Counterflow Chiller Length

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ToastedPenguin

ToastedPenguin

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I am looking to tackle building a counterflow chiller. I have decided to use a length of 3/4 inch black automotive heater hose instead of a standard garden house and 3/8 inch copper tubing.

What I haven't decided on is the length of the chiller. I have seen more 25 foot DIY counterflow chillers then 50 foot chillers and I am wondering if this is based solely on the price of parts or on the ease of build or a combination of price, the efficiency that the additional 25 feet a 50 foot chiller provides as well as the ease of build. Anyone who has tackled this project care to chime in?

Thanks,
David
 
I just built and uses a cfc this weekend. 20 feet long, 3/8" copper with 1/2" id hose.

With cooling water at full tilt, my wort is 55 coming out of the chiller. I have to dial back the cooling water quite a bit to achieve pitching temperature.
 
I built a 25' CFC. Yesterday I chilled wort from boiling to 60*F in the amount of time it took to come out of the chiller. It went from kettle, thru CFC, right into the fermenters. These things are great.

On the downside, you do have to recirc boiling wort through them and then clean them well when you're done. I live in St Louis and our ground water gets upwards of 70*F in the summer. I'll probably put a prechiller in-line or simply send chilled water through it in those cases.
 
o4_srt said:
I just built and uses a cfc this weekend. 20 feet long, 3/8" copper with 1/2" id hose.

With cooling water at full tilt, my wort is 55 coming out of the chiller. I have to dial back the cooling water quite a bit to achieve pitching temperature.
Click to expand...

Based on your response it would seem ~25ft is plenty long.....
 
You know if my new 40 plate chiller works like I expect I would be willing to sell my CFC for cheap. I don't like how bulky those things are.
 
stlbeer said:
I built a 25' CFC. Yesterday I chilled wort from boiling to 60*F in the amount of time it took to come out of the chiller. It went from kettle, thru CFC, right into the fermenters. These things are great.

On the downside, you do have to recirc boiling wort through them and then clean them well when you're done. I live in St Louis and our ground water gets upwards of 70*F in the summer. I'll probably put a prechiller in-line or simply send chilled water through it in those cases.
Click to expand...

Ya our water up here gets a little warm in the summer as well so I intend to use my old immersion chiller as a pre-chiller for the water, letting it sit in a ice batch inline with the cfc.

I have seen many people do the boiling wort recirc, seems easier then sanitizing with other sanitizers, though it does mean its time to buy a pump.
 
adurotec said:
Based on your response it would seem ~25ft is plenty long.....
Click to expand...

It all depends on how cold the feed water is. As stated before, a prechiller in an ice bath can help out immensely if your tap water isn't cold enough.


The speed and ease of chilling the wort is well worth the 5 minutes it takes to sanitize and clean. I'll never use an immersion again, this is one of the best sit things I have built to date.
 
adurotec said:
Ya our water up here gets a little warm in the summer as well so I intend to use my old immersion chiller as a pre-chiller for the water, letting it sit in a ice batch inline with the cfc.

I have seen many people do the boiling wort recirc, seems easier then sanitizing with other sanitizers, though it does mean its time to buy a pump.
Click to expand...

It is a good excuse to buy a pump, but not necessary. I just drained into a gallon pitcher that I dumped back into the kettle before starting the cold water flow
 
adurotec said:
Ya our water up here gets a little warm in the summer as well so I intend to use my old immersion chiller as a pre-chiller for the water, letting it sit in a ice batch inline with the cfc.

I have seen many people do the boiling wort recirc, seems easier then sanitizing with other sanitizers, though it does mean its time to buy a pump.
Click to expand...

25' is plenty to get the job done for you. The water by you is cool enough for the summertime. I planned on using my 5 gal IC as a prechiller but it has sat in the box since I built my CFC.

You don't need a pump to santize with the wort either. You can recirc with 2pitchers, similar to your vorlaf (sp?), but it does add to more hands-on during the last 15 min of the boil.

I am willing to help you in the build if you want. It doesn't take that long to put it together and an extra set of hands is helpful while bending the tubing around the corny (or whatever you are going to use.)

Joe
 
I purchased 50 feet of 3/8 copper and a 50 foot rubber hose and made 2.. I only need one so the unused spare is up for sale.. Seems like $60 is fair.. any interested parties can PM me. JJ
 
Anyone used a cfc with any sort of whirlpool setup? I have seen plenty of IC w/whirlpools but haven't seen a CFC version.
 
My CFC is 24ish feet, works great. Summers here in VA the cold water temp gets down to about 65, which puts my wort at right at a lovely 70-72 degrees. I can usually pitch right away. I imagine that a CFC around 50' would be better for a warmer climate due to the longer contact time with the tubing.
 
Would cooling efficiency improve enough to warrant the additional cost if the cfc went from a 3/8" ID to 1/2" ID @ 25'? or would it be better to spend the money on 50' @ 3/8"?
 
I just built a 50' CFC from 5/8" ID rubber garden hose and 3/8" OD copper tubing. It's huge and I haven't got to test it out yet since I don't have a way to gravity feed it efficiently and I'm waiting on my pumps.

But, I'll be doing 10-15gal batches and would prefer to go from 212->64 by the time it gets to the fermenter. Maybe it's overkill but for the summer months I think it will be excellent, plus the cost to make ($75 total including fittings) was comparable to a much smaller plate chiller. I'm hoping this one will be easier to clean than a plate chiller, but we'll see.
 
going to 1/2" ID doesnt make it more efficient. there is a ratio of the copper tubing to rubber tubing size that you need to keep in mind. Bobby_M has posted about it before.
 
adurotec said:
Would cooling efficiency improve enough to warrant the additional cost if the cfc went from a 3/8" ID to 1/2" ID @ 25'? or would it be better to spend the money on 50' @ 3/8"?
Click to expand...

This would actually hurt efficiency, as there would be more hot wort, and less cold water to cool it.
 
o4_srt said:
I just built and uses a cfc this weekend. 20 feet long, 3/8" copper with 1/2" id hose.

With cooling water at full tilt, my wort is 55 coming out of the chiller. I have to dial back the cooling water quite a bit to achieve pitching temperature.
Click to expand...

I did 20' instead of 25', cause that is what lowes had. I also used it for the first time this weekend, gravity fed. I barely had to have the cold water turned on. I am sure it would take more cooling with a pump, but I think 20 ft. is going to be fine for me.
 

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