Wort Chiller, what to buy?

I have been researching a wort chiller. I have decided on a copper immersion wort chiller. However it seems there are slight differences in design that have me wondering which is best.

My question is coil spacing, Is it better to have some spacing between coils or have the coils tightly packed against each other. I understand more surface area is desired but if the coils are tightly packed how is the wort supposed to circulate around the coils and cool?


I hope ive explained my question well, here are some images to show what I mean:

For example :

VS

There's a compromise at work here. If they are tightly packed, you can get more coils and thus more surface area into the wort. However, the wort's flow can be blocked a bit. The spacing lets wort flow between the coils but less surface area is in the wort. I like small spacing, like 1/4" between the coils. I wind the coils tightly on a corny keg form, then stretch it a bit before soldering a few coils to the upright.

In every case I recommend soldering hose fitting directly to the copper and not clamping that thinwall tubing on. It's a pain to use it that way, it can leak water into your wort, and handling the whole thing while it's full of water sucks.

Build this... 50' x 1/2" OD refrigeration tubing, 4 3/8" copper elbows, garden hose w/ 5/8" hose barbs drilled out to 1/2" ID.

The most important thing is to get one that fits your pot. They can be bent to a degree but you should start with something that already fits fairly well with the lid on.

In terms of cooling effectiveness, I don't think how close the coils are is so important. Bigger tubes and more copper means more cooling. Also some important factors like water temp and simply stirring the pot can have a huge impact on the cooling effect. If you have icy cold tap water the chiller is gonna work great. If you stir it constantly it will work about 4 times faster then not stirring. So don't get so hung up on the coils. Get one that fits your pot and then think lots of copper.

This thread got me thinking - will I need to upgrade my IC which works/fits well in my 6 gal Aluminum pot now that I have upgraded to a 15 gal SS or can I still use the same IC but just expect the cooling to take a bit longer?

Bobby - Really nice looking IC. What did you use/what was the procedure to solder the connections to the copper? Is this something that is fairly easy and does not require an investment in much equipment (i.e. torch, etc.)? Thanks, Montanaandy

also what is the cost of building one myself? I can buy a 50' one built for about $70. Im interested in building one myself, especially since I just taught myself how to solder the other day ( built a mother of fermentation chamber and needed to solder the thermistor to lengthen it)

If you can solder, you will save money building yourself. GO to Lowes/HD and price the copper and fittings

Montanaandy said:

This thread got me thinking - will I need to upgrade my IC which works/fits well in my 6 gal Aluminum pot now that I have upgraded to a 15 gal SS or can I still use the same IC but just expect the cooling to take a bit longer?

Bobby - Really nice looking IC. What did you use/what was the procedure to solder the connections to the copper? Is this something that is fairly easy and does not require an investment in much equipment (i.e. torch, etc.)? Thanks, Montanaandy

Click to expand...

To do it exactly, you'd need a soldering kit w/torch, flux and solder.

This oughtta help...

Lunarpancake said:

also what is the cost of building one myself? I can buy a 50' one built for about $70. Im interested in building one myself, especially since I just taught myself how to solder the other day ( built a mother of fermentation chamber and needed to solder the thermistor to lengthen it)

Click to expand...

Well, it all hinges on the current price of copper. Coppertubingsales.com would get a 1/2 x 50 to your door for about $59. Add some fittings and you're up to about $70 but better than anything with clamped on hose.

Bobby: that is one bad ass chiller. I now have chiller envy

Thanks for the quick response Bobby and the video. Montanaandy

yeah...thanks for the info. Looks like ill need to invest some money into another new hobby..............Welding. LoL

Lunarpancake said:

yeah...thanks for the info. Looks like ill need to invest some money into another new hobby..............Welding. LoL

Click to expand...

Actually they call it sweating. It's a whole lot easier that you'd think and the equipment to sweat copper is not expensive. Once you get the hang of it you've got the skills to do some real plumbing. I've found it's a handy skill for anybody interested in home improvement projects. Why hire a plumber when sweating copper is something anybody can learn to do.

PS: nice vid Bobby!

how big of a difference would we be looking at is I went with 3/8" copper tubing?

I'd leave a little space for hosing it off after use.

Lunarpancake said:

how big of a difference would we be looking at is I went with 3/8" copper tubing?

Click to expand...

I use a 3/8" type and it works fine. I'm sure the 1/2" works faster but I can't tell you how much faster. Your water temp is also a very big factor.

Lunarpancake:

I built a 3/8" x 50' copper IC the other day, no welding/soldering required!!! I built the entire thing for $54 and change and it only took about 15 minutes. I performed a test on 6 gallons of boiling water. I got the water down to 72* in just over 7 minutes.

I honestly don't recommend purchasing one unless you REALLY don't want to build one. Trust me, I'm the guy that tries DIY projects and the end result is always a failure. This go around, the IC turned out working perfectly. Like I said in my post earlier, my IC doesn't look pretty, but: functionality > aesthetics.

Oh, and there's really no spacing between my coils. I have no room to put spacing! But, I do have 48' of copper in the boil, so I think the trade off is worth it. I'm using a 36-qt kettle on a turkey fryer outside.

Does it really matter?????

Alot of space on this forum is dedicated to chiller design. Does it really matter if my 3/8" x 35' ribcage can cool 5 gallon to 100*df using 80*df water with an air temperature of 99*df in 9 minutes and a different design does it in eight? Can you taste the difference??? This is your opportunity to educate me.

no...you probably wont be able to taste it...BUT it will bring your wort down to pitching temps faster eliminating the possibility of infection.
the faster you cool your wort the less time it has to sit out and possibly get infected ...since once you pitch your yeast you can seal your fermenter and lock everything out.

I made one with 30ft of tubing that cost me $12. Not a great length of tubing but it cooled a 5 gallon batch from boiling to 70 in about 10 minutes. Good enough for me. I bought a submersible fountain pump from home depot and just used vinyl tubing to connect to the copper on each end, one side to the topper and the other to return. Hose clamped them down, no soldering required. Then I filled my basin sink with an ice bath and let 'er rip. I have an ice machine though. You don't need ice to do it that way but I would imagine that with the decreased surface area of the tubing, the ice probably sped it up quite a bit. I used this for my first all grain batch and had no hiccups.

Anyway doing it this way cost me about $25 in total, for the pump, tubing, hose clamps and everything. If I started making 10 gallon batches I would need to upgrade it though.