Wort Cooler

My LHBS has Wort Coolers.....for around $80.....which I thought was rather high.

Anyway, I ffound a brand new roll of 20' long copper tubing in my basement...so I am going to make my own!

I know that I need to put this into the brew pot around 15 minutes before end of boil to sanitize?? Should I clean it with percarbonate before that also....??

Any advice on use of wort cooler would be much appreciated..

I tell you....piling ice and water in the sink around the brew pot on my first brew was a pain in the but and it took longer to cool than I thought it would.....plus I used all the ice in my icemaker in my freezer....so looking forward to trying a wort chiller.

It's not a bad idea to clean it before use, just to be sure there are no "leftovers" from the last batch. With 15 minutes of boiling, you're going to kill any bacteria.

I always clean mine after use. On the next brew day I wipe it off and dunk it in santizer before placing it in the boil.

I made mine from 3/8" x 20' copper tube. No fancy fittings, I just squeeze the 3/8" tube from the sink faucet onto the tube and chill. I just give it a quick rinse after I put it away and before I use it again, boil to sanitize.

I just rinse mine with water before I use it, to get all the sticky stuff and hop residue off it. Any more than that seems like over kill, and I've got enough going on with brew day, and I don't want to complicate it.

The 80 dollars I spent on my chiller was probably the smartest money I ever spent in the hobby, BTW, It seems like a lot of money, sure - but bringing your wort from 212 to 65 in less than 5 minutes is pretty priceless.

Hope you see good results with only 20 feet. Better than nothing, I suppose.

Mine is made up.....20' of 3/8" cu pipe I had already....bouth the fitting and hose.....

Brewing a Stout today....I will let you guys know how it works out for me.

tamoore said:

The 80 dollars I spent on my chiller was probably the smartest money I ever spent in the hobby, BTW, It seems like a lot of money, sure - but bringing your wort from 212 to 65 in less than 5 minutes is pretty priceless.

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Geez, what type of chiller did you get? I use an immersion chiller plus an ice bath and it still takes 20 minutes or so to get to pitch range. I assume counter flow or some sort of plate chiller?

snipper_cr said:

Geez, what type of chiller did you get? I use an immersion chiller plus an ice bath and it still takes 20 minutes or so to get to pitch range. I assume counter flow or some sort of plate chiller?

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Nope. I got a 50' copper immersion chiller. I do have a well and get 50 degree ground water from it, which I assume helps a lot. I also don't just let it sit in there while the water runs. I'm actively moving it around, stirring the wort with it, moving it up and down, etc. to maximize the contact area.

tamoore said:

I also don't just let it sit in there while the water runs. I'm actively moving it around, stirring the wort with it, moving it up and down, etc. to maximize the contact area.

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+1
That is my method as well, although I only have a homemade 20' x 3/8" "ghetto" chiller(chills under 100° in about 5 minutes).

My IC works good for me and I only spent about $30 bucks. I did notice the "rolling" boil decreased dramatically when I added the IC to the kettle so I have been just sanitzing my IC then rinsing before adding it at flameout.

My 2 cents!

I spray my chiller off with the hose (I brew on the deck) after I'm done with it, then once more before use the next time. If it has any greenish copper corrosion on it (not good at all to get in your beer), I'll hit it with a green scrub pad and some Bar Keepers Friend.

Rick500 said:

If it has any greenish copper corrosion on it (not good at all to get in your beer)...

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Oh crap! I had no idea. Looks like mine is in line for a good scrub down. Thanks for the info.

You may find that what you thought was verdigris is actually hops residue.

My 20" homemade wort chiller worked great.

Helps a lot to stir the wort every minute or so...

I filled my pot with Straight A solution and set wort cooler in it and soaked over nite.....nice and clean this morning.