How big of a wort chiller do I need?

[Balog]

So, I found a screaming deal on an 80 quart (20 gallon) stockpot. Worked out to a total cost of $20 for it. However, this presents something of a problem for me. I've done partial boil and coiled the wort by mixing it with cold water up to this point. Moving to a full wort boil means that is right out, and the pot is so big I can't get it into the bathtub for cooling. It's also frankly a little big for just a 5 gal batch, so I'm thinking of moving up to doing 10gallons at a time.

I'll need to make my own as the standard ones are too short to reach over the side I believe, and I'm wondering how big of a copper coil I need to buy. Is 50' of 1/2" enough to cool 10 gallons (or 15 if I decide to step up to that) in a reasonable time frame? WA has low ground water temps.

Also, I'd like to drill it and put in a spigot. Can anyone recommend a good kit to do that? 5mm thick aluminium pot.

 

[Bobby_M]

Yes, 50' of 1/2" is a great chiller for 10 gallons. If you make it a double coil, you can make it a lot shorter for those times when you only make 5 gallons.

 

[RM-MN]

Read up a bit about no chill. You'll find that that big wort chiller is an unnecessary expense.

 

[IP_YAY]

I run 2 50' wort chillers..(1 inside the other) and attach them to a Y adapter on my garden hose. I can chill 10gals in under 10 min.

 

[Balog]

Read up a bit about no chill. You'll find that that big wort chiller is an unnecessary expense.

I was reading about that, but between stretching the brew process over multiple days and the expense of the special fermenters I would need to buy to do that would much offset the cost savings of a wort chiller. And I'm not convinced it has no flavor impact.

 

[Jaybird]

The big HOT tip on using an immersion chiller of any size that some forget to add is you really need to keep the chiller OR the wort moving to make them work well. I use one myself and I can get wort down FAST "IF" I keep the wort in motion... You can use a simple 3/8" or 1/2" 50' chiller effectively if the wort is in constant motion.

Cheers
Jay

 

[fartinmartin]

I found that you need to change the flow through the cooler to get the best from it. Initially the hot wort needs a really fast flow through the cooler , but later on when it's at I guess half way the flow needs to be slowed down. I did this experiment just by putting my hand in the outflow stream, if it's coming out cold but the wort is warm, it's not working, but slowing down the flow the outflow gets warm so the heat transfer has then taken place, so cooling the wort.

 

[Saiko]

I do it the way fartinmartin explained because it is a more efficient use of water. The wort would cool faster if you never slowed the flow.

 

[HBngNOK]

re the spigot, I just put one in my brew kettle that I got from Bargain Fittings

 

[andy6026]

50' 1/2" OD immersion chiller will do the business for you. Build it yourself to save money. I use it on 6 gallon batches and it chills them in just enough time for me to sanitize my fermenter, go into the house and get the yeast, etc. With 10 gallon batches it will take a little longer, but will certainly be manageable.

I don't disturb the wort by stirring stirring it in the opposite direction of the chiller's flow although that would cool the wort faster. I've recently decided to experiment with keeping the cold break and hop debris / gunk out of the fermenter as much as possible.

 

[Balog]

The big HOT tip on using an immersion chiller of any size that some forget to add is you really need to keep the chiller OR the wort moving to make them work well. I use one myself and I can get wort down FAST "IF" I keep the wort in motion... You can use a simple 3/8" or 1/2" 50' chiller effectively if the wort is in constant motion.

Cheers
Jay

My end goal is making one of the recirculating immersion chillers (is there a better name for those?) like what is described on Mr Malty.

re the spigot, I just put one in my brew kettle that I got from Bargain Fittings

Great link, thanks!