# Natural Born Chillers



## Ducatiboy stu (12/3/06)

Maybe I should be "pimp my chiller"


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## Pumpy (15/3/06)

Heres mine Stu nearly the same :huh: 

100foot of 12mm soft copper from Bunnings takes fiffteen mins to get down to pitching temp in winter

Pumpy


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## Tony (15/3/06)

youve all seem this but i will post it again 

cheers


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## Tony (15/3/06)

i used to use this

18 meters of 3/8 tube

worked great.

but wasnt big enough for 50 liter batches so i went to the 1/2 18 moter coil in the 18 gal boiler.

stirring it gently i will chil 50 liters to pitching temp in 20 min in winter, 30 min in summer.

cheers.

PS. I am a gadget boy and love all things complicated, so some might say, why doesnt he have a counterflow chiller?

I dont like the ideah of them is why.

Im sure they work great but i like to watch the wort cool quickly in the kettle and see the break form and settle.

It lets me know if my brewing technique for the said brew was a sucess or needs atention. It also makes it easier to leave most of the break behing without having to chill and rack before pitching.

Sorry folks but i love to get that yeast going as quick as posible and a bit od break never heart anyone but the whole lot, and hops............. mmmmmm

like i said, im sure they work, they jusy arnt my style, but thats the best thing that makes everyones beer different hey.

Thats not to say that i wont bulid one one day and give it a go 

never say never  heheheheh

cheers


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## Ray_Mills (15/3/06)

Hi
Why have one in the first place
Why waste all the water and add more time to your brew day
Empty the wort in a drum like an ESB work kit 15 min after the boil
Hang on to the wort for as long as you like
When your yeast is ready
pitch the wort and yeast in your fermenter and away you go
Works every time
make bigger batches then get a bigger drum or use 2 20 drums
Cheers
Ray


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## PostModern (15/3/06)

Rapid chilling helps the formation of cold break. Or so we've all read. Is there any advantage in not letting cold break form?


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## Ray_Mills (15/3/06)

Makes no difference at all
The last 15 min settles the beer
Never ever had a problem with the cold break
Give it a go one day and find out yourself
Most of us at the IBU's are now doing it
Ray


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## PostModern (15/3/06)

I will Ray. I have yet to get my AG brewery on line, mostly because I haven't got a wort chiller. I guess there's no harm making a brew without one and seeing if it comes out tasting like arse. The longer I spend brewing, the more I find that things we take for granted as "necessary" turn out to be ritual, superstition or "Palmer says so". Can you name any commercial breweries that don't rapid chill their wort?


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## scrogster (15/3/06)

Here's my chiller, nothing fancy, but it does the job. I use an extra garden hose to direct the outlet water into the washing machine initially, and then connect it to the garden watering system once the temperature is down a bit.


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## Ross (15/3/06)

Ray_Mills said:


> Makes no difference at all
> The last 15 min settles the beer
> Never ever had a problem with the cold break
> Give it a go one day and find out yourself
> ...



Maybe it doesn't - but an extra 30 mins on brew day to get your beer cool & ready for pitching, is in my book, preferable to handling near boiling wort & waiting a day before you can pitch... 
Plus i collect all my water, so waste nothing....

each to their own I guess  ...


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## homebrewworld.com (15/3/06)

The 'Braidwood Project' recently did just this. i.e hot wort into the container.

I had two containers a brewed them a week or two apart.
No dramas at all.....very clear tasty beer.

I agree with Ross, but many a times i have a fermenter or yeast hard at work and holding stock is a great way to 'keep the wheel turning'  

:beerbang:


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## Pumpy (15/3/06)

Yep I always fill my pool up with the water nothing goes to waste !!!  

But Ray it is a good idea and a lot more trub drops out if when it is cool you finish the wort off in the fridge and get it down to 15C  

pumpy


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## Kai (15/3/06)

Ray_Mills said:


> Makes no difference at all
> The last 15 min settles the beer
> Never ever had a problem with the cold break
> Give it a go one day and find out yourself
> ...



That's how I do it too. It was only meant to be temporary before I bought or made a chiller, but I've decided I'm happy with just doing it like this.


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## redbeard (15/3/06)

went to bunninz tues to check out the 12mm 15m copper coil. none in stock. the plumbing bloke said that all bunninz stores had been told to return all their stock, as it didnt meet au safety standards. i presume it was the imported china copper coils ...


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## mika (15/3/06)

Yep, was cheap stuff though. Had 1/2" x 15metres over here for $49. All the other stuff is $8/metre or more.... rip off stuff.
Wouldn't have bothered the home brewer, no pressure in those pipes.


