Wort Chiller question!

[jrc64]

I have a copper wort chiller. I have read where many brewers place thier wort chiller directly in the boil during the last 5 minutes to eliminate contamination.

My question is this. As my chiller has the plastic tubing connected directly to the chiller via clamps, wouldn't the chiller get so hot that the plastic may melt or loosen a bit causing leakage during cooling?

Should I go ahead and place in wort during last 5 minutes or just let the chiller sit in a pot of star san formula, then place in wort after the boil?

 

[freisste]

When I used an IC, I put it directly in. The plastic will certainly NOT melt. It will soften a bit, but it should not cause leaks. Granted, mine had compression fittings and hose barbs, if you have hose clamped to the soft copper your results may vary.

Lots of people bend the ends of their copper so they hang DOWNWARD on the outside of the kettle. That way leaks can't get in.

 

[jflongo]

Yes as freisste has stated, my ends are bent on mine, and the hoses do not tough the pot directly. My hoses are rated for high temps for the out portion, so this no worry about melting, unless the hose sits ON the pot too long, or gets real close to your burner.

Now can you put it in a bucket of star san absolutely. This might actually cool it down a hair faster, since you are putting a cold wort chiller in, vs starting with a very hot one. Up to you.

 

[NTXBrauer]

As mentioned above, just make sure the ends or the wort chiller are outside the pot by 3-4" so the heat from the burner does not directly come into contact with your hose. I always boil mine, but soaking in sanitizer would work also.

 

[kh54s10]

I made mine with bends that go outside the pot a couple of inches and used cheap vinyl tubing. It has never posed a problem putting the chiller in the pot with 15 minutes boil time left.

 

[MichaelBrock]

After seeing how shiny the copper coil is when it comes out of the boil and realizing that the removed oxidation is ending up in the wort, I soak mine in star san before cooling. Does it make a difference? I have no idea, but my suspicion is that it isn't beneficial and it is one less variable.