Swamp Cooler As Wort Chiller?

[fizzix]

Until I find/make a proper wort chiller I imagine a swamp cooler would be better than nothing.
I paid $7 for a large utility tub that would work great. My pot fits comfortably inside of it.

Any reason not to do this?

 

[RPh_Guy]

Like... an ice bath? That'd be fine.

I'm guessing evaporative cooling alone won't get you to pitching temps "quickly"; may as well just leave it sit over night if you don't have some kind of chiller.

 

[fizzix]

Yes, an ice bath. Thanks for clarifying.
I'll have to get a chiller I'm sure, but this may get me through the next beer until that acquisition.
I appreciate your answer RPh!

 

[RM-MN]

I use nothing but a tub of water for chilling. I usually brew in winter and I have lots of snow so I put water in the tub and add snow to cool the water quickly, then set the pot in and add more snow yet to the water.

I have a hole in the lid that I can put a thermometer through to measure the wort temp. What I have found is that if it sets too low in the wort it will show colder than the wort near the top. Just be aware of the temperature striation.

 

[fizzix]

Well that's encouraging if a long-time brewer like you RM-MN is chilling with an ice tub. Maybe this will work for me after all. (Will keep the temp striation in mind.) Good to hear this works! Thanks, pal!

 

[Renegade Brewer]

It depends on how quickly you’re getting from 212 to pitching temp. Normally we want to chill as rapidly as possible to achieve the cold break, dissipate DMS, and of course because of sanitation reasons.

I personally want to bring 15 gallons from boiling to pitching temp in no more that five minutes. I run through the plate chiller into the glycol chilled tanks and pitch as soon as the wort hits the fermenter. We also hit the wort with 2 liters of O2/minute inline on the way to the tank.

When I teach my beginner class I tell my students if you can get from boiling to 70 in 15 minutes you’re in good shape. This is easily achieved with a 25’ or 50’ wort chiller in the cooler months when ground water temps are about 60. In the summer here in Central CA our ground water temp is commonly 85*. I will usually recommend using the smaller wort chiller in a bucket of ice water to push through a larger immersion chiller in the wort. Now we are pushing 32* water through the wort which drops the temp fast. We also get charged an outrageous fee for every unit of water used, so recirculated ice water helps keep cost down.

A lot of my customers will upgrade to a plate chiller or counterflow within the first year of brewing.

 

[r4dyce]

Not sure what kind of tub you mean, but if it has a drain or spout that would be helpful to cycle the water. I mostly do 3 gallon batches but I just do it in the sink with cold water and some ice. When the water gets warmer than the tap I drain it and put in fresh cold water. Works very quickly doing this and some light stirring. Note: I have very cold ground water, about 45 degrees this time of year.

 

[mongoose33]

Well that's encouraging if a long-time brewer like you RM-MN is chilling with an ice tub. Maybe this will work for me after all. (Will keep the temp striation in mind.) Good to hear this works! Thanks, pal!

But you have to remember he lives near the arctic circle where it's always cold, so it may work better for him.

 

[gunhaus]

For a very long time, I used an ice bath - PLUS, I would take the labels off a bunch of 1 liter soda bottles, fill them 3/4 up with water and freeze them a day or two before brewing. I always keep some Star-san in a spray bottle. I would just move my pot into the ice bath, and start it cooling, and then spray the frozen bottles with star-san and drop them in. Never had one break. And a half dozen or so of these inside with the ice water outside will get 5 gal of wort cool quick.

 

[RM-MN]

But you have to remember he lives near the arctic circle where it's always cold, so it may work better for him.

I'm too busy to brew in the summer so it works well for me to use the tub of water and snow. In summer we get temperatures up to 100F so it isn't always cold.