Counterflow wort chiller DIY bust!

[swampdonkeybeer]

I recently talked a friend into helping me build a CounterFlowWortChiller. It has a 1/2od inner copper tube and a larger outer copper tube for coolant water flow. I guess we just made the whole thing too short, (15ish ft) because it does not cool wort effectively at all. We have to slow flow from the BK down to a trickle to get the stuff under 80F. The chiller is pretty looking but pretty useless as well. Does anyone have DIY experience with CFWCs that could tell me what I could have done better? Tube size? Overall length? Am I just doing it wrong?

Here is a picture of the thing.

 

[mr_randy_watson]

Water temps this time of year don't help either. My CFC got temps down easier in colder months. Sometimes I have to let wort sit a few hours after running it through before pitching to get temps down further.
Length & diameter are the other two variables for sure.

 

[lud]

I use a pump and recirc the entire volume until I hit pitching temp. You could also try a prechiller to chill your cooling water before it hits the CFC.

 

[pelipen]

1/2" inside tube is huge. mine is 1/4". You'll have a though time with that much volume in 15 feet without frigid water.

 

[skipper1953]

I have a 20' CFC using 3/8" ID copper and 3/4" ID vinyl tubing. Ground water temps around here run around 60 degrees even during our current heat wave. I can drop the temp of my wort very quickly while recirculating with a March Pump. However, the first time I tested the CFC, I hooked up the hoses bass ackwards (I blame my Grandson for distracting me) and had the wort and cold water entering at the same end of the coil. It cooled the wort but did it a lot slower than the proper configuration.

Do you have your plumbing set up the right way?

 

[swampdonkeybeer]

The plumbing is all correct. I think the inner tube dims are what's killing my heat exchange efficiency. With that size inner tubing I would need the thing four times as long to cool the wort in a single pass... I'm guessing.

Bending copper in copper is not anything I want to do again by hand... But it was a fun project. I am building a brew sculpture soon and will be switching to a plate chiller and will be adding a pump.

 

[Misplaced_Canuck]

1/2" inner tube is pretty big. Mine was 3/8" and with Canadian winter tap water, I had to throttle back the WATER, otherwise the wort was too cold.

Are you 100% certain that you're running the water in the proper direction?

I normally do: Hot wort from the top (and out the bottom) and cold water from the bottom (and out the top). That way the wort has the advantage of gravity.

MC

 

[swampdonkeybeer]

I'm 100%. The wort is gravity fed, and with the BK flow open about 50% I'm getting down to 100F. Close the BK off to 10% flow and I'm down to 90F. Close the BK off to 2% flow and I am at 75F, But it takes an hour to drain at that flow rate. I built the CFC to save time and that is not happening. Without a recirc pump I'm just afraid this method is not going to cut it... Or at least not with what I built.

Lesson learned: know more about thermodynamics before attempting to DIY a heat transfer device. Maybe I'll turn the CFC into a steampunk style lamp.

 

[Misplaced_Canuck]

25'coil of 3/8" copper + 25' garden hose (I use 3/4" but most of them are 5/8") works very well.

MC

 

[passedpawn]

I nearly built one of these contraptions a few years ago. But after a trip to the LHBS a blichmann plate chiller followed me home. It looked so forlorn and lost, I just had to keep it. It's been completely problem-free.

Sometimes expense is the best economy.

 

[pelipen]

The smaller the tube, the higher the surface area to volume ratio, the quicker the chill.
Every time I think about getting a plate chiller, I remember that I can shoot pieces of scrubby pads, and ear plugs through the cfc with an air compressor, which makes it squeaky clean and is fun too.
If I were the OP, I would invest in a pump and recirc. Copper is expensive to use as a paper weight. I wish I had a pump sometimes. All grav here.

 

[swampdonkeybeer]

I have a pump on its way. Recirculating is in my future. I also just got a plate chiller. Thank you to all who took time to reply.

 

[r8rphan]

Mine is 30' of 1/2" id copper inside of 3/4" id copper... But it's all centered..

In the winter, I have to slow down the chill water as it does too good a job.. but in the summer I have to slow down the wort... as I have an above ground tank that sits in the sun....

what I'm thinking of doing is getting a 10 or 20 plate chiller and adding in line in the summer months.. putting it after the CFC, and recirculating ice water through it from a pot...

But truthfully, it's not that bad.. It just takes twice as long to get it down close (15-20 mins instead of 7-8).. Then I just stick the carboys in the fermentation chamber for an hour or two (if necessary) while I'm cleaning everything up and then pitch my yeast after it gets down to 66-68...

