Deciding on a chilling method

[Funkenjaeger]

So after trying the brewpot-in-the-sink method for chilling my wort for a couple batches, a few weeks back I broke down and built myself a 20 foot CFC. It works great, I've had no trouble cooling my wort to ale pitching temps with the sink running the cooling water only turned on maybe halfway or less. I'm an extract/partial mash brewer, with an 18-quart brew pot, so I'm typically boiling a bit over 3 gallons.

But, it's been a bit of a headache because I live in an apartment, so I have to use it indoors, in the kitchen sink, and it's a bit ungainly with the limited counter space I have available. I've also been having problems with actually feeding the wort through it since I don't yet have a valve installed in my brew kettle - a mesh bag over my siphon keeps the hops out, but clogs too quickly. Trying to keep the siphon going, while simultaneously trying to adjust the cooling water to reach the desired outlet temperature, is frustrating. I'm planning to use a hop bag instead of letting my hops loose in the brew pot, and/or install a valve and a hop-stopper.

I've been thinking lately about how an immersion chiller might be a better bet for me - it would require less counter space, since it goes right in the brew pot and only has two small hoses, and it would not require me to start and maintain a siphon the entire time. And, I wouldn't necessarily need a valve/hop stopper or need to use a hop bag, as I could go back to pouring my cooled wort from the brew pot into the fermenter through a nylon mesh filter/bag. Plus, I kind of like the idea of cleaning the outside of it (which I can clearly see) instead of cleaning the inside of my CFC (which I can't see).

So I figure that I have at least a few options:
1) Stick with my CFC, just fix my feed issues by installing a valve and/or using a hop bag
(this is my current course of action)
2) Dismantle my CFC, and turn the tubing into an IC instead
(I wonder if the 20 feet of tubing I used for my CFC would be long enough to make a decent IC, and if not, if I could buy some more and solder with a coupler to make a longer piece)
3) Sell my CFC, buy an IC (or just trade it)
(would obviously depend on me finding an interested party to sell or trade my CFC to)
4) Sell the CFC and go back to dunking my brew pot in a sink/bathtub of ice water
(this is the backup plan)

Any advice?

 

[Cheesefood]

YMMV, but you might find problems with either method. IC's require more water and take longer and if you don't have the fittings on tight enough, you'll spray. Someone in here put their IC in a mesh bag and siphoned from inside the bag to remove hops and break material.

 

[Funkenjaeger]

Where I live, water shortage is not an issue (sandwiched between two rivers), and water is included with the rent at my apartment, so water use is not a big concern for me. Not that I want to be wasteful, but I don't mind using a reasonable amount of extra water.

IC's may take longer, but right now my CFC is also taking me a lot of time (both overall time, and time spent actually chilling) due to the time it takes to set it up, and the time I spend trying to start, maintain, and sometimes re-start a siphon. I think the time savings of being able to sanitize an IC right in the boil, and being able to just rinse/clean the outside after use instead of having to switch hoses around to run cleaner/water/sanitizer through a CFC. I think if I had a more permanent brewing setup in a garage or something, with a good supply of hoses, fittings, buckets, etc then a CFC wouldn't slow me down too much, but working in a kitchen with limited space and equipment does make it a hassle.

But, I am sure that most of these impressions of IC's that I have are due to my "grass is greener on the other side" mentality right now, so thanks for pointing out some of the concerns related to IC's.

I like the IC-in-mesh-bag idea, that could come in very handy.

 

[Bobby_M]

You'll get a lot of mixed input on this but I tend to think IC's are easier to use on batches of 5 gallons or less.

IC Pros:
Sanitizing
Strorage (inside your brewpot)
Cold break left in the pot
Less DMS as the wort quickly goes from boiling to under DMS production temp.
No need for trub/hop separation prior to cooling
No need to closely throttle flow for temp control, chill until it's all the right temp.

CFC/Plate pros:
Faster if you're pumping.
Less water waste
Cooled wort (vulnerable to contamination) is deposited directly into the protection of the fermenter
Scalable: same amount of copper needed for cooling 5 gallons or 50 gallons.

