Stainless IC, Whirlpool, additions to my brew kettle on the cheap.

I picked up some stainless coils at the scrap yard. There is an inner and an outer coil, from a soda machine. It totals to 72 foot of 3/8" tubing. My existing IC is stainless but it is a 5/16" coil from a jockey box. It works, but has way too much restriction on the flow. Since I did not want to have flow issues with the 3/8" tubing, I am feeding it with 1/2" and using a tee, so the length of the tubing is split up rather than doubled. The flow is night and day from my old IC. The other improvement I wanted to make was my pickup tube and to have a dedicated whirlpool arm that is adjustable. I have been advised that the return tube needs to be restricted to 3/8" to get the velocity for a decent whirlpool.
I just so happened to win a $50 gift certificate from Brewer's Hardware, so I had him make some dip tubes for my BK and HLT, and the 3/8" return tube. I bought a bulkhead from "pickles" in the classifieds here. A very kind brewer sent me some swagelock fittings. I haven't tested the whirlpool arm yet, but my plan is to be able to rotate it for higher and lower positions, and not just for the difference between 5 and 10 gallon batches, but also to be able to break the surface tension (aerate) once I get down to a chilled temperature, and then I could pull the IC, let the wort spin for a bit before turning off the pump and hopefully making a nice trub pile. pics:

It was a real PITA to get the coil ends lined up, and the tubing was more of a D shape from having been bent. Using a crescent wrench, you can carefully round the tubing back into shape by tightening it to the flat side and working the wrench around, a little bit at a time. (thanks to a hbt member for that advice)

Bulkhead and new tubing:

Outside of the keg, I need to get a different (male) barb fitting, and some new pipe nipples, these are a bit out of round from being removed from existing plumbing, and don't fit quite right.

Inside of the keg with the IC in place:

I imagine all this work will pay off in a shorter chill time, and cleaner wort. If the side pickup tube is not for me, I have a normal one from Brewer's Hardware, too. Ground water is too hot for summer use here in TX so I'll be doing recirculating icewater and a pond pump once I break 100˚.

hey Benda, nice setup! I was hoping you might be able to help me duplicate your creation somewhat. I have 2 lengths of 1/2" stainless (20 ft each one of them) and I haven't quite figured out what to do with them yet. I haven't done my own IC yet, haven't messed with whirlpooling, and living in Houston I am also damn tired of spending 45 minutes on cooling each batch

I have a 5 gallon and 15 gallon pot (and I can get my 15 gallon altered for bulkhead and other fittings) and I'm willing to do almost anything. I do not have a tubing bender, but I can get one and I do have work access for some of those tees and fittings. PM me if possible or just shoot me your best pointers if you can!

And once again, very nice!
Cheers

Is your tubing already coiled? If not, you will find that it is a real bear to bend, but it can be done. I wouldn't want to try it myself, though without a tool. If you plan to do 10 gallon batches I would combine the 2 coils to make a single 35' IC. Save a few feet for diptubes and the vertical lengths to bring the IC up and out out of the kettle. I would do the work on the 15g pot, the 5g is too small for full boils and if you really like brewing you will be headed that way eventually. bargainfittings.com is a great place to find weldless kettle kits, and brewershardware.com has really nice thermowells and dip tubes (among other things)
cheers

bendavanza said:

Is your tubing already coiled? If not, you will find that it is a real bear to bend, but it can be done. I wouldn't want to try it myself, though without a tool. If you plan to do 10 gallon batches I would combine the 2 coils to make a single 35' IC. Save a few feet for diptubes and the vertical lengths to bring the IC up and out out of the kettle. I would do the work on the 15g pot, the 5g is too small for full boils and if you really like brewing you will be headed that way eventually. bargainfittings.com is a great place to find weldless kettle kits, and brewershardware.com has really nice thermowells and dip tubes (among other things)
cheers

Click to expand...

Actually, I meant to say I have a 15g and also a 9 gallon pot to be able to do 5g full boils. And I'd like to be able to design an IC that I can use in both kettles if that's possible. They are straight lengths and as far as combining them I'm not a welder so I'd be looking for fittings. And I'm still wondering about incorporating a pump into all of this because the majority of my beers will be brewed when the waters too hot for cooling.

duffman2:
Easiest way to combine the two sections would be swagelock type compression fittings. They also make tube x npt thread fittings so you can connect barbs or QD's to the tube you have. I would figure out the diameter that would best fit the pots you have and find someone capable of rolling the tube into coils. For a pump, you can use a sump or pond pump to move the cooling water.
I fill my MLT cooler with tap water, start pumping tap water out through the IC and fill my HLT for cleaning water until I get the wort below 100˚ then dump ice (and more water) into the MLT and begin recirculating the ice water. Some times less than 1 bag will do it, sometimes 2. It depends on the ground water temp, which in the summer at my house can be 80˚. My ice maker in the fridge makes about 3/4 bag worth when it's full.

I'm having trouble getting a nice fit on the Buna square ring on my bulkhead. I need a smaller size.

hows your setup working benda? i've got a 50' SS IC and i'm trying to incorporate a whirpool setup just like yours, except i'll have a full FB and pick up tube in the middle. i'm still trying to figure out the most efficient way of chilling and whirpooling:

direct contact inside the tightly wrapped coils

or

full whirlpool outside the coils