Leaky Home-made Wort Chiller

[kimeye01]

I made a 50' copper wort chiller and the connection between the copper tubing and vinyl tubing is leaking (water-in/sink side).

I used a hose clamp to connect the tubing but it doesn't seem to be strong enough to prevent a leak.

Does anyone know a better way to connect the two so that there is no leakage?

Thanks!

 

[maffewl]

Not really sure what you mean by leaking... from the copper, from the vinyl, from melting, from the vinyl being slightly too big... or? But when I had an immersion chiller, I used a screw tight hose clamp and it worked great for me. One piece of advice is to always turn on the water before placing the chiller in the kettle, it will keep the copper from melting the clear tubing.

 

[TheBrewLebowski]

The only things I can think of are that the vinyl tubing you got is a size too big for the copper, or that you need to use one of the steel hose clamps that screws in place. The plastic versions may not be able to draw in tight enough for a good seal in this case.

 

[eastoak]

the best connection are compression fittings, everything else will eventually leak or blow out when you turn the pressure up high enough.

 

[Bobby_M]

They make hose barbs because soft rubber tubing doesn't seal so well on smooth tubing. My preference in order:

1. solder garden hose fittings on.
2. solder NPT adapters on, then NPT to GH thread adapters.
3. compression to NPT, then GH.

 

[Butter]

Just add another hose clamp.

 

[petey_c]

kimeye01, Get the next size smaller SS hose clamp and/or flare the end of the coil a bit. Barbed hose fittings fit well without the clamp, but there's no reason using the right combo of hose and clamp should leak either.

 

[brew2enjoy]

I just made mine this weekend. I flared the ends of the copper slightly with a screwdriver and it works nicely.

 

[ingchr1]

Compression fitting to either a garden hose connection or hose barb. The inlet of my chiller has a garden hose connection while the outlet has a hose barb.

 

[Bobby_M]

The problem with clamping is that it will always loosen up. The heat makes the tubing more fluid so it squishes out from behind the clamp. The one time you forget to tighten the clamp and you've added 2 gallons of hose water to your brew. It's a shoddy half-assed solution.

 

[BigTerp]

The problem with clamping is that it will always loosen up. The heat makes the tubing more fluid so it squishes out from behind the clamp. The one time you forget to tighten the clamp and you've added 2 gallons of hose water to your brew. It's a shoddy half-assed solution.

I've used my 25' of 1/2 copper IC in nearly 10 batches without issue. I haven't had to tighten my hose clamps since I first assembled and I always throw my IC in the kettle with about 15 minutes left. Not a single bead of water has leaked yet. Simple and works well. I'll probably inspect and tighten after reading this thread though. But it's not, as you say, a shoddy half-assed solution.

 

[Bobby_M]

You're right. I didn't mean to be so insulting. Carry on.

 

[eastoak]

bobby m is right. i used the hose clamp deal for a few batches but i wouldn't recommend it anyone just because i lucked out doing it that way. if you will be brewing for years you may as well set up your chiller to be bomb proof from the start.

 

[kimeye01]

What do you mean you flared the ends? Inward or outward?

 

[kimeye01]

Bobby M,
I'll check prices for the compression to NPT...although first I need to figure out what NPT means. National pipe thread is my best guess based on google search.

Sorry...I'm obviously not so handy. :-(

 

[brandonhagen1]

national pipe thread is correct

 

[Palefire]

Honestly ... building an IC provides a great excuse to learn how to sweat copper. That's how I did it. Soldering copper is pretty damn easy (really - there are a ton of youtube videos showing you how to do it) and it doesn't require much in the way of equipment. Plus it's just a useful thing to know how to do. Seriously, you'll be glad you did.

I can't say that my joints are the prettiest, but I never have to worry about leaking.

 

[petey_c]

kimeye01, flare outward.

 

[maffewl]

honestly ... Building an ic provides a great excuse to learn how to sweat copper.

I can't say that my joints are the prettiest, but i never have to worry about leaking.

+1

 

[Bobby_M]

I'll even give you another cheap way to do it if you already have a torch and solder. Grab a piece of 14g solid copper wire, wrap it around the end of the tubing and apply a small bead of solder. Now you have a built in barb. Using a flaring tool is also a way to get there.

Using a higher temp-capable hose on the output also helps.

 

[petey_c]

You're right. I didn't mean to be so insulting. Carry on.

Owww, now I'm going to have to file a "Hurt Feelings" report.

 

[BrewMedic]

Just add another hose clamp.

Duct tape!!

Seriously, sweat on a hose connector and it will last you a life time.

 

[exoreality]

I have had the same issue with hose clamps recently. Last batch I made sure to tighten them beforehand and everything was fine. But it seems much better to make sure the thing is bombproof so it is one less thing to worry about.