Chiller Upgrade

[cbzdel]

I currently have a immersion chiller, but looking to upgrade to a little faster cooling, from what I have heard counter flow is the way to go.. A buddy claims his 10 gallons can be cooled to pitching temp in less time than my immersion chiller cools my 5 gallons..

I do not yet have a pump yet but plan on waiting until the end of the year to find good sale, if nothing by the end of the year I will just buy one. Right now I am looking into the coiled counter flow wort chillers and am debating getting a pre-made 100% copper or or making a DIY version.

Is there any added benefits to a 100% all copper one, I guess what I should be asking is a 100% copper one will be about 3 to 4 times the cost of a DIY version with a copper tube sleeved in a garden hose?

 

[JJL]

If you want to save some money and do DIY, you might consider making a 30'-50' immersion chiller out of 1/2" copper tubing. There is nothing inherently wrong with an immersion chiller. It's just that most people buy a 20' one made of 3/8" tubing, which is undersized to quickly cool 5+ gals of boiling wort.

But to answer your question, stainless is a suitable material for making a wort chiller.

 

[cbzdel]

I have a 25' long 3/8" immersion chiller now. If I go to the hassle of making a 30'-50' 1/2" immersion chiller I could of just as easily made a counter flow.

I think the main pro to the 100% copper unit is that will act as a "heat sink" on the outside rather than an insulate the warm water like a garden hose would do.

Really my method behind the madness is that I am planning a total brewery makeover.. Six batches into my current system (I have a cheap 7.5 gallon SS kettle, SP10 burner, and a 10gallon HD mashtun) I am already tired of cleaning so many parts and running out of propane so I am looking into going with a 10 to 15 gallon eBIAB with recirculating mashing system.

So I am going to have a pump already, and my immersion chiller sucks so why not get a nice counter flow which I can mount to my brewing table.

 

[mikescooling]

Would you consider a plate chiller, you don't need a pump. It can cool the wart as fast as it comes out of the BK.
Chugger has a March madness sale.

 

[cbzdel]

How's a plate cooler compare to the coil? The thought of reading hard to clean and can clog scared me away from them.

 

[mikescooling]

Your going to run into this with any counter flow. Both need to be cleaned after use, flushed with hot PBW, or at the very least hot water. Plate chillers are what the big brewery's use. It's a nice small package, that works well. Not better or worse than other chillers.

 

[tooblue02]

I built a 40' ½ id copper immersion chiller using two 20' lengths. Works great for chilling wort (well at least in my limited experience). My last brew was chilled from boiling to pitching temps in 13mins. Total spent was about 60 bucks and I added some custom fittings and valves to give it that personal touch.