 

[swampdonkeybeer]

That's a crazy looking chiller my friend. Bravo! Depending on how my plate chiller works I may end up with a combo of both a CFC an plate. We shall see.

 

[Bobby_M]

I agree that the core is too large for the length but two questions... what is your tap water temp? Actually measure it. Also, make sure the core stays full of wort with no air. This includes feeding the coil from the bottom and throttling the flow at output leang the kettle valve wide open.

 

[r8rphan]

Getting a pump is rapidly becoming a top priority for me.. So I may be recirculating through the chiller at that point too...

 

[swampdonkeybeer]

I am not able to get a water temp and won't. I am moving in a week and all my stuff is packed now. I'll run some tests once we are in the new place.

I had the BK wide open with a valve throttling flow after the chiller to avoid air bubbles. I am thinking at this point the overall length is my only issue.

 

[duckredbeard]

Mine is 30' of 1/2" id copper inside of 3/4" id copper... But it's all centered..

Can you tell us how much you have invested in that chiller? Some close up shots of how the ends and turns are done could be an inspiration for us DIY types.

 

[r8rphan]

Can you tell us how much you have invested in that chiller?

Don't remember, but I think it was less than a hundred bucks about a year and a half ago...

 

[E-Mursed]

If you have an old IC laying around you can use it as a pre-chiller for your cooling water. I do this with my old 20 foot IC and only need about a pound of ice in a bucket to truly chill my tap water going into my CFWC.

 

[r8rphan]

Can you tell us how much you have invested in that chiller? Some close up shots of how the ends and turns are done could be an inspiration for us DIY types.

 

[swampdonkeybeer]

Thanks for the photos. That seems like it was a fun project.

 

[r8rphan]

It was a lot of work for a CFC.. But it works 'great' and is out of the way and hidden in the brew stand top...

 

[passedpawn]

It was a lot of work for a CFC.. But it works 'great' and is out of the way and hidden in the brew stand top...

I think it's very cool how it fits into your table top. Great thinking there.

 

[BrewerDon]

Mine is 30' of 1/2" id copper inside of 3/4" id copper... But it's all centered..

Wow! That's what I call putting the "counter" back into "counter flow chiller".

 

[clonies720]

I recently talked a friend into helping me build a CounterFlowWortChiller. It has a 1/2od inner copper tube and a larger outer copper tube for coolant water flow. I guess we just made the whole thing too short, (15ish ft) because it does not cool wort effectively at all. We have to slow flow from the BK down to a trickle to get the stuff under 80F. The chiller is pretty looking but pretty useless as well. Does anyone have DIY experience with CFWCs that could tell me what I could have done better? Tube size? Overall length? Am I just doing it wrong?

Here is a picture of the thing.

Interesting how it looks like an immersion chiller but is a counter-flow. I lack virtually all DIY capabilities. Building a fermentation chiller should be very labor intensive for me.

 

[Obi-Jake-Kanobe]

1/2" inside tube is huge. mine is 1/4". You'll have a though time with that much volume in 15 feet without frigid water.

I saw that you have a 1/4" CF wort chiller. I just place a bid on one and was wondering how long it take for you to cool down a full boil 5 gallon batch. Most CFC I see are either 1/2" or 3/8".

 

[LandoLincoln]

I saw that you have a 1/4" CF wort chiller. I just place a bid on one and was wondering how long it take for you to cool down a full boil 5 gallon batch. Most CFC I see are either 1/2" or 3/8".

That's 1/4" ID, 3/8" OD. Rigid copper goes by ID, coiled copper goes by OD. Frustrating.

I have a 45' 3/8" OD (1/4" ID) coil inside a garden hose and it can cool wort down to whatever the water temp is in one pass.

 

[AlfA01]

I'm planning a DIY'er like this, but I was thinking to take a roll of solid core copper wire and strip the coating, then twist and solder the wire to the outside of the beer tubes before inserting them into the water tubes. This would create a turbulent effect in the water, which I tend to believe would increase the cooling ability.

I used this method in my ethanol still condenser and it works awesome. I hear a lot of guys complaining about hot distillate out of the condenser and I've never experienced any of the sort. I always get distillate output at about the same temp as the ground water.

Any thoughts?

Great looking system...

Cheers,
AlfA

 

[swampdonkeybeer]

I think its all about the length of the system. The more time the chiller has to work the better. I can only imagine that adding the turbulent effect will increase efficiency.

 

[govner1]

It always comes down to the length of your "system"!