Farley23
Member
New brewer here. Probably a lot of threads on this that I couldn't find - but - if you were to build a chiller, what makes most sense - immersion or counter flow?
Immersion or Counter Flow
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Golddiggie
Well-Known Member
IMO, IC would be easier to build than the CFC... For one thing, you don't need to do any soldering on the IC, where you will with the CFC. I've made two IC units so far, one 20' and a newer 50' out of 3/8" copper... The 20' cools ~4 gallons of work in under 10 minutes (to under 65F)... The 50' cools ~5 gallons of wort even faster.
Only advice I have for building either type is to make sure you have a solid way to bend the tubing. That's going to impact how easy/difficult it will be to create the chiller. If you do decide to go with more than about 20' (or 25') of copper, get some help in bending it. I was able to do a solid job on the 20' IC, but the 50' proved to be more difficult.
Only advice I have for building either type is to make sure you have a solid way to bend the tubing. That's going to impact how easy/difficult it will be to create the chiller. If you do decide to go with more than about 20' (or 25') of copper, get some help in bending it. I was able to do a solid job on the 20' IC, but the 50' proved to be more difficult.
My boil kettle is just a turkey fryer pot and has no drain valve so an immersion chiller made the most sense for me.
go for an immersion chiller. much easier to build, and requires no maintenance. hose off when finished, put it away, hose off and sanitize to use again
Counterflow, all the way. You dont need to solder, there are plans for a solderless version in the DIY section.
5 gallons of wort from boiling to pitching in under 10 minutes. With my previous immersion, it would take 30-60 minutes.
5 gallons of wort from boiling to pitching in under 10 minutes. With my previous immersion, it would take 30-60 minutes.
Golddiggie
Well-Known Member
I have to wonder what the OD of your IC was to have it take THAT long to cool 5 gallons of wort. I also have to wonder if you're talking about during the hottest part of summer, and with tap water that's really warm... IME, I've only had ~15 minute cooling times when I did nothing to get the wort to move around the IC more (either whirlpool, or just move the IC inside the wort a little, not talking about any more effort than it takes to drink a pint, or two)... With the IC I built with 50' of 3/8" OD copper, I was able to cool my wort to almost 60F real fast. This is with water from a hose faucet, at ground floor...
Keep in mind, using a 1/4" OD IC is pretty horrible for cooling times. Having the water flow slowly inside the IC will also have it take longer to chill the wort.
Personally, I would rather use a chiller where I don't need to worry about anything being inside it messing up my wort. That's the biggest reason why I'm not looking at (or seriously looking at) either a CFC or plate chiller... If anything, I'll probably end up (eventually) setting up to whirlpool the wort around the IC. Not sure if, or when, I'll do that though...
Ask a dozen home brewers, and you'll find more than a few methods being used to chill the wort post boil...
i have a 1/2" od ic, and it chills 12 gallons in about 20-25 minutes.
Golddiggie said:
3/8 id IC. Counterflow cleaning is simple, recalculate wort for 5 minutes, drain into fermenter. After brewing, flush with pbw, star San rinse, tap water rinse (I do this to my whole system), blow out excess with air compressor.
OP
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Farley23
Member
Thanks for the feedback!
I've only ever used a CFC that I built myself. It works quite well for chilling, HOWEVER, there is the occasional concern that some particulate matter from the brewing process might get lodged in the system and cause it to plug up.
Some theorize that an IC is better since the WHOLE VOLUME of wort gets chilled faster, instead of a small portion being chilled quicker with a CFC.
If I had to do it again, I'd seriously consider building a good IC for the fact that they are easier to clean, and cool the whole volume faster (it only has to go below like 140F to be effective for it's main purpose).
But mostly for the cleanliness factor. I've used a keg dip tube cleaning brush on my CFC before and it came out pretty nasty. It's easy to see what crap is on your IC just by looking at it. And they are easier to clean when or if they do get dirty.
Some theorize that an IC is better since the WHOLE VOLUME of wort gets chilled faster, instead of a small portion being chilled quicker with a CFC.
If I had to do it again, I'd seriously consider building a good IC for the fact that they are easier to clean, and cool the whole volume faster (it only has to go below like 140F to be effective for it's main purpose).
But mostly for the cleanliness factor. I've used a keg dip tube cleaning brush on my CFC before and it came out pretty nasty. It's easy to see what crap is on your IC just by looking at it. And they are easier to clean when or if they do get dirty.
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