Building my Two Cooler All Grain Brewery

Just realized I never posted after the brew. Manifold worked great! I think it cleared the wort faster than the braid did, but it could just be that the braid had degraded. Either way, very happy with the results.

I also noticed I never mentioned we upgraded to a plate chiller on this setup. My plan to chill the wort using an ice bath in the HLT was flawed from the start. WAY too much hot wort for one cooler of ice. The plate chiller works well down to about 80 degrees, but brewing in South Florida the groundwater can't chill beyond that during the summer.

I end up putting the fermenting buckets in a converted fridge and wait until they cool enough to pitch. So fat it hasn't been a problem, but I worry about leaving the wort to it's own devices for too long. I need to try pre-chilling the hose water and see if we can get it down to pitching temp faster.

freedombrew said:

The plate chiller works well down to about 80 degrees, but brewing in South Florida the groundwater can't chill beyond that during the summer.

I end up putting the fermenting buckets in a converted fridge and wait until they cool enough to pitch. So fat it hasn't been a problem, but I worry about leaving the wort to it's own devices for too long. I need to try pre-chilling the hose water and see if we can get it down to pitching temp faster.

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I use an immersion chiller here in the north. Mid summer I can get to just a little above pitching temperatures. I then do as you do, put it in my fermentation chamber and pitch when it cools down.

If you are sanitary there is nothing wrong with waiting. A larger and larger percentage of home-brewers are going with no chill. They wait as long as it takes for the wort to cool.