Kershner_Ale
Well-Known Member
I can't seem to get past my cheap-ass ways and refuse to buy or pay for materials to build a copper tubing wort chiller. So here's a cheaper alternative I came up with, and a major flaw I'm hoping you can help me correct.
I figured I'd take 15' or so of small diameter clear vinyl tubing and coil it up into a tight enough coil to fit inside a small cooler (the type of cooler one would carry his/her lunch in). I'd hook one end of the tubing to my auto-siphon and the other end would go into the carboy. Fill the cooler with ice and water to make a cold icy bath to chill the tubing in. Then slowly siphon the hot wort through the tubing into the carboy. I'm hoping the small diameter tubing and slow siphon allows for enough rapid heat exchange between icy water and hot wort. Certainly length of hose would be a factor.
The problem: how to keep the vinyl tubing from melting. Best I can tell, standard food-grade vinyl tubing is rating up to 165 F. I figure I need something at least up to 230 F...? Also am not sure how well my auto-siphon would hold up to the hot temps. Any ideas? Seems I could use teflon coating tubing as it has a much higher temp rating, but what about the "cheap" plastic of my auto-siphon. Thanks for any thoughts,
Jeff
I figured I'd take 15' or so of small diameter clear vinyl tubing and coil it up into a tight enough coil to fit inside a small cooler (the type of cooler one would carry his/her lunch in). I'd hook one end of the tubing to my auto-siphon and the other end would go into the carboy. Fill the cooler with ice and water to make a cold icy bath to chill the tubing in. Then slowly siphon the hot wort through the tubing into the carboy. I'm hoping the small diameter tubing and slow siphon allows for enough rapid heat exchange between icy water and hot wort. Certainly length of hose would be a factor.
The problem: how to keep the vinyl tubing from melting. Best I can tell, standard food-grade vinyl tubing is rating up to 165 F. I figure I need something at least up to 230 F...? Also am not sure how well my auto-siphon would hold up to the hot temps. Any ideas? Seems I could use teflon coating tubing as it has a much higher temp rating, but what about the "cheap" plastic of my auto-siphon. Thanks for any thoughts,
Jeff