Wort Chiller recommendation for wider brew pot

[Sippin37]

I have a 24-qt brew pot that is a little wider and shorter than most brew pots I've seen, probably because it is really a stockpot. It is 15" in diameter and 15" tall. I'd like to start doing 5-gallon boils and was wondering if anyone else would have a recommendation on a wort chiller for this setup?

I was thinking an immersion chiller and possibly a recirculation arm, but not sure if that would work or not.

Thanks for any advice!

 

[Hammy71]

An immersion chiller will do OK. Even if it is up against one side and you whirlpool the wort with a sanitized spoon, you will cool the wort. If you have a pump and you want to do a recirculation arm that's even better. I have a whirlpool attachment on my pot and use an immersion chiller. Works great.

 

[Dan-]

24 qts is 6 gallons. Typically for a 5-gallon batch you need to start with 7 gallons, which requires an 8-10 gallon pot.

 

[dankev]

24 qts is 6 gallons. Typically for a 5-gallon batch you need to start with 7 gallons, which requires an 8-10 gallon pot.

The OP stated it is a 6 gal, but the dimensions listed make it 11.5 gal or so.

 

[Sippin37]

The OP stated it is a 6 gal, but the dimensions listed make it 11.5 gal or so.

Dankev, take a look at this link and let me know the dimensions.
http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc...P_PARENT_ID&storeId=10051&Ntpr=1&ddkey=Search

This makes me think that it has a diameter of 14.84 in. and a height of only 11.54 in. When I do the math on that I get a capacity of 8.63 gallons. Not sure if that is enough to do a full 5 gallon boil or not. Either way, I think I will just go with a 25' immersion chiller and stir as needed. Seems like the only time you should consider a plate chiller is when you're doing 10 gallon batches.

Thanks

 

[MaddBaggins]

I bought a copper coil at Lowes, spread the coils out some and brought both ends up and out of the pot, then some thick walled vinyl tubing and a recirc pump. I wash the coil, drop it in the pot the last 10 minutes of boil and when the brew is done, I recirc ice water from an ice chest, thru the coil. I can cool a 5 gal batch in 15-20 minutes.
It takes about 40# of ice to do it that fast.

 

[Surly]

I bought a copper coil at Lowes, spread the coils out some and brought both ends up and out of the pot, then some thick walled vinyl tubing and a recirc pump. I wash the coil, drop it in the pot the last 10 minutes of boil and when the brew is done, I recirc ice water from an ice chest, thru the coil. I can cool a 5 gal batch in 15-20 minutes.
It takes about 40# of ice to do it that fast.

Long term a counterflow chiller will be cheaper. Especially if you make it yourself. ie, if you are purchasing 40 lbs of ice.

 

[Dan-]

I would counter that statement with http://www.mrmalty.com/chiller.php

 

[weirdboy]

How about just get a tape measure and measure the stockpot?

So far as a chiller goes, an immersion chiller will work. If it is really wide, then you might have some issues with 5 gallon batches not submerging the chiller fully. Until you know the actual dimensions, though, it's a moot point to guess.

Personally I use a plate chiller, but it's got its drawbacks even though it chills REALLY fast. The type of chiller to use is almost a religious topic here on HBT, but I say just use what works for your situation.

When I was using an immersion chiller, my first "upgrade" for it was to purchase a small submersible pond/fountain pump for ~$15 and then fill up a cooler (if I was brewing outside) or the sink (inside) with ice water. Then when it came time to chill, I'd first run tap water through the chiller until the wort temp dropped to around 100F, which happens relatively quickly regardless of the tap water temperature, and then switch over to the pump & ice water which would maintain a nice temperature gradient to keep things cooling quickly. And I would recirculate the chilling line back into the sink/cooler so I could then reuse that water for other stuff.