Did you Make your Wort Chiller, or Did You Buy One?

[david_42]

Bought mine, but I've modified it. Seriously considering adding more tubing.

 

[iamjonsharp]

I just got one of these from Midwest a few weeks ago, $80 bucks. (50 ft, 3/8 in copper) It's either about as cheap or cheaper than making one from scratch, and no work is needed to make it.

 

[Hopleaf]

mine was a gift.. i have the williams brewing one

 

[PITT]

I got my 3/8" x 25" (and some other goodies) from Northern Brewer. They were having a special, $5 for shipping anywhere in the lower 48 states. I once tried boiling 5 gallons on my stove and then cooling it in an ice bath (that made for a long night). Wort chiller is a wonderful thing.

 

[PITT]

correction..... 3/8" x 25' is the size. If I would have received a 25 inch wort chiller I would have been a little upset.

 

[Cheesefood]

Here's a nice thing about a CFC in the Midwest:

In the winter, you can burry that badass in a snowbank and ubercool your wort.

 

[iamjonsharp]

Here's a nice thing about a CFC in the Midwest:

In the winter, you can burry that badass in a snowbank and ubercool your wort.

I've been waiting so long for a winter storm here in Charlottesville to make some beer and cool it down in the snow....maybe this year we'll get a good storm.

 

[Fingers]

Normally I'm all for DIY projects, but bending 50' of copper tubing just didn't sound very fun to me, so I bought mine.

I comes in a large roll already and then all you have to do is wrap it around something that is the size of the loops you want. I initially wrapped mine around a corney and then when I wanted it larger I just opened the loops by hand. Each operation took under 15 minutes. I could have joined the loops to make it pretty, but I don't much give a damn. It just has to work.

 

[TuefelHund]

50' coil of 3/8" copper tube online (google 3/8" copper tube for pricing - I bought mine from a refrigeration supply service). Used a tube bender and a 5 gal bucket to coil/bend the tubing. Copper wire stripped of insulation to hold coils in place. Hose fittings were purchased at HD (compression dishwasher fittings). Final price - probably no cheaper than if I had purchased one. The feeling from making it myself is priceless. Cools 5 gal wort from 200 deg F to 75 deg F in less than 10 minutes.

 

[petep1980]

I made one. It sucked, so I then bought one.

The one I made actually did work, just was a PITA.

 

[WilliamstonBrew]

I made my own just to see if I could. It was easy with the right tool (i.e. a tube bender), and I did save maybe $10 versus buying a pre-made one. I used one of those tins you get popcorn in at Christmas time as a template and wrapped the tubing around that then secured the loops to the rising piece of tubing with some stainless steel straps. Works like a champ.

 

[permo]

I made one out of 50 feet of 3/8 inch copper for around $40.........literally took me 20 minutes.

2 stainless steel hose clamps
50 feet copper tubing
1 washing machine hose line cut in half

This hog chills down 6 gallons of wort in about 20 minutes in the summertime...since the tapwater is 65 degrees. In the winter when the tap water is about 50 degrees it takes about 10 minutes..........that reminds me I better get my pseudo lager recipes ready....my house strain (pacman) is ready for winter time!!