Wort Chilling

[MT's AZ Ale Haus]

I am making my own wort chiller, I am building in reverse theory.
I'm going to drain my hot wort through a copper coil in a 5 gal Ice bucket, that should still theoretically work as a heat exchanger correct???

Any opinions or previous experience doung it in this manner?

 

[atunguyd]

That will work and it is pretty much similar to a counter flow chiller just with the counter flow portion static. Remember that you will need to run boiling wort through it and back into your boiler for a few minute's during the boil to sanitise your chiller.

 

[bigdawg86]

Sure it will work, but you are gonna need ALOT of ice... so much ice you would have been able to pay for a proper chiller over the course of a few batches.

I use an immersion chiller as a pre-chiller and my groundwater alone melted a 20lb bag of ice... just pre-chilling!

 

[jtratcliff]

You'll definitely need to stir your chilling water... and perhaps change out the water a couple times (save it for cleaning), since you won't be able to get down to pitching temps with just 5 gallons of ice water.

Also, the Temp difference between boiling wort and cold tap water its enough to start cooling the wort when its at it's hottest. So you can be smart with your ice usage. Get your wort down as low as possible with plain cold water, then switch to a fresh batch of ice water (don't add ice to the now-hot, old chilling water) to get the rest of the way down. Save the (now-hot) cooling water for cleanup. This should use less ice than starting off with ice from the get-go.

 

[MT's AZ Ale Haus]

That will work and it is pretty much similar to a counter flow chiller just with the counter flow portion static. Remember that you will need to run boiling wort through it and back into your boiler for a few minute's during the boil to sanitise your chiller.

I was planning on initially cleaning my chiller with PBW, and then the day of brew, run star san through the system prior to wort chilling. Do you think this will be adequate?

 

[MT's AZ Ale Haus]

You'll definitely need to stir your chilling water... and perhaps change out the water a couple times (save it for cleaning), since you won't be able to get down to pitching temps with just 5 gallons of ice water.

Also, the Temp difference between boiling wort and cold tap water its enough to start cooling the wort when its at it's hottest. So you can be smart with your ice usage. Get your wort down as low as possible with plain cold water, then switch to a fresh batch of ice water (don't add ice to the now-hot, old chilling water) to get the rest of the way down. Save the (now-hot) cooling water for cleanup. This should use less ice than starting off with ice from the get-go.

Great advice, thank you.

 

[Novacor]

PBW will oxidize the copper, I'd avoid it.

 

[RPh_Guy]

A CFC is immensely more efficient -- that's what I'd build instead, or even using your device as a standard immersion chiller would be better.

You'll be WAY more happy using these established types of devices.
The DIY section here has threads for wort chillers.

Cheers

 

[Nokt]

I would worry about not being able to inspect the inside of the tube. If is not completely clean and dry inside, you will run the risk of verdigris forming the pipe. Verdigris will make you very sick.

 

[LittleRiver]

...drain my hot wort through a copper coil in a 5 gal Ice bucket...

I don't have any experience with a system exactly like that. But from experience with my recirculating immersion chiller I'd say there's not enough cooling capacity in one 5gal bucket of ice water, certainly not once you subtract the volume of your copper tubing. I would guess that this would take 2-4 5gal buckets of ice water(?), or possibly one bucket of tap water followed by 2-3 buckets of ice water(?).

By moving wort you are signing yourself up for way more cleaning time/headaches than if you move water.

What I did was build an efficient immersion chiller, and recirculate water through it. First I pump from a 5gal bucket of tap water, then from a cooler filled with ice water. I get 20lb of crushed ice for a little more than $2 at a local grocery store. You want small cube or crushed ice for better heat transfer, due to the increased surface area. The system works great, I can get to pitching temps in 10-15 min.

Cleaning time is negligible. The IC is put into into the kettle during the last 10min of the boil to sanitize it, and it's cleaned off at the end by just dunking in the cooler a couple of times. The pump and hoses do not have to be cleaned since they've only been exposed to clean water.

The now hot water in the 5gal bucket is saved for use as wash water at post-brew cleanup, and the now warm water in the cooler is saved for rinsing.

 

[william_shakes_beer]

I used to use an immersion chiller. Then I got a fermentation chamber. Now I just drain the brew kettle into the fermentation bucket, drop it into the chest fermentation chamber, set it at fermentation temps and pitch the yeast the next day. Gave the immersion chiller to a friend that was starting out in brewing.

 

[RPh_Guy]

I just drain the brew kettle into the fermentation bucket, drop it into the chest fermentation chamber, set it at fermentation temps and pitch the yeast the next day.

Transferring near-boiling wort sounds like a bad idea for brewers with glass or PET carboys. I'm not sure I'd even do this with HDPE buckets/carboys.

 

[MT's AZ Ale Haus]

PBW will oxidize the copper, I'd avoid it.

Thank you [emoji106]

 

[MT's AZ Ale Haus]

I am making my own wort chiller, I am building in reverse theory.
I'm going to drain my hot wort through a copper coil in a 5 gal Ice bucket, that should still theoretically work as a heat exchanger correct???

Any opinions or previous experience doung it in this manner?

Thank you for all the great feedback, back to the drawing board [emoji12].
Going to make it an immersion chiller with hose fittings.
I Can connect to garden hose and drop the temp with that, then finish with ice water.

 

[william_shakes_beer]

Transferring near-boiling wort sounds like a bad idea for brewers with glass or PET carboys. I'm not sure I'd even do this with HDPE buckets/carboys.

I agree re glass, which is why I specified that I use plastic buckets. And yes, I actually leave the kettle sitting in the back yard, covered, for a few hours to cool before I drop it, even though the data on HDPE suggests it can withstand temperatures above boiling for short periods of time. I didn't want to sidetrack the thread with the usual debate of infections caused by allowing sub boiling wort to sit in the environment. Bottom line, I have done this for dozens of batches and have experienced neither a melted bucket nor an infection.

 

[1bottlerocket]

Thank you for all the great feedback, back to the drawing board [emoji12].
Going to make it an immersion chiller with hose fittings.
I Can connect to garden hose and drop the temp with that, then finish with ice water.

I used my stainless immersion chiller for the first time yesterday and I was amazed at how efficiently it cooled the wort. I used a garden hose set up and connected it to the bathroom faucet and the output (hot water) empties into the bathtub. My tap water comes out at about 56-58°F and it really works well.

I would like to try The Hydra immersion chiller from Jaded Brewing. The only thing I wonder about is the maintenance for the copper tubing.

 

[RPh_Guy]

Bottom line, I have done this for dozens of batches and have experienced neither a melted bucket nor an infection.

Bucket failure occurs at a much higher temperature than chemical leeching (when it stops being considered food safe).
Furthermore not all plastic buckets are built the same. Yours might be fine, but a different manufacturer's might not.

If using a no-chill method I'd simply leave it in the kettle until cool enough to touch.
Seems like a safer approach to me

 

[jtratcliff]

If using a no-chill method I'd simply leave it in the kettle until cool enough to touch.
Seems like a safer approach to me

That's my method... Stovetop BIAB, carefully into kitchen sink thru a couple changes of water until I can safely carry it outside for an "overnight chill" or pour into an HDPE bucket. Then into a swamp cooler (party tub with ice packs or frozen water bottles) to bring down to pitching temps and maintain fermentation temps...