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Wort chiller not chilling

Discussion in 'Beginners Beer Brewing Forum' started by texag06ish, Oct 27, 2012.

 

  1. #1
    texag06ish

    Active Member

    Posted Oct 27, 2012
    Haven't brewed in a couple of months due to moving. Brewed last night and for some reason the wort chiller wasn't getting as cold as it usually does. Usually it get so cold it sweats. Last night it was barely cold to the touch. Any idea what caused that?
     
  2. #2
    Yooper

    Ale's What Cures You! Staff Member  

    Posted Oct 27, 2012
    Warm tap water would make the chiller not get very cold. In the winter, my tap water is really good (45 degrees!) but it takes much longer to chill in the summer when my cold water is in the 60s.
     
  3. #3
    texag06ish

    Active Member

    Posted Oct 27, 2012
    That what was odd to me. It was 40 degrees put last night and we were using the hose. Figured it would have cooled a lot quicker. Instead it was the exact opposite.

    Btw, it is a normal copper coil wort chiller.
     
  4. #4
    Zorin

    Well-Known Member  

    Posted Oct 27, 2012
    What you have to take into consideration is ambient temperature is not the same as ground temperature. It will take several weeks if not months of continuous low temperatures for the internal ground temperatures to drop where your tap water will be cold, unless your water supply is spring fed or your pipes are above ground.
     
  5. #5
    texag06ish

    Active Member

    Posted Oct 27, 2012
    With that being said, all of our other batches were brewed in the heat of the summer as well.

    Are you saying there is no way it could fail mechanically?
     
  6. #6
    MalFet

    /bɪər nɜrd/  

    Posted Oct 27, 2012
    Is water going in and coming out? It's just a copper tube, ultimately. There's not much to it to fail.
     
    Johnnyhitch1 likes this.
  7. #7
    h22lude

    Well-Known Member

    Posted Oct 27, 2012
    My thoughts exactly. If water is going in and coming out, it has to cool boiling wort.

    What is the temp of your hose water? Did it lower the temp of the wort to?
     
  8. #8
    Johnnyhitch1

    Well-Known Member

    Posted Oct 27, 2012
    What mechanics does a wort chiller have? You said you moved, your water supply might have changed...giving you warmer tap water.
    You said it doesn't sweat anymore from condensation, you run water thru it to chill the copper before chilling your wort?
    Im not sure i understand what you mean by this
     
  9. #9
    texag06ish

    Active Member

    Posted Oct 27, 2012
    I realize that may have come across as condescending. I didn't mean for that.

    I really didn't think there was a way for it to fail mechanically but maybe there was something I wasn't taking into account.

    I guess it has to be the water supply. I think Austin may have come from an underground source.
     
  10. #10
    MalFet

    /bɪər nɜrd/  

    Posted Oct 27, 2012
    I didn't take it as condescending, no worries, and didn't mean my response as anything along that line either :mug:

    It's always worth comparing the input and output temperatures. Ideally, you want them to be as far apart as possible.
     
  11. #11
    lgilmore

    Well-Known Member

    Posted Oct 27, 2012
    copper sweat = humidity?
     
  12. #12
    texag06ish

    Active Member

    Posted Oct 27, 2012
    The portions that stuck out would sweat some.
     
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