monster of a cold, and feel totally crappy. Got very little done on the brewery this weekend, hope I feel good enough and can get it done by next weekend. That Munich Dunkel from BYO magazine has been invading my dreams at night. Therefore it must be brewed -no way around it. And at least 10 gals. of the stuff -its among my favorite of styles, and my family enjoys it as well. This stuff would be put to good use in kegs....