Made a Wort Chiller

[mmmBeer...]

So I finally broke down and decided to create a wort chiller. I got tired of buying bags of ice all the time…it only ended up costing me $55 Canadian (about $40 US).

The only problem was I got adventurous and decided to use 30 feet 5/8” copper. I figured this would give me a huge cooling surface and the 5/8” OD of the copper fits very nicely with the 5/8” ID of the garden hose.

However, I didn’t take into consideration how tough it would be to bend the tubing! It came in a coil so all I did was tighten it up to the right diameter using a corney keg. I ended up taking it to a friend’s sheet metal shop and the 2 of us wrestled with it for ½ an hour…it’s not pretty but we did it with very minimal crimping even with a bending spring.

So next was the test…tightened down the hose clamps and when the tubing was nice and hot from the boiling water I tightened it down further.

Hooked up the chiller to sink and turned on the cold water…no leaks…a great start. It took 10 minutes take 4 gallons from 100*C (212*F) to 15*C (60*F). I couldn’t believe it! Now it is winter up here so our water is pretty damn cold but still…I am just going to have to be careful not to cool the wort too much!

Should be brewing tonight so I’ll get to try it with real wort!

[chris1kanobi]

Thermal transfer is our friend. I use 50 ft. of 3/8 inch. copper and it cools great. My buddies keep bugging me to go with a counterflow, but I like mine just fine. Congrats!

[danno]

congrats...

I still think a CFC is the way to go. No more racking, from the end of your boil, just turn on the water and open the valve on your brewpot. They're easy to make too, I put a homemade weldless fitting, valve, and CFC on my brother's brewpot for $45 in parts from Menards. From someplace like McMaster-Carr, I bet it would be even cheaper....

[OldHooky]

I used the 5/8 also and ditto on the bending, but the results are fantastic. The best I've done is boiling to 75 in about 14 minutes. But you're further north than I am, eh?

[mmmBeer...]

Yeah…the water temperature has a lot to do with it. I think our cold tap water is probably (and I am guessing) about 5*C (41*F). I doubt I will be able to cool the wort that fast when it is summer…

I tried it out last night with an ale I made…dropped the temperature in about 8 min for about 3.5 gallons of wort. I ended up topping the carboy off with warm water to bring the temperature up to about 75*F. I can’t believe how fast I was able to go from end of the boil to pitching the yeast!

[OldHooky]

Warm water can be a little stale.

[tj beerman]

I found with my wc I didn't have enough time to relax and enjoy a brew. I run a 50' garden hose out of my well thru the snow thru the chiller i couldn't believe how frekin cold the water was duhh

[mmmBeer...]

Yikes that has to be some cold water :)

[adbachtell]

The wife allowed me a wort chiller for Valentines day. Just finished testing it on boiling water. Here in Alaska my tap water is about 4*C. I went over board and bought a 50' role of 5/8"OD. Over kill when I brought it home and measured how small I needed to coil it for my brew pot(4 gal.). About half of the copper towers over the top of the pot. Question to the group. Should I cut it down or keep it for the additional heat transfer. It took about 5-8 minutes to cool the wart to 75*. Had to work out problems of splashing and started and stopped the water a couple times.

[Moondoggy]

I would leave your chiller large. One day you may have a larger pot that it can be used with.

[mortong]

Congrats on the new chiller. I made one a while back, and it's great. The only problem is that my hose connections leak.

I used the threaded hose connectors that you turn with a screwdriver to tighten, and some racking-type hose. Has anyone found a better (non-leaky) way?

[Jughead]

Copper compression fittings up to a garden hose quick connect. Talk to the people at your local home repair store. Let them know what you are building and they are sure to become interested.

[Luther]

Great job on the chiller!!

The ice thing had to be hassle. I made mine with 3/8" and to coil it I got an 8" diameter piece of PVC pipe and wrapped it tight around it. It just slips right off the end when done and was easy to do.

The water not to cold down here but it drops the temp to 80 in about 15 minutes.

Happy Brewing!