Cooling 3-4 gal boils down in 20 min with no chiller or ice!

[Jayhem]

I have a new method to cool down my partial boil batches in the brew pot with no immersion chiller or ice bath! Took me 20 minutes to get my beer from boiling to ~80F using this method! :rockin:

Equipment:

1. Large round tub (for holding kegs at outdoor parties):

I got mine at Wal-mart for like $10

2. Garden hose with spray nozzle:

Step 1: Fill the tub about 6" deep with cold water

Step 2: Insert brew pot

Step 3: Insert hose along side of tub below water level and turn on to cause whirlpool to form around brew pot. I left the brew pot lid on to prevent chance of contamination. Once enough water is added the brew pot will float and start spinning! This is good!

Step 4: Leave brew pot in swirling water for 5-10 minutes, stir brew pot carefully with sanitized paddle several times during the 5-10 minute period.

Step 5: When water begins to warm up, remove brew pot and dump used water, refill with cold water and REPEAT until you reach desired temp! It took me 3 refills of the tub (About 3.5 gallons per refill) and 20 minutes to go from 210F to 83F with a 3.5 gal volume in the pot.

I topped up my fermenter to 5.3 gal using refrigerated water to bring my 83 degree wort down to 65F! Perfect!

If you have access to a garden hose this is much less messy and less time consuming than using an ice bath in your kitchen sink!

 

[wilfonzo]

I've been meaning to try something similar with a chiller, trying to get the chilling down pat before summer hits. Thanks for the post.

 

[nofootbreak]

I helped a buddy brew a batch at his house and we came up with something similar. His kettle fit into his sink, and his sinks spray nozzle came off so it would just shoot a jet of water. Same idea with the water spinning around the kettle, stirring the wort and had a syphon going into a bucket to replace the warm water when the water level got too high. Worked real well!

 

[bruin_ale]

probably works great this time of year when the groundwater temps are so cold. In summer you'd probably want to add some ice to get it to go faster.

 

[kh54s10]

Did something similar last summer WITH ice also and because the ground water is much warmer it still took over 30 minutes.

Good luck while the water is still cool.

 

[Wolfbayne]

Used the same idea with 3 bags of ice and water from hose. Never had to change water out. Stir opposite direction of your water flow to increase the cooldown too.

Only issue is that my German Shepherd has to be put up during this process, because he likes the waterhose too much!!

 

[Jayhem]

probably works great this time of year when the groundwater temps are so cold. In summer you'd probably want to add some ice to get it to go faster.

Good point. I have well water and my well is 380 feet deep but I'm sure in the summer it will still warm up some between the well head and the hose. when that happens I'll just combine this method with some ice in the water but the large tub is awesome!

Now I have a crazy idea to dig up my well line right next to the well head and insert a "T" and bring a spigot up from there...cold water year round and easier access for watering my plants in the drought season.

 

[TopherM]

What's the science behind this besides the heat exchange effect?

I don't see how swirling/whirlpooling the water makes it cool anything down faster, besides possibly mixing the temperature of the water so it's more uniformly distributed temperature wise.

Likewise, I think the time involved has to have much more to do with the temp of your groundwater than the whirlpooling technique. I promise you my 68F groundwater here in FL this time of year won't cool down 3.5 gallons in under 20 minutes with this technique. You are in VA, and probably have like 50F groundwater this time of year.

 

[Jayhem]

What's the science behind this besides the heat exchange effect?

I don't see how swirling/whirlpooling the water makes it cool anything down faster, besides possibly mixing the temperature of the water so it's more uniformly distributed temperature wise.

Likewise, I think the time involved has to have much more to do with the temp of your groundwater than the whirlpooling technique. I promise you my 68F groundwater here in FL this time of year won't cool down 3.5 gallons in under 20 minutes with this technique. You are in VA, and probably have like 50F groundwater this time of year.

Whirlpooling does just that, it increases the contact of cooler water to the brew pot and greatly increases the heat exchange speed. Did you ever see one of those super brew coolers they sometimes have at craft beer stores, you put in your bottle and it swirls ice cold water around it and in 60 seconds your beer is cold!

I'm sure in FL this would not work well since your well water comes from about 30-50' deep, my well is 380' deep in a slab of granite and that water is ALWAYS cold (it's around 55F). :rockin:

 

[Ultra-Medic]

I've been doing this in my bath tub for awhile. Keep the drain cracked & the faucet on & find that sweet spot that keeps a constant circuit of fresh cool water at the desired volume & occasionally whirlpool. I try to not "float" as tipping is more of a risk in such a large tub, but I'm able to walk away to tend to other tasks.

I'm not a fan of moving the pot but I'm in shape so it's not a huge issue. And I also keep a lid on but I think that contributes to slower cooling. I'm looking forward to owning a proper chiller in the future. But this works for now.

 

[TheCatman]

What's the science behind this besides the heat exchange effect?

I don't see how swirling/whirlpooling the water makes it cool anything down faster, besides possibly mixing the temperature of the water so it's more uniformly distributed temperature wise.

Relative motion also increases heat transfer. By stirring the wort in the opposite direction as the whirlpool, you get the greatest increase in heat transfer due to relative motion.

 

[Bobby_M]

It's a time/situation depend process for sure. Step up to full boils (for AG for example), forget it. Mid/late summer brewing, forget it. Tap temps can be in the 80's.

 

[bobbrews]

I'd like to do this with a bucket that has a drain valve on the bottom. It would make things easier than constantly emptying the bucket, disturbing the trub, and messing up the whirlpool. You could also use big blocks of ice to help speed up the process without fear of pouring it out.

Also, the kettle bobbing and spinning all around would make me a little nervous. I'd worry about it losing balance and pouring valuable wort into the bucket after all that hard work. The last issue is some of that water spraying under the kettle lid.

 

[TheCatman]

Also, you can salt your ice water to drop it below freezing temperatures. That'll help cool faster and mean less water changes.

 

[bobbrews]

I thought of that, but the salt would just be rinsed off of the ice if you had a drain valve at the bottom of the bucket. It wouldn't matter if you didn't either because it would just be dumped out.

 

[StanJohnson]

Jayhem: I did basically the same thing with my 2 1/4 gallon batch using the same type of tub. I put ice in the tub with the water. I stirred both the wort and the water. I got mine down to 64F in less than 15 minutes.

 

[Jayhem]

I agree with all saying this technique only works if you have the right conditions; cold tap water and partial boils. I will be using this method in conjunction with a chiller coil in the summer.

 

[Gear101]

OK, why not spend the extra 15usd and make a copper cooler?

 

[Jayhem]

OK, why not spend the extra 15usd and make a copper cooler?

That is my plan for this summer. If you don't have a copper cooler and don't feel like spending money on ice...this method can work just fine if you have cold tap water.