New wort chiller (Score)

[chillHayze]

I have come across what I believe to be an excellent wort chiller from work (cost = free). It is 1/2" SS tubing - part of a heat exchanger not for food duties but looks to fit the bill for homebrewing. You can see from the pics below that the size far dwarfs my current chiller and I hope to increase my chilling efficiency, but I have one worry. The inked wording on the tubing - how to get it off? I think boiling it in an acidic solution like starsan would do it, but not sure. I have an aluminum pot - should I worry about f**k**g it up with this process? Any better way to remove it?

I will order the fittings to make this fit 3/8" hose (barbed fitting) to the 1/2" NPT on the chiller, unless someone has a better idea?

 

[Sea]

That thing is awesome! I think you will be amazed at how quick it will chill your beer. I use 50' of 1/2 Copper, and I'm under 70F in under 10 min year round with 11 gal of wort. Course, my tap water only gets up to about 50F in the summer, but....

Nice Score!

As for the lettering, I would first try a solvent like Acetone and a rough cloth. I don't think boiling alone will help, as that thing has probably seen some higher temps. If the solvent doesn't work, maybe try some abrasive cloth?

 

[SuperiorBrew]

need a bigger pic, I can't quite make it out.
Could even be be a HERMS coil.

 

[jds]

The lettering may be electroetched onto the tubing, in which case it will not come off with solvents. If it stands up to hot vinegar, then it probably won;t come off in your wort, either.

Nice score, either way!

 

[Brewiz]

Acetone and a scotchbrite pad will do it..

 

[chillHayze]

need a bigger pic, I can't quite make it out.
Could even be be a HERMS coil.

I can take some at 6.0 MP if that would help?




So fellas I guess maybe I'll just try a good scrub with acetone, good rinse, then boil it in the last 15 min of a haus ale to see how it tastes. Thanks for the suggestions. Mcmaster carr order will be in asap for the fittings.

 

[KwaiLo]

That is beautiful, but it isn't stainless steel, it is titanium. ASTM B338 is the spec for titanium heat exchanger tubing.

I am with jds on the lettering, I doubt it will come off with the processes you can do at home.

 

[chillHayze]

That is beautiful, but it isn't stainless steel, it is titanium. ASTM B338 is the spec for titanium heat exchanger tubing.

I am with jds on the lettering, I doubt it will come off with the processes you can do at home.

The tech who gave it to me said it was SS, but in all hosesty, I didn't believe him. Sanitation isn't my specialty, I'm a ANSI gas man.

Thanks for the reassurance!

 

[KwaiLo]

No problem, just keep in mind that is is titanium when getting the compression fittings. I would get some high heat paint, and cover an inch or so at the end of the tubing. Mask off the flat section of the tubing so that the paint isn't going to be in contact with the wort. This will prevent any galvanic corrosion between the stainless fittings and the titanium.

 

[chillHayze]

No problem, just keep in mind that is is titanium when getting the compression fittings. I would get some high heat paint, and cover an inch or so at the end of the tubing. Mask off the flat section of the tubing so that the paint isn't going to be in contact with the wort. This will prevent any galvanic corrosion between the stainless fittings and the titanium.

I'm not sure I follow you. The straight extentions are brass, I believe. They could be copper, but I'm no metalurgist. I have no idea how they might be joined to the Ti tubing?? The Ti tubing is compressed toward the end and perhaps the Brass tubing is crimped on? There is no play if I try to move the brass up and down.

Isn't 1/2" NPT the same regardless of the metal? This part will not be in the wort, but several feet above it.

Why should I paint anything? What is the flat section?

Sorry for the dumb questions. Just don't want to ruin any beer, you know!

 

[KwaiLo]

I'm not sure I follow you. The straight extentions are brass, I believe. They could be copper, but I'm no metalurgist. I have no idea how they might be joined to the Ti tubing?? The Ti tubing is compressed toward the end and perhaps the Brass tubing is crimped on? There is no play if I try to move the brass up and down.

Isn't 1/2" NPT the same regardless of the metal? This part will not be in the wort, but several feet above it.

Why should I paint anything? What is the flat section?

Sorry for the dumb questions. Just don't want to ruin any beer, you know!

