QUICK noob question! What must be done to a wort chiller before using it???

Using my immersion wort chiller for the first time...made from whatever copper coil i bought from home depot... realized i have not done anything but sanitize it...is there any prep work I need to do to it to keep copper from flaking off and killing me or something??? Help!

If you've bought the coil new and washed/sanitized it, you should be good. Put it in the pot 15 min. before the end of the boil to re-sanitize it just before cooling use, and that's really all there is to it.

Just put in in before you stop the boil.

Don't worry and have a homebrew. Drop it in the last couple of min of the boil and you'll have no problems. You could put in in the oven @ 350 for 15 min or so and I hear this helps build a passive oxide layer but this is something that will build over time anyway.

I just bought a Stainless steel wort chiller in anticipation of my first brew. I tested it out and it works fine. Im sure their is alittle water left in it. Will that hurt it?

ok thanks y'all so just wash and sanitize as i would my primary and i'm cool...well I already know I'm cool...so I'm allset...? thanks!

BaccusIsWine said:

I just bought a Stainless steel wort chiller in anticipation of my first brew. I tested it out and it works fine. Im sure their is alittle water left in it. Will that hurt it?

Click to expand...

No. BUT, don't just stick it in the wort until you have the hoses connected. Here's why (ask me how I know this?!? ):

Any water left in the coil will immediately start to boil and shoot out of the coil directly at your bare legs, burning you from the thighs down.

Yooper said:

No. BUT, don't just stick it in the wort until you have the hoses connected. Here's why (ask me how I know this?!? ):

Any water left in the coil will immediately start to boil and shoot out of the coil directly at your bare legs, burning you from the thighs down.

Click to expand...

OUCH! thanks for the tip

Yooper said:

No. BUT, don't just stick it in the wort until you have the hoses connected. Here's why (ask me how I know this?!? ):

Any water left in the coil will immediately start to boil and shoot out of the coil directly at your bare legs, burning you from the thighs down.

Click to expand...

Yooper I found that that out the hard way too about 9 years ago! Burnt the heck out of my arm!

New Noob question!

What in the hell do I need to do to go from a hose to a 3/8 copper tube? I had spray everywhere (I contained it, so it did not get in the wort) and could not even turn up the water high/fast enough to get the heat rejection I was hoping for, so it's kind of back to the drawing board. Is there a 3/8" copper compression to female hose compression fitting (I ask lazily prior to heading to HD)?

I used the hose clamps and bent the **** out of the copper trying to tighten it down. :-(

Yooper said:

No. BUT, don't just stick it in the wort until you have the hoses connected. Here's why (ask me how I know this?!? ):

Any water left in the coil will immediately start to boil and shoot out of the coil directly at your bare legs, burning you from the thighs down.

Click to expand...

And make sure that output hose is pointed in a safe direction too. I got a nice surprise over the weekend when mine wasn't quite completely in the sink drain and I got a pretty good splash all along the left arm.

Don't forget a small prayer.

"Dear Lord...please watch over the functioning of this chiller, and may it chill my wort as fast as possible to give me the cold break I need for some exquisitely tasty beer, and may it never accidentally burn me if I forget to put the hoses on it before I start heating it up. Amen."

natewv said:

New Noob question!

What in the hell do I need to do to go from a hose to a 3/8 copper tube? I had spray everywhere (I contained it, so it did not get in the wort) and could not even turn up the water high/fast enough to get the heat rejection I was hoping for, so it's kind of back to the drawing board. Is there a 3/8" copper compression to female hose compression fitting (I ask lazily prior to heading to HD)?

I used the hose clamps and bent the **** out of the copper trying to tighten it down. :-(

Click to expand...

I had an old small garden hose and just cut the end off. I used a short piece of 1/2" copper tubing going into the hose and a 1/2" to 3/8" compression union.

