Immersion Chiller Taking Too Long

[TimpanogosSlim]

I have crazy high water pressure and cold water. My 20-some feet of 5/16 copper produces water at the exit that is only a little warmer. I could get by with less water volume - perhaps i should install a valve on the inlet hose . . .

 

[BrewScout]

I started using the paint-mixer/cordless drill approach to stirring (as opposed to hand stirring) and my cooling times went down dramatically. Easily 50% decrease in time.

Does this also aerate the wort?

 

[TimpanogosSlim]

Does this also aerate the wort?

It would pretty much have to

 

[TorribleBrew]

Chest freezer with pond liner filled with salt water would be fine!

Bobby,

I am going to be using a pump for the first time in a chest with ice water. Why are you using a pond liner?


Great thread, learned a lot!

 

[Bobby_M]

I don't actually use a chest freezer as a reservoir, it was just an idea. However, I don't think the liner of freezer is really meant to be 100% waterproof even though it may hold for a while. I'd either paint on a membrane type waterproofer or line it with something for long term use.

 

[ResumeMan]

Those of you who use the recirculation pump and ice bucket method - are you starting out with this from the start (ice included), or do you start once-through and then switch partway through?

I would just think that you'd blow through all your ice just in dropping the first handful of degrees, no?

I'm dismayed by the amount of water I waste in a not-very-fast-anyway chill using once-through water so I'd like to look into this, but I just wonder if I'm over-thinking it.

Thanks

 

[kapbrew13]

Those of you who use the recirculation pump and ice bucket method - are you starting out with this from the start (ice included), or do you start once-through and then switch partway through?

I would just think that you'd blow through all your ice just in dropping the first handful of degrees, no?

I'm dismayed by the amount of water I waste in a not-very-fast-anyway chill using once-through water so I'd like to look into this, but I just wonder if I'm over-thinking it.

Thanks

I run water from hose into chiller and the warm output is saved into a bucket for later use. Cleaning or watering garden.
When exiting water cools down, i collect water into 18 gallon Rubbermaid tote. Fill about 1/2 way. Disconnect chiller from hose and attach to pump and fill up Rubbermaid tote all the way with ice. Recirculate until I hit about 67. All done.

 

[Bobby_M]

Right, get the wort down to 120F on tap water first, then switch to icewater. The ice poundage requirement goes way down.

 

[DSmith]

Cold water with a higher flow is important. Besides stirring, you can also slowly move the chiller around in the wort and get a lot faster cooling. Same idea as stirring the wort to break-up temperature gradients right around the chiller tubing. Monitor the temperature of the water out of the chiller and compare doing nothing (no stirring or moving the chiller) to some movement (either stirring or moving the chiller).

 

[igliashon]

Well, I brewed yesterday, and y'all were totally right! I cranked up the water flow till it was as cold as I could get it coming out the end, and stirred a bit every few minutes, and I hit 80° in 15 minutes. I was so blown away I almost forgot to rehydrate my yeast! Man, what a difference!

 

[sirsloop]

Science rules!!! <HAR HAR HAR>