Big Daddy Immersion Chiller (50' x 5/8")

I've used a counterflow and a plate chiller and wanted to try out the recirculating IC design just to round out my chiller experience. I wanted something adaptable for 5 or 10 gallons but leave some room to grow for up to 20 gallons if I went that way.

This is coiled around a pinlock keg and therefore the outside diameter of the coil is about 11", just right for getting into my keggle opening. It would have been one coil taller but I hacked off 3' of tubing for my wort return piece which isn't built yet.



Of course, I ordered the copper from coppertubingsales.com and it was $60 plus 20 shipping. I went with the 5/8" because it was only $15 more than 1/2". I was surprised I was actually able to coil it without any help. The key was using a clamp to hold the top of the coil to the corny and I let the rest of the coil just sit on a piece of carpet. The keg sits in the loose center of the coil and you just wort it around.

Just like in my video tutorial on the IC build, I used 90 degree elbow connectors to get the uprights and horizontal in/out bends nice a tight. The main upright is also tack soldered to one of the coils about half way up and the two uprights are also tacked for stability.

The garden hose in/out connectors are brass GH male to 1/2" NPT and GH female to 1/2" NPT. It just worked out that the ID of 1/2" threaded fittings is 5/8". Nice press fit and then some solder.

So when could i get mine . Very nice design, let us know how it is in action.

As I often say, if something is worth doing, it's worth overdoing! That is truly industrial beauty.

I imagine the neighborhood water pressure dropping drasticly when you valve that thing open, all those neighbors w/ shampoo in their hair and showers barely trickling. You gonna connect that thing at the house or the nearest hydrant?

that is one big shiny IC. you going to do straight water, or recirc ice water?

Beautiful as always Bobby_M. And the obligatory I hate you

I will be curious to hear your cooling times with 5/8. I used your 90 degree elbow trick and soldered barb fittings when I built my 50 x 1/2 chiller. I also stripped a couple feet of 14 ga romex, and weaved a strand in and out of the coils, and tacked every third coil or so. I did 3 strands (every 120 degrees) and it is very rigid. Not sure if the 5/8" is as floppy as the 1/2" but I think it helps hold the shape, and helps keep the spacing between coils.

Nice work!

That is really nice. I have zero skills like that. I'm jealous. Very nice though!

5/8" is just big enough to really hold firm but tacking one or a few of the coils to the upright really makes the difference.

I'll use it with straight tap water for most of the year unless I'm doing a lager, then I'd probably throw my spare sump pump into a bin of icewater towards the tail end of the chill.

It looks nice and beefy! I tried tacking the upright copper to the coils when I built mine but could not get it to hold. Now I have it held together with polyester cable ties and it's not very professional looking. Maybe I'll try tacking it again when I get time. Thanks for the pics.

You have to clean the mating surfaces with fine sandpaper or a wirebrush and apply a good acid flux. I mean even though it's visibly clean, it's not solder clean.

Bobby_M said:

The keg sits in the loose center of the coil and you just wort it around.

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Nice pun...

Bobby_M said:

You have to clean the mating surfaces with fine sandpaper or a wirebrush and apply a good acid flux. I mean even though it's visibly clean, it's not solder clean.

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10-4. That is probably where I went wrong with not fluxing it. I did sand it however.

After talking to you Bobby about the plate chiller, you go whirlpool. When are you going to try it for the first time? I'm not going to dirty my plate chiller. I'm going to wait and get your feed back. 5/8" is what I was thinking before I bought the plate. I read where Mr. Conn went whirlpool and loved the results. Give us some feedback if you would, the build looks great.

I'm thinking about taking a day off this week to brew so we'll see. I would have done it tomorrow but I spent like 3 hours in the garage polishing my HLT and I have to pay some more forward to the wife and family.

Very professional. Nice work, Bobby!

one day when I get a pump I will do the whirlpool. It's on my To-Do list.

Wow, that thing is beefy. I don't think I could wrap those coils so neatly like that and mine would be a messy looking slob.

Well done though.

I wasn't sure what it would end up like either but clamping the end to the top of a corny really made it easy.

What size were the fittings? I didn't know they had 5/8" sweat fittings. I guess it will take some trials to figure out how much you will lose with the coldbreak and sludge. I'm really looking forward to seeing your results.

5/8 sweat fittings are the most common there are. They're labelled 1/2".

DUH, guess I thought 1/2" was for 1/2"

Plumbing fittings are silly. They are generally labeled with their ID (Inner Diameter) and not their OD (Outer Diameter). Whenever you are matching this stuff if your not sure what you have it's best to take a small peice to the hardware with you. This way no mistakes.

Nice looking rig BobbyM. I made a 30' version of this in 5/8 OD after being inspired by your DIY video. I didn't tack it anywhere and have had zero issues with stability.

