Chilling the wort

[frozengator]

I just started and I don't want to buy a chiller just yet. My question is after my boil and I do the Ice bath what are thoughts on using a frozen gallon of water in the boil as long as I sanitize it?

 

[brandonlovesbeer]

If you are throwing in sanitized plastic jugs into boiling water, that may not necessarily be safe.
Just use an ice bath.
Honestly for the first 8 years I brewed, I used my homemade copper wort chiller with tubing from lowes/HD.

 

[Abrayton]

Pull the trigger on a wort chiller. You'll wonder how you ever brewed without it!

 

[A2HB]

Get a wort chiller or have lots of patience those are your options

 

[C-Rider]

All you need to make a chiller is a coil of copper and two compression fittings and two hoses. You can pick all up at your local hardware store.

 

[PADave]

I'll agree with making your own chiller. Made mine from parts from Home Depot. Added a small fountain pump to be able to use ice water and recirculate.

 

[frozengator]

So are their different grades of copper tubing? I think I still have a tube bender. I didn't know if maybe their were a softer tubing or not. And I figured I need something round, the size of what my coils will be and form the tubing around the outside of it. 10" diameter PVC pipe?

 

[frozengator]

And if I sweat fittings will the solder effect my beer? I am thinking the straight piece just use 3/8 pipe?

 

[kh54s10]

I just bent my tubing by hand, a length of vinyl tubing cut some for the inlet and longer for the outlet. I used 3 hose clamps and a garden hose fitting. it was 20ft. I then made another one that I bent smaller so it would fit inside the first, added a short piece of tubing to connect the two. I can put one in a bucket of ice water to pre-chill the incoming water or put both in the wort. 40ft. total and it cost approximately $50 for everything.

 

[flars]

I just started and I don't want to buy a chiller just yet. My question is after my boil and I do the Ice bath what are thoughts on using a frozen gallon of water in the boil as long as I sanitize it?

You can freeze sanitary water in a zip lock bag. Sanitize the bag after taking it out of the freezer and cut the bag to free the ice block. Place the block of ice in the wort carefully to avoid the splash. Adding ice would be more effective if you reduce the initial temperature of the hot wort with some cold tap water in the sink.

I chill my wort in the kitchen sink. I will leave the lid partially off the boil kettle for heat to escape and gently stir as I fill the sink with cold water. Drain the water after five minutes when it is warm. This drops the wort temperature quite a bit. Add the ice to the sink with cold tap water. Stir the wort a little more and cover the kettle. Takes about a half hour to get down to pitching temperature. Our tap water is 48°F. Would take longer if your tap water is warmer.

Edit: I will usually chill to below pitching temp and allow the wort to warm to fermentation temperature.

 

[PADave]

So are their different grades of copper tubing? I think I still have a tube bender. I didn't know if maybe their were a softer tubing or not. And I figured I need something round, the size of what my coils will be and form the tubing around the outside of it. 10" diameter PVC pipe?

I also just bent mine by hand, without winding it around anything. Just get a coil of the stuff they sell in a box. I use hose clamps for mine, but I don't see how sweating fittings would matter, that's how water lines are put together. And your fittings are going to be outside of the kettle anyway. What's inside the chiller never touches the wort.

 

[frozengator]

My kitchen sink isn't big enough to put my pot in, but I have a sink in basement that it will fit in it just isn't very deep. That's why I am doing a little research before I start by 1st brew

 

[phendog]

I just started and I don't want to buy a chiller just yet. My question is after my boil and I do the Ice bath what are thoughts on using a frozen gallon of water in the boil as long as I sanitize it?

I've used frozen 1gal plastic water jugs when I've overshot my strike water, but never on wort after to boil. Seems like a fairly high risk for infection to me.

 

[pshankstar]

I bought a wort chiller from NorCal while they had their Father's Day sale going on. It was their 50ft 1/2inch one for my keggle. It was amazing how well it worked and shorted my brew day. I haven't regretted that purchase at all. Then my father in-law came to visit. We brewed and he was so impressed he immediately bought one too. Although a smaller one to fit his brew pot and he still does extract brews. He too has not regretted his purchase either.

So I say you can't go wrong with getting one. I was going to build mine but for an extra $20-$25 dollars to have it already made was a no brainer to me. Good luck!