Is convoluted tubing overkill?

I have couplers that will be welded up hopefully next week to my HLT and am about to purchase some copper for the coil. I have a 15gal kettle and have yet to decide on if the benefits of the convoluted tubing warrant the insane price difference.

3B has the 25' of 5/8" convoluted for $175. 25' of 1/2" non-convoluted is about $60-$65 at local stores.

I could also get 50' of non-convoluted for $130 and get the same if not better heat exchange than the 25' of convoluted right?

So, do I spring for convoluted or not? If not, should I get 50'?

First, you should check out these guys: CopperTubingSales.com :: ICS Indsutries ::

Copper has come down a lot, but not at the home improvement warehouses yet. I paid twice what i should have for the copper chiller I just made by not buying from ICS.

Second, I think the convoluted is a good idea if you have a very limited space and need to maximize the heat exchange from a short run. If you're putting it in a HLT though, that's not really a problem. I had a 50' length of 1/2" in my HLT and it worked just fine; the effluent was what ever temp the hot liquor was.

Derrin said:

First, you should check out these guys: CopperTubingSales.com :: ICS Indsutries ::

Copper has come down a lot, but not at the home improvement warehouses yet. I paid twice what i should have for the copper chiller I just made by not buying from ICS.

Second, I think the convoluted is a good idea if you have a very limited space and need to maximize the heat exchange from a short run. If you're putting it in a HLT though, that's not really a problem. I had a 50' length of 1/2" in my HLT and it worked just fine; the effluent was what ever temp the hot liquor was.

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Wow, thanks for the link! looks like 50' of non-convo is the way to go.

If you really want the effects of internal turbulence, you can fish a copper wire through the interior of the non-convoluted tubing. This is a cheap solution and will produce very similar results.

Boerderij_Kabouter said:

If you really want the effects of internal turbulence, you can fish a copper wire through the interior of the non-convoluted tubing. This is a cheap solution and will produce very similar results.

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That's a very good idea and works well, but I would caution against it for a coil you plan on passing wort through. If any grain makes it through, you'll have a much better chance of clogging the coil that has a wire running through it than a clear coil. Cleaning is an issue as well, but since it's pre-boil it's not really a concern.

Running the wire through a chiller is good thinking though.

Derrin said:

That's a very good idea and works well, but I would caution against it for a coil you plan on passing wort through. If any grain makes it through, you'll have a much better chance of clogging the coil that has a wire running through it than a clear coil. Cleaning is an issue as well, but since it's pre-boil it's not really a concern.

Running the wire through a chiller is good thinking though.

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This is correct, I was think in terms of using the coil as a chiller, not a herms coil.

I just talked to an Aaron at ICS and 50' of 1/2" is $48 delivered!

He told me someone from Chicago recently called about using this for homebrewing too. Lol...

Boerderij_Kabouter said:

If you really want the effects of internal turbulence, you can fish a copper wire through the interior of the non-convoluted tubing. This is a cheap solution and will produce very similar results.

Click to expand...

I was mainly checking to see if the efficiency difference was worth the extreme price change. Apparently not.