CAUTION!! Don't make the same mistake.

Judging how the day was going prior to the commencement of the my second AG brew session, I should have known to double check everything just in case. In my haste to get going, I forgot to check the hose clamps on my wort chiller. So, after the boil, in goes the chiller and I wait until it is cool. Little did I know that a leak at the hose connection had allowed 2 gallons of unboiled water into my fresh wort. So after much cursing and stomping around I admitted defeat. I probably could have boiled the excess water off but I was concerned about the effect it would have on the finished product. OG with the extra 2 gallons was 1.020...S#$T.

Check your equipment!!

oster99 said:

Judging how the day was going prior to the commencement of the my second AG brew session, I should have known to double check everything just in case. In my haste to get going, I forgot to check the hose clamps on my wort chiller. So, after the boil, in goes the chiller and I wait until it is cool. Little did I know that a leak at the hose connection had allowed 2 gallons of unboiled water into my fresh wort. So after much cursing and stomping around I admitted defeat. I probably could have boiled the excess water off but I was concerned about the effect it would have on the finished product. OG with the extra 2 gallons was 1.020...S#$T.

Check your equipment!!

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did you start the chiller and than walk away? I stand and sir..so I noticed a small leak once and fixed it...I guess you could always boil some DME to up the gravity.

Jay

That's rough man. The first time I used my IC it sounded like someone peeing as soon as I turned the water on. I stood there confused for a minute ( a bit druck) until I realized that it was trickling out of the hose clamp and corrected it.

I have had the same problems with an IC. Boiling it for 15 minutes tends to soften up the rubber and thus the hose clamps are lose. But I also don't walk away from it.

I say to boil up some more water with DME/hops and make it a 10 gallon batch of something else.

I always wrap a rag around the connections so if they do leak, they won't spray into the wort.

I've got 2 IC's. The larger one has welded garden-hose fittings on the in and out connections, and I use that almost exclusively. The smaller one has clear vinyl tubing clamped onto the copper with little plastic clips...and I hadn't used it in a very long time. So I hooked it up last month because my hoses were inoperable due to sub-freezing temps. Ack, it leaked like crazy. I had to reposition the tubing against the copper and jimmy with the clamps a little, but I got it pretty much fixed---not before spraying some tap water into my wort (luckily it was still near-boiling).

I have some extra worm clamps from my kegging setup that I think I will use to replace those stupid little snap-clip clamps...

I eliminated the worry by sweating a couple extensions onto my wort chiller so the hose connection were outside of the kettle. It also helps keep the hoses away from the flame while the chiller is in the kettle.

Krazy Bazturd said:

I eliminated the worry by sweating a couple extensions onto my wort chiller so the hose connection were outside of the kettle. It also helps keep the hoses away from the flame while the chiller is in the kettle.

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I'm doing that this weekend! Great idea!

KB - that is exactly what I am doing at this time. I am tired of wrapping cloth on the clamps.

i had this happen too, only it was maybe a half gallon that was added. didn't drop my OG too bad, so I fermented, and had no problems.

kind of amazing because the hose from the faucet to the chiller is anything but clean/sanitary.

Krazy Bazturd said:

I eliminated the worry by sweating a couple extensions onto my wort chiller so the hose connection were outside of the kettle. It also helps keep the hoses away from the flame while the chiller is in the kettle.

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So, uhm, why are you using your wort chiller with the flame still on? Isn't that rather counterproductive?

EvilTOJ said:

So, uhm, why are you using your wort chiller with the flame still on? Isn't that rather counterproductive?

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He is probably putting it in the kettle during the last few minutes of the boil to sanitize it.

cronxitawney said:

He is probably putting it in the kettle during the last few minutes of the boil to sanitize it.

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Exactly.

I can't wait to get one of these things. And a Bayou. Not letting myself brew again until I have both. Thats actually the last notes from my last brew day, "Don't do this again without a bayou burner and chiller". haha