Dumb copper coil chiller question

[kef300]

I´m planning on getting a copper coil chiller to cool down my wort. My question is, are they normally used with room temperature tap water? Is that the common practice and is that enough of a temperature difference to quickly cool down the wort? How long does it usually take to cool down a 5 gal batch to yeast pitching temperature that way?

I was thinking that I could maybe have a cooler filled with ice water and somehow siphon that through the coil for a greater thermal shock and lower cooling times. What is common practice?

Thanks!

 

[dhoyt714]

I use a copper coil chiller and it cools down the wort to pitching temp in 15-20 minutes. I use just normal cold tap water and just run it till I get to the temp I want.

I guess there would be no harm in using a cooler unless it runs out of water. I would use the cooler with ice to put your kettle in and use the chiller. That would cut you time down significantly.

 

[MichaelBrock]

"common practice" depends on the temperature of your tap water. Here in Florida our tap water never gets below 70 (and is in the 80s in summer). So I run tap/hose water through the coil until I get the wort down below 100. I then switch to recirculating ice water from an ice chest, through the coil, and back, using a pond pump.

 

[m1batt1]

Again it depends on the temp of your tap water and for that matter air temperature. If you're brewing in the kitchen air temp doesn't matter much but if you're brewing outside in the summer it can. I brewed last summer while it was hot out and was having a hard time getting the temp below 80. Ended up having to break out the cooler and fill it with ice water and set the brew pot in it. However I brewed back in December and didn't have to use the cooler. And it only took about 15 minutes or so to get it down where I needed it.

Sent from my SGH-I747 using Home Brew mobile app

 

[troy2000]

I´m planning on getting a copper coil chiller to cool down my wort. My question is, are they normally used with room temperature tap water? Is that the common practice and is that enough of a temperature difference to quickly cool down the wort? How long does it usually take to cool down a 5 gal batch to yeast pitching temperature that way?

I was thinking that I could maybe have a cooler filled with ice water and somehow siphon that through the coil for a greater thermal shock and lower cooling times. What is common practice?

Thanks!

I place a 10' pre-chiller in a pot of ice and water, and run my tap water through it on the way to the main chiller. I set that in one side of a double sink, and place the brew kettle on the other side, with it also setting in ice water.

 

[SeeMont]

I brew in my shop and I don't have running water in the winter. I have two large garden tubs, (going to use a 30 gallon garbage can) I freeze 12 quart milk jugs of water, (use only 8) The pump is a 15 dollar water fall unit from HF, hooked to my copper chiller. I use about 15 gallons of water to chill and use the first 5 gallons of hot to clean up, the rest to rinse. This works well, can chill in less the 30 minutes.

 

[BrewerDan1]

This is what I use with tap well water. Here in Michigan it is probably colder than most. It cools the wort quickly.