Got some copper pipe dirt cheap at HD. Is 60' of 1/2" overkill?

[Justdrumin]

I do 5 gallon partial boils now, but I most definitely plan to upgrade ASAP and I figured I would make something I could grow into. I was considering goin the rib cage route so it's not crazy huge in my 5 gallon kettle, but it will still be efficient when I do full boil all grain. What do ya'll think? I posted this earlier, but got no replies. I also discovered that I bought 60' of 1/2" when I thought I was buying 50' of 5/8". The 1/2" was in the wrong spot. Still, $37 for 60' of 1/2" is a MAJOR steal in my book. I was thinking about making something similar to this one. I don't have a torch to soldier, so mine won't be all fancy. I'd like to use two coils like this one though. I also plan to use a pump to recirculate water through it to conserve so I was thinking about using barbs instead of hose fittings. Any thoughts?

Here's the chiller I gave birth to!
I can post a parts list if anyone is interested in building one.
I plan on testing it after the Canada day weekend!
Should be much more efficient than one long coil that sticks 1/2 way out of the wort! I used a 50' coil of soft copper. The outer coil was wrapped around an 8" cylinder for making concrete footers, and I used a 2L glass jug for the inner coil "About 6 inches diameter "

 

[fujieagle]

I like.

 

[mjohnson]

I have one thought you might want to consider. As the water moves through the chiller, it will warm up. If you can't move the water fast enough, the chiller water might end up the same temp as the wort long before the end of the chiller. I know my little harbor freight pump that I use for ice water doesn't move the water super fast.

Also, for what its worth, when I purchased my immersion chiller a long time ago, I skimped and didn't get the hose fittings. I've regretted it ever since.

mj

 

[Justdrumin]

I have one thought you might want to consider. As the water moves through the chiller, it will warm up. If you can't move the water fast enough, the chiller water might end up the same temp as the wort long before the end of the chiller. I know my little harbor freight pump that I use for ice water doesn't move the water super fast.

Also, for what its worth, when I purchased my immersion chiller a long time ago, I skimped and didn't get the hose fittings. I've regretted it ever since.

mj

Thanks for the tips! I did consider that it will warm up by the end, but like you said, your harbor freight pump doesn't work really well. I have been trying to read up some more on this topic though. If you use a pump, why do you need hose fittings? Just wondering. I personally don't like the idea of using THAT much water and not reusing it. I know some use it in their washer...I don't have one in my apartment. So that doesn't work either.

 

[Topher79]

You could use 20' of it as a pre-chiller, and then use the remaining 40' as an immersion wort chiller. I caught the same deal, and while it may be overkill, my 50' 3/8" as a prechiller and making a design similar to the one you have in the pic above for chilling my wort from the 50' of 1/2" I picked up yesterday.

 

[Justdrumin]

You could use 20' of it as a pre-chiller, and then use the remaining 40' as an immersion wort chiller. I caught the same deal, and while it may be overkill, my 50' 3/8" as a prechiller and making a design similar to the one you have in the pic above for chilling my wort from the 50' of 1/2" I picked up yesterday.

I like the idea of making a pre chiller, but I plan to get a pump to put in my ice chest with ice water to recirculate. I'm leaning more and more towards the dual coil design. I like the low profile for my 5 gallon batches. The only part I'm not sure about is what size to make it. I just have a 5 gallon kettle and I'll be upgrading to hopefully at least a 7.5-10 gallon soon. Which will vary in size tremendously.

 

[Bobby_M]

If you don't want to make that solder bridge, there's no reason you can't start coiling at the top of a corny, work to the bottom, then start overlapping the previous coil back up to the top. The most important thing is getting it all submerged into the wort.

 

[mjohnson]

Thanks for the tips! I did consider that it will warm up by the end, but like you said, your harbor freight pump doesn't work really well. I have been trying to read up some more on this topic though. If you use a pump, why do you need hose fittings? Just wondering. I personally don't like the idea of using THAT much water and not reusing it. I know some use it in their washer...I don't have one in my apartment. So that doesn't work either.

It doesn't have to be hose fittings, but having some sort of good disconnect between all lines is just a good thing in general. Putting hoses onto barbs and screwing down clamps every brew is a complete pain. Vinyl hose doesn't last for long when repeatedly subjected to worm clamps and heat. Its so much easier to store everything without hoses dangling all over the place.

I put hose fittings on my ice water pump and ended up putting hose fittings at the end of my chiller vinyl hose just to make it easier to get everything together and apart. I start chilling with a hose connected to my tap. Once the chilling stops, I can just swap the hose to the ice water pump.

Eventually, I'm just going to solder some hose fittings onto my chiller. I just haven't gotten around to it yet.

Also, for what its worth, circulation of ice water from the get-go is kinda just a waste of ice. The water is so hot coming out that you just melt all your ice before you get to pitching temps. If you have a ton of ice on hand, maybe its ok. I never have that much, though.

 

[Justdrumin]

If you don't want to make that solder bridge, there's no reason you can't start coiling at the top of a corny, work to the bottom, then start overlapping the previous coil back up to the top. The most important thing is getting it all submerged into the wort.

Are you thinking something more like this? I just found this one. Looks EXACTLY like what your describing. This looks great!

 

[Justdrumin]

It doesn't have to be hose fittings, but having some sort of good disconnect between all lines is just a good thing in general. Putting hoses onto barbs and screwing down clamps every brew is a complete pain. Vinyl hose doesn't last for long when repeatedly subjected to worm clamps and heat. Its so much easier to store everything without hoses dangling all over the place.

I put hose fittings on my ice water pump and ended up putting hose fittings at the end of my chiller vinyl hose just to make it easier to get everything together and apart. I start chilling with a hose connected to my tap. Once the chilling stops, I can just swap the hose to the ice water pump.

Eventually, I'm just going to solder some hose fittings onto my chiller. I just haven't gotten around to it yet.

Also, for what its worth, circulation of ice water from the get-go is kinda just a waste of ice. The water is so hot coming out that you just melt all your ice before you get to pitching temps. If you have a ton of ice on hand, maybe its ok. I never have that much, though.

I see your point! I will def give easy disconnects a thought. I've been reading that worm clamps are a pain. Using the sink initially makes sense as well. Saves a ton of ice by chilling as low as it will go with just tap water. Did you just buy a cheap hose and cut it for the inlet and outlet?

 

[TheZer]

If you want your 60 ft immersion chiller to work faster, cut it in half. Make two separate 30 ft chillers of different diameter so one nests inside the other, and toss them both in the pot.