Can I use vinyl tubing to cool my wort?

[dsaavedra]

Is there any particular reason why I couldn't use a length of vinyl tubing with cold water running through it to chill my wort?

If vinyl tubing can't stand up to the initial boiling temperature, what about silicone tubing?

Does the plastic act as a better insulator than copper and not allow enough heat to be transferred out of the wort and into the running water?

 

[fartinmartin]

Plastics don't have the dynamic heat transfer capability we need. Ideally our chillers would be made in aluminium as that would be better than copper, but then aluminium can have a few other health problems.

 

[jjw5015]

The tubing won't get nearly as cold as the copper.

 

[dsaavedra]

Yeah this is what I figured. Thought I'd ask anyway!

 

[TyTanium]

Plus hot vinyl tastes like plastic. And if it tastes like plastic, it means you're drinking plastic, which is bad.

Copper or stainless are your best bets. Not terribly expensive if you make your own.

 

[big_len]

Thermal Conductivity:

Copper - 400
Aluminium - 205
Stainless Steel - 16
PVC - 0.19

So, um, copper is 2000 times better at conducting heat than PVC.

 

[BigFloyd]

Thermal Conductivity:

Copper - 400
Aluminium - 205
PVC - 0.19

So, um, copper is 2000 times better at conducting heat than PVC.

This and the fact that vinyl tubing isn't rated above about 168*F before it goes soft on you.

 

[akillys]

This and the fact that vinyl tubing isn't rated above about 168*F before it goes soft on you.

And in my experience, once it goes soft and you run cold water through it and it cools, it becomes very stiff.

 

[BigFloyd]

And in my experience, once it goes soft and you run cold water through it and it cools, it becomes very stiff.

Yep. But I've also seen it collapse due to high temps and it never wants to fully return to its original shape. For higher temp apps (like the lines on my E-BIAB rig), I use silicone tubing.

 

[shaggy727]

As everyone already stated, you wont get any heat exchange. You can make a copper wort chiller for under $30 if you have the guts to do it. I am in process of making a counter flow chiller which I think I can make for under $40 easily. Chillzilla costs 4-5 times that.

 

[dsaavedra]

As everyone already stated, you wont get any heat exchange. You can make a copper wort chiller for under $30 if you have the guts to do it. I am in process of making a counter flow chiller which I think I can make for under $40 easily. Chillzilla costs 4-5 times that.

Made one yesterday! Cost me 30 bucks and some change, took all of 20 minutes to make. I'm about to use it now! got about half an hour left on my boil :rockin:

 

[BigFloyd]

Stir the wort frequently with a sanitized spoon while using it. That is key to faster cooling.

 

[dsaavedra]

Stir the wort frequently with a sanitized spoon while using it. That is key to faster cooling.

I used it earlier and it worked awesome! Got my wort from boiling to about 97° in just 10 minutes. In 20 minutes it was down to 67 or so. I tried to stir the wort once in a while by swishing the chiller around in the pot while it was running. Seemed to do pretty good! This was definitely a good investment.

 

[big_len]

Stir the wort frequently with a sanitized spoon while using it. That is key to faster cooling.

This, all the way!

Feel the temperature of the copper pipe at the outlet of the chiller before stirring and while stirring - big, big difference.

 

[bja]

Every part of this statement is false.

 

[shaggy727]

Made one yesterday! Cost me 30 bucks and some change, took all of 20 minutes to make. I'm about to use it now! got about half an hour left on my boil :rockin:

Nice work, that looks a lot better than the first one I made. Mine worked great but didn't looks terribly pro. Clean it after every use obviously. Your can actually put it in for the last 10 minutes or so of your boil to help sanitize it.