Not necessarily a pro/con of either, but once you get to a pot size that cannot be lifted and poured, you must go to siphon/bulkhead draining/pumping anyway. You might argue that since it's flowing through tubing to the fermenter anyway, it's one step closer to CFC/Plate chilling.

Once I get my 3-keggle system up and running, I'm pretty sure I'm going to continue using my CFC because the addition of a March pump will help me realize the speed aspect of CFCs. It's still a close call though when running only 5 gallons.

 

[Cheesefood]

IC Pros:
Cold break left in the pot

Not to start a war, but a lot of educated people claim that break material is beneficial to wort. Most people agree that there is either a neutral or positive result in regards to keeping break.

 

[the_bird]

I considered buying a CFC recently, but decided against it because I would also need to purchase a pump. My Banjo Cooker sits real low to the ground, which I like; I don't really want to have seven gallons of boiling wort three feet off the ground. With an immersion chiller, I can chill the wort, then lift the keg to where it will drain into the fermenter; with a CFC, I'd either be lifting a scalding-hot keg, or having to pump.

The DMS issue is big, as well; with an IC, you get the entire wort chilled below 140° in just a couple of minutes, so you are really limiting the potential for DMS to form.

 

[homebrewer_99]

I only do 1.5 gal boils and top off with gal jugs of water that I place in my freezer 4-5 hours prior to brewing. Gets the temps between 60 and 74F everytime.

 

[Chrus]

Just throwing this out there... but have you thought of using the no-chill method? Instead of chilling your wort, jsut chuck it in a sanatised, airtight container and leave it over night, then transfer to your carboy and add yeast the next morning. Doesnt take up much space, and uses no water.

Down here in Aus we have a pretty massive water shortage goin on... so im thinking thats the mothod im gonna have to use.

 

[Bobby_M]

Not to start a war, but a lot of educated people claim that break material is beneficial to wort. Most people agree that there is either a neutral or positive result in regards to keeping break.

No war. I'm really posting common pros/cons, not necessarily embraced by me. Papazian talks about a certain amount of break as benefitial but also talks about trying to limit it to some degree. How about if we call it even as far as the IC/CFC debate goes.

 

[Bobby_M]

Just throwing this out there... but have you thought of using the no-chill method? Instead of chilling your wort, jsut chuck it in a sanatised, airtight container and leave it over night, then transfer to your carboy and add yeast the next morning. Doesnt take up much space, and uses no water.

Down here in Aus we have a pretty massive water shortage goin on... so im thinking thats the mothod im gonna have to use.

You make due anyway you can. Hey, at least you're still brewing right? I'd still prefer chilling. If you must do no chill, I'd put the lid on the pot and let it go. I wouldn't go "chucking" the wort anywhere because then we have to start arguing about hot side aeration.

 

[Funkenjaeger]

An immersion chiller is really seeming like a good bet for me, especially after Bobby_M mentioned some advantages I hadn't even thought of.

I guess I should start considering listing my CFC for sale/trade. Cannibalizing it for the tubing to make an IC seems like a waste, after the work I put into building it, I'd rather see someone else put it to use than try making it into an IC - especially since commercial IC's are very common for moderate prices, but commercial CFC's aren't that common, especially not in the $50-ish price bracket... Guess that'll depend on whether anyone wants it, though.

 

[mummasan]

biermunchen explained a great way to chill hot wort then siphon to carboy - I'm too lazy to find the link - but I followed his instructions and my chilling/siphoning works great now

I use a IC for my 5 gallon boils...after the wort is cool I pull out the IC and put a sanitized paint strainer bag around the IC...position the strainer so the hole is at the top...put it back into the cooled wort...insert siphon into hole and the majority of the wort is siphoned out of my brew pot so easily I don't even watch it...when the siphon stops I take the equipment out and dump the sludge (I use hop pellets) through a small sanitized kitchen strainer

very fast - very easy - requires very little thought and preparation on my part

after use the paint stainer goes into the dishwasher then sanitized for later use

I think I bought a package of two five gallon paint strainers at HD for $1 or $2

The other paint strainer goes around my copper manifold in my mash cooler to keep the runoff clear