5/8" OD Copper Counterflow Chiller

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Beerman213

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Hey everyone.

So I <heart> this CFC https://www.homebrewtalk.com/wiki/index.php/How_to_make_a_Counter_Flow_Chiller. The problem that I am running into is that I have an immersion chiller made with 50' of 5/8"OD Copper. I was going to uncoil this copper and shove it in a rubber hose and be done with it but I cannot find rubber hose larger than 5/8" that isn't $200 for 50'.

With 5/8" OD copper I figure I would need rubber hose larger than 1 1/8" OD. Does anyone have any other suggestions or am I best to just buy a Duda plate chiller and keep my immersion chiller for those VERY hot days?

Thanks
Walt
 
5/8 should be the hose not the copper. Mine is 3/8 copper inside 5/8 hose. I have seen using a 6" diameter piece of pvc with the copper wound inside and the water enters and exits through the end caps.
 
5/8 should be the hose not the copper. Mine is 3/8 copper inside 5/8 hose. I have seen using a 6" diameter piece of pvc with the copper wound inside and the water enters and exits through the end caps.

I understand that...that's my dilemma. I already have 50' of 5/8" OD copper.

Walt
 
And use not abuse ( smart phone typo). Get a 3/8 copper tube and use it as the wort tube. There are plenty of build plans on the site. You could just about make 2 25 footers and sell one to get some of your money back.
 
Your post says 5/8 not 1/2. I have a cf with a 5/8 hose and 3/8 copper tube. Mine is 25 feet and works like a champ. I actually built a second as I had extra hose and now use one with the tap water and then a post chill sump pumpin a cooler of ice as the ground water is around 85-90 degrees in northern Va.
 
I have 25ft of irrigation hose I got from tractor supply. I made a cfc out of 5/8 copper and it fits over it nicely. To bad I thought I kinked it, un raveled it and completely destroyed it. You can have it for shipping. But it was like 70 buck at tractor supply. Think it is hose for irrigation or seeder machines
 
Your post says 5/8 not 1/2. I have a cf with a 5/8 hose and 3/8 copper tube. Mine is 25 feet and works like a champ. I actually built a second as I had extra hose and now use one with the tap water and then a post chill sump pumpin a cooler of ice as the ground water is around 85-90 degrees in northern Va.

Ok I don't know exactly where this went wrong so let's try again...I built an immersion chiller with 50' of 5/8"OD (1/2" ID) copper tubing. I would like to make a counterflow chiller. If I use 3/8" OD copper tubing and slide it inside of the copper tubing that I currently have, that would only leave me with 1/16" clearance inside all around right?

Am I seeing things completely wrong here? There seems to be a lot of misunderstanding

Walt
 
I think your best bet is to sell the 5/8" IC and rebuy what you need for the counterflow. 3/8" od copper inside 5/8" ID hose is typical. You could go 1/2" OD copper inside a 3/4" ID hose but you'll probably have to throttle the flow anyway so the smaller diameter is fine.
 
Bobby_M said:
I think your best bet is to sell the 5/8" IC and rebuy what you need for the counterflow. 3/8" od copper inside 5/8" ID hose is typical. You could go 1/2" OD copper inside a 3/4" ID hose but you'll probably have to throttle the flow anyway so the smaller diameter is fine.

Thanks Bobby. Ill keep looking for a deal on some larger hose while I use this IC. I was just checking to see if anyone had any ideas

Walt
 
Tractor supply was the only place I found large enough hose to go over 5/8. It is pricey. I would just buy the chillzilla fom morebeer at 189. Unrolling your 5/8 then sliding on tubing and rerolling, you have a lot of chances for kinking. I keep my IC as a prechiller for hot summer water for my cfc and it works great.
 
I may be wrong, but it seems like folks that've tried unrolling and re-rolling coiled copper have run into work hardening and had tubing split.

Just something to think about...
 
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