Wort cooler alternative

Has anyone considered using a radiator/heater matrix as a wort cooler?



I have one in the attic and haven't got a cooler yet - it was a fiver from an old car... a fair bit cheaper than copper pipe (mine isnt the one above it is copper with aluminium fins)

Is the fact that the fins are aluminium a problem?

I considered either dunking this in the wort with cool water flowing running through it or even passin the wort through it whilst it is submerged in some cold water...

What would the best way to sanitize it do you think?

Don't do it!!

It is not food grade and the joints are probably lead soldered. You could use it as a pre-chiller for an IC but what goes into the wort should be copper.

If it is aluminum, it should be ok, it won't be soldered. I think cleaning it might be a pain, though. Some people have used a core as a pre-cooler in a bucket of ice water. If you did that, you would be able to use a much smaller copper coil.

I am planning to do this this summer. Last fall I built an immersion chiller form copper coil. My F.I.L. gave me a brand new aluminum core like that still in the box. I plan to use it as a pre-chiller in an ice bath. Right now I can drop 5 gallons from 205F to 80F in ~25min. I figure using the pre-chiller in an ice bath I can do it in half that time.

-Todd

I think it would work, but I would be VERY hesitant to pump wort through something that once held antifreeze that carried any engine block corrosion through the entire system. I just don't think you could get it clean enough.

Now, if I had a brand new heater core, I might consider it...