Wort Chiller for 10 gallon pot

[Soulshine]

What size wort chiller (with the copper tubing) do I need for a 10 gallon pot?
Thanks!

 

[Soulshine]

25 ft or 50 ft?

 

[Paul07293]

I do 6 gallon batches in a 10 gallon kettle. I had a 25' x 3/8" chiller. It does great down to 90 degrees, maybe 15 minutes, but the last 25 were tough, usually 20-30 minutes. I just got a 50' x 1/2" and it it gets to 60 degrees in 20 minutes!

 

[Golddiggie]

Depends on your batch size, how fast you want to chill the wort, your water temp (well or city water?) and such...

IC's are ok, but you will get better results from either a CFC or plate chiller. I have a plate chiller (40 plate ChillHog 4000 from Rebel Brewer). I recirculate the wort through it (while chilling) for 5-8 minutes (back into the kettle) before running it to the fermenter. I got 7 gallons of boiling hot wort to 60F in about 15 minutes with my last batch.

I believe it took my brew buddy about 30 minutes to get to 65F with a 20' 3/8" OD IC using the exact same source water, on the same evening. He had about 5-5.5 gallons to chill.

I used an IC for several batches before moving over to the plate chiller. I can't imagine ever switching back. If anything, I would probably get a larger plate chiller once I go above 10 gallon batches (or ~12 gallons into fermenter).

 

[kyleobie]

I do 6 gallon batches in a 10 gallon kettle. I had a 25' x 3/8" chiller. It does great down to 90 degrees, maybe 15 minutes, but the last 25 were tough, usually 20-30 minutes.

This is my equipment and roughly my experience. I think 25" does the trick for a first time chiller.

 

[Dirtie]

You can make them really cheap. I made a 30+ footer for a little over a dollar a foot for the tubing. You could probably buy you a 50' roll online and just roll it around something round. I work at ace hardware and made one in like 20 mins. I could make you one and ship it to you for a good price. Here's what mine looks like.

 

[damnitbeavis]

I use about 110 feet of 1/2 inch ID tubing (5/8 inch OD) for 30 gallon batches in two nested coils and can get to pitching temps from boiling in under 20 minutes, using a pump to recirculate. I think most people would say 50 feet of 1/2 OD copper would work for you. Think about doing a whirlpool/ immersion chiller, and also remember it takes about 2 minutes to clean your immersion chiller, and 5 seconds to sanitize it when you pick it up and drop it in boiling wort. The plate/CFCs guys can't touch that.

 

[tesilential]

I use a ****ty 1/4" ~20ft IC to chill 6 gallons. My groundwater is also usually above 80 so I chill to 85-90 and then toss it in the chest freezer to get to the low sixties.

I am in the market for a new chiller and wanted to go the plate chiller route. Then I read some article by jamil or someone who said IC was superior for hop aroma and flavor. The IC gets all of the wort to lower temperatures immediately. So working 5 minutes all the wort is below 160*. With plate chillers or CFC most of the wort sits at boiling temps while the small amount that fits in the line and chiller. Using without a pump compounds the situation since a lot of the wort will be near boiling temps for up to 20 minutes.

I'm probably going to get a nice big IC soon.

 

[rico567]

I use an entry-level Midwest 25' x 3/8" copper IC. With our 55 degree well water, this gets my 5 gallon batch down to <70F in 15 minutes. Good enough for me. The temperature of your inlet water is going to be a big deal here. I've looked at plate chillers, since they've become more widely available and places like DudaDiesel have them at reasonable prices. But I just can't get past all those threads talking about how difficult they are to clean. An IC is dirt simple.....just hose it off, put it away until next time.

 

[Aschecte]

entering water temp is a big influence over the final chilling time as the bigger the difference in kettle to chiller temp the faster the adsorbtion rate will be of the chiller as it becomes closer to equalizing it will slow down. I live in upstate n.y. and my water entering temp is 50 degrees I had a 5.5 gallon batch I cooled to 64 degrees in 15 minutes us my 3/8 x 25' immersion chiller. Other factor is surface area the larger the diameter pipe the more surface area = more contact space= quicker cooling. bottom line look at your water temps and the larger diameter and longer it is the quicker it will be cooled down.

 

[Soulshine]

Wow. Thanks for all the info.

 

[Soulshine]

How exactly do the plate chillers work?

 

[cricky101]

How exactly do the plate chillers work?

Here's the info from the wiki about the different chillers Wort chiller - Home Brewing Wiki

 

[Soulshine]

Thanks

 

[OG2620]

Try a 50' rib cage IC. Mine chills a 5 gallon batch to pitching temp. (typically 64F) in about 5 minutes with 55F well water.