IC dimensions what is optimal?

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Schnitzengiggle

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SWMBO made my day yesterday, she got me a 60qt Bk from Morebeer with a ball valve, and a Bayou Classic SQ14!:rockin:

I think all I need now is a bulkhead for my cooler MLT, and an IC before aattempting my first AG brew.

I plan on building a 50' copper IC for this pot, but I don't know what to use as a form so the IC isn't too tall and narrow or too wide, for optimal cooling.

Which brings me to my question, how far, or close depending on how you look at it, should the coils of the IC be from the wall of the pot?

Does anyone else have the 60qt Morebeer pot that they have mad an IC for and if so what did you use for the form?

I'd appreciate any advice or feedback, thanks.
 
I don't know the specifics, but I used a small pot when I made mine. I think that you want to try and get all of the coils under the level of wort you will normally be cooling. So, figure out how deep that will be (remember that adding the IC will raise the level!); figure out how deep one coil of the copper is (i.e. what is the OD); and go from there.

TBH though, I just winged it and it worked!
 
I can't tell you the specific answers to your questions, but I can say that I have a pretty wide 60qt pot (different manufacturer), and I used one of my wife's stock pots as the template to wrap my coils around. I think I used one of those enamel lobster pots or something. I looked at using a paint can, but it was way too small. I didn't have a corny back then, so not sure how it would have fared, but I bet it would have been too small too.

My IC sits about 1-2 inches from the wall of my kettle, and seems to work well.

Good luck!
 
I don't know the specifics, but I used a small pot when I made mine. I think that you want to try and get all of the coils under the level of wort you will normally be cooling. So, figure out how deep that will be (remember that adding the IC will raise the level!); figure out how deep one coil of the copper is (i.e. what is the OD); and go from there.

TBH though, I just winged it and it worked!

Yeah, I did pretty much this (including the "winging it" part)...
 
It really doesn't matter what coil size you use so long as you are getting good turbulent flow around the coils.

I suggest getting the coils very near the outside diameter of the kettle and forming a very good whirlpool in the center (e.g., with a circulating pump). This will give you a good turbulent flow and good heat exchange between the wort and the coil.
 
The majority i've seen are about 9 inches diameter, people use corny kegs to wrap it around. Inner dimentions about 1/4" works well. And 50' as you were planning will work well.

I have two 50' 1/8" ID immersion chillers ($30 each) and run both at the same time, I think it actually works better than one alone. I chill quicker than my brother with his (same as described above). However, your pot needs to be able to fit them both...I think a 60qt might. Just wanted to throw that idea out there.
 
I will be using 1/2" OD copper tubing (I believe that is 3/8" ID), I was going to sweat all of my fittings on such as BobbyM shows in his IC DIY tutorial, but for this pot, a corny keg would be much too narrow forthe height, IIRC the pot is only about 14"H x 18"D.

Allright, thanks for the input. My first thought was to use my 5 gallon pot that I have been doing my partial boils in as a form, but it still might be on the narrow side. This 60 qt pot is a monster!

Maybe a fermenter bucket? I'll figure it out, I was just curious if there was an "optimal" configuration.
 
As long as you can still stir the wort with it in there it will work. I stir the wort around my chillers, vs. stirring the wort in the middle of the chillers as mentioned above. It cools down to 100 degrees in about 6 minutes.

The configuration you are using will work well. The fermenter bucket sounds like a winner for diameter.
 
I just use my SS spoon to move the wort around the chiller. So long as it is sanitized first. ;) Never had a problem doing it this way.
 
Just form the coil around a corny keg or something similar in size and you will not have any issues. This way if you ever change your size of kettle your IC will still work.
 
Should all of the coils be submerged at all times, or if some of them do not contact the wort will it be okay?

Other than the sanitation issue, does it create any problems to have some of the coils above the wort?

I plan on doing a couple 5 gallon AG batches with this pot to get used to the process before sarting 10 gallon batches, and with only 5 gallons in this pot the coils definitley will not all be in contact with wort.
 
Mine poke out of the top when I do 5 gallon batches. I figure if I put it in early enough, it is still going to get hot enough to sterilize fully. It cools just fine.
 
I didn't use anything to coil my IC. i just took and slowly bent the copper to the size I needed. The copper comes in a coil, and I just tightend the coil. It's been working fine for over a year.

B
 
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