Opinions needed!

[HopMama]

When I get the extra money to put toward my new hobby (addiction!) of making home brew, which would be the best and/or most useful for the money spent?
A. Jet bottle washer and bottle tree
B. Wort chiller.
I want all of the above, but I'll probably have to build my supply list slowly. Thanks for any input


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[natasatan]

Wort chiller. Although nice to have there is no need for the washer and tree.


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[soccerdad]

Agree. Chiller first.

 

[HopMama]

Nice! I was leaning toward that. Filling the sink with ice is becoming a p.i.t.a.!


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[k1ngl1ves]

Wort chiller.

An empty dish washer makes a fantastic bottle... um... bush?

 

[rodwha]

Do you intend on buying one or making one?

You can make one much cheaper.

I'm considering making one and buying a pump to recirculate the water.

 

[hunter_le five]

Definitely the wort chiller. They are worth every penny imho.

 

[RiverRats]

Do you intend on buying one or making one?

You can make one much cheaper.

I'm considering making one and buying a pump to recirculate the water.

+1 to this. You can definitely make a chiller cheaper if you're tight on funds.

This video was really helpful for me:

 

[dstranger99]

Chiller.....Those ice baths suck...........

 

[RmikeVT]

Chiller all the way. Save some $$ and make your own. Cuts the cost in half.

 

[Trox]

This one isn't even close; defenitely the chiller. Also +1 to making your own and cutting the cost in half. Of course if you was basing your expense off of the prices you seen for chillers online by making your own you would probably save enough money to get the other items on your list.

 

[rodwha]

Anyone tried making it with larger diameter tubing? It seems it would just do the job a little quicker with more surface area plus be a little less likely to get messed up afterwards as it's more rigid, though it would be slightly harder to work with depending on how you go about bending it.

 

[HopMama]

I have looked up instructions to build one....is it cheaper to make it yourself? I have no idea what the price of copper is. It looks like a fairly easy build.


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[HopMama]

Sweet! I'm going to start pricing supplies! Thanks everyone


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[rodwha]

HomeDepot lists a 20' coil of 3/8" copper tubing for either $16.37 or $26 depending on brand. Depending on your fittings and possible tubing it can run an additional $3-10 I'd guess. You may want a copper tubing bender which I believe may be another $10 or you can try to do it as the fellow in the video did, though you can tell how he kinked it when he bent the portion that comes out of the pot. Copper tubing is fairly easy to kink, especially the smaller diameter portions.

 

[rodwha]

HomeDepot lists that copper by inside dimension (plumbing) instead of outside as HVAC guys do. I'm curious as to which 3/8" copper you guys are using.

HomeDepot:
1/2" OD (3/8" ID) 20' roll of tubing: $21.65
1/2" ID vinyl tubing: $4.19/10 ft
3 hose clamps: $2.67

Harbor Freight:
small water pump: $8.99 (next size up is $12.99)
tubing bender: $5.49

Total cost: $34

I'm thinking of chilling 1 gal of tap water and using ice in the sink or a bucket and recirculating the water.