I kicked the keg on my blond ale and want/need to brew a few batches of that and others soon... I have a nice brew shed and nice equipment.. plenty of time... no running water to run my chiller. I COULD bring everything in and brew on the stove but after using the brew stand and big burners etc I don't want to.... Any ideas on chilling wort in a Sanke keg converted to a brew pot with no water to run the immersion chiller? I have a pump to circulate water but other than carrying out buckets from the house no water supply due to the hose being frozen solid.... I could bring the hose in and thaw it but as soon as I hook it up and turn on the water it will freeze back unless I keep it running constantly.
Need to brew..no running water
- Thread starter OHIOSTEVE
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Thaw it out, do your brew and chill, empty hose. The ice cold water should chill your batch in record time.
BGBC
Well-Known Member
What's the temperature in Ohio today? Leave it outside to chill. If there's snow on the ground, pack snow around it.
Bithead
Well-Known Member
I needed to brew this past weekend. I knew the weather was supposed to turn rainy / snowy in the afternoon so I decided to mash in the kitchen like I used to and boil on my back porch which I've never done before. Started snowing during the mash and by the time I started the boil I had 4 inches of snow on the ground, they were predicting 1-2. So now I start to think about chilling. I usually use an immersion chiller and have plenty of hose and initially thought I'd use the IC as normal just on the porch. As the boil was finishing I had 8 inches of snow on the ground. I wasn't about to lug hoses out of the garage, around the house and connect, not in that blizzard. Luckily I have a sink adapter for a hose so after the boil got my GF to help me lug in the kettle to the kitchen placing it on my spare burner to keep the hot pot off the floor and got it cooled in comfort.
ScottG58
Well-Known Member
If you have a pump to recirculate, I have pumped ice water from a cooler into an immersion cooler with the water recirculating back. Lots of ice to get it to lager pitch temperature though.
angrysparrow
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I'd thaw it out in a bucket or tub of warm water, drain it, hook it up and use it. Then, when you're done, unhook it and let it drain as you roll it up. Store it inside so it won't be frozen for the next brew day.
Johnnyhitch1
Well-Known Member
Seal up the BK and do an overnight No-chill outside.
Rack to FV in the morning and pitch yeast.
You can also run a complete circuit from pump to BK back to pump.
Might cool to pitch temp after 2-3 hours if outside air is below ~40
Rack to FV in the morning and pitch yeast.
You can also run a complete circuit from pump to BK back to pump.
Might cool to pitch temp after 2-3 hours if outside air is below ~40
This is how I chill in the winter. I take a couple of 5 gallon buckets and fill them half full of water and set them outside to freeze solid. When ready to chill your wort, use a 1/4 to 1/2 HP submersible utility pump (like you can find at Lowes or Home Depot) and place in one of the buckets. Add about a gallon of water. Pump the water from the ice bucket into the chiller and let it recirculate back into the ice bucket with the pump. When the ice is gone, move the pump to the second ice bucket and continue. You can always add snow to the bucket if there's snow around. For cleanup, make sure that your hoses are drained completely and keep them inside so they're not frozen for next brew day. Drain each bucket back to half full, keep outside and allow to refreeze for the next time you brew. Simple and easy, especially when it's as cold as it is in Ohio this week!
This is exactly what I do in the winter. Sometimes I use snow, but for that I use a bucket with a valve and a BIAB bag as a filter to keep twigs, leaves, rabbit poops, etc. from getting into the pump. If you have time to plan ahead and it's cold enough, fill some gladware plastic containers with water and put them outside for a couple days to freeze.
I hate to hijack, but how much ice do you use to get to lager temps?
bja
Well-Known Member
I live out in Frozen Bumfrig, in a pine forest, with idiots who burn trash, so a garden hose at the ready to extinguish fires is useful, but, you have to cover all bases: store your hose filled with saturated salt water.
Use a small fountain pump to recirculate ice water.
Put (1) 20# bag of ice in an ice chest.
Add enough water to cover the pump.
Start chillin.
You can use some snow if you need to keep the ice chest cold enough, but I can confirm, one 20# bag will do it.
Put (1) 20# bag of ice in an ice chest.
Add enough water to cover the pump.
Start chillin.
You can use some snow if you need to keep the ice chest cold enough, but I can confirm, one 20# bag will do it.
What I'm planning to do once I build my second IC is freeze it in a block of ice and then run water through it to the IC in my brew kettle.
If you do this, make sure the IC that you're freezing is completely drained of water or the water will freeze into a plug and block the flow. (I had this problem once).
ScottG58
Well-Known Member
In my experience, it takes two twenty pound bags in the summer. It cools it down really fast.
I have the luxury of floating my pot in my swimming pool, while chilling. My pool water is currently 50 degrees.
Last weekend, I chilled from 170 to 62 in 6 minutes. (following hop stand rest)
Clonefan94
Senior Member
I know on TV they look Cheesy as hell, but I ended up buying one of those pocket hoses (saw it at Bed Bath and beyond, they have a good beer selection in the world market area) Anyways, the thing was cheap, about $10 and it wouldn't last long as an every day hose, but it's awesome for brewing. IT's always flexible and it's easily hidden away in the garage or other warmer place always to be ready for brew day.
Think about this.
As you're IC heats up in the block of ice, you're going to get an insulating layer of warm (thawed) water between the IC coils and the remaining ice block. You'll have this big block of ice that is not in contact with you're "pre-chiller".
If you put you're pre chiller in ice water rather than a frozen block, then you can constant stir the ice water to maximize ice cold contact with the coils. Problem with this is the constant stirring of two vessels.
Better yet, pump and recirculate ice water through you're IC that is submerged in the hot wort.
You've got a good point about the ice. I think I'll stick with ice water.
As for the pre-chiller, I already have a "store bought" IC, and I bought some copper tubing that I thought I'd use to make a nifty "rib cage" IC like a thread I'm following on this forum. Essentially it's two coils of copper tubing that intersect in the middle and the water either flows in one side and out the other or flows in both sides and out a third. OHIOSTEVE
Well-Known Member
thanks for all of the responses.... hose is my garden hose.. LONG garden hose frozen solid.. so yeah I can figure it out BUT thawing it and then using it is not an option.... shutoff is in my basement which is more like a cellar...drop down in, no steps so once it is on...it is on and we use the nozzle to turn it off....if I thaw it... hook it up...turn on the spigot...turn off the nozzle while I brew.. it will be frozen solid again before I am ready to use it. I could thaw it... let it drain.... hook it up and turn the spigot off until ready to use but too much of a pain in the ass getting in and out of the cellar that many times.( you would have to see it to understand) I never thought of just draining the boiling wort into a keg... It won't hurt the keg at all? I probably have 20+ kegs so that would be perfect.
