How to clean out a counterflow chiller

[MattTheBrewer]

I got my old roommates counterflow wort chiller last week.

But he told me he doubted that he rinsed it out the last time he used it.

How in the devil should i get any mold and crap in the long copper lines out of there? What should i soak and/or sanitize it with?

This has to have been run into before.

Its a homemade copper counterflow chiller, although inefficient it will cool 5 gallons of boiling wort in about 10 minutes.

 

[ETCS]

I would boil some water in your brew pot, hook of the wort side of the chiller only and run some boiling water through it, then maybe some "Oxyclean" after that. That is what I do with my plate chiller after each brew.

 

[37OliveStBrews]

I would boil some water in your brew pot, hook of the wort side of the chiller only and run some boiling water through it, then maybe some "Oxyclean" after that. That is what I do with my plate chiller after each brew.

Yeah after my brew day I get some oxiclean boiling in the brew pot after I wash it out with a hose and run it through and recirculate it by dumping it back in if I need to. After that I run star san through it and leave it until next brew day filled with star san. On my next brew day I open my brew kettles valve a bit and let boiling wort wash out the star san and then begin my cooling water.

 

[wncbrewer]

Yeah after my brew day I get some oxiclean boiling in the brew pot after I wash it out with a hose and run it through and recirculate it by dumping it back in if I need to. After that I run star san through it and leave it until next brew day filled with star san. On my next brew day I open my brew kettles valve a bit and let boiling wort wash out the star san and then begin my cooling water.

I do almost the same, after I use it, I run some pbw through folllwed by about 5 minutes of warm rinse water. Then i run starsan thru just before I use again. Kind of a pain but it has worked well for me so far. I inherited mine from an area brewer who had graduated to a plate chiller, and it had been in his shed forever. The first cleaning was a real pain in the ass. It was completely stopped up, and I thought I was gonna have an aneurism trying to clear it

 

[Misplaced_Canuck]

When done brewing, I run tap water from the garden hose at full blast (plenty of pressure), and let it all drain out.

Prior to using for chilling, I run a solution of bleach water (or pbw or whatever) through it using my pump, for about 15 minutes. Works very well.

M_C

 

[joety]

I do almost the same, after I use it, I run some pbw through folllwed by about 5 minutes of warm rinse water. Then i run starsan thru just before I use again. Kind of a pain but it has worked well for me so far. I inherited mine from an area brewer who had graduated to a plate chiller, and it had been in his shed forever. The first cleaning was a real pain in the ass. It was completely stopped up, and I thought I was gonna have an aneurism trying to clear it

I have both a chillzilla type CFC and a Therminator plate chiller. I think they both run roughly $200 new. I bought the chillzilla, but the Therminator, brand new, came with a 25 gallon brew pot I picked up for $300, also brand new.

I will probably never use the Therminator as the chillzilla works great and I don't have to monkey around with backflushing it. What did your friend see as the advantage?

 

[watersr]

I have both a chillzilla type CFC and a Therminator plate chiller. I think they both run roughly $200 new. I bought the chillzilla, but the Therminator, brand new, came with a 25 gallon brew pot I picked up for $300, also brand new.

I will probably never use the Therminator as the chillzilla works great and I don't have to monkey around with backflushing it. What did your friend see as the advantage?

I use both a plate chiller and an immersion chiller. The plate chiller I use in a cooler of ice water as a prechiller to send ice cold water to the IC. Works like a champ.

 

[finley]

Yeah after my brew day I get some oxiclean boiling in the brew pot after I wash it out with a hose and run it through and recirculate it by dumping it back in if I need to. After that I run star san through it and leave it until next brew day filled with star san. On my next brew day I open my brew kettles valve a bit and let boiling wort wash out the star san and then begin my cooling water.

Same thing I do, worked great so far.

 

[Gwitz]

Just as a cautionary, starsan is an acid and will chew away at the copper over time. You will probably notice it will come out green. From what iv read about plate/CFC maintenance, its best to run a cleaner through, rinse and then purge with air. I usually just rinse with hot water after each brew, let drain and before i use it rinse again and cycle boiling wort through to sanitize.

