Do any of you use an immersion chiller in an insulated kettle?

[HossTheGreat]

I have a 15.5 gallon keg that I've recently converted to an all electric rig. I bought some Reflectix to wrap around the keg to insulate it, but then it occured to me that I use an immersion chiller and wondered how much more difficult it would be to chill the wort down to pitching temps after the boil with insulation in place.

Currently I chill down to 100 degrees or so using my garden hose connected to the chiller, then swap over to a submersible pump immersed in ice water to get it the rest of the way there. Does anyone have any experience with this that could chime in?

 

[mariojr]

I think the insulation won't make any difference at all depending on air temps. Hot air temps I believe it will help and cold air temps I think it would hinder, but not enough for it really matter. I'm sure some of the mad scientists on the forum will have a better explanation or argument.

 

[BoxofRain]

I would think that just as long as your cold water supply is cold enough, it wouldn't make a difference.

 

[RobbyBeers]

I think that the chilling effect comes almost entirely from the temperature exchange between the liquid in the coils and the liquid in the kettle...the effect of any ambient temperature exchange (between the kettle and the outside air) would probably be negligible in comparison.

 

[ezzieyguywuf]

Consider how long it would take to cool without the insulation and without an immersion chiller, i.e. just letting it sit at ambient. That's how much heat transfer you are losing with the insulation. Not a whole lot RobbyBeers is right, the bulk of your heat transfer comes from the water.

 

[HossTheGreat]

Thanks for chiming in guys. I think I'll proceed with my insulation project as planned. Cheers