what gauge do you guys think is best for wiring up a IC so it's not a flopy mess? i'm thinking 16-18?
stringing up a IC
- Thread starter bracconiere
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If you MUST mess with that thing of beauty you posted in the other thread, some solid copper wire would work. I used some stripped 14 ga elec wire.
OP
OP
well IC's do work better when most of the coil is at the top of the wort right? it's only $10 for 50ft of 18 gauge on ebay....how many feet did you use?
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50 ft. will be more than enough. I kind of daisy-chained it from one loop to the next, with a couple twists in between.
OP
OP
now that you say that, maybe a 'A' frame sorta zig-zag....or damn, hardware tape, and a few little SS screws.....
Another idea is to use stainless steel aircraft safety wire. They sell it on Amazon.
If you are using an IC, assuming a specific coil geometry, time-to-pitching-temperature is all about source water temperature and wort circulation speed. The faster you can spin the wort and the colder the source water the faster you'll hit pitching temperature.
And that pretty much obviates the notion that stacking coils up high in the wort column provides any advantage: it only could if the wort was left to stratify instead of circulated - and circulation is "where it's at".
Cheers!
And that pretty much obviates the notion that stacking coils up high in the wort column provides any advantage: it only could if the wort was left to stratify instead of circulated - and circulation is "where it's at".
Cheers!
OP
OP
i thought the temp difference would be like ocean currents? because heat rises? and if i cool the top it would sink and create a natural 'current' in the kettle? i sure don't want to sit there stiring for 20 minutes!
Back when I was brewing 5 gallon batches with a home-cobbled 50' 3/8" Cu IC I quickly learned one does not simply drop an IC into a kettle of hot wort and send a crap ton of water through the IC and expect an optimal outcome. You really do need to keep the wort moving: I could drop a batch from boiling to pitching temperature in under 13 minutes using recirculation of wort through the IC; it took double that without the recirculation...
Cheers!
Cheers!
OP
OP
that's a confusing statement for me....so like, stick the IC in a bucket next to the kettle, and pump the wort through the bucket with like a flow control ball valve? straight into the fermenter?
Well, no. This technique requires an external pump to recirculate the hot wort in the boil kettle, while cooling water flows through the IC.
The alternative is - as you said - stirring the kettle manually. But either way, it takes two-three times longer for a kettle of wort to chill using an IC without recirculation than with...
Cheers!
The alternative is - as you said - stirring the kettle manually. But either way, it takes two-three times longer for a kettle of wort to chill using an IC without recirculation than with...
Cheers!
OP
OP
which is why i still use a IC.....if i had money i'd setup a plate chiller with a glycol chiller, and another pump to pump practicly frozen glycol against the flow! i'd be running against the grain, and make it look cool!
@bracconiere - you don't stir while chilling?!
That cuts a ton of time off. Highly recommended. A big spoon, or mash paddle, or the like works great, no pump needed. Some gentle mixing to keep everything moving around is all that's needed (pumps are great too, but not necessary).
That cuts a ton of time off. Highly recommended. A big spoon, or mash paddle, or the like works great, no pump needed. Some gentle mixing to keep everything moving around is all that's needed (pumps are great too, but not necessary).
fwiw, I have a DudaDiesel 30 plate 12" PC on my rig. As a chiller it's hard to beat if you have the ground water temperature (I do - my 120' deep drilled well runs around 55°F year 'round). But like all PCs, it has "nooks 'n' crannies" that grab onto debris that cannot be seen but need to be removed or fried out.
Hence, while I was happy to use it back in the West Coast IPA days when hop payloads were tuned towards IBUs instead of the "Juice Units" of today - and particularly, the seven years that I grew most of my "C Hop" needs and so was dealing with leaf instead of pellets - this era of NEIPAs and massive late hoppage with exclusively pellets really knocked my PC out of the game. So much easier to hose off an IC...
Cheers!
Hence, while I was happy to use it back in the West Coast IPA days when hop payloads were tuned towards IBUs instead of the "Juice Units" of today - and particularly, the seven years that I grew most of my "C Hop" needs and so was dealing with leaf instead of pellets - this era of NEIPAs and massive late hoppage with exclusively pellets really knocked my PC out of the game. So much easier to hose off an IC...
Cheers!
OP
OP
sure, when i'm passing by while it's chilling for fun...
now you got me thinking about my somewhat satirical statment of the bucket and IC in it....and like a HUGE version of a counterflow chiller....
(and that's serious, because i'd just need a cheap fountain pump for the bucket water, and could use gravity for the wort?)
I live in Florida so ground water is warm. I use a hydra IC and with a whirlpool for the wort and can get to 80F quickly. To get lower I then unhook the ground water and connect a pond pump in a cooler of ice water to recirculate ice water through the chiller.
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57 foot 1/2" ID counterflow chiller. Never clog this huge sucker. Haha..and like a HUGE version of a counterflow chiller....
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This * infinity.
Get wort to flow through/around/over the IC coils. Stir wort w spoon, or just move coil around. But CONSTANTLY.
Everyone's ground water temp is diff, mine will get me to 80-90F in 7-8m which is enough to fill 3 buckets w the outflow for cleanup later, and then I switch out garden hose from house, to pond pump recirculating in cooler w 16# ice, and even in the dog days of summer I get the altbier wort to 60F in total time of 20m or less.
But stir. And use sunscreen if you're outside. All the usual other safety caveats apply. Individual user speed may vary.
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