400 GPH fine for immersion chiller?

[cannman]

DIY Cannman all week, and now I'm tweaking my chill set up.

2 years ago when I ran my copper immersion chiller at night in winter, the water outflow froze over by morning creating quite the hazardous situation *it was a lot of water!*

So i'm looking to build a recirculating situation which consists of a large rubbermaid container filled with ice water (with ice being replaced as the recirculation melts it) and a 400 GPH fountain pump (Thats 6.67 gallons a minute).

Is this enough flow??

Another option is to run an excessive amount of hoses to the sewer clean-out access.

Thanks!

 

[sportpak]

I would use what you currently have and see how it goes for you.

I do small batch stuff (3 gallon or less) with a 3/8 diameter x 25 ft stainless chiller. My little pump is 250GPH and does a pretty good job. It's a little lazy to prime, but once it get going it works fine. When it quits though, I'll probably get something a little stronger. I recirculate with a 5 gallon bucket with ice. I think I could 5 gallons of wort just fine with this setup.

 

[Minbari]

probably about the same as a 1/2" 100 ft garden hose.

http://www.engineeringtoolbox.com/water-discharge-hose-d_1524.html

 

[cannman]

probably about the same as a 1/2" 100 ft garden hose.

http://www.engineeringtoolbox.com/water-discharge-hose-d_1524.html

Great diagram! Useful in so many other situations too.

 

[wilserbrewer]

So i'm looking to build a recirculating situation which consists of a large rubbermaid container filled with ice water (with ice being replaced as the recirculation melts it) and a 400 GPH fountain pump (Thats 6.67 gallons a minute).

Is this enough flow??

400 GPH is plenty IMO, problem is that pump is rated at 400 GPH with very little restriction or head loss. Pushing the water through a chiller may diminish that 400 GPH substantially.

https://www.1000bulbs.com/pdf/hydrofarm-aapw400-pump_height_chart.pdf