NJ's summers are a little too warm to count on ground water for the immersion chiller. I use a 50' coil, and never had a problem getting south of 70 degrees for pitching...until now. One frustrating brew session was all it took for me to figure something out.
I work for a plumbing wholesaler, so soft copper and all of the neccessary valves and fittings are at my finger tips for cost. My design features 50' of 1/2" OD copper tube, while will be coiled and placed into a bucket full of icewater. I bought a box (about 100') of 1/2 ID vinyl tubing to carry the water. The vinyl will attach directly to the copper via SS hose clamps. I also have the appropriate MalexBarb and FemalexBarb fittings. to make the connections to my chiller, the garden hose. When I brew with my buddy, we use a Wye splitter (which has valves for flow control on the outlets), but for solo brew days, I bought a Female x hose thread ball valve, which I adapted with an additional Male by hose fitting.
I have seen designs for pre-chilling before, but I think this has to be more efficient than using a sump pump in a bucket of icewater, because my icewater will stay at a controlled temperature. It follows the principle of the immersion chiller, but in reverse.
Construction will take place Saturday morning, and the test brew will be on Sunday. I will report the results.
Has anyone had great success with this before, and if so, why is this not a standard route for warm weather brewing? I understand that copper is expensive for most people, but how much water do you waste trying to chill down 5-10 gallons with 74 degree ground water?
I work for a plumbing wholesaler, so soft copper and all of the neccessary valves and fittings are at my finger tips for cost. My design features 50' of 1/2" OD copper tube, while will be coiled and placed into a bucket full of icewater. I bought a box (about 100') of 1/2 ID vinyl tubing to carry the water. The vinyl will attach directly to the copper via SS hose clamps. I also have the appropriate MalexBarb and FemalexBarb fittings. to make the connections to my chiller, the garden hose. When I brew with my buddy, we use a Wye splitter (which has valves for flow control on the outlets), but for solo brew days, I bought a Female x hose thread ball valve, which I adapted with an additional Male by hose fitting.
I have seen designs for pre-chilling before, but I think this has to be more efficient than using a sump pump in a bucket of icewater, because my icewater will stay at a controlled temperature. It follows the principle of the immersion chiller, but in reverse.
Construction will take place Saturday morning, and the test brew will be on Sunday. I will report the results.
Has anyone had great success with this before, and if so, why is this not a standard route for warm weather brewing? I understand that copper is expensive for most people, but how much water do you waste trying to chill down 5-10 gallons with 74 degree ground water?