How do you cool your wort?

[kenpotf]

I use an immersion chiller and I have a 10-gallon pot. The pot is way too big to fit in the sink, so I sit it on the counter. During the winter (in Texas), the ground is colder so tap water can come out at a good 55-65 degrees and get the wort chilled fairly quickly. Today, it's around 86 degrees and the tap water measures at 76 where I'm at. I started thinking about faster ways to cool the wort down. if you can't get your pot into a bucket of ice, what are some better options with hotter water?


Thanks!

 

[dhelegda]

I have always used an immersion wort chiller, well the first time was ice water in the bathtub.


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[Komocabo]

You can do a "prechiller"... this is where you have another (20'?) Coil submerged in a bucket of ice. It gets the tap water MUCH colder. So the water flow would be....
Hose-prechiller-immersion chiller. I haven't done it personally, but I just got a new plate chiller and may start this practice.

 

[kenpotf]

You can do a "prechiller"... this is where you have another (20'?) Coil submerged in a bucket of ice. It gets the tap water MUCH colder. So the water flow would be....
Hose-prechiller-immersion chiller. I haven't done it personally, but I just got a new plate chiller and may start this practice.

Maybe that's what I'm looking for. I've seen people use something like that in a cooler, but they were doing it outside. I guess I could do the same concept in the sink....I need to start researching that for my next one THANK YOU!!

 

[moreb33rplz]

My swamp cooler container filled with ice water cools it to 70 in about 45 minutes. My old IC took like 30.

 

[k1ngl1ves]

I have the same issue. In the winter, I can cool my wort below 70° with a IC in less than 5 minutes. Not so much in the summer...

I now run my water through a second IC that sits in a large plastic tote full of ice, then into the main IC in the kettle. Even in August, my chill time is only about 7-10 minutes.

Easiest solution I could find, while still maintaining the time efficiency.

 

[govner1]

I use a 6-8 gal bucket to circulate ice water through my CFC. I save the initial hot water from the CFC for later cleanup then recirculate the water back into the ice water/pump bucket to reduce water waste.
I can usually go from BK to mid 60's in 15 min.


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[Hello]

I blow on it for a few days.

I have a 45' IC and now I have a cold plate that I eventually need to figure out how to connect it to my setup.

 

[kombat]

I use a pump and a plate chiller. In the winter, tap water alone gets 6 gallons of wort down to 65° F in 5 minutes flat (I recirculate the wort back into the kettle until it reaches pitching temperature, then siphon it into a carboy). In the summer, I use hose water until the wort gets below 100° F, then switch the chilling water feed from the hose/tap water to a second pump and a Coleman cooler full of ice water. A little more hassle, but great for brewing lagers, as I can get the wort down into the 40's with ease.

 

[unviewtiful]

I recently bought a 380ish GPM pond pump on Amazon for about $20, and it allows me to cycle ice water through my immersion chiller. Just make sure you bring down the wort some with tap/hose water a bit first to not melt all your ice (learned that the hard way). Works great, especially living in a place where it's been over 90 F for a few months now.

 

[Flipadelphia]

With a wort chiller.

 

[BreezyBrew]

I live in FL, tap water is ab 80 deg most of the year. I have a Duda Diesel plate chiller that I recirculate the wort with. I start with Hose water, then move to a pump recirculating ice water around 90 degrees. The system was not cheap but damn, it cools the wort as fast as I can push it.

 

[pdietert]

I am in Houston so I feel your pain. I have a pool cover pump (from amazon around $20 if I remember correctly). I attach the pump to my IC and place the pump in a bucket with water flowing into it. Then cool the wort down to 80 - 90 with un-chilled water. Once it is below 90, I will add ice to the bucket. When the water from the output of the IC is colder than tap water, I turn off the tap and put the IC output line in the bucket. Most of the time, it takes less than one 10 lb bag of ice to get it below 70. In August, it might take 2. I also recirculate/whirlpool the wort around the IC. I can usually get a 10-12 gallon batch cooled in 30 minutes or less with a 25' IC. I was going to buy one of the Hydra IC's but the giveaway came up so I am waiting just in case.

 

[Falcon3]

I have an Immersion Chiller and a CounterFlow Chiller- I use them in tandem a lot of times.

IPA or Pale with hop stand- chill with IC in wort, then add hop stand hops, then drain through CFC

Lager beers or brewing during summer- Use IC as a pre-chiller for water running through CFC- can easily get my wort down to 55 or so.

Small experimental batches (3-4g) I solely use the IC as the CFC is a pain to clean without a pump.

 

[Zwerski]

I recently bought a 380ish GPM pond pump on Amazon for about $20, and it allows me to cycle ice water through my immersion chiller. Just make sure you bring down the wort some with tap/hose water a bit first to not melt all your ice (learned that the hard way). Works great, especially living in a place where it's been over 90 F for a few months now.

