Junedaddy75
Well-Known Member
Tried out our home made wort chiller today on our 2nd batch. Chilled it down to pitching temp. In 8 min 30 sec. What great addition!
Wort Chiller
- Thread starter Junedaddy75
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avidhomebrewer
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They are a sweet addition to any brewers inventory. I've been using one for a number of years and it works great. Like you said, cools beer within 10 minutes.
carolinabrewer
Member
So how did you make it ?
Junedaddy75
Well-Known Member
Bought 25 ft of 3/8" copper refrigeration tubing, took a 2.5 gallon paint pot and slowly wrapped it tight around the can. Then took a smaller jar to make the bends for the in/out feed for the cold water. Then attached clear tubing to the in/out feeds with hose clamps. If that makes since??
Golddiggie
Well-Known Member
You made an IC (immersion chiller) in the classic shape... You must be on well water, or you were really moving that thing around in the kettle while chilling...
Using town water, I chill ~6 gallons of wort to 65F in about 8 minutes with my plate chiller. Once the cooler weather returns (soon, oh so soon) I expect my chilling time to be reduced. OR, if I get lucky enough to get my next place with well water.
Love my 40 plate chiller BTW... I can leave the lid on the kettle, turn the valves on (and pump now) and simply watch the thermocouple dial to monitor the temps leaving the chiller. Much easier (and faster) than the IC's I made.
Using town water, I chill ~6 gallons of wort to 65F in about 8 minutes with my plate chiller. Once the cooler weather returns (soon, oh so soon) I expect my chilling time to be reduced. OR, if I get lucky enough to get my next place with well water.
Love my 40 plate chiller BTW... I can leave the lid on the kettle, turn the valves on (and pump now) and simply watch the thermocouple dial to monitor the temps leaving the chiller. Much easier (and faster) than the IC's I made.
Junedaddy75
Well-Known Member
Yes it is well water. Nice and cold. Granted it was only 2.5 gallons of wort, but none the less it was a lot easier and Faster than an ice bath.
Golddiggie
Well-Known Member
Yeah, it's many times better than the ice bath/sink method...
When you start making 5 gallon batches, you might want to look at a plate chiller though. Takes all the manual labor out of the process. Plus, it takes up a fraction of the space a IC (or CFC) will.
When you start making 5 gallon batches, you might want to look at a plate chiller though. Takes all the manual labor out of the process.
Plus, it takes up a fraction of the space a IC (or CFC) will.Junedaddy75
Well-Known Member
How do plate chillers compare to counter-flow chillers?
Golddiggie
Well-Known Member
Similar in speed, but much larger (CFC) than a plate chiller. My 40 plate chiller is about the size of a brick. A CFC will be the size of the copper coil inside it, plus the hose outside it, plus fittings. I can store my plate chiller in the toolbox that holds my march pump, when not in use. I use the same type of hose/tubing that I use on the pump, to recirculate the mash (and then run the hot wort through to sanitize the chiller) so that doesn't take up any more space. With QD's on the wort side, it makes connecting it up a snap.
Had I known about the way a plate chiller works, and how much better it is compared with an IC, months ago, I would have saved a lot of money, and time, building IC's. I probably would have spent the same amount on the plate chiller that I spent on hardware to make the IC's... DOH!!
Had I known about the way a plate chiller works, and how much better it is compared with an IC, months ago, I would have saved a lot of money, and time, building IC's. I probably would have spent the same amount on the plate chiller that I spent on hardware to make the IC's... DOH!!
carolinabrewer
Member
Yea, that's pretty much the same way I made the immersion chiller I have...including the clear plastic tubing. I think I am going to replace my plastic tubing before I brew again as it is not really made for high temps and the tubing had a tendency to kink around the point where it is connected to the copper. I know now that I probably should have used a high-temp plactic tubing.
Golddiggie
Well-Known Member
I used the PVC reinforced tubing on the hot water side of my IC's... It seemed to deal with the higher temps better... Just be sure to check the hose clamps before each use. They tend to loosen up between batches.
You could try soldering on barb fittings if you wish, or hose fittings. Although that seems like more work than you need to go through. I would just save up and get a plate chiller, or CFC, when you're ready for a better chiller.
I got mine from Rebel Brewer. It comes with the backflush hose, so you don't need to get that on top of it. You just run it from the water out port, into the wort out port, and wait until it runs clear. With QD's fitted on the wort side of mine, and onto the backflush hose, I run clean water through both directions on the wort side once done. Then a soak with PBW in it, followed by a rinse and drain and I'm ready for the next brew session... It's really not that much work. I just make sure I get all the crud out of the chiller, and such. Running boiling wort through it for a few minutes before you turn on the chilling water feed sterilizes/sanitizes it fully.
You could try soldering on barb fittings if you wish, or hose fittings. Although that seems like more work than you need to go through. I would just save up and get a plate chiller, or CFC, when you're ready for a better chiller.
I got mine from Rebel Brewer. It comes with the backflush hose, so you don't need to get that on top of it. You just run it from the water out port, into the wort out port, and wait until it runs clear. With QD's fitted on the wort side of mine, and onto the backflush hose, I run clean water through both directions on the wort side once done. Then a soak with PBW in it, followed by a rinse and drain and I'm ready for the next brew session... It's really not that much work. I just make sure I get all the crud out of the chiller, and such. Running boiling wort through it for a few minutes before you turn on the chilling water feed sterilizes/sanitizes it fully.
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