Immersion chiller pump

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xxdcmast

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When I finally build my system I want to attempt to conserver water. I don't like the idea of running water through my ic and wasting it. So I have read on these board about people using some kind of pump and a 5 gallon bucket filled with ice water to cool the wort.

My question is what type of pumps are these and where can I get one.
 
Next time you are in Home Despot go to the plumbing section. There are many pumps on display. Your best bet would be a submersible.






or just google
 
When I finally build my system I want to attempt to conserver water. I don't like the idea of running water through my ic and wasting it. So I have read on these board about people using some kind of pump and a 5 gallon bucket filled with ice water to cool the wort.

My question is what type of pumps are these and where can I get one.

A little off topic, but I was wondering why the big concern about using some water for chilling? Are you in a drought area or something? My point is that the water is probably cheaper than the ice in terms of both energy cost and expenditure if you have to buy it. It takes energy to make ice. Water is a renewable resource and ti too requires energy to treat and deliver it to you. What I'm getting at is that using ice may be less environmentally responsible than using water. I'm just guessing here and don't know for certain. You can also recover the cooling water and use it for something else.
 
A little off topic, but I was wondering why the big concern about using some water for chilling? Are you in a drought area or something? My point is that the water is probably cheaper than the ice in terms of both energy cost and expenditure if you have to buy it. It takes energy to make ice. Water is a renewable resource and ti too requires energy to treat and deliver it to you. What I'm getting at is that using ice may be less environmentally responsible than using water. I'm just guessing here and don't know for certain. You can also recover the cooling water and use it for something else.
Places like Texas has water that is warm especially in the summer. You can only chill to the ambient water temperature.
 
I do want to conserve water but I also want to make sure that I can cool the wort quickly even in the summertime when the tap water is warmer.
 
Just one 5 gallon bucket of ice water will not cool it completely. I have to use ground water for the initial 100 degrees or so and finish it with ice water and a pump. I capture the runoff water in a trash can to water plants later. I use a submersible sump pump.
 
These 20$ pond pumps, how many gpm or what diameter pipe will lift how high?
how big of a pump are we talking?
 
A little off topic, but I was wondering why the big concern about using some water for chilling? Are you in a drought area or something? My point is that the water is probably cheaper than the ice in terms of both energy cost and expenditure if you have to buy it. It takes energy to make ice. Water is a renewable resource and ti too requires energy to treat and deliver it to you. What I'm getting at is that using ice may be less environmentally responsible than using water. I'm just guessing here and don't know for certain. You can also recover the cooling water and use it for something else.

Just to be the Devil's advocate...

I would tend to think the cost difference between freezing water and using more water would be quite small. Electricity and water are both pretty cheap in the big picture.

The average hose bib puts out about 10 GPM. 20 minutes to cool your wort uses 200 gallons of water. That is quite a bit of water to recover. A washing machine uses a bout 50 g per load.
 
I dont see why a 5 gallon bucket of ice water won't work... it's worked fine for me in the past.

I just got a $10 submersible aquarium pump, ran water through my IC and as soon as the water being discharged from the chiller wasn't scolding, i placed the hose back into the ice water a just re-circulated it from there. After a few minutes, the discharged water will be cool enough to where it won't melt the ice at a significant rate, and the cooling water in the bucket would stay around 35 degrees or so. Cools the wort down quick and doesn't waste much water... Why question the guy on why he wants to conserve water... geez.
 
I use my normal hose water to cool it down to about 100 and then recirculate ice water from a bucket with a drill pump. 6 dollars at lowes, with standard hose threads.
 
When I finally build my system I want to attempt to conserver water.

Recycle a couple of 55 gallon HDPE drums and fill them w/ your cooling water. Brew during the colder months of the year, and you can conserve this 110 gallons for all your brewing needs...forever.

I would guess that the environmental impact of making ice is greater than additional water consumption...YMMV.
 
Even though we have a well, the idea of water conservation still appeals to me. Up until this thread, though, I haven't seen an idea that really appealed to me. I already have a submersible pump that came with the house that I've used to drain the basement over the years. I'm considering using it in conjuction with a large disused cistern alongside the house that is usually about half full of water. The cistern water should be about the same temp as the well water, which is ground ambient, about 55F. Submerge the pump and run a length of hose to my brew area. If I put another hose fitting on the discharge hose on my immersion chiller, I could even recycle the water to the cistern....but I see no reason to do that, I'll probably just fill 5 gallon buckets and haul them onto the garden as the wort chills. Just another example of the great ideas that come up on these forums!
 
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