Wort chiller

[canadianhomebrewer]

hi i was just wondering the more i read the more confused i get i want to make a Wort chiller out of standard coper piping that you get from home depot or rona(canada's version of home depot) does standard coper have lead in it? if so why i thought coper piping is used for water pipe in houses why would it have lead in it if you drink water that comes from that pipe? anyway i hope some one can help me what do you think ? if there is anyone out there that can help please do so and i am sory if this topic has already been discused.

 

[anthrobe]

Just get the flexible copper pipe from Lowes or Home depot that is about 1/2" in diameter. I believe that it is used for refridgeration. There should not be any lead in the metal. Most houses here have all copper piping.

 

[AllHoppedUp]

Yeah, I agree with anthrobe. I not a plumber so I don't know for certain, but if it had any significant amount of lead in it (i.e. - enough to be a health concern) I doubt it could be sold as "copper pipe" anyway.

AHU

 

[Truble]

ditto-I bought a 60' precut length all boxed up from Home Depot, fittings on the next aisle, and done!

 

[Dude]

Hopefully you can do better than mine.

 

[anthrobe]

I think that you should market those

 

[AHammer16]

Wow is that one ugly chiller! But the damn thing works so cares. I agree you should market that thing, give it a good name!

 

[david_42]

There is no lead in copper piping or tubing. The problem comes from the lead-tin solder commonly used to join sections. If you use flare or compression fittings, you won't have a problem. Even if you solder the joints, if done properly there is very little lead exposed to the wort. My chiller is made out of 1/4" tubing, it's a bit short though. If I make another one, I'll probably stay with 1/4 inch.

(I know there is lead in brass fittings, but not enough to worry about).

 

[Beermaker]

How hard is that to replicate?

 

[Truble]

Looking at that chiller made me dizzy, though it is all about surface area in contact with the wort-not about looks!!

If you are wondering how much tube, I think that the short answer is that there never is too much until it can no longer be submerged in your wort-this depends on your boil volumes. I do 2.5-3.0G boils, and I used 30 ft wrapped around a standard 1G paint can. I am going to use the other 30 to make a pre-chiller/circulator for the cooler when I start using my sanke keg boil vat.

FWIW

 

[alemonkey]

By the way, copper pipe for water supplies is supposed to be joined with lead free solder...if not, fire your plumber!!

 

[Chairman Cheyco]

Did you bend that based on a mathematical formula?