I mentioned my plans to modify my chiller in another thread and said I would post results. Ater the beer evaporated I realized that the other thread was an IC thread so decided to post here. My ambient temps run about 105* and tap temps are 85* making it difficult to cool the wort fast enough for a good cold break or get to pitch temps within a reasonable amount of time(was taking 1 hour to reach 80* which was not satisfactory). this pic is after the build
I built it in a bucket to make it easier to move around and to contain the ice. A 25' coil of 3/8" tubing(secondary coil) was placed in the bottom and one end passed through a grommeted hole(outlet). I lowered the CFC around the secondary and pushed the inlet and outlet cooling hoses through the bucket and clamped them in place. Then clamped a tube from the wort outlet on the CFC to the inlet on the secondary coil. The whole bucket sits below the kettle so it can gravity flow through both coils(although I use a pump on the outlet side to pull the wort clear of the coils). Both coils flow top to bottom to help gravity/ siphon effect. crushed ice will be poured into the middle and outside the secondary coil(ice will be added as needed, I don't plan on more than 20 lbs.) The cooled wort will come out the red capped tube on the bottom right of the pic. this pic is after testing showing the remaining ice from 18 lbs of crushed ice
This mornings ambient was a cool blissful 96* and tap temp was running 82* During testing I let it gravity flow for the first 4 gallons and used the pump for the next 4 gallons. The water(wort) temp going in was 210* throughout the test. During gravity flow the temp started at 40*then settled at 54*. when the pump was turned on at full flow the temp climbed to 78*. I was able to reduce the full flow temp to 68* by rocking the bucket to help settle the ice around the secondary coil to get more contact between the melting ice and coil. The time to drain 8 gallons of water through the chiller was 12 minutes. This time will be reduced because I plan on using a pump instead of splitting between gravity and pump. I tried gravity to see the difference in temps that forced flow vs gravity would make. Results: the Hell on Earth Wort Chiller works great! It will allow boiling to pitch temps in a single pass under 15 mins for 10 gallon batches using only 2 bags of ice.
Draining the chiller after use will be simple. Disconnect the small hose connecting the primary and secondary coils, turn the chiller upside down and blow air through the wort oulet and the coolant inlet. I hope this helps any who have problems cooling their wort.
I built it in a bucket to make it easier to move around and to contain the ice. A 25' coil of 3/8" tubing(secondary coil) was placed in the bottom and one end passed through a grommeted hole(outlet). I lowered the CFC around the secondary and pushed the inlet and outlet cooling hoses through the bucket and clamped them in place. Then clamped a tube from the wort outlet on the CFC to the inlet on the secondary coil. The whole bucket sits below the kettle so it can gravity flow through both coils(although I use a pump on the outlet side to pull the wort clear of the coils). Both coils flow top to bottom to help gravity/ siphon effect. crushed ice will be poured into the middle and outside the secondary coil(ice will be added as needed, I don't plan on more than 20 lbs.) The cooled wort will come out the red capped tube on the bottom right of the pic. this pic is after testing showing the remaining ice from 18 lbs of crushed ice
This mornings ambient was a cool blissful 96* and tap temp was running 82* During testing I let it gravity flow for the first 4 gallons and used the pump for the next 4 gallons. The water(wort) temp going in was 210* throughout the test. During gravity flow the temp started at 40*then settled at 54*. when the pump was turned on at full flow the temp climbed to 78*. I was able to reduce the full flow temp to 68* by rocking the bucket to help settle the ice around the secondary coil to get more contact between the melting ice and coil. The time to drain 8 gallons of water through the chiller was 12 minutes. This time will be reduced because I plan on using a pump instead of splitting between gravity and pump. I tried gravity to see the difference in temps that forced flow vs gravity would make. Results: the Hell on Earth Wort Chiller works great! It will allow boiling to pitch temps in a single pass under 15 mins for 10 gallon batches using only 2 bags of ice.
Draining the chiller after use will be simple. Disconnect the small hose connecting the primary and secondary coils, turn the chiller upside down and blow air through the wort oulet and the coolant inlet. I hope this helps any who have problems cooling their wort.