Immersion Chiller & Vinyl Tubing - Heat Issue?

[Jiffster]

I'm getting ready to make an immersion chiller and I've read info directing folks to put the unit into the wort for the last 5 minutes or 15 minutes of the boil to sanitize it.

Wouldn't this melt the vinyl tubing?

Should I use silicone tubing?

 

[tmendick]

Use a copper coil for the part that will actually touch the wort and vinyl on the outside to save some money. Vinyl/Silicon would not transfer the temp from the colder water in the chiller very well if at all.

 

[Jiffster]

I should have specified the vinyl tubing that connects to the copper.

 

[JONNYROTTEN]

The copper goes in the wort not the tubing.So that's a non issue.The boiling water runs through the tubing for the first minute or so.The return side tube turns to mush and then gets stiff as the wort cools.I hold the return hose so it doesn't kink and stop flow for the first minute or two.I also only stick the chiller in the wort for a minute to sanitize

 

[blizz81]

Generally, the arms of your IC should be extending up over the wort and out of the kettle to where your vinyl tubing will connect up. If your tubing is coming into contact with the wort / if this isn't how it's setting up with your kettle, you may have to loosen the coils a bit to try to make the assembly a bit taller to see if that helps.


Also, putting your IC in at flameout should be fine for sanitation and thus minimizes the risk of burning up any slack vinyl tubing with your burner.

 

[Rcbandl]

Also, putting your IC in at flameout should be fine for sanitation and thus minimizes the risk of burning up any slack vinyl tubing with your burner.

No its not, you need a few minutes boil time to get the metal hot enough to kill everything. General consensus is 10 minutes. I personally do 15 and then add my whirfloc and yeast nutrient after the wort starts to boil again.

Just hang the tubing over a bucket or something slightly pulled away from the kettle and the tubing will be fine. It does get a bit hot so have it hooked up to the hose prior to putting it in.

 

[Jiffster]

I am planning to have the copper arms of the IC come up and over the kettle and then connect to the tubing.

I was concerned with the heat from the copper tubes and the heat from the burner heating up the vinyl tubes.

 

[Beernik]

I think there is absolutely no need to boil a copper IC. Two reasons:

1) 30 seconds at 171F is enough to flash sanitize anything to food grade by immersing it in hot water (https://www.adph.org/environmental/assets/CleanAndSanitize.pdf). Most of what your are going to kill with hotter temperatures and more time are spores. If you're after spores, you might as well keep it in there for the full boil. Or you could buy an autoclave.

2) Copper is a heat conductor. That's why it's used as an IC. Stop your boil and drop it in the wort. By the time you connect the water, the outer surface of it is going to be 200F.

Of course, I'm assuming you keep your IC clean and not letting crap build up on it. That stuff can give bacteria a place to hide from the heat. But if you keep it clean, there is really no need.

 

[mattdee1]

I am planning to have the copper arms of the IC come up and over the kettle and then connect to the tubing.

I was concerned with the heat from the copper tubes and the heat from the burner heating up the vinyl tubes.

They'll be fine with that setup. Make sure that the vinyl tubes are never left to dangle alongside the kettle, because then they might get too close to your burner flame which will melt them in a big old hurry.