coppertubingsales.com review / immersion chiller project

[xumbi]

xumbi: How many feet is that? Have you tested it to see how quickly it can cool a boil?

It's 50' of 3/8" tubing. I haven't had a chance to test it yet.

 

[maltMonkey]

After hearing the positive feedback I went ahead and ordered 50ft of 3/8" today for my soon-to-be HERMS setup.

 

[xumbi]

I finally found some time to build my chiller! Dear god is it hideous!

Unfortunately I don't have a corny keg, so I had to use the closest thing available, a 5 gal sanke. The diameter is definitely larger, but the coil fits into my turkey fryer just fine.

The process would have been much easier with two people, but it should get the job done.

I'm currently soaking it in some PBW to clean it, has anyone else used PBW to clean an IC?

Does anyone drain the water after use? I'm guessing that would be close to impossible.

I got to use my IC for the first time this weekend! I brewed BierMuncher's centennial blonde.

It brought the wort down from boiling to 70 degrees in 6 minutes! Hooray for super cold tap water!

 

[jiffybrew]

How did you connect the vinyl tubbing to the ends of the copper tubbing? Looks like you used a pipe clamp. Is that tight enough? Does the clamp crush copper tubbing opening?

 

[riored4v]

How did you connect the vinyl tubbing to the ends of the copper tubbing? Looks like you used a pipe clamp. Is that tight enough? Does the clamp crush copper tubbing opening?

i just used a hose clamp. no leaks here. not sure if it would crush the tube or not, but i don't think you need to get medieval on it. just snug it up.

 

[Bobby_M]

Don't forget to snug it up prior to each use. The heat softens the vinyl tubing making the clamp looser and looser over time. It will eventually leak if you're not careful. After a few tightenings/uses, you'll want to cut the end of the vinyl tubing off and reclamp the fresh piece.

 

[jiffybrew]

Thanks! What part did you use to connect the faucet to the vinyl tube? Did you also use a hose clamp for that too?

 

[riored4v]

I have a garden hose connection on mine that i attached with a hose clamp as well.

 

[xumbi]

Thanks! What part did you use to connect the faucet to the vinyl tube? Did you also use a hose clamp for that too?

I found a 3/8" to garden hose adapter at Lowe's for about $7. Kinda pricey, but it's the perfect fit.

Now I just need to find a garden hose adapter for my kitchen sink... This last batch I did I just used the outside faucet, but I'd like to have the option to do it inside.

 

[BrooklynBrewer]

I found a 3/8" to garden hose adapter at Lowe's for about $7. Kinda pricey, but it's the perfect fit.

Now I just need to find a garden hose adapter for my kitchen sink... This last batch I did I just used the outside faucet, but I'd like to have the option to do it inside.

Search a homebrew store site (like morebeer.com) for "hose" and you can find a male hose barb to fit tubing for about $3. They also have adapters for hose-to-kitchen sink.

I'm going to build my IC out of 3/8" copper and vinyl tubing tomorrow; we'll see...

 

[niceguybille]

Yes, I selected "refrigeration" for "tubing type".

Someone described the difference between refrigeration and "type k" and "type l" in another thread, and the bottom line was homebrewers don't want those.

Got a link to that thread? Type K is the thickest of all of them (M the thinnest and L being somewhere in between). IIRC the stuff that this place sales is L..

 

[CatchinZs]

Price update for anyone interested.

Price for the same copper is now up to 57.19 shipped.

The shipping has started to become outrageous.

 

[Chello]

I got my 50 feet of 3/8" last night shipped for $50.xx, got an email today from UPS saying it should be here tomorrow! sweet!

 

[98EXL]

and it's nice and shiney copper too!

 

[greenbirds]

3/8" 50ft coil came to $50 shipped for me, too. I can't complain; it's still far cheaper than anywhere local.

 

[Smogre]

...Does anyone drain the water after use? I'm guessing that would be close to impossible.

I don't know about your situation.
I attach a garden hose to my IC.
The hose goes outside and waters my plants and it's also lower than my kettle. This results in a siphon which drains my IC when I'm done.

