What Should I Do With 60' of Copper

[wingedcoyote]

So Lowe's is having a sale on this 60' copper coil and I think I'm about to go buy one, the price seems too good considering I'd usually pay that much for way less. Time to finally ditch the ice bath and make myself an IC!

Only thing is, I don't know if I can use a 60' IC. My current routine is making 2.5 to 3 gallon BIAB batches on my stovetop in a 5 gallon kettle, and I don't think a massive chiller will fit in there. I do think I'll probably add a larger kettle at some point for 5 gal batches, but it's not something I'm doing right away. So I could:

A) Cut the tube, use 20 or 25 feet for my current chiller and save the rest for making a bigger one later on
B) Make a very "dense" multi-coil or "rib cage" cooler for my current pot
C) Not bother and look for a deal on a smaller coil

What would you do? And come to think of it, is cutting the pipe cleanly something I can even do? I have very minimal tools.

 

[NeoBrew]

I wondered the same thing when I was upgrading to full volume boils. I created a spreadsheet to calculate the depth of the coils. It's not very fancy, but it helps you figure out how tall the coils will be when done.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f51/immersion-chiller-geometry-spreadsheet-445577/

I made a fairly simple one. 25' and 3/8" copper. I cut my 50' on half, made two, and sold the other one on here. Worked out great.

If I was going to do it again, I think I might have tried the rib cage style. I would have to yield better cooling I think. Plus, just suits my personality to take something simple and make it extra hard!

 

[govner1]

So Lowe's is having a sale on this 60' copper coil and I think I'm about to go buy one, the price seems too good considering I'd usually pay that much for way less. Time to finally ditch the ice bath and make myself an IC!



Only thing is, I don't know if I can use a 60' IC. My current routine is making 2.5 to 3 gallon BIAB batches on my stovetop in a 5 gallon kettle, and I don't think a massive chiller will fit in there. I do think I'll probably add a larger kettle at some point for 5 gal batches, but it's not something I'm doing right away. So I could:



A) Cut the tube, use 20 or 25 feet for my current chiller and save the rest for making a bigger one later on

B) Make a very "dense" multi-coil or "rib cage" cooler for my current pot

C) Not bother and look for a deal on a smaller coil



What would you do? And come to think of it, is cutting the pipe cleanly something I can even do? I have very minimal tools.

You could make two very nice CFC's w/ 60' of copper. Sell one to cover your costs.
Much easier to use and much more efficient cooling.


Sent from my iPhone using Home Brew

 

[wingedcoyote]

You could make two very nice CFC's w/ 60' of copper. Sell one to cover your costs.
Much easier to use and much more efficient cooling.

I've considered it, but I don't have a tap on my BK at the moment and I don't especially want to add one. I guess siphoning into a CFC wouldn't be impossible, but it seems a bit awkward.

 

[govner1]

Adding a good ball valve would be ideal. I started out gravity feeding my CFC via one. It gives you good flow control. I've since upgraded to a pump for even more control and the use of other options like a Hop Rocket for final hop additions or filtering before chilling.

 

[ShineOn]

I'd make a 20' and a 40' and sell which ever one I didn't use myself

But then again....If you can't figure out what to do with it you could always send it to me and I'll dispose of it for you

 

[DrunkleJon]

Or just make a tall one using all 60' of tubing and use it. If/when you upgrade to a larger pot, it will still work and you will get the full use out of it.