wort chiller suggestions

[OHIOSTEVE]

Gonna start making my wort chiller ( hopefully today)....I have looked at several different ideas on here....right now just doing partial boils in ice water baths and stirring like crazy.....geting ready for AG full boils.....what is the cheapest one to build that actually works well?

 

[annasdadhockey]

They all work, or they wouldn't be used. Cheapest would be an Immersion chiller; just a length of copper tubing and some fittings.

 

[likwidbliss]

I bought 25' of 1/4 in copper and some fittings for under 30 dollars. I coiled around a large metal coffee can. Works great, gets wort to under 100 degrees Fahrenheit in 15 minutes.

 

[Gritsak]

Menards has the cheapest copper that i've found. I got 20ft of 3/8" for like $10-15. Wish i would have went with the 50ft for a little more now though. I bent mine in the "rib cage" intertwined pattern.

 

[OHIOSTEVE]

Menards has the cheapest copper that i've found. I got 20ft of 3/8" for like $10-15. Wish i would have went with the 50ft for a little more now though. I bent mine in the "rib cage" intertwined pattern.

After looking around I think I am going with the ribcage design also...25 feet be enough ? Also 3/8 ID or OD?

 

[scrowe]

50' of 1/2" OD refridgeration copper at Lowes for $54.00. A few dollars for fittings. I formed my coil of copper around a piece of 8" PVC pipe. I used it this past Tue for the first time on a 3gal boil and it cooled it down to 80F in about 5 minutes. Good luck on your build. It is very easy to do.

 

[Gritsak]

After looking around I think I am going with the ribcage design also...25 feet be enough ? Also 3/8 ID or OD?

I think it was OD, but i can't remember for sure...if you are doing 5 gallon batches or smaller, 25ft should be fine. If you plan to go larger, or just want to over-do it, 25+ ft wouldn't hurt. I've never actually timed how long it takes my 5g batches to cool down to temp with 20ft, but it's not too long (15min?).