How long does it take to cool your wort?

[Hello]

I don't know the starting temp of the water when I brewed but 2.5 gallon starter (extract brewing) took about 25 minutes in an ice bath. 15 minutes in, I took plastic cooler ice packs and surrounded the kettle because I used all ice and the ice bath was straight water. Cooled to 80° per kit instructions.

 

[n240sxguy]

I've heard of counter-flow chillers and I understand they are faster than immersion chillers. I'm not sure how they work.

You built it yourself? What does it take to build one?

I built mine. I have about 27ft of 3/8 copper tubing run through a craftsman 5/8 rubber hose. It is coiled just like an immersion chiller. On each end there is a T with the copper running through a drilled out compression fitting. The T side has a brass fitting with an end of the hose I cut to make the chiller attached. Wort goes in the copper at the top, and out the bottom. Water goes in the bottom, through the hose side, and out the top. It will cool as fast as you transfer. The only determining factor, as with all chillers, is water temp.

 

[n240sxguy]

This is one that another guy on here built. You can find his thread under the DIY section. Mine is like his except I used compression fittings, and he used soldered copper fittings.

 

[DubBrew]

Last time I brewed it took me 10 minutes to get to pitching temps (68F) for my 6 gallon batch. I use the Jamil method which is recirculating the wort against a 50' wort chiller and pumping ice water through with a pond pump when I hit 80-90 degrees.

 

[bd2xu]

With Atlanta ground water right now at about 80, I get 11 gallons down to about 90 in abt 15 mins while recirculating, with my immersion chiller I built. One key to immersion chillers is to keep the wort moving against the coils. Stir, swirl the chiller, recirc with a pump... Whatever you have. After 90 I stop the recirc and let it sit for about 15 minutes to settle then drain with my side pickup. During that time it drops a little more. Then into fermenters, into swamp coolers and pitch yeast the next morning.

This chiller is a monster, made with almost 60 feet of 1/2 INTERIOR diameter coil... Yes I spent as much making it as a nice plate chiller cost. But I figure it performs the same as a good plate chiller and I like the ideas of simplicity, no worry of clogging with hops, don't have to clean and sanitize it (just spray off), can add a whirlpool tube to it, and I still have my wimpy little 20' chiller to use as a pre chiller if desired.

 

[Mordhaus]

OK, I'm intrigued by your setup, but not sure I totally understand what you've got. Do I understand that you hook up the pump and recirculate cold water through the immersion chiller and back to the ice bath?

Got any pix of your setup?

Thanks!

Yep. I recirculated the water back to the bath so I wouldn't have to keep adding more water to the cooler all while holding the exit hose watering the yard and whirlpooling the wort simultaneously. Here's a pic I snapped yesterday.

 

[SSLocal]

I use BIAB brewing method. 6 gallons of 200+ degree water down to under 80 in about 30 minutes just submerging the kettle in a red plastic rope handle tub. I place the kettle on a small riser so there's space under it for water to flow. Fill the tub twice with hose water, then add a 20 lb bag of ice on the last fill. I probably use about 15 gallons of water not counting the ice. I think I can sub bottles of frozen water for the ice and re freeze them saving $5 on the ice!

 

[cmoore2]

Ditto the Duda Diesel 30 plate chiller. One pass through and 10 gallons of 200 degree wort is down to 65.

 

[glassbottom]

13 minutes to bring 2.5 gallons from boil to 60 degrees using a wort chiller

 

[Puddlethumper]

Yep. I recirculated the water back to the bath so I wouldn't have to keep adding more water to the cooler all while holding the exit hose watering the yard and whirlpooling the wort simultaneously. Here's a pic I snapped yesterday.

Looks like a very simple and effective system to me. Thanks for the pix!

 

[Puddlethumper]

I like the ideas of simplicity,

I'm with you 100%. Simple is almost always better.

 

[CGVT]

This is my setup. I brewed yesterday. Air temp was 94*, my water coming out of my hose was 84*

I timed how long it took to go from boiling to 67*

12:32 ( I brewed alone and had to move the chiller and pre-chiller by myself. It probably would be faster with some help)

 

[govner1]

I use a CFC & recirculate water from a bucket w/ ice water using a submersible pump. I whirlpool the wort in my BK & it takes me about 15 min to get to under 68. I usually use 2 bags of ice on a 90+ day.

 

[BigJack]

I know my method is unpopular but I put ice in my fermenter and dump the wort directly on it.
Boil to 70 in about 3 minutes.

I've switched from ice to very cold sealed bottles of distilled water. (I typically brew extract and partial mash batches. I'm lazy.Sue me.) I still can get my wort to pitching temp in five minutes, but I'm not running any theoretical ice risks. I say theoretical because I used ice for ten years and never had an issue with it.

 

[wailingguitar]

10-15 minutes, depending on time of year, using an immersion chiller. Every couple of minutes I give the wort a gentle stir with the chiller to keep it moving, that speeds the process.

 

[Puddlethumper]

I'm trying to decide between buying a pump (another cool gadget) or just making the decision to pitch my yeast the day after brew-day to let the fermenting chamber cool the wort to pitching temp. At this point finances are probably going to win out ... will try the latter idea for a few batches to see how it works.

Thanks to all who contributed to this thread!

 

[user 103238]

I built a CFC using the information on the DIY sticky, using 20' of copper since that was the longest roll available locally at the time. I can usually have a 6-gallon batch at the desired pitching temperature in about 8 minutes. I gravity feed from the boil kettle, into the CFC, and have a Thrumometer at the end to monitor the final wort temperature. I can then throttle the amount of water to reach my intended pitching temperature - so far the lowest I have been able to achieve was 52°, but that was with the valve fully open. If necessary I could slow the wort flow, and increase the water volume if I needed to get lower. I don't have the exact time available, but I had 11-gallons split between two fermenters in under 20 minutes last night.