My bad, I didn't do a very good job of explaining what I meant. I assumed that either you would remove the copper from that, or that you added copper. I figured it to be too long if it was left. Ignore all of the above, and below if you are leaving it on.

By flat I mean if you are looking directly at the tube to see an O. The paint just prevents contact between dissimilar metals. The farther they are apart on the chart in this link, the quicker one will corrode. http://www.corrosion-club.com/galvseries.htm

 

[mr x]

Don't worry about corrosion between the ss and titanium or the lettering.

 

[jds]

Well, the metallurgist (me) is sure asleep at the switch today! I didn't even read to see that the tubing is ASTM B338. Yep, it's titanium. That's one pricey wort chiller.

Don;t worry about the dissimilar metals contact. In order for galvanic corrosion to happen, you also need contact with an electrolyte. Even if the fittings do get into the wort, the exposure time is pretty short. You're golden.

 

[chillHayze]

So I actually measured the Brass fittings and they are 3/4". McMaster has no fittings which are barbed 3/8" and NPT 3/4" female. Perhaps I will have to do some modifications!

EDIT: The 3/4F NPT to 3/4F NPT adaptors are $18 each! Any ideas for cheaper solutions? Or am I just a cheapskate?

 

[mr x]

Check here:

http://www.buyfittingsonline.com/Fittings/index.htm

 

[EvilTOJ]

I don't mean to completely rain on your parade, but from what I was able to find out from here and here the thermal conductivity of titanium is even worse than stainless steel. Of course, I'm not a metallurgist, so if I'm wrong, it's because it's my first day! So you'll probably have to run water real slow through that to get all the heat out of the wort.

So I've gone from being very jealous of your shiney, to only kinda jealous.

 

[Grimsawyer]

Just out of curiosity how many gallons does that displace? That is one SEXXXXXXXXXXXXXYYY CHILLER!!!!! And exotic!

 

[runhard]

I don't mean to completely rain on your parade, but from what I was able to find out from here and here the thermal conductivity of titanium is even worse than stainless steel. Of course, I'm not a metallurgist, so if I'm wrong, it's because it's my first day! So you'll probably have to run water real slow through that to get all the heat out of the wort.

So I've gone from being very jealous of your shiney, to only kinda jealous.

I was wondering the same exact thing, nice find on the thermal conductivity. I knew silver was high but after visiting the site you linked, Silver is off the charts.

 

[chillHayze]

TOJ, that is something I was womdering about... Maybe the ridiculous length will make up for the lower conductivity. It was originally used in a heat exchanger, FWIW.


Grim, Not sure about the capacity, I need to get some fittings first. I would guestimate she holds a gallon or so.

 

[jds]

Ti is widely used in heat excahngers for its excellent corrosion resistance. You have to remember, the heat transfer across the tubewall will be a function of the differential temperature, thermal conductivity, and surface area (along with other stuff like the fluid thermal conductivity, turbulence, mixing... it's complicated). Given the large surface area of the coil, it's at least worth a shot.

How much does it weigh? At Ti scrap prices, if you don't like how it works, you could probably sell it to a scrap dealer and get enough to offset most, if not all, of a good plate chiller.

 

[adx]

Nice score. Now just send me you're old one

 

[chillHayze]

I bought some fittings on mcmastercarr to make this thing work. They're in the mail.

It weighs 6.5 lbs with the copper extentions, so probably around 5.5-6 lbs safe bet on the Ti. Scrapping it may be a good idea if the performance is no good.

adx, I will be using my old chiller for a prechiller, sorry!

 

[chillHayze]

Well I finally have a data point on this chiller. It cooled 5 gal of wort and my 10 gal Al pot from boiling temps to 70 in 11 min, with 60 degree tap water. I know true efficiency would involve the total amount of water used, but I had it hooked up to my faucet so the flow is not out of control.
The outlet water stayed pretty hot and once the wort was under 100 I slowed the flow so it would stay as such.
I boiled the chiller for about 10 min to sterilize the lower portion and none of the lettering came off. The hydro sample did not taste metallic or anything. The biggest problem with this thing is the size. I think it would work for a 10 gal batch in a keggle quite nicely... Great excuse to get a bigger M/LT and keggle, haha!

 

[PeteOz77]

That thing is SCHWEET!