Help With Immersion Chiller?

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JrZyBud

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Hey guys, this might seem like a dumb question, but I just built an immersion chiller today out of 1/2" ID flexible copper pipe and I was wondering ... how do you get the water out of it when you are done? I just did a test run and it worked great, but now I can't get the water out of the chiller ... is it okay for it to just sit in there?

Oh and I used a bit larger pipe than you guys usually do since Home Depot didn't have any 3/8" elbows. My coil ended up being pretty tall, which isn't really a bad thing since I have a 20 gallon pot. Shouldn't be a big deal, right?

Buddy
 
I just leave the water in mine, after-all it is copper so no rust issues, just like the plumbing in your house. As for the size if you have a 20 gallon pot you need the larger diameter and size so you should be good to go.
 
I can usually get mine to drain by holding it upside down or on its side. I just rotate it upside down at different angles several times and I can usually 'chase' all the water out.
 
I typically blow mine out; but then again mine is only 25 ft of 3/8.
 
With mine in the garage where temps get below freezing sometimes in the winter, I blow mine out. I've even hooked up the air compressor to really get it dry when I brew on days it was already at or below freezing.
 
i don't have an air compressor, but i can get most of the liquid out of mine just using the lame pump that i use for camping. (it inflates rafts, air mattresses, bike tires, etc.) if you have any kind of air pump lying around, i would give it a try. if not, just make sure you store it somewhere thats always above 40 degrees.
 
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