Automotive evaporator / wort chiller

[masonsjax]

Of course it's true. That's why so many innocent dietary supplements and health foods have footnotes. In order to even get reviewed by the FDA you have to come up with a pile of money. If it's not a trademarked or patented ingredient or recipe, theres no way someone can ensure they are the sole beneficiary to that investment, therefore no one coughs up the entry fee. On the other hand we have a "health food" manufacturer recalling several of it's brands of peanut products this very week for dangerous bacterial infection.

 

[VladOfTrub]

If you are tossing the coil into hot liquid it might be better to circulate the hot liquid through the fins. The liquid will cool quicker with flow created by some source, than statically. Maybe, place the coil slightly above the liquid level and design some way to continually circulate hot liquid through the fins without aerating. That way you can slow down or increase the volume of liquid through the fins, to find the sweet spot of heat transfer. Acting like the fan speed selector in a window shaker or variable drive fan. The device will act kind of like an evaporative condensor found in water towers. Without the high evaporation rate of a water tower. An auto A/C compressor is driven by an engine. The compressors can produce as much as 7.5 tons of cooling at engine RPM of 2300, 90K BTU/hr. A condensor condenses the heat laden vapor and changes it to a liquid at the refrigerant's condensing temp. Condensing temp of most refrigerant is 105F at 95F ambient across the coil. Condensing takes place in the top 1/4 of the condensor. The liquid is sub cooled as it flows through the coil. To increase sub cooling affect, coil builders use a few tubes at the bottom of the coil as a sub cooler. Sometimes, a suction to liquid heat exchanger is used to further lower liquid temp, to reduce flash gas in the expansion device. If you know the GPM of coolant flowing through the inside of the tubes, fins per inch and a couple of other numbers that you will know, since, you work with refrigeration. You can figure out the cooling capacity of the coil. Some evaps are coated with a special lacquer that keeps them from corroding. If the coil is coated, vinegar nor salt will reach the copper. Scrape a U-bend with a knife edge to see if anything peels off. It's hard to tell by looking at the coil if it is coated. Coated copper feels smoother than non coated. It will have a similar smoothness that regular copper gets after wort does it's thing to it. High temps will remove the coil coating. If the tubes are coated, so are the fins. If it is coated, find out if the coating is OK to use in something that will be poured down the throat. Brew on!

 

[augiedoggy]

I know a lot of people think that is true. I don't agree. And I hold that view based on what scientific investigation has told us.

Based on past investigations and things brought to light during them the truth actually falls in the middle.... There has been cases where lobbying and bribery have gotten things approved quicker or without proper testing but I dont believe its as general of a practice as many joke about.... Then again with the little exposure I have and the stuff I have seen some government agencies do I really cant say it would surprise me...look at how much they new about cigarettes but yet how long they delayed taking any kind of action to inform people of anything... there was certainly politics involved there...

 

[Puddlethumper]

Based on past investigations and things brought to light during them the truth actually falls in the middle.... .

I suspect you are very close to the truth in this matter. Only a Pollyanna would think that politics doesn't come into play in anything involving a bureaucracy. But I also have far more faith in the accuracy of the information I can get from a Material Safety Data Sheet than from anything fed to us by the sensationalized propaganda stream we call the 6 O'clock News.

There is a very important third party that always seems to be missed by those with an antagonistic view toward the manufacturers and the agencies that oversee them. That third party is the legal system and the extremely litigious society we have become. That third party presence impacts decisions made by everyone involved in the process. And it is that very third party that is the reason for all the extra warning labels and precautionary statements on everything we buy.

I don't think anyone believes the system we have is perfect, but it is a pretty good one, and for the most part it works reasonably well. And it is light years ahead of most of our trading partners in Asia.

 

[Hamaki]

Sorry to raise the dead (especially if results were posted & I missed it) but did this experiment ever pan out? Lab analysis for leached metals? Time needed to chill to pitching temp?

 

[Owly055]

Sorry to raise the dead (especially if results were posted & I missed it) but did this experiment ever pan out? Lab analysis for leached metals? Time needed to chill to pitching temp?

I abandoned the experiment, not because of the cost of testing, or finding toxic materials, etc, but simply because I decided that it would be a ***** to clean...... Made an ordinary immersion chiller from copper tubing. I can cool 2.5 gallons to pitch temp in about 8-10 minutes depending on what I choose my pitch temp to be.


H.W.

 

[Jphillips13]

I did try the coil I had with water. It cooled five gallons from boil to 70 or so in under 30 minutes. I ended up making a copper chiller from 3/8 tubing that has almost identical performance. The condenser coil, as owly mentioned, was a pain to clean. It also was difficult to stir with the square coil in the kettle. It's performance wasn't too close to a traditional chiller to justify testing for contamination from solder or coatings.
That's as far as I took it. It worked but would be a pain to use in a real brew. A chiller can be made for very little money and no worries of toxins.

 

[Jphillips13]

Performance WAS too close to a traditional immersion chiller to worry about testing for solder leaching.
Couldn't edit the post above for whatever reason.