Drawbacks of boiling with your immersion chiller the entire 90~60 min boil.

Is there any reason why I can't keep my chiller in my BK the whole boil? The hole in my keggle is very tight and my immersion chiller doesn't fit in very easy. I should also mention that a recirculation armis soldered on to my chiller.

And no I don't have a grinder to make the hole wider.

The hose connectors on my chiller get very hot if I leave it in the kettle for more than about 10 minutes while boiling. I'm concerned that it may get hot enough to melt the hoses so I try to avoid boiling the chiller for more than a few minutes.

I don't see a problem with it. I would, however, make sure all of the water is out of the chiller; as it heats up, you'll have boiling water shooting out. You can also hook up your tubing and drain hot water to a bucket.

Seven said:

I'm concerned that it may get hot enough to melt the hoses so I try to avoid boiling the chiller for more than a few minutes.

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Good call Seven, you beat me to the post ...

I do it all the time. I haven't had a problem. The connectors do get hot but, I haven't had any issues with the hoses melting or cracking...

I have camlock quick disconnects BTW so dont touch...

Or touch with gloves...

I wouldn't keep the hose on just connect when needed.

Copper leaches into liquid when hot (which is why you shouldn't drink water from your hot water tap). Maybe the acidic wort will increase the rate as well?

I put mine in just after it's finished boiling the waters hot enough to kill germs. A full boil isn't necessary just over kill!

With about 30mins left in my boil, I'll usually go prep my primary, filling it with iodophor soln.

I just put my wort chiller and straining colander right in the primary bucket... everything is nice and clean, cool, and handy come the end of my boil.

I don't know for sure about copper leaching, but it is a very soft metal - I don't like the idea of boiling it. I have a feeling you're also asking for leaks where the hoses attach... but to each his own! There's no wrong answers. Even if some of the copper leaches out, I can't imagine it's really all that much.

WheeledGoat said:

I don't know for sure about copper leaching, but it is a very soft metal - I don't like the idea of boiling it. I have a feeling you're also asking for leaks where the hoses attach... but to each his own! There's no wrong answers. Even if some of the copper leaches out, I can't imagine it's really all that much.

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I looked up the MCL (Maximum Contaminant Level) for copper, the EPA allows 1.3 ppm or less in drinking water. Some of the problems with copper is:

Short term exposure: Gastrointestinal distress

Long term exposure: Liver or kidney damage

People with Wilson's Disease should consult their personal doctor if the amount of copper in their water exceeds the action level

I know quite a few brewers who have them permanently mounted in their keggles.

Yeah, breweries used to use big copper vessels, (probably why the boil kettle is referred to as 'the copper' despite now being stainless steel).

I'm not saying having the copper chiller in there will instantly kill you, and you actually need a little copper in your diet (although there is plenty in food). However, longer-term exposure to higher levels can affect things like your memory so if you can reduce it, why wouldn't you.

ChillWill said:

Copper leaches into liquid when hot (which is why you shouldn't drink water from your hot water tap). Maybe the acidic wort will increase the rate as well?

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Copper is actually healthy for your fermentation.

I just don't want to hassle with putting my chiller in when my keggle is boiling hot. Like I said it does not fit supper easy like.

There is no worry about copper leaching into your wort, what very little may leach will be beneficial to the yeast - and there is a different reason for not drinking the hot water from your tap. Many a micro brew have copper kettles.

Revvy said:

I know quite a few brewers who have them permanently mounted in their keggles.

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Really!? Talk about hard to clean! That's just craziness, man!!

ChillWill said:

Copper leaches into liquid when hot (which is why you shouldn't drink water from your hot water tap). Maybe the acidic wort will increase the rate as well?

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You don't want to drink hot tap water because of the lead solder used in older homes.

shelly_belly said:

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The winner! :rockin: