50' cfc too much?

I just switched to electric and my ic doesnt fit in my keggle as well with the element. I want to switch to a cfc. Bobby's instructions in the wiki call for a 25' section of copper but i only see 20' and 50' at home depot. Will 50' be a problem? Or will it just chill faster and with less water pressure from the hose required?

50' 3/8 copper is still way less than the northern brewer all copper setup so i am not worried about price... but if i can get away with making 2 cfc and selling one that would be kinda awesome too

Check that 50' coil's wall thickness. IME the longer coils have thicker walls, making it MUCH harder to bend/form.

Personally, I'm extremely happy with my Duda Diesel plate chiller. IF you use a larger ID hose to feed it, it chills faster. I would imagine you'd encounter the same thing with a CFC. So, use the largest ID hose for the CFC and feed it with a large ID hose. I'm using a 3/4" ID hose to feed mine. BTW, there's also a chart (beer wort chart) on the DD site about flow rate of the chill water, and wort, and how long it takes to chill the wort (10 gallon batch size for reference on the chart). Of course, that's for their plate chillers, so I don't know how it correlates to CFC's...

The only thing I have heard/read about using 50' is that it is hard to push the 50' all the way through.
That being said, you may be able to put an electricians snake in the hose and then PULL the 50' of copper through the hose. Make sure to fill the water hose with soapy water first! That surfactant will help the copper slide through much easier.

Goldie, i have heard too many horror stories about trub/proteins to be interested in a plate chiller, i'd prefer not to start that debate.

Huaco, i will for sure lube the hose before starting, and i may have to see if my fish tape is long enough to do the pull method.

i think i'm going to try for all 50' since i have the materials. if i can't make it all 50' i can always cut the hose and the copper and make 2 25' cfc's.

Couldn't you put some keg lube on the copper to help it slide through?

On a 50' 3/8" line you are going to have noticeably slower throughput due to friction. I only mention this because I made a standard 25' CFC and used a pump with it. I recirc'd boiling wort to sterilize. The output was OK, but not enough to whirpool the wort. It worked amazingly well going straight into the fermenter however. So it depends on how you want to cool with it. Some recirc it right back into the kettle to chill the entire wort the same, others shoot it right into the fermenter. My thoughts, after making one (I am back to using a souped up IC now) was that if I remade it I would look into using 3/4" rubber hose and 1/2" copper line. I would not increase the length like you are saying, I would consider going up in diameter.

I stress that I have not done this and do not know if the less flexible copper would be an issue.

WhiteEagle1 said:

Couldn't you put some keg lube on the copper to help it slide through?

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bobby recommends soapy water... keg lube should work about the same.

dbrewski said:

I recirc'd boiling wort to sterilize. The output was OK, but not enough to whirpool the wort. It worked amazingly well going straight into the fermenter however. So it depends on how you want to cool with it. Some recirc it right back into the kettle to chill the entire wort the same, others shoot it right into the fermenter.

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i think i am looking to go right from the keggle into the fermenter as long as there's enough staying power. don't really need to recirc... i think the plan is to use my whirlpooling wand to get a whirlpool going, then drop the trub from the bottom drain (like fermenting in a conical) then sending the rest right into the fermenter.

if i need a better temp drop i can recirc after dumping the trub and not have to worry about generating a whirlpool.

slakwhere said:

Goldie, i have heard too many horror stories about trub/proteins to be interested in a plate chiller, i'd prefer not to start that debate.

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No debate needed. IF you use your brain, the 'horror stories' you heard are non-existent. I use a hop spider for my brews (my own creation of course, all stainless except for the nylon mesh bag). I sanitize (not sure if it can be classified as sterilized at only ~212F) via a recirculation of boiling hot wort (no chill water going through it). With my current Duda Diesel chiller, I don't get anything left behind. Of course, I DO backflush the chiller right after using it, and then let it fully drain. I could also pump [hot] PBW solution through it if needed.

IMO, unless you get a hose that is 100% safe at boiling temperatures, you'll not want to recirculate boiling hot wort through a CFC. Unless you make a CFC that uses stainless tubing around the copper.

BTW, I always have the option of baking my plate chiller. Can you do that with your [rubber hose wrapped] CFC??

For the record, I did think about getting/making a CFC before going with a plate chiller. But, I was able to watch someone use one before I did. With all he went through to use it, I didn't want to go near it. He was also getting the wort out as a trickle, in order to get it to chill to pitch temps (single pass).

wow, you missed the part about not wanting to get into a cfc vs plate chiller debate. :cross:

slakwhere said:

Goldie, i have heard too many horror stories about trub/proteins to be interested in a plate chiller, i'd prefer not to start that debate.

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slakwhere said:

wow, you missed the part about not wanting to get into a cfc vs plate chiller debate. :cross:

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I'm with you 100% on that one. I love being able to see inside my CFC coil to be confident it's clean...wait whut?

but on a serious note ( you weren't interested in plate chiller comments ) Buy the 50' coil, buy the 50' hose, make two and sell one to recoup some costs. I loved my CFC, but switched to a plate chiller for size.

thx IP.

He can't help himself. It's sad really. It's called diarrhea posting.

slakwhere said:

wow, you missed the part about not wanting to get into a cfc vs plate chiller debate. :cross:

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Guess you missed how I started the post. Just because what you heard probably only happens to a tiny percentage of people. By the same argument level you could say that driving in cars will get you killed, you can trust politicians to be 100% honest, etc... :cross:

I still recommend checking out the wall thickness on that 50' coil. I bought one and it was THICKER walled than the 20' coil I had previously purchased. Trying to shape it (into a IC) was a total PITA.

I still have my cfc. It worked great. Spend a little more for a rubber hose instead of vinyl and there will be no problem recirc'ing without cooling water. I never tried gravity, I used a pump, but flow was fine. If your tap water is decently cool you can get your work into the fermenter @70F within 5-7 minutes.

Get some pull cord or a strong nylon string, tie a piece of plastic wrap on the end of the cord and stuff it in one end of the hose. Use a shop vac to suck the plastic wrap and cord through the hose. Tie the cord to the end of the copper with a few half hitch knots, with half hitch knots when you pull one the cord it will make the knots tighter. You could also put a light wrap of electrical tape over the cord all the way to the end to help keep the cord tight to the tip of the copper.