 

[zbiggestdaddy]

I bought 50' at closing HD for 24 and made two counterflowing IC which work great. Thought it would be more effiecent than a long 50' coil. The water coming out never got super hot when it was used

 

[beerthirty]

another thumbs up for coppertubingsales I just received my 3/8 plus the reducers to make a CFC. I had a hard time finding the reducers at any hardware store or home center. Kind of amazing in a city the size of Phoenix. yes wholesale plumbing supplies carried them but weren't open on Sunday and wanted a resale license. anyway I used the tutorial in DIY and here it is

yes those are zip ties holding it tight. duct tape and zip ties hold the world together!

oops, my first pic looks like I need to work on resizing.

 

[lordbeermestrength]

Looks like either shipping or copper (or both) have dropped in price, just checked and for 50' of 3/8 type M will cost only $35.95 WITH shipping!

 

[TommyBoy]

+1 on coppertubingsales.com

3/8" I.D. x 1/2" O.D. x 50' refrigeration...

My coil arrived a couple months ago at $46 delivered. There was a dent 2' in but it was most likely from shipping. I had to remove 3' anyways for my application so it worked out just fine. I called in my order as I had questions to ask.

 

[bobsstory182]

I ordered 50ft of the 3/8 tubing on monday. Hopefully I can get it by this weekend to start on my CFC, I'm excited. I ordered through pay pal but had to call for a question and they are friendly. Only $36 shipped, can't argue with that

 

[McKBrew]

Funny thing is that I ordered the tubing and paid $43 and change shipped. A few weeks later I went to Lowe's and the same copper was $45. If you haven't ordered yet, check the local big box stores, because copper is getting less expensive.

 

[boredatwork]

I found AHS had better plumbing pieces than morebeer.

Also, regarding 1/2" or 3/8". I don't know that the increased price can be justified by the performance difference. Especially at 50'. From what I have seen most immersion chillers will do about 10 minutes for a 6 gallon boil.

So regardless of the diameter and surface area discussion, the question is which one actually cools faster, and by how much?

I use a 50' 3/8" IC and I it takes 11-12 minutes to cool to 65-70. I would find it hard to believe that a 50' 1/2" would do too much better than that. Unless someone told me that it was 0-5 minutes for a 50' 1/2" I don think its worth spending more.

 

[Joshua618]

Is the 1/2" a lot more rigid? Does the 1/2" hold its shape better?

 

[ssabin]

At coppertubingsales.com it's only $5 more for 1/2" over 3/8".

I'm just uncertain which to use for a 5 gallon pot that can obviously only do partial boils? Or should I wait until I get a larger pot?

 

[boredatwork]

At coppertubingsales.com it's only $5 more for 1/2" over 3/8".

I'm just uncertain which to use for a 5 gallon pot that can obviously only do partial boils? Or should I wait until I get a larger pot?

With shipping? I am pretty sure when I bought mine it was at least a $10 difference. The problem is once the price starts creeping up, you might as well just buy one - so to me keeping costs done was pretty important.

 

[ssabin]

Base price less than $5 more. Don't know how much more shipping would be, but I wouldn't expect much of a difference, if any in shipping cost.

 

[Runyanka]

I dont know how much copper prices have changed since the original post, but I picked up 50' of 3/8" tubing at Home Depot last weekend for $38. I "rented" the tubing bender and cutter. When it was all said and done and I return the "rented" equipment, total cost for a 50 foot IC was $44 :rockin:

 

[User Name]

Shipped to 92056:

3/8" $24.89 + $11.06 (6.7#)= $35.95
1/2" $29.78 + $18.15 (11#)=$47.93

I ordered 1/2" for a total of $48.93 on March 3, 09.
I also bought a tube bender spring on eBay for $9.15

 

[HarvInSTL]

1/2" is cheaper if your order via their ebay store.

3/8" $27.99 + $12.03 S&H = $40.02
1/2" $31.95 + $12.60 S&H = $44.55

Don't forget about the 8% cashback from live.com which brings it down to $41.99 shipped for 50ft 1/2".