Immersion or counterflow chiller?

[typebrad]

I stir as much as possible with an immersion chiller and a thermometer bobbing around the kettle.

I guess I'll just have to wake up and get these batches started earlier for my gradual cool-down. Nothing like shaking a full carboy in the middle of the night to oxygenate after falling asleep on then couch before pitching. I've pulled muscles I didn't know I had.

Tons of fun!


/Will always still be figuring it out/

 

[Vaureywwc]

Personally I think you should avoid immersion chillers, I've always been worried about trace lead (granted you get the same thing from CFCs) Though there is no reason to not use one, you can get the Hydra which at a 58 degree ground water can cool your beer in 3 minutes. I prefer CFCs however they seem to be more convenient.

But that is simply just my opinion.

 

[black_belt]

Are you stirring your wort as it's chilling? Immersion chillers are most efficient when the wort is constantly moving across the cold coils. I find I can get my hot wort to pitching temps in 15 minutes give or take depending on how vigorously I stir.

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I thought you want to avoid vigorous stirring while the wort is hot. Doesn't that add oxygen while the wort is susceptible to add off flavors?

 

[Calypso]

I thought you want to avoid vigorous stirring while the wort is hot. Doesn't that add oxygen while the wort is susceptible to add off flavors?

You don't have to stir that vigorously, and you mostly want to avoid splashing. I just gently stir inside the coil every couple of minutes, just to exchange what fluid is sitting against the coil.

 

[mgohring]

I don't worry about hot-side aeration and don't believe that it's a thing. I've heard arguments on both sides. If post-boil hot-side aeration was a real concern no one would ever whirlpool their wort. On the commercial side of things, I would think most breweries employ a whirlpool post-boil for clearing trub and in some cases, for extended whirlpool hopping.

In the case of using an immersion chiller, the beer temp falls really quickly during the first few minutes of chiling. If hot-side aeration does exist, it wouldn't happen for very long.

 

[typebrad]

Oxygen fine pre-pitch. Oxygen bad post-pitch. In fact, you want oxygen pre-pitch, hence the number of pulled muscles I've had shaking 6.5 carboys with 5.5 of wort!


/Will always still be figuring it out/

 

[black_belt]

^^^ Cheers to the above few posters for the information.

 

[stevedasleeve]

I truly don't believe troub in the fermenter amounts to anything. Over the last few years I've both filtered out as much as I can and just dumped everything - cold break + hop mud etc - and frankly noticed not a thing bad about the latter.

I thus use an immersion chiller which is stupid simple to clean, avoids the hassle of cleaning and sanitizing all the bits associated with counter flow or plate chillers, and cools adequately even in summer for me. If you go that route I'd suggest getting a big one - my 50' stainless one does well for 5 gallon batches winter and summer.

Cheers!
Steve da sleeve

 

[govner1]

Looking for opinions - my immersion chiller (they're garbage in my opinion) will get my wort to about 80°F with our summer tap water temps in west TN. I ice the inflow tube in the sink, but it doesn't help.

It takes patience, and sometimes I'm cursing at midnight while pitching my yeast, but I'll take it down to 80°, fill fermenter, then bung and place in my chest cooler (set at 65°) until I hit pitching temps. This can take hours.

How can I cool the extra 15 degrees in a timely manner? I'm scared of counterflow because of cleanliness.

Ice bath? Take it old school?

Is it doing anything bad to my wort if I let it cool slowly in my cooler? I've read the "natural chill" brewers just let it sit out for days until they hit pitch temp.

I prefer a CFC as they are much more efficient and easy to use & clean. As far as your cleanliness concerns, aren't you putting a huge copper coil in your wort when using your IC?
To clean a CFC effectively all you need do is let some StarSan sit inside for 5-10 minutes then rinse.
You could employ a method I use w/ my CFC (I'm in GA & it's hot here as well) to get faster chilling. I picked up a submersible pump on sale at HF. I put it in a bucket w/ a water and ice mixture. Pump it through your IC. You can even recirc it through the bucket, adding ice as needed.


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[Calypso]

I prefer a CFC as they are much more efficient and easy to use & clean. As far as your cleanliness concerns, aren't you putting a huge copper coil in your wort when using your IC?

Yes. But you're letting it sit in boiling wort for 10-15 minutes before flame-out. That will kill any baddies residing thereon.

 

[lolznrofls]

Counterflow are alot more efficient than a immersion chiller..but cleaning them is a huge pain in the ass. I would stitch with an immersion chiller for ease of cleaning

 

[typebrad]

Yes. But you're letting it sit in boiling wort for 10-15 minutes before flame-out. That will kill any baddies residing thereon.

Precisely.


/Will always still be figuring it out/

 

[govner1]

Precisely.


/Will always still be figuring it out/

That's the reason for flushing w / StarSan & letting it sit while you setup. Then yah again after use. Not a PIA at all.
Use what works for you.


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[lolznrofls]

Starsan isn't a cleaner..and 12 ft coil inside a garden hose it a pain to get all the gunk from the wort out..your going to get some sugar residue and bits of hopps and stuff in the chiller..hence my suggestion to use a immersion chiller..when your done just blast it with the hose a second scrub it lightly rinse abd set back on the shelf till next brew

 

[kman6234]

I have a 50 ft immersion chiller with a whirlpool arm. It works great getting to chilling temperature in a reasonable amount of time

 

[LandoLincoln]

Starsan isn't a cleaner..and 12 ft coil inside a garden hose it a pain to get all the gunk from the wort out..your going to get some sugar residue and bits of hopps and stuff in the chiller..hence my suggestion to use a immersion chiller..when your done just blast it with the hose a second scrub it lightly rinse abd set back on the shelf till next brew

You sound like a guy that's never used a garden hose CFC before. No, you're not going to get bits of hops and stuff left over in the chiller.

 

[lolznrofls]

You sound like a guy that's never used a garden hose CFC before. No, you're not going to get bits of hops and stuff left over in the chiller.

How can tou not have residual sugars left in the tubing..Statesman isn't a cleaner..its a sanitizer. .

 

[LandoLincoln]

How can tou not have residual sugars left in the tubing..Statesman isn't a cleaner..its a sanitizer. .

You can not have residual sugars left in the tubing because...you flush it with water after a brew day. It's wort. It's not tar. It flushes out pretty easily.

 

[mgohring]

Back when I was using a DIY garden house CFC, we would immediately rinse after transfer and blow dry with an air compressor. After year or more of using, we decided to do a more thorough cleaning by running hot PBW through the chiller, capping it and letting it sit and soak for 30 minutes. The amount of crusty black crap that ran out of there after the soak was not a great sight. It was at that point that I realized merely rinsing before and after using wasn't cutting it.

I suppose if you make hot PBW soaks part of your routine and do it more often than yearly, you could avoid such build up. We were using a hop spider for those batches too, so not a lot of hop trub was going through the chiller. I was more than surprised at how dirty our CFC had become even though we often used it biweekly and rinsed it immediately after chilling. Even then, things will start to build up inside.