^^^ This! My new chilling procedure.

 

[WileECoyote]

I use a binford 5000 nuclear powered dilithium crystal energized sodium vapor filled gonculator, with a added turbo charged polar extractor.

Oops ! sorry ! wrong thread ! JK !

lol

Cheers

 

[italarican]

I have a dual sink in my kitchen, so I make an ice bath in one and let my immersion wort chiller flow water into the empty sink. When the bath warms I drain, refill, and add more ice.

 

[jtratcliff]

I do stovetop BIAB for 6 gallon batches in a 10 gallon kettle. I use a water bath in the sink for a couple of changes of tap water to get it cool enough to carry outside for overnight "slow chill". Pour into fermenter the next day. Swamp cooler in a party tub with frozen water bottles if I need to get a little cooler for pitching.

I'm Very Close to breaking down and building a Counterflow chiller though

 

[Flboy]

In florida, winter! I use my pool, this last batch, I placed my brew pot in a party tub full of ice, expecting to leave it over night. I ran around cleaning up and when I checked on the wort, 30 min-ish it was pitchable!
Was planning to build a chiller, but if I continue to have the same results...One less item that own a piece of me!

 

[black_belt]

The ice bath needs some water in it. Ice itself is a poor conductor of heat and needs water to be effective. Throwing some salt in the ice bath lowers the freezing point to below 0C allowing for faster cooling. I've done this a few times in the kitchen sink.

 

[motleybrew]

I do a water bath in the bathtub. Stir the wort gently to create a whirlpool while using my other hand to circulate water around the outside of the pot...takes 30-ish minutes to get it to ~70 degrees. I am having a tough time not building a counter flow ....priorities

 

[David_Trucks]

We simply put the wort kettle into a nice bath in a plastic tub. When the water warms, repeat. Usually doesn't take more than 30-45 minutes. Slow, but cheap and it works.


*ice bath

 

[kombat]

Aren't you worried the boiling-hot surface of the kettle could melt the plastic tub it's sitting on? At the point where the kettle is sitting directly on the plastic tub surface, there would be very little water (because it's just the metal kettle bottom directly contacting the bottom of the plastic tub) and thus almost no cooling relief at that point of contact to keep the plastic from directly absorbing all that heat, and melting (or at least softening).

 

[Komocabo]

Put a few bricks underneath the pot. No melting, more surface area. Done!

 

[badlee]

Shower the outside of kettle for about 5-10 minutes and then sit in an ice bath which I refill after about 15 minutes.
Tends to get me to pitching temps inside of an hour, but when I re-ice,I put the lid on just in case I fall asleep.
Night brewer.

 

[BamaPhil]

I am in Houston so I feel your pain. I have a pool cover pump (from amazon around $20 if I remember correctly). I attach the pump to my IC and place the pump in a bucket with water flowing into it. Then cool the wort down to 80 - 90 with un-chilled water. Once it is below 90, I will add ice to the bucket. When the water from the output of the IC is colder than tap water, I turn off the tap and put the IC output line in the bucket. Most of the time, it takes less than one 10 lb bag of ice to get it below 70. In August, it might take 2. I also recirculate/whirlpool the wort around the IC. I can usually get a 10-12 gallon batch cooled in 30 minutes or less with a 25' IC. I was going to buy one of the Hydra IC's but the giveaway came up so I am waiting just in case.

Man this is similar to what I do and it took me 45 mins to cool 5 gallons. I didn't recirculate my chilling water on my last batch though, since the first time I tried that it melted my ice too quick. Gotta work on my timing with that I guess. I must be missing something else, my chiller is 20' and I used 20 lbs of ice.

Does everybody using an IC whirlpool continuously? I usually give mine a good stir, go clean something, repeat. Maybe that's my problem, not keeping it moving.


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[herc1354]

I dump 20lbs of ice in my HLT then fill up with water, I then run my hot Wort through the HERMS coil, I regulate the outlet to increase or decrease the tempature, so far it has work very well. I buddy of mine just purchased this crazy 3 coil immersion wort chiller, honestly it's great, it really chills the wort down fast when combined with whirlpooling.

Picture of HLT and HERMS Coil




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[Jayhem]

Get it down as low as you can with the IC and then transfer to fermenter. Set fermenter in a tub of ice water (I use a 20 gal plastic tub). The ice water should get it down the rest of the way in 30-45 min especially if you stir the ice water often and wrap a blanket around the tub for insulation.

 

[5oBrewing]

I use the no chill method. So hot wort to bucket, pitch yeast after 24 hours or so.

 

[NathPowe]

I mouth off real bad to SWMBO and then duck behind the kettle. The icy-cold stare drops 5 gallons to pitching temps in seconds.

0 gallons of chilling water used. Save the planet brah.