Getting hot wort into a CFC??

[gERgMan]

Alright, my first time using my homemade CFC went a bit haywire. I was using hop pellets and leafs in the full wort boil. I learned a bunch of things to improve upon for next time. For one, the standard tubing I am sure everybody uses for siphoning and transferring doesn't hold shape at boiling hot temps. Second, leaf hops get perfectly lodged into the 3/8" OD copper, preventing any further cooling. On the plus side, the first gallon of the boil came out of the CFC at a perfect temp.

My question is regarding getting the hot wort through the CFC in an efficient and less problematic manner. I don't have a keggle or pot with side-wall fittings, just standard kettles. I will be getting one in the future, as soon as I find a used keg I can buy. But for know, how would I draw (siphon) the hot wort up out of the kettle without bringing hops along? I am looking at a Bazooka T hop strainer, but it seems this doesn't work well for hop pellets. I guess I could just use whole leaf hops from now on, but I don't want to necessarily limit myself to that. If I used this Bazooka T, how would I hook it up to my siphon tubing that is connected to the CFC (hose clamps, sotter to another straight piece of copper that sticks up and out of the pot, to which I can connect the CFC inlet tube)? Is there a better type of tubing to use at these temps (this clear, normal tubing just goes limp, leading to stopped siphons)? To start the siphon, I have been just leaving sterile water in the CFC and then opening the clamp when the inlet tube is submerged in the hot wort. This didn't seem to work so well, is the autosiphon rated for this high of temp and if so, can it be rigged up to the Bazooka T in some fashion?

I know this is a back-a!@ed way of doing this, but till I find that 15.5 gal keg, I don't want to buy a kettle with a sidewall fitting. I have a hang up about buying things that can be made, though, in the case of the Bazooka T, it looks like that is actually as cheap as making it.

Thanks all

 

[Sir Humpsalot]

I also used a homemade CFC for the first time recently. I even started a thread about it... here's the deal for me...

I whirlpool, but I do not use a strainer. I may upgrade to a mesh, such as a nylon bag or paint strainer and let the siphon sit in that.

I use a stainless steel racking cane in the wort.

I also had my hot-side tubing deform and kink. Apparently, you can buy special hot/cold tubing at a hardware store. This stuff, they say, holds up to the heat without deforming. Silicone tubing should also work, but I cannot comment on the ability to sanitize it, so I'm tending to lean toward the tried and true. Why reinvent the wheel? I suggest you do the same.


Hope that helps.

 

[GeauxBrew]

I'm going to be making my own CFC shortly, but I just got a brew pot with a ball valve an am trying to figure out how to work around the hop/trub issue myself. so if anyone has any suggestions on that it would be great. But as far as siphoning, I would whirlpool and let it settle for about 15-20 min. On the end of your racking cane you could try securing a SS scouring pad (Ithink it is the Brite Boy brand you get in the grocery) to the end of your cane. Just keep the end of your cane above the trub until your wort is almost all in the fermenter, then tilt the brew pot to get as much wort as you can.

Oh, P.S. You can get a SS racking cane and some high temp hose from one of the online HB sites.

 

[Sir Humpsalot]

Oh that reminds me. I do have a $1.25 thing-a-ma-jig from northernbrewer (or was it morebeer?) that clips on the side of your brew kettle and basically clamps your racking cane at a specific height.

Wouldn't be a bad idea to combine that with the idea of keeping the racking cane off the trub in the brewkettle.

 

[gERgMan]

I had tried the whirlpooling, but didn't let it sit that long. I will try that next time. Where would I get a stainless steel racking cane? That sounds like it would certainly help my situation.
Oh, wait, I see GeauxBrew posted that info. Thanks!

Any reason why there would be concern over sanatizing different tubing? I can't imagine why that would be an issue.

Does the Bright Boy scouring pad do a good job of filtering hops?

How do you get your siphons started?

Toot, and I guess this will apply to Geauxbrew, how do you sanatize your CFC? I don't seem to be a big fan of siphoning boiling water through it for a number of reasons, one being that the water isn't boiling hot by the time it exits. Is there a santatizing solution safe for copper? What about storing it filled with a solution?

 

[GeauxBrew]

Hot water is good for cleaning your CFC. It may not be boiling, but it still flushes all the left over gunk in the CFC. And yes sanitizer is safe on copper. I've even heard of people leaving non rinse sanitizer such as Star San in their CFC between brews. I haven't made my CFC yet so I am no expert, but if you search there is alot of good info on this forum.

Like I posted earlier, I'm trying to figure how to deal with the trub/ball valve/CFC issue before I start using my CFC

 

[Sir Humpsalot]

Morebeer sells stainless racking canes. I believe that's where I got mine. It's not really pretty, but it's a tool and it works exactly as promised. Maybe I could polish it.


To start a siphon, fill the siphon completely with sanitizer and plug the end. Stick the cane in the wort and let the sanitizer drain onto the ground. Once wort starts to drain out, move the end of the tube into your carboy. Simple, eh?

I don't trust my ability to store the CFC with sanitizer. I drain it and blow it clear with my mouth. Real sanitary, eh? Before use, I run starsan through it. Of course, that eats away at copper, so I'll probably have to replace my wort chiller in 50 years or so.... BFD.

 

[gERgMan]

Sounds like Idiophor might be a better sanatizer, I don't think it is as reactive as Starsan. I won't store it, I think. I found out where to get one of these stainless steel racking canes, I will have to pick one up.

Thanks!