Chiller modifications

Hey all. I am wanting to upgrade my system in some ways, and I think a good one would be to change my immersion chiller into a counterflow chiller with a pump. Would I be able to un bend the immersion chiller straight enough to then feed in to the rubber hose, or should I just start from scratch. Thanks.

 

depends on the diameter of your chiller tube...

 

its 3/8" OD, the same size as the stuff used in the wiki. I was just wondering if bending it back straight and then curling it again would affect the structure of the copper tube, and if I would even be able to get good results with a tube already bent up. I have 50' of it.

 

that will work great... it came coiled at some point, recoiled to fit a kettle, and you'll be doing it the 3rd time. No worries.

 

Sweet, weekend project!!!

 

Personally I find that air bends never look very good after they've been straitened and re-bent. They also seem to kink more easily the 2nd time around. If you've got something to bend around that'll help a lot. I'm not trying to discourage you from trying it though, just sharing a little personal experience.

 

I recommend going to home depot or lowes and getting the spring bender for the tubing. The tubing will feel more rigid after you start to rebend it, and will be quite apt to collapse on you. Copper tubing is really soft fresh out of the factory, but the more you work it the more hardened it becomes. You are realigning the structure of the metal when you bend it and the grain of the copper becomes more uniform. Post some pics when you get it done. The bender should run $10 - $20.

 

I've heard of people re-annealing (heating it up to a certain temperature then letting it cool down slowly) the tubing to get it soft again. I have done with aluminum and it's worked out but never tried copper and couldn't give you a temperature to shoot for. But, if you've got access to a torch of some sort it may be worth a try.

 

I turned my old immersion chiller into a CFC. Hacksawed through the soldered points, straightened it out, lubed it up with dish soap and rammed it up a hose. Worked perfectly. Don't worry about fancy benders or heating the tubing. Just work carefully in a wide open outdoor space (you need plenty of space when working with a straightened 25+ foot length of copper tubing) and all will be perfect. Good luck.

 

We're talking about something that is going inside a garden hose or similar if I'm not mistaken.

 

im going to be doing the exact same thing soon. I have ~80 feet of 3/8OD in my IC, there are alot of kinks in it now, so when i take it apart I will cut out the kinks and solder to get the best flow possible.