Lots of great options available - I'm sure you will be able to find one that works best for your budget and your brewing system. I've been using mine for well over a year, and it freed up a lot of time and effort at the end of a brew session. Good luck!

 

[bd2xu]

I built a CFC using the information on the DIY sticky, using 20' of copper since that was the longest roll available locally at the time. I can usually have a 6-gallon batch at the desired pitching temperature in about 8 minutes. I gravity feed from the boil kettle, into the CFC, and have a Thrumometer at the end to monitor the final wort temperature. I can then throttle the amount of water to reach my intended pitching temperature - so far the lowest I have been able to achieve was 52°, but that was with the valve fully open. If necessary I could slow the wort flow, and increase the water volume if I needed to get lower. I don't have the exact time available, but I had 11-gallons split between two fermenters in under 20 minutes last night.

Lots of great options available - I'm sure you will be able to find one that works best for your budget and your brewing system. I've been using mine for well over a year, and it freed up a lot of time and effort at the end of a brew session. Good luck!

What are using for water, ice water in a bucket or hose water?

 

[user 103238]

Just hose water - one of the benefits of living in Alaska!

What are using for water, ice water in a bucket or hose water?

 

[bd2xu]

Just hose water - one of the benefits of living in Alaska!

Ahhh was about to say... My groundwater is about 80 now!!!

 

[user 103238]

After running my faucet for about 3 minutes, the lowest temperature I registered was 46.7°.

Ahhh was about to say... My groundwater is about 80 now!!!

 

[E_Marquez]

After running my faucet for about 3 minutes, the lowest temperature I registered was 46.7°.

Ahh, yes.. I remember the days of living in Fairbanks, and later Anchorage..If only I was brewing then..... no prechillers or ice required

 

[tgmartin000]

I use a 20' 3/8" prechiller in a cooler full of icewater, with a 50' 1/2" IC. I prefer to use all RO water with salts added back in for my chilling water. I've found if I get the sulfate/chloride ratio up round 5:1, like 300 ppm sulfate, really burtonize the water, it really helps cool things off faster. Also, you need 1 million cells/degree plato yeast in your chilling water, makes a huge diff. Do that, and I can cool to 64 in about 41 seconds. Also mash hops.

 

[porterguy]

Anywhere from a couple of days to a couple of weeks.

Do a search for "NO CHILL brewing".

 

[Black Island Brewer]

This whole thread would be very helpful if more information was provided, including volume of wort being chilled, ambient air temp and tap water temp.

My last batch was chilled with an immersion chiller, 50 (IIRC) feet of 3/8" copper. The batch was 8 gallons, the tap water temp was 65, and I used a chugger pump and a whirlpool port to whirlpool while chilling. Dropped to 70 in 9 minutes, but took 11 more to get to 68. Tons of cold break left behind in the kettle.

 

[Black Island Brewer]

This whole thread would be very helpful if more information was provided, including volume of wort being chilled, ambient air temp and tap water temp.

My last batch was chilled with an immersion chiller, 50 (IIRC) feet of 3/8" copper. The batch was 8 gallons, the tap water temp was 65, and I used a chugger pump and a whirlpool port to whirlpool while chilling. Dropped to 70 in 9 minutes, but took 11 more to get to 68. Tons of cold break left behind in the kettle.

Crap. Ambient air was upper 70s.

 

[Puddlethumper]

This whole thread would be very helpful if more information was provided, including volume of wort being chilled, ambient air temp and tap water temp.

Most everyone seems to be working with 5 gallon batches unless they've stated otherwise. But temperatures do seem to be the rub. Our friend in Alaska has cold water on tap to cool his wort. My guess is that his ambient air temp (if brewing in the garage or outdoors) is somewhere in the 60's or maybe 70's F.

Here in central California my tap water in July-September is 78-80F and by late afternoon in my garage the ambient air temps are 95-105F.

 

[firestem4]

I didn't time it but I think about 10-15 minutes to cool 5 gallons down to 80 degrees with my home-made Immersion Chiller. Worked way better than I expected! (20' 3/8" copper tubing)

 

[Puddlethumper]

I didn't time it but I think about 10-15 minutes to cool 5 gallons down to 80 degrees with my home-made Immersion Chiller. Worked way better than I expected! (20' 3/8" copper tubing)

You have about the same setup I have. I can get it down to around 85 in 20-30 minutes with my 78 degree tap water. I have an old immersion chiller that I screwed up and now use as a pre-chiller in a bucket of ice. With it in the circuit the cooling time drops to maybe 15 minutes and I can hit75 - 80 degrees.

And I am doing 5 gal. batches in my garage where the temps this summer have been in the upper 90's. Winter-time everything cools off, including the tap water. Wort chilling time drops dramatically.

 

[Puddlethumper]

With the warmer summer water temperatures - I cheat a bit and only cool it until it gets under 100. At that point it gets dumped in the fermenter and put in the fermentation chamber until the next day. Then I aerate and pitch the yeast at a perfect 66 degrees.

It used to take 30 minutes or so to get down to the mid 70s. Now it takes less than 10 and the chamber does the rest.

I tried this method with a batch of American Amber this last weekend. It did save a lot of time on brewing day. However, I noticed that my BRY-97 yeast really took a long time to get started. Much slower than usual and I also find myself concerned about the increased risk of bacterial infection during the protracted cooling period.

The brew is bubbling away nicely now and I'll just have to wait to see how this batch turns out. I doubt I'll do it this way again, even if it ends up as a successful batch. Just a little too much angst for me.