Is it worth the trouble to make own immersion wort chiller?

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marubozo

I can has homebrew?
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Ok, I've only brewed two batches thus far, but I'm done with trying to cool 4 gallons of hot wort in an ice bath. It's nearly 10 miles to the closest store that sells big bags of ice and they aren't cheap. Not to mention the long time needed to cool to pitching temps.

Since I like making things I was poking around for prices on the materials to make my own immersion chiller. They are pretty simple devices so I knew it wouldn't be a whole lot of trouble. But I was actually kind of shocked once I started pricing the copper tube. Around here about the best I can do on 50' of 1/2" is anywhere from $100-$125.

Just for simple comparison sake, you can pick up a 50' chiller from midwest for $115 + about $12 shipping and it already has fittings.

Am I missing something here? Is there a super secret discount copper place online where you can get tubing for like half off? I'm sure I could still save a couple bucks making my own, but after you figure in fittings and the time involved I'm not sure I need to save 5 dollars that badly.
 
My chiller is 25' of 1/4". Not the fastest setup, but it works. Takes about 20 minutes to cool 5 gallons.
 
mine is similar to david's, it is 20' of 3/8". didn't cost that much, maybe $15 for the tubing. i recently bought another 20' so i could extend the input and return arms over the edge of the keg, but i didn't change the length of the coil. takes me about 1/2 hr to get it down to pitching temps. i think i can improve it if i compress the coil more; as it stands now, a few coils sit above the wort while cooling.
 
I had the same concern, Honestly, I just freeze a few block of us in my spare freezer downstairs, I put them in tupper ware and pop them into the sink with cold water. I probably have 6 or so tupperware ice blocks that I put in the water, and it cools it down in no time. I have also read that I can put these ice blocks directly into the wort if I were to boil the water before freezing it... Although I have not done that.
 
Interesting. I guess I could go smaller. I was just trying to futureproof my setup so that's why I was looking at something like 50' x 1/2". But if there is that much of a price difference to go down I guess it could be worth it and can just worry about a bigger chiller when the time comes.
 
wel the place talked about around here is CopperTubingSales.com :: ICS Indsutries ::

SIZE (O.D.) 50 Foot Coil 100 Foot Coil
1/8 $ 15.94 Not Available
3/16 $ 18.81 Not Available
1/4 $ 20.72 $ 41.44
5/16 $ 24.77 Not Available
3/8 $ 27.97 $ 55.94
1/2 $ 34.60 $ 69.20
5/8 $ 47.16 $ 94.32
3/4 $ 56.30 $ 112.60
7/8 $ 79.07 Not Available
1-1/8 $ 121.74 Not Available
1-3/8 $ 171.48 Not Available
1-5/8 $ 240.27 Not Available


so as long as your have the torch and some time you might be able to save more than 5 bucks on the deal if you make it yourself. I want to upgrade my chiller, but I just have not purchased the tubing yet.
 
Ahh, well that was probably part of my problem. I think all the stuff I was looking at around here was type K and not refrigeration tubing. That would explain the significant price differences.

Thanks for the link to that site. That is much closer to what I was expecting to pay.
 
Ahh, well that was probably part of my problem. I think all the stuff I was looking at around here was type K and not refrigeration tubing. That would explain the significant price differences.

Thanks for the link to that site. That is much closer to what I was expecting to pay.

Where are you at in Michigan? You can get a 50 foot coil of 1/2" OD for about 45$ at Lowes. After shipping, that's pretty close to what you'd pay for at the coppertubing site. Depending on what type of fittings you use to make the water connections, you'll add 5-15$, plus the cost for any tools needed. Personally I think it's worth making your own.
 
I made mine for about $60, no welding.

I bought 50 feet of 3/8 copper tubing, 20 feet of plastic tubing, a bag of hose clamps and a barb that connects to my faucet. That left me with a good sized chiller and prechiller that i put in ice since my faucet doesn't run very cold. Here's where I got the instructions: Chilling Your Brew: Building an Immersion Chiller | Home Brewing Beer Blog by BeerSmith

with that setup i get 5 or 6 gallons down to 80 in about 20 minutes...by then I run out of ice and can't get it colder. I think if I wait until I get down to 100 to add the ice (or buy more ice), it could do better.
 
