Immersion Wort Chiller

[brewbbq]

Hello, Folks!

I'm a fairly new homebrewer (about 6 batches) and I'm already hooked and loving it! I've been doing some research on getting my beer to be clearer and I want to get an immersion wort chiller to try and cool the wort faster than an ice bath. I have a 50' roll of 3/8" OD refrigeration copper - will this work to make my own chiller? Or will the approximately 1/4" ID be too small?

I will really appreciate the help of someone more experienced than me!

 

[aidan]

A 50' roll of 3/8" OD refrigeration copper will make a perfect chiller coil.

 

[brewbbq]

Thank you @aidan!

Man, I love this forum....only a few minutes after my question I get a solid reply!!! :rockin:

 

[aidan]

Welcome! I used a slightly longer length of 3/8" (I think) for mine - 20 meters. So due to the extra length I ended up making a double coil. It aint pretty because I had to hand roll it but works great. I used my mate's pipe bender to do the sharp angle bends at the ends (otherwise it would kink)

 

[Ramitt]

filling the tube with table salt or fine sand help prevent kinks.

 

[brewbbq]

This is the stuff that I picked up today:

http://www.menards.com/main/plumbin...s/3-8od-x-50-refrig-tube/p-1394458-c-8565.htm

It feels really soft so I'm hoping that I can bend it all by hand... if not, I guess I will be looking for a pipe bender to the the two sharp bends for the water in/water out.

 

[Esmitee]

This is the stuff that I picked up today:

http://www.menards.com/main/plumbin...s/3-8od-x-50-refrig-tube/p-1394458-c-8565.htm

It feels really soft so I'm hoping that I can bend it all by hand... if not, I guess I will be looking for a pipe bender to the the two sharp bends for the water in/water out.

Or just use fittings for those bends. Compression would be easy. No sodering. Pricy though. Or soder on copper , Cheap. Can you soder?

 

[brewbbq]

Or just use fittings for those bends. Compression would be easy. No sodering. Pricy though. Or soder on copper , Cheap. Can you soder?

I have done some soldering in the past..... When I get ready to put it together this weekend I will grab a couple of elbows in case the bending doesn't work!

 

[ShineOn]

Refer tube bends REALLY easy! DON'T STRAIGHTEN IT OUT BEFORE YOU START COILING, work it from it's present condition!!! Refer coil is annealed and WORK HARDENS, the more you bend it the harder it becomes!


I made an IC with 20' 3/8 and knock down 5 gal batches from hard boil to 65 in less than 8 mins

 

[d3track]

This is the stuff that I picked up today:

http://www.menards.com/main/plumbin...s/3-8od-x-50-refrig-tube/p-1394458-c-8565.htm

It feels really soft so I'm hoping that I can bend it all by hand... if not, I guess I will be looking for a pipe bender to the the two sharp bends for the water in/water out.

Let me know how this works for you, I've been looking at that roll to upgrade frm my 1/4" chiller

 

[brewbbq]

Thanks, ShineOn! I'm planning on wrapping it around a paint can straight off the roll now!

 

[brewbbq]

d3track - I'm hoping to build/use this in the next few weeks. My primary's are full for another couple weeks but when I brew another beer I will post my results!

 

[jekeane]

If you had a keg those work great for rolling. I made one out of 3/8 50ft a few weeks ago. Having a 2nd pair of hands will help manage the coil while you wrap. A flexible pipe bender is handy to avoid kinking and put some carpet or a blanket underneath the copper. Think about the size of your current / future pot as well when you make your water line bends I made mine a good bit bigger than my 7g pot because I am planning on going bigger soon. Also with your bends its a good idea imo to bend enough that they hang out from the pot a ways to avoid dripping into your wort if you are going with a simple hose/clamp or non soldered connections.


I just went and looked at it and took a few picks. I think if you use a paint can you are going to run out of wrapping surface. You can see mine goes just to the top of the can but it has a larger diameter.

Good luck! And sorry if you know all this already!

[/IMG]

 

[gwaugh]

Refer tube bends REALLY easy! DON'T STRAIGHTEN IT OUT BEFORE YOU START COILING, work it from it's present condition!!! Refer coil is annealed and WORK HARDENS, the more you bend it the harder it becomes!


I made an IC with 20' 3/8 and knock down 5 gal batches from hard boil to 65 in less than 8 mins

My first immersion was that size and I was never able to chill to pitching temp in under 30 min. How are you able to chill that fast?

 

[Smellyglove]

My first immersion was that size and I was never able to chill to pitching temp in under 30 min. How are you able to chill that fast?

Water pressure out of your tap.

 

[brewbbq]

@jekeane - thanks for the advice and visual aide! I've just started with 1 gal batches and am moving up to 5 gallon soon, so I'm going to build this to fit a 5 gal. kettle. I appreciate the help!

 

[SeeMont]

I use a 20 foot 3/8 copper chiller. Where I brew, I don't have running water so I use a 30 plus gallon plastic garbage can filled with water. I drop 5 big milk jugs filled with ice and then use a $30 HF 110 volt water pump to circulate the water. I can drop my wort from boil to 70 degrees in less than 20 minutes. I save the first five gallons of water for cleanup and recycle the rest.
One thing I did was weave copper wire through the coils to give the coil some stability and keep them from touching, works great, ain't pretty but it works.

 

[ShineOn]

My first immersion was that size and I was never able to chill to pitching temp in under 30 min. How are you able to chill that fast?

I live in the Chicago burbs and our water is ~50* out of the tap. I don't just place the chiller turn on the water and wait, I stir the wort with the chiller till I get to pitching temp or a little lower. Also my chiller is wound so that none of the coils touch.