Wort Chilling

[brew703]

I started brewing 2.5-3.5 gallon batches using a 10 gal kettle. Eventually will move to 5 gallon batches which is why I bought a 10 gallon kettle.

Problem I am encountering is cooling the wort down in a reasonable amount of time. I have a 25' IC but it's useless for batches under 3 gallons. For a 3+ gallon batch I have to tilt my kettle in order for the IC to sit low enough to cool the wort.

For batches between 1.75-2.95 or so I have to transfer the wort to my 3 gallon kettle or split between my 2 and 3 gallon kettle.
It normally takes about an hour to get the temps down to 70 degrees using an ice bath. If I transfer to the smaller kettles, I boil water for 20 min or so in the two smaller kettles, then turn off the heat and cover. When it's time to transfer, I dump the water and hit the pot with starsan then transfer using a sanitized tube. Once that is done the pot goes into an ice batch until it reaches 70 degrees. Frozen water bottles are changed as needed.

Is there any harm in doing it this way? I would like to be able to get the temps down within 30 min but it just hasn't happened. I also tried placing the 3 gallon kettle into the freezer to chill rapidly. That has helped somewhat but still takes over 30 minutes to chill down to 70 degrees.

Thanks.

 

[dsaavedra]

You could try and reshape your IC so it has a greater diameter = fewer coils = sits lower in your wort

 

[brew703]

Guess I could try to reshape but it's store bought and don't really feel like un-coiling etc.

 

[aprichman]

You could also look into buying a plate chiller or a counterflow chiller that would cool your wort inline on the way to the carboy.

 

[therealrsr]

Try a cheap pump using that ice bath and run colder water through the IC in the big pot. The surface contact area of your chiller vs. the sides of your smaller pots should make a big difference. Nothing wrong with the way you are doing it, but the longer the chill the greater the risk, particularly if you are stirring periodically.

 

[brew703]

I do plan on getting a pond pump to use but haven't done so yet. Looked at the plate chillers before I bought the IC. Doesn't the wort actually pass through the plate chiller? Seems like it could clog with debris and would need to be cleaned/sanitized very good to avoid infections.

 

[Psylocide]

Or... Don't worry about chilling at all until you step up to 5 gal batches.

I no chill 10 gal batches in my boil kettle overnight, then transfer to carboys and either stick in the fridge or cool with wet towel/fan the rest of the way until it gets down to pitching temps.

I've waited up to 48 hrs before pitching and have never had any issues.

 

[feinbera]

Does your chiller not just sit on the bottom of the pot?

If it's the kind that has one very widely-spaced coil at the bottom, suspending the rest of the tightly-packed coils a few inches above the bottom, it shouldn't be a major task to just flatten that one wide coil (or to re-widen it when you start brewing bigger batches).

If the problem is the chiller's dangling from the rim of the pot by the elbows in the input/output lines, your chiller is too small for your pot.

 

[brew703]

Or... Don't worry about chilling at all until you step up to 5 gal batches.

I no chill 10 gal batches in my boil kettle overnight, then transfer to carboys and either stick in the fridge or cool with wet towel/fan the rest of the way until it gets down to pitching temps.

I've waited up to 48 hrs before pitching and have never had any issues.

HUM. That may be an option. Might give that a try on the next brew day.

 

[brew703]

Does your chiller not just sit on the bottom of the pot?

If it's the kind that has one very widely-spaced coil at the bottom, suspending the rest of the tightly-packed coils a few inches above the bottom, it shouldn't be a major task to just flatten that one wide coil (or to re-widen it when you start brewing bigger batches).

If the problem is the chiller's dangling from the rim of the pot by the elbows in the input/output lines, your chiller is too small for your pot.

The chiller I have has a large space on the bottom coil which raises it up too high. The last batch I did, the very bottom of the chiller and the next coil were submerged. I could try and flatten it down some- I actually thought about trying that but didn't want to cause any damage to the IC.

 

[Psylocide]

HUM. That may be an option. Might give that a try on the next brew day.

Yeah... If you're using buckets, just dump the whole mess in after flameout, and put the lid on.

If using glass, put the lid on the BK after flameout, leave in there overnight, transfer in the morning.

If your aim is commercial clarity, Whirlflocc @ 10 min and gelatin fining are a necessity with this method. You could skip the gelatin, but it'll take weeks before it's clear, vs. 2-4 days.