immersion chiller question

I'm brewing an IPA today and just had a question about my immersion chiller. I built it for my first batch and it was recommended that i put it in 15-20 minutes before the end of the boil to sanitize. I noticed that the copper cooled down the pot signifigantly when i put it in so i was thinking of running hot water through the coils for about 5 minutes before putting it in today. Anyone see any issues with that?

Also, if i'm gonna be doing a late extract addition, i figure i should probably mix that in before i put the chiller in to make it easier...

It should be able to get back up to temp pretty quick. What are you boiling on?

I wouldn't worry about it being cooled as much as your chiller will drop it. Just resume boil, and carry on like normal.

edit: And yes, I'd think a late addition would be less messy if there was not a chiller in there.

I had that issue when I was stovetop brewing. The stove just didn't have the power to quickly make up for the thermal mass and lower temp of the chiller. I finally went to sanitizing the chiller in iodophor and then putting it in the pot at flameout.

Yes hot water helps. Watch out for the steam when you drop it in, it will burn you BAD. I turn up my burner ALL the way about 30 sec before I drop mine in. It will come back to temp within 1-2 minutes.
Cheers
JJ

I don't have an immersion chiller yet, but from what you've experienced, wouldn't it make more sense to sanitize the chiller separately (with starsan, iodophor, etc.) and then use that thermal mass to your advantage when it comes time to chill the wort? Maybe even put the chiller in the fridge/freezer/outside before hand.

With a full boil it might not make that much difference, but I'd think it could definitely help in a partial boil. I guess it's a question of convenience, but you've probably already got sanitizer mixed up and with starsan it'd be super easy - just cover the chiller in foam and you should be set.

Thanks guys-as i was in the middle of watching the stove i couldn't really reply but i ended up soaking and cleaning the chiller first in my cleaning solution then leaving it to dry. Then at about 20 minutes left, i hooked it up to my sink and ran hot water through it as I did a late extract addition.

By that time it was about 15 minutes left so I dropped the chiller in, added my hops and it defintely helped. I use a gas stove and even with a 3 gallon partial boil, it's difficult to keep things going. Today about halfway through I tried turning on both burners and putting the pot between them. Seemed to help a little along with the warmed up chiller. As far as steam goes-i made sure to blow out as much water before dropping it in as i could to try and reduce that risk