How do you Clean your Immersion Chiller?

Last weekend I brewed a Huge Russian Imperial Stout. Needless to say, everything is Black. My main concern is my immersion Chiller. I have always just rinsed it after a use. Granted it has always had some Hop remnants on it, but nothing to sweat about. Well, my Chiller is Filthy now. I remember someone here saying something about a 5 gallon bucket and a certain solution dunking. Can anyone refresh my memory so I can get my Chiller back to Standards?

Hot ass water. Star San will bring back the shine (get rid off any oxidation) on copper like magic.

Palmer says white-distilled vinegar, CLR, PBW, and StarSan also does the job. Most of these can be found at your standard grocer.

ilikestuff said:

Hot ass water.

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and OxyClean It will git rid of all your biologics and shine it up nice. Just dip it in a hot rinse to make sure you get any residue off.


john

I've had luck clean the heavy stuff of in the sink with hot water and sticking it in the dishwasher on the antibacterial setting.

+1 for white vinegar. mix with water(don't know exact ratio but it doesn't take much), heat it up and dunk it in, drink a homebrew while you watch the magic before your eyes.

I would have to say, its never a good idea to let any organics cling to any of your brewing equipment.

We wash the outside of our chiller just as soon as the beer has been sealed in the fermenter. A rinse and a wash in soap and water followed by another rinse. No hops, no Irish moss, no nothing left on the chiller.

Why were you not cleaning off your chiller to begin with, may I ask?





Gedvondur

Gedvondur said:

I would have to say, its never a good idea to let any organics cling to any of your brewing equipment.

We wash the outside of our chiller just as soon as the beer has been sealed in the fermenter. A rinse and a wash in soap and water followed by another rinse. No hops, no Irish moss, no nothing left on the chiller.

Why were you not cleaning off your chiller to begin with, may I ask?





Gedvondur

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I have been cleaning off my chiller. Just not as thorough as I should have.

I have a 5gal bucket I keep my immersion chiller in, and when I chill my wort I fill it with the first 5gal of cooling water (which is nice and hot). Then when I'm done using the chiller, I simply let it soak in the hot water while I deal with the wort and yeast. After that I remove it, give it a rinse and then use the hot water with some oxyclean to clean the rest of my brewing equipment.

+1 star san. I use a prechiller bucket, so I use the water in a bucket + star san. Don't need to worry as much as getting the entire coil under the boil line then.

ClutchDude said:

+1 star san. I use a prechiller bucket, so I use the water in a bucket + star san. Don't need to worry as much as getting the entire coil under the boil line then.

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I'm not so sure about that tactic, though. Once you lose the oxidative layer, you may start to notice a metallic taste in the first batch you use it on post-star-san. I used to use star-san to sanitize my IC, but abandoned it after I got a metallic taste from using it.

i simply rinse it with water, then boil it in the next wort....

uglygoat said:

i simply rinse it with water, then boil it in the next wort....

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+1 I let it air dry, then store it in a Home Depot Bucket. It protects the coils.

Never noticed a metallic taste. I have heard (no source, so take it as such) that a piece of copper helps in terms of yeast nutrients.

EdWort said:

+1 I let it air dry, then store it in a Home Depot Bucket. It protects the coils.

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i do the same with my mash tun and manifold, sans the boil...

uglygoat said:

i simply rinse it with water, then boil it in the next wort....

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EdWort said:

+1 I let it air dry, then store it in a Home Depot Bucket. It protects the coils.

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+2 on rinse and boil and then hang it on my wall.