Bobby you have a date for the 1st run with this? Keep us posted

How much liquid does this thing disperse? If doing a 10gal batch with 2 of boiloff + the dispertion, you will be cutting it real close with boil over.

My scribble geometry calculations says it displaces .75 gallons. It would go into a 15.5 gallon kettle when it's down under 11 gallons so I'll be fine. In other words, it doesn't go in when boilovers are likely.

I'm brewing this Saturday and I'll give it a go.

Cool. I am currently battling with getting a plate chiller, or going this route. I currently have a CFC but it still just takes to long. I did a 10gal yesterday and took the temp of the tap water from the hose outside and it was 90. This is rediculous. I think the IM chiller with a ice water recirc would be more efficient and cheaper to put together.

Is there a particular grade of copper that you purchased to make bending that size copper easier?

Not trying to speak for Bobby here, but I'm a bit of an expert on the subject.

Copper is rated in wall thickness by a letter. The most common are M, L, and K. M is the thinnest and K is the thickest. Most "soft" or coiled copper is either L or K. L is going to be the best bet for expense and ease of bending. For the uprights on the build M would be more than sufficent.

I just saw a 10' length of 1/2" M @ Lowe's today for $7.25. A 50' roll of 1/2" L is gonna be in the $70-90 range. Looks like Bobby found the hookup there.

You could use 3/8 ID M soft copper for your coil and use 2-3/8 x 1/2 Red Cplgs and go to 1/2" M for your uprights and save $ there too. It would still be a HUGE IC. Couple it with a pre-chiller in some ice.......Cold Break Dancin.

schupaul said:

I currently have a CFC but it still just takes to long. I did a 10gal yesterday and took the temp of the tap water from the hose outside and it was 90. This is rediculous. I think the IM chiller with a ice water recirc would be more efficient and cheaper to put together.

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what if you made a prechiller for you cfc, wouldn't that allow you to bring the water temp down before it enters the cfc? if you used the 5/8" for your prechiller i think it would work nicely

holy mcjesus that's a big IC!!!

Bobby_M said:

My scribble geometry calculations says it displaces .75 gallons. It would go into a 15.5 gallon kettle when it's down under 11 gallons so I'll be fine. In other words, it doesn't go in when boilovers are likely.

I'm brewing this Saturday and I'll give it a go.

Click to expand...

Are you going to whirlpool with this also? I would like to. I was thinking of making the same version of yours but adding a whirlpool also. The only question I have is where to put the whirlpool. I was thinking of putting another weldless valve at the bottom of the keggle and adding a hooked arm so the flow would circle. Is a march pump going to have enough get up and go to make a whilpool? Or, should I just make a cheap copper arm that attaches to the IC and adjust it to just below the liquid level and pump with the march pump? Which is going to work better? I like the idea of the bent dip tube on another ball valve at the bottom but I have never whilpooled and dont know which is going to work better.

Bobby_M said:

My scribble geometry calculations says it displaces .75 gallons. It would go into a 15.5 gallon kettle when it's down under 11 gallons so I'll be fine. In other words, it doesn't go in when boilovers are likely.

I'm brewing this Saturday and I'll give it a go.

Click to expand...

another thing I was thinking about is making it a permenant mount by adding sometype of bulkhead adapters at the top of keggle near the hand holds and adding quick disconnects to the outside of the keggle for a nice clean install. Bad idea?

That's a beauty. i did a 60 foot 1/2 in and fortunately got the copper free from work, which we pay 120 for 60 feet, and that's with a bulk discount for the quantities we get, so you got one hell of a deal on the copper! Well done.

I used it yesterday to chill two separate 5 gallon batches. It obviously sticks out of the top of the wort on those. I also didn't have time to setup a whirlpooling wort return but I did have the wort recirculating and had the output hitting the coils that were sticking out. With 67F tap water, it took about 15 minutes to get the wort to 71F. I'm fine with that.

I know it was your first time brewing with it, but do you think this is going to be your favorite type of chiller? Not realyy related....what 2 types did you brew?

It's really hard to say at this point because the trick to good IC chilling is pumping icewater when the tap is running over 60F. I just ran out of time to put it together so I went with what I had. The two separate batches were a partigyled 1.099 Russian Imperial Stout and a 1.040 "second runnings" whatever it ends up Stout that I boiled in my HLT.

Have you had to change your screen in your kettle? I guess when whirlpooling your trub is in the middle. Isn't this where your "hopstopper" would be? Just wonder how you get around all the cold break in order to drain the kettle. I really like the idea of leaving the break in the kettle.

Ok Here is my version.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/28885114@N03/3967202202/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/28885114@N03/3966424871/

Cant wait to use it this weekend.

I like it schupal...at first I was like wtf, an IC w/ three hook ups.