Beginning questions

[jimba009]

It is kind of a home made counter flow chiller. I plan on immersing a coil in an ice bath and running the wort through that. I am going to try it out this evening or tomorrow morning to see how it handles 180 degree water going through it. I live in an apt and the immersion chiller isn't really an option and the ice baths with the brew pot is waaaaay to long. Everything i have read says to leave the brew pot covered and that takes almost an hour for 4-4.5 gallons of wort.

 

[Throckmorton]

Wow... I didn't expect a counterflow from a beginner. Nice job. I don't use these or immersion anymore because I don't do a full boil. I usually do 2.5 - 3 gallons, put in an ice bath for 15 minutes, then top off with cold bottled spring/drinking water.

 

[jimba009]

i have only been brewing for about two months now, but those ice baths are annoying! i am doing all-grain on the stove-top with between 3 and 4 gallon after boil worts and the ice bath just takes tooooooo long to cool down. (i have only done 2 AG batches so far, but they both took about an hour each to cool) Do you keep your pot completely covered or do you vent it a little? If this idea works i am going to have to post some pics.

 

[Throckmorton]

Do you keep your pot completely covered or do you vent it a little? If this idea works i am going to have to post some pics.

I usually allow to vent a little. I used to freak out about it and keep it shut, but when you use an immersion chiller, you have to leave the pot open, so I don't worry about it anymore, especially since I only have it in the ice bath for 15-20 minutes anyway. After that, I pour very slowly into a 6.5 plastic bucket (with the hops) against the side to minimize any splashing. Then I top off with cold bottled water. That usually brings the beer around 70 F. I have a sinktop strainer that I put on a 2nd 6.5 gallon bucket and pour the wort over the strainer. This strains out the hops and helps aerate the wort. I then pour the wort back and forth a couple time between the buckets to aerate a bit more. Finally pitch the yeast. I don't claim this to be the best method, but it is simple and works for me.

What I have learned in these forums that as long as you are reasonable in your methods, it is very hard to screw up. There are a lot of good methods here... just a matter of finding one that works for you.

 

[jimba009]

i tried out my coil theory this weekend and it worked very well. i was able to get a little under 4 gallons of wort cooled in about 15 min. there are a couple of gremlins i need to work out in the system, but what a time saver. i had my brew day finished by the time SWMBO made it home, she was very happy!