 

[trigger]

I run hose waster through mine full bore then pack it away for the day. While I'm boiling I give it another quick blast with the hose, then I recirculate boiling wort through it for the last 5 mins. About once a month I recirculate hot PBW through it. They actually stay really clean inside as long as you rinse them right after brewing.

As far as old built up gunk I suggest hitting it with a high pressure blast from the hose to dislodge any chunks then recirculating boiling water through it. That should get it plenty clean. I've never had a buildup in one of mine that was actively in service, but I did have an old one that did. The hose actually got all the gunk out, and the boiling water from the kettle stayed perfectly clear. They're really easy to clean.

 

[emjay]

On the same subject, I just ran boiling water through my gear yesterday (pumped from my kettle, to my pump, to my therminator plate chiller, and out to the drain.

Got a bunch of gunk out but I wish I could do more. I used to use oxiclean to clean all my gear, but if I recall correctly, I've read many times that oxiclean should not be used on stainless steel, which most of my new equipment is made of. I use barkeeper's friend (an oxalic acid-based cleaner) to light scrub my SS kettle, but that stuff doesn't work by making a solution and simply soaking parts like oxiclean does. So I'm looking for a decent CIP cleaner that won't muck up stainless steel.

 

[Yooper]

on the same subject, i just ran boiling water through my gear yesterday (pumped from my kettle, to my pump, to my therminator plate chiller, and out to the drain.

Got a bunch of gunk out but i wish i could do more. I used to use oxiclean to clean all my gear, but if i recall correctly, i've read many times that oxiclean should not be used on stainless steel, which most of my new equipment is made of. I use barkeeper's friend (an oxalic acid-based cleaner) to light scrub my ss kettle, but that stuff doesn't work by making a solution and simply soaking parts like oxiclean does. So i'm looking for a decent cip cleaner that won't muck up stainless steel.

pbw?

 

[Mike_A]

Oxyclean is fine on stainless unless you leave it sitting for days at a time. Rinse or flush your equipment after using oxyclean (as you should anyway, or it leaves residue) and you'll be fine.

For the OP, I'd recommend boiling water and circulating it through the CFC with a pump if possible, for at least 15 minutes to kill/loosen any crap in the tube. Feel free to use some oxyclean at the same time, but I make no claims about what effects it can have with copper, no idea. Immediately after that, blast it with the hose nozzle.

Personally, I blast my CFC with hose water immediately after use, and leave it until 15 minutes before the end of my boil. I blast it with the hose again to kick out the funky water and/or any critters that snuck in, and then I circulate boiling wort through it for 15 minutes. Then I kick the garden hose side on and voila, 66*F wort.

 

[Gwitz]

Oxiclean/PBW aka sodium per-carbonate will never hurt stainless. Chlorine bleach will.

 

[ptakers]

if it is an all copper (or any metal for that matter), just stick it in your oven and set it to the highest setting for an hour. That'll turn anything in the chiller to ash which can then be flushed out easily. AFTER it cools that is

 

[rico567]

if it is an all copper (or any metal for that matter), just stick it in your oven and set it to the highest setting for an hour. That'll turn anything in the chiller to ash which can then be flushed out easily. AFTER it cools that is

"highest setting" in this case should be taken to mean no more than the highest normal temperature of the oven (usually 500 - 550F). Even then I might be worried about the solder in the chiller. Under no circumstances put it in there and use the "oven clean" settings on some ovens, which temperatures can go significantly higher.

 

[brewmcq]

I'm 99.9% certain I posted on a similar thread fairly recently.. but since I can't find it...

I fashioned an adapter so I can connect my garden hose to the copper tubing inside the CFC. I forward- and back-flush the CFC with fairly high pressure water (ie. the hose is turned all the way up. While it's flushing, I operate the ball valve on the output end open and closed a few times to make sure all the big chunks are gone out of that as well.

Once I've flushed the CFC, I liberally sprinkle some Oxyclean inside the copper tubing, then fill it with water and let it sit for awhile, before flushing it out again.

On brew day, I repeat the Oxyclean flush, then fill the CFC with starsan and let it sit until I'm ready to drain my BK. I connect it to the BK and open the ball valve on the BK before opening the ball valve on the output of the CFC. When the CFC is full of near-boiling wort, I close the output valve on the CFC and finish prepping my carboy, etc.

I figure if anything lives through that, it deserves to be in my beer.