Yooper said:

No. BUT, don't just stick it in the wort until you have the hoses connected. Here's why (ask me how I know this?!? ):

Any water left in the coil will immediately start to boil and shoot out of the coil directly at your bare legs, burning you from the thighs down.

Click to expand...

How do you know this?

I just wash my chiller with warm water and oxyclean. I rinse it off real good and it sits in a 5 gal pale with my hoses. I have hose connections but put quick connects on the ends so I don't stress the soldiered ends on the chiller.

I will agree with Yooper though, that water is FRACKIN hot when it first comes out. Don't lay the hose down loose esp around kids or pets. I have a mix breed pup that loves the garden hose. I have to watch him at brew time. I just put the drain hose into SWMBO's gutter water barrel. She waters her plants with it.

I don't worry if there is a little water left in it. It's inside the chiller so it shouldn't cause problems. You could blow it out with an air compressor hose if it bothers you.

natewv said:

New Noob question!

What in the hell do I need to do to go from a hose to a 3/8 copper tube? I had spray everywhere (I contained it, so it did not get in the wort) and could not even turn up the water high/fast enough to get the heat rejection I was hoping for, so it's kind of back to the drawing board. Is there a 3/8" copper compression to female hose compression fitting (I ask lazily prior to heading to HD)?

I used the hose clamps and bent the **** out of the copper trying to tighten it down. :-(

Click to expand...

Of course. First, a word of warning on drips. If your IC doesn't extend outside of the pot/kettle, I wouldn't try this. There is risk of contamination unless these connections occur outside of the pot/kettle.

Next, refrigeration tubing specs use outer dimension while other copper pluming uses inner diameter so the sizing can be a bit confusing. But what this means is you have to go one size down for all of your fittings.

3/8" od copper tube --> 1/4" nominal fittings
1/2" od copper tube --> 3/8" nominal fittings

So to go from your 3/8" od tube, you need:

(2) 1/4 x 1/2 mip ( to connect the copper tubing to the garden hose fittings. Put adapter and garden hose fitting together before soldering.) ICS-104R-CF
https://coppertubingsales.com/storefront/product_info.php?cPath=27_101&products_id=509

(1) 1/2 fpt x 3/4 mgh ( garden hose fitting) ICS-AHN130FK https://coppertubingsales.com/storefront/product_info.php?cPath=22_38_77&products_id=364

(1) 1/2 fpt x 3/4 fghs ( swivel female garden hose)ICS-ASWHN129FK https://coppertubingsales.com/storefront/product_info.php?cPath=22_38_84&products_id=392

Additionally, you will need a torch, lead-free plumbing solder (minimal amount required), some plumbing flux, and teflon tape. The first item screws into the hose fittings and then solder to the .

Order online if you want to same some money. They charge a serious premium for these little copper bits if you go the Home Depot or local hardware store. The guy at Copper Tubing Sales was helpful and their prices are really good. They also have other small useful items like stainless hose clamps for cheap.

Basic solder procedure is:

1. Rough up the surfaces of both sides (outside of tubes and inside of fittings) with sandpaper or metal brush. Just enough to remove surface layer.

2. Apply flux to both sides.

3. Apply heat, focusing on the thicker fitting but heating the tube as well.

4. When it starts smoking, remove the torch and touch a little solder to the joint. It only takes a little and it should wick all the way around.

Diver165 said:

I just wash my chiller with warm water and oxyclean. I rinse it off real good and it sits in a 5 gal pale with my hoses. I have hose connections but put quick connects on the ends so I don't stress the soldiered ends on the chiller.

Click to expand...

Thanks I used Oxyclean too. I wanted to respond primarily though to let you know Marshall is going down in 18 days.

natewv said:

Thanks I used Oxyclean too. I wanted to respond primarily though to let you know Marshall is going down in 18 days.

Click to expand...

Heh, probably so... But look at it from our point of view, no where to go but up!

You can flare the end of the copper tube then slide the hose over it and tighten a proper sized clamp. If you crushed the copper trying to tighten then that's why it didn't seal.