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Did up my first brew (Tommyknocker Maple Nut Brown Ale) yesterday and currently have some good fermentation action going on. I guess it is what is called a partial mash brew with initial steeping of grain, dry malt extract and hops, boil, some more hops and Irish moss, boil, some more hops and...

I can totally appreciate the idea of a CFC to maintain the highest temp differential throughout the flow process. I just figured a dual coil immersion chiller was easier for me and still brought 5 gallons down in under 14 minutes.

I disagree that it is "all about surface area" but acknowledge that surface area is a factor. It's just that the price of copper and ability to work with larger copper tubing limits just what the average person can do to increase surface area. But the average person can work to ensure the...

Close. For the most part, the source water temp is a known value coming out the tap. But that source water temp increases while passing through the chiller and the wort temp drops. The temp differential (TD) between chiller water and wort water is directly proportional to the heat transfer rate...

I would think it is possible for the water to run too fast to efficiently pick up heat. Too slow and it heats up too soon in the coil, thus reducing the temp differential that is the biggest factor in the heat transfer rate. Unless you have a hellacious pump, you are probably right. I think...

If using 50' of copper tubing, consider building a dual coil chiller running water through two 25' parallel coils, one coiled tighter than the other and sitting inside the other. No math, but those using a single 25' coils say they are getting hot water discharge at the end of the 25' coil...

Just finished a successful test of my almost complete boil/chill setup in my garage. I am using a DIY keggle (polished of course), turkey fryer burner, DIY dual/parallel coil immersion chiller with 25' 3/8" copper tubing for each coil, submersible fountain pump, bucket and ice. My well water...

+1000 on the "polishing your keg" is more than a clever euphemism thread. I just spent the afternoon "polishing my keg" and building my immersion chiller. (Downed a few Legend Brown Ales in the process) The keg looks awesome. Have to pick up some threaded end fittings for the chiller tomorrow...

I feel so old. In the early 70's (I was about 12-14) I had one of these kits. I especially remembering making a set of juice glasses from Michelob bottles. Memories. :ban:

Sorry for the resurrection. I was looking at step bits in HD, Lowes, and Northern Tool and $40 or so was too high. Drove down to my local Harbor Freight and saw the step bits located here. I hadn't read this particular thread and was real nervous that I would royally screw up the side of my...

Looks like bargainfittings.com is the way to go. SS keg weldless bulkhead kit with 2 piece valve & SS barb - $32 Copper Drain Tube Assy - $12.99 Looking at the cost to add either a thermometer and/or sight gage, I am figuring I can pass for now being as I am just boiling in this keggle.

Gradually getting my gear together to do a full 5 gallon boil of extract in a DIY keggle. Keg in hand and top cut. Now what? I want to add a spigot but not sure how high or what I need to do for the inside pickup. I plan to go weldless to keep it DIY. Do I need a thermometer or sight gage...

Agree. The science is interesting, but definitely over my head. I figure to build a chiller based on a flexible combination of my limited knowledge, reasonable sounding anecdotal evidence cited by others, within my budget, good money value, job size-matched with expansion capability, and...

Here is what I wrote on the other related thread - My plan is to use a $18 garden pump from Harbor Freight. Sit it in a bucket and connect to my not-yet-built dual chiller (that will have two parallel water circuits). Use a garden hose to keep the bucket full and start the pump. When the wort...

I started down this path planning to buy a 50' roll of copper and build a chiller and pre-chiller. I asked questions about the length of each (25/25, 30/20, etc.) and all answers were to steer clear of a pre-chiller as being inefficient. I started research and found quite a bit of the same...

The cooling water temp plays a big part for the reason seen with a rapid temp drop that dramatically slows as everyone tries to get down the last 20 or so degrees. All of the various scientific formulas related to heat transfer show that the temp differential is a prime factor in heat transfer...

If it was a closed pressurized system, definitely. (Pascal's Law combined with 15 years turning wrenches on military aircraft hydraulic systems). With an open system concerned with flow volume and not pressure, I don't know. My idea for T-fitting orientation just "seems" reasonable enough to...

I don't think a series connection would be very efficient. The single coil that most people use already discharges hot water. A second coil in series would simply start with the hot water discharge from the first coil. Running your cold water into both coils simultaneously as you have would be...

Okay - I'm convinced to drop the pre-chiller idea and pump ice water after initial cooling with tap water. The HF pump cited by bad67z looks good. Now wondering about chiller size. Local stores only sell 20' and 50' rolls. The cheaper online stores only sell 50' and higher. 1ea 50' seems...

I plan to pump water from a series of rain barrels and then back into the rain barrels. If the barrels are empty, I will just use my well water and dump into the barrels. Either way, the water is not cool enough. The pre-chiller will be in the circulation loop sitting in a 5-gallon bucket but...