Good deal, thanks for all the replies. Yeah I just popped into my local hardware store after work and poked around at the tubing. I didn't think to make the connection that I should have been looking at the OD so I was probably looking at the thicker type K measured by ID. We have a lowes and HD within reasonable distance so if I can get the tubing for around 50 bucks locally that would certainly be worth it. Awesome :mug:
 
I suppose a lot of the answer to this question is how much of a do-it-yourselfer you are. I will do -some- but I'm not that wild about it, usually when there's a big savings involved. In this case, I have the Midwest basic copper chiller I got for Christmas two years ago, I think it was about a $50 item, complete with hoses and fittings. It takes a full 5 gal. boil down to @70F in 20 min with our 55F well water. Would I try to build one at that price? No way in hell.
It worked the same with parts to do my MLT conversion. I read up on what some people went through to find $30 worth of parts locally, then I read about Bargain Fittings. Got the whole enchilada, 1/2" throughout, including braid, plug 'n play for $45 delivered. No contest.
 
Yes. Home Depot. Buy now before it goes up back again.;)

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yeah depending on the shipping cost, if you have a HD or lowes close it is probably worth the trip out there for the tubing instead of having it shipped.
 
Copper is about to jump again, I work in the irrigation industry and we generally get a heads up. Find your local wholesale plumbing supplier, tell them you are a contractor and you can get contractor pricing. Believe me, they are not discriminating! Here in North Carolina we have Ferguson, they are national, might have a location in your area, and they do plumbing wholesale. I told them I was a contractor and got a 50' coil of 3/8 for $27 as compared to $42 for retail.

You could build a counterflow, check out BobbyM's tutorial, super easy and get your wort chilled with the quickness.
 
I got 50 feet of 3/8 from coppertubingsales for like $28 a couple weeks ago. ~$10 shipping made it $38 or so. Home depot was like $35-38 IIRC.


50' Chillers run much higher than that.
 
"Built mine with 50 feet of 1/2 for about $60"

Now I don't feel bad buying a 50' 1/2" ic already made for $85 on ebay shipped. Since I would have had to buy a torch and such to put it together, $85 isn't a bad deal for not having to F*CK with it.
 
I built mine with 50 of 3/8 tubing for about $50 and chilled my 5 gallons down to 75 in under 15 minutes. Well worth the time and effort you put in to it.
 
I bought mine from a HBT member for $65 including shipping. I haven't used it yet because I am waiting to move in about a month. But I expect that it will cool my wort faster than an ice bath. Ice isn't cheap and using trays and frozen water bottles seems like a chore.
 
"Built mine with 50 feet of 1/2 for about $60"

Now I don't feel bad buying a 50' 1/2" ic already made for $85 on ebay shipped. Since I would have had to buy a torch and such to put it together, $85 isn't a bad deal for not having to F*CK with it.

You definitely don't need a torch to do this. You just bend it around a paint can, slide plastic tubing over the ends of the copper and tighten with a hose clamp.
 
You definitely don't need a torch to do this. You just bend it around a paint can, slide plastic tubing over the ends of the copper and tighten with a hose clamp.

Yea i did a bit more with mine that is why it cost a little more. I put garden hose adapters on mine for in and out. I just run one to the garden hose faucet and then i run the out to my pool so i don't waste any water. And its heated..............i don't think my wife will take "but i'm heating the pool" and an excuse to brew more beer?
 
"Built mine with 50 feet of 1/2 for about $60"

Now I don't feel bad buying a 50' 1/2" ic already made for $85 on ebay shipped. Since I would have had to buy a torch and such to put it together, $85 isn't a bad deal for not having to F*CK with it.
Some people would word this as:
"Now I don't feel bad buying a 50' 1/2" ic already made for $85 on ebay shipped. Although I would have gotten to buy a torch and such to put it together, $85 isn't a bad deal, But I didn't get to play with tools and build anything..

