Chilling question...

[jphalabuk]

I currently brew 5 gallon batches of all grain, and I use a 25 foot stainless steel immersion chiller. As you can imagine, it can sometimes take 20 or 30 minutes to chill to pitching temperatures, and I anticipate that taking even longer as we get into the summer.

So my question: am I better off buying a 50 foot copper immersion chiller, or buying an immersion pump and using an ice bath with the pump through the chiller? I can get the trailer from hundred dollars, and I can get the pump for $50. Which one is a better use of my money?

Thanks.

 

[billl]

I live a bit south of you, but chilling to pitching temps with ground water isn't even an option for me in summer. The water coming out of the tap is mid 80's, so I could let it run all day and it won't chill below 90.

You might want to look at some threads about these pumps. $50 seems higher than most are reporting. If it really is $50, I would look at a brewing pump. It'll be more expensive, but much more durable and you can use it for multiple purposes.

 

[jphalabuk]

Thank you...i should be more clear. I have a cheap aquarium-type pump that i used over the weekend, but it's capacity is too low. I thought it would be better to get a pump with more horsepower...

 

[dcabines]

I use a copper coil chiller, a pump, a drink cooler, and 20 pounds of ice. I get 5 gallons of wort into the 60's within 30 minutes. I live in Florida and I brew in my garage where it is currently about 90 degrees Fahrenheit. I use a sump pump I got from the Home Depot and it is more powerful than I actually need. I don't have a brew pump or I would use that instead. I don't think a bigger or fancier coil would help you, but stirring the wort while it cools does make a big difference.

1. fill the cooler with 6+ gallons of tap water
2. pump water through the chiller until it is hot
3. dump out the hot water
4. add 3+ gallons of tap and 10 pounds of ice
5. pump until the ice is melted
6. add the remaining 10 pounds of ice
7. pump until you are at pitching temp

This is my setup:

 

[Revvy]

I think you realize by reading the other answers, that a pre-chiller is more important than a larger surface area chiller... if your ground water doesn't get colder than for example 80, then no matter how much copper you have, it won't go lower than that.

One of the cheapest ways to do this is with a 12-15 dollar drill pump and a hand drill.

Most people I know who use them, get a big square cooler (but anything will work, even a garbage pan) filled with ice water and run that through the pump. Usually with a zip tie around the trigger of the drill to hold it down.

 

[jphalabuk]

Excellent, thank you. I will get a better pump (I like the idea of the drill pump) rather than a bigger chiller. I can use hose water to get it to around 90 degrees, then switch over to the ice water and pump setup.

Thanks, y'all.

 

[mringer]

I was thinking about this, because i am getting more active in brewing. I was looking for pumps and realized i have an old Eheim 2217 canister filter. It can do 135 GPH. if i remove all the filtration out of is, it should pump colder water out of cooler into the coil fairly quickly. just have to have a hose going into the cooler to keep water going in do i dont run dry. Not sure if I should get ice bags or just use frozen water bottles and freezer packs. And since my cooler has a draining spout that hooks to a hose i could connect the filter to that. then to the coil in the wort. hopefully this all makes sense.
thanks!

 

[wilserbrewer]

Couple tips....

Chill w just tap water till you get to 90-100 degrees. Using ice water immediately will of course chill faster, but you will use a boat load of ice.

For 5 gallon batches, you can also chill to 90-100, then place the kettle in a large tub with a bag of ice and let it sit for 30-40 minutes. Just mentioning in case you have a large party tub or Rubbermaid tote. Once at pitching temps, this ice bath tub can work as a swamp chiller to maintain cooler temps for the critical first few days of fermentation.

Bags of ice can get pricy, if you have an ice maker and freezer space, stockpile ice in advance of your brewing.

Another option is to just gravity drain the ice water thru your chiller.