ice wand wort chiller

[Righlander]

so this is what is called an ice wand. it's used for cooling down soups and sauces. all you do is fill it with water then freeze it. i'm going to try it out (sanitized obviously) on the inner ring of my immersion chiller. i'm thinking this is going to kick ass! as you see it fits right inside the immersion chiller. i'll update on how fast it chills the wort. just wanted to share. anyone else tried this?

 

[ian-atx]

If one was interested in buying a container like that, where would be the best place to get one? Restaurant supply? I am thinking not even for beer reasons, but to actually chill hot soups and stuff.

Let us know how it works.

 

[Righlander]

If one was interested in buying a container like that, where would be the best place to get one? Restaurant supply? I am thinking not even for beer reasons, but to actually chill hot soups and stuff.

Let us know how it works.

i work at a restaurant where i do all the ordering for kitchen supplies. i saw it in a catalog from the purveyor i order from, and i was like "YEAH!"

 

[arturo7]

There is a thread around here where on of these was tested. The results were less than spectacular. I can't think of the member's name, but his avatar is a cartoon cat.

 

[Righlander]

There is a thread around here where on of these was tested. The results were less than spectacular. I can't think of the member's name, but his avatar is a cartoon cat.

oh damn. well hopefully it will take at least 5 mins off my chill time. i wish i could find that thread. maybe the dude will chime in. either way, i'm going to give it a try and see how much time it cuts off chilling my wort. presuming it will cut time off

 

[Hex]

I've seen one that was much larger at a restaurant supply store downtown. Probably held 8 liters at least.

 

[Righlander]

I've seen one that was much larger at a restaurant supply store downtown. Probably held 8 liters at least.

yeah there were a few different sizes. i picked this one (64oz) because it fit inside of my immersion chiller

 

[Hex]

You could always sanitize a 2 liter bottle.

edit, well maybe, I'd do a test first to see if it melted in near boiling water, you could always put it in when you were down to say 150 deg.

 

[northernlad]

They are made by San Jamar in 64 and 128oz sizes. They look a little different now because, despite the crystal clear "Do not fill above" line, people were over filling them and they would break. They are a decent product although one could make his own with an empty 2 liter soda bottle for about $30 less.

 

[arturo7]

found the thread

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f11/cooling-paddles-127688/

 

[cactusgarrett]

I would venture a guess that the ice inside would melt pretty quickly, rendering it useless after 3-5min. If you're looking to shave 3-5min off your chill time, though, i guess you'd consider that a success. Good luck! Let us know how it goes.

 

[gunner65]

I would venture a guess that the ice inside would melt pretty quickly, rendering it useless after 3-5min. If you're looking to shave 3-5min off your chill time, though, i guess you'd consider that a success. Good luck! Let us know how it goes.

I dont think you are looking at the amount of surface area that will be in contact with the wort. This thing would probably drop the wort 100 degrees in a few minutes. I think I will try it myself.

 

[jcarson83]

I would wait to use it until close to the end. Near boiling water will melt it really quick but <90 should help you speed up the temperature drop in the last few minutes.

 

[cactusgarrett]

I would wait to use it until close to the end. Near boiling water will melt it really quick but <90 should help you speed up the temperature drop in the last few minutes.

This is what i was trying to convey.

 

[Righlander]

I would wait to use it until close to the end. Near boiling water will melt it really quick but <90 should help you speed up the temperature drop in the last few minutes.

yep thats what i'm going to try

 

[alan_marks]

They last a bit longer than you would think. The original intent of the ice wands was to quickly reduce the temperature of hot foods from very hot, above 165F, to below 70F under refrigeration within 2 hours; then below 40F within an additional 2 hours while refrigerated. Our needs to quickly chill wort far exceed what this item was designed to do. That being said, the process does work, just not as quickly as we may want it to.

Two important points need to be made. First, sanitize! Everything! You can do just as well using old 2 liter soda bottles, the only difference is that the commercial paddles are made of impact resistant polycarbonate. Secondly, do NOT overfill them. My suggestion is to fill the soda bottles about three inches from the top, then squeeze them to bring the water level to the top and then put the caps on, place them in a new plastic bag and put them in the freezer. What this does is allows enough room in the bottle to allow the water to expand as it freezes without splitting the bottle. Putting the sanitized bottle in a clean bag before freezing gives you a barrier from contamination from other stuff in the freezer.

This process DOES work, with a little planning and forethought.

Hope this helps,
Alan

 

[Hex]

You could also make a second copper coil, in a pre-chiller ice bath, for your chiller line...

 

[gunner65]

They last a bit longer than you would think. The original intent of the ice wands was to quickly reduce the temperature of hot foods from very hot, above 165F, to below 70F under refrigeration within 2 hours; then below 40F within an additional 2 hours while refrigerated. Our needs to quickly chill wort far exceed what this item was designed to do. That being said, the process does work, just not as quickly as we may want it to.

Two important points need to be made. First, sanitize! Everything! You can do just as well using old 2 liter soda bottles, the only difference is that the commercial paddles are made of impact resistant polycarbonate. Secondly, do NOT overfill them. My suggestion is to fill the soda bottles about three inches from the top, then squeeze them to bring the water level to the top and then put the caps on, place them in a new plastic bag and put them in the freezer. What this does is allows enough room in the bottle to allow the water to expand as it freezes without splitting the bottle. Putting the sanitized bottle in a clean bag before freezing gives you a barrier from contamination from other stuff in the freezer.

This process DOES work, with a little planning and forethought.

Hope this helps,
Alan

As suggested before I would not recommend PET bottles be placed in wort hotter than 120F

 

[Righlander]

lol so i put the ice wand in the center of my immersion chiller and it took about 35mins to cool my wort. it didn't really take any time off my cooldown. oh well it was worth a try

 

[ChshreCat]

There is a thread around here where on of these was tested. The results were less than spectacular. I can't think of the member's name, but his avatar is a cartoon cat.

yo

I used mine on its own in the wort and it chilled about as fast as a cold water bath in the sink, changed out every few minutes. The difference was that it melted before I reached pitching temp. It won't replace other chilling methods, but I found it to be helpful if used along with an ice bath for folks who don't have water cool enough to use a chiller. It's useful, but won't replace any other methods on it's own.

Here's where I posted the results of my test with it: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f11/cooling-paddles-127688/index3.html#post1478572