You definitely don't need a torch to do this. You just bend it around a paint can, slide plastic tubing over the ends of the copper and tighten with a hose clamp.
This would be an IC, although most take the time to build it little more sturdy and with some sort of fittings.
 
"Built mine with 50 feet of 1/2 for about $60"

Now I don't feel bad buying a 50' 1/2" ic already made for $85 on ebay shipped. Since I would have had to buy a torch and such to put it together, $85 isn't a bad deal for not having to F*CK with it.

You don't need a torch.


But anyways, when I see "buy for $85, or build for $85 and get a free tool", I'm all over option two.
 
A buddy of mine is a steamfitter and had 30 feet of 3/8 refrigeration copper coil sitting in his garage. I showed him a few pics, he bent it around an aceteline tank, put some compression fittings on for me, it looks great. He wouldn't take anything for it. I bought a few adapters and some plastic tubing, total cost: about $10.:)
 
I have three BIL's that are plumbers, one day 50' of 3/8" copper fell off one of their trucks in my driveway....

Cheep 1/2" garden hose was < $8 IIRC plus a few hose clamps (I have a torch and could solder but the fittings would have cost as much as the rest of the rig) < $10 in the project. Well, I also occasionally make a case of NA beer for the BIL.

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I built mine today for $56. Alaska prices = lower 48 + 20%.

Since I PM on my stove top anyway all I need to do is cool 2.5 gallons.

I started with 20 feet of 3/8" OD tubing. I uncoiled it just enough to get close to what I wanted and then started tightening it back down.

Used a Young's bottle as my bending guide.

The rest of the spool of the plastic tubing I wanted was 14 feet of 3/8 ID x 1/2 OD with the string encased in the plastic, the clear vinyl stuff says beware of heat.

2 of 3/8 to 5/8 inch hose clamps included in price.

155 gallon per hour pond pump included in price.

Add one sink of ice water, plug in pump.

Imma boil it in some vinegar tomorrow and then do a 2.5gal AG batch of EdWorts Haus on Tuesday to celebrate. Maybe tear open some Romex to lash the coils down.



Just relaxed enough out of the box to start making a the chiller:
relaxed.JPG



The only tools I used were a sauce pan to bend around, a Young's bottle as a bending guide, some gloves to protect my hands, and a screwdriver on the hose clamps:
bent.JPG


The tubing I got was from the middle of the spool, wrapped pretty tight. I ran hot water through the system with the pump and then cooled the tubing in a relaxed position:
set.JPG


If you have never fooled with soft copper tubing before, 3/8OD is a nice compromise between able to do by hand, but sturdy enough to not kink easy. Just take your time. You want to open the coil from the box just enough to stack it as a single helix, you will probably find a double or triple layer in the box.

Once you have your straight ends and your coil established, roll the guide forward along the curves/corners you need to get out of the kettle as you go. If you hold the guide still and try to just pull the tubing around the corner, the tubing will collapse. Bend a little, roll a little, bend a little, roll a little, RDWHAHB.

Total took me under an hour, but I have some experience with the fussy sizes of soft copper under 3/8OD.
 
Does anybody have any experience building a tube-in-tube counter flow wort cooler. I once interned at a company that builds refrigeration compressors, and built myself a tube-in-tube condenser for a computer chiller, but I had access to the company's workshop that had all of the torches, benders, and solder I needed.

Working in a condo in the middle of Chicago, is there a simple way to make one of these? I was thinking of coiling a small diameter copper tube (similar to an IC) then fitting a garden hose (or maybe even larger diameter copper tube) over top the smaller diameter tube. The only issue I see with this is getting the smaller tube out of the larger tube at either end.

Any thoughts or experience anyone can share?

Thanks!
 
Well, looks like its time for me to whip up a chiller, the cold tap water out here is hot enough to cook pasta in. I will be making mine from 25' of stainless steel tubing and using a pump to move freezer kept brine solution through the line, is that overkill? my cold water after running for 15 minutes just measured 93 degrees (down from initial 111)so using it to cool the wort is a joke. any input or further ideas would be great!
 
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