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## big d (16/3/06)

hi ray
im assuming you are cooling your wort in a fridge before pitching the yeast .Then im assuming you will have to airate your wort which means removing the fermentor lid to airate then add yeast which increases your chances of infection. 
if im wrong could you please explain your methods as im always keen to learn more.
the last 15 minutes part has me some what confused

cheers
big d


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## Kai (16/3/06)

Big D,

Far be it from me to speak for Ray, but this is how I see it:

15 minutes means leave the brew for a bit after flameout to let it settle. Like whirpooling.

Just rack it straight into a clean cube and seal. The wort should still be hot enough to remain at pasteurisation temps, so sealed away in the cube there isn't any chance of further infection.

Allow it to cool however you please, in a fridge, outside, whatever. A cold night here in the hills works wonders.

When your yeast is ready, aerate and pitch as normal and at the right temp. At this point it's no different from having chilled your wort by any other means, with exactly the same risks.

While the wort is still sealed in the drum, though, you have the luxury of not needing to get the yeast into the wort asap, say if you don't have a starter ready, you don't have space in the ferment fridge, or whatever. It's the same principle as an unopened jar of jam or can of beans. Once you open it, you use it.

And if there's an infection growing in the wort drum, you'll notice when it gets up at tries to walk out the door.


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## Borret (16/3/06)

Back to the original topic of Pimping Ones Chiller

... and now for completely different...





Suitably Pimped

Brent


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## Andyd (16/3/06)

That's just brewers porn!


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## Pumpy (16/3/06)

Andyd said:


> That's just brewers porn!
> [post="114637"][/post]​




What do you mean Borret has done that like a 'Pro'  

Pumpy


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## bindi (16/3/06)

Borrets is a work of art  mine is just boring compared to it


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## Doogiechap (16/3/06)

I haven't used mine yet but can't wait  
Very sexy Borret !!


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## Kai (16/3/06)

Borret said:


> Back to the original topic of Pimping Ones Chiller



whaat? I was pimping my chiller


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## Jye (16/3/06)

Hey Doogiechap, did you use another piece of pvc with end caps in the middle of the coils, so that more of the water is forced over the coils?


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## Doogiechap (16/3/06)

Good point Jye,
I haven't 'glued' it together yet so I will look at putting something extra in the middle to reduce the volume of water bypassing the coils. I do have a tube going up the middle to get the cool water to the opposite end (both hose connections are at one end for neatness of plumbing  )
Cheers
Doug


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## Pumpy (16/3/06)

Ray_Mills said:


> Hi
> Why have one in the first place
> Why waste all the water and add more time to your brew day
> Empty the wort in a drum like an ESB work kit 15 min after the boil
> ...



Hey Ray would it keep a week at room temp in one of those containers do you have to get all the air out ,

may give it a try tommorrow 

Pumpy


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## Pumpy (16/3/06)

Pic of Trev at the Braidwood brewery washing the hot wort containers down ,some of the guys I remember saying they pitched the yeast a week later 
.

Rays idea in action 

Pumpy


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## Steve Lacey (16/3/06)

Very interesting and thought provoking post here by Ray. I recently did a batch and dumped the whole lot, all break material included, into the fermenter after first fishing out most of the hops flowers. I posted this on OzCB asking opinions about how it would turn out and got one "No worries" and one "crap". It has turned out fine so far (my brewing mate and I drank a liter of it at racking, so it can't be too bad!)

So taking away one more sacred cow, rapid chilling, and it does significantly simplify the process. I am without a wort chiller too and immersed the pots (split boil) in a bath tub for chilling.

The conventional wisdom is that rapid chilling helps with cold break formation (probably not a make or break issue, pardon the pun), quickly gets the wort away from the bacteria-heaven temperature range of 25-40 degrees (can be overcome with good sanitation), and, what always made it essential for me, minimizes diacetyl formation.

So, what is it with the diacetyl thing then? Knock that on the head and I could be almost convinced to RDWAHAHB

Edit: somehow I missed the entire second page of this thread B4 posting ... anyway, still keen to know about the diacetyl issue.


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## big d (16/3/06)

im guilty of thread diversion here so to save the original content of ducatiboy stus post i reckon we should start another thread in regard to chilling without water.its a new topic that is moving the original post a bit and there is obviously a fair bit of interest.

cheers
big d.


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## Pumpy (17/3/06)

The great thing about Rays "No Chill method " is that 

1) you can mash anytime that is convienient to you 

2) ferment when your fermentation fridge is not tied up with a brew

Pumpy


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## Thommo (17/3/06)

I ended up pitching my yeast for the Braidwood brew two weeks after. No worries at all.

When I ended up bottling, some people had already finished theirs!!!

Still got some left, too.


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## Ross (17/3/06)

This thread has been totally hijacked - Can a mod please split it? - both good threads....  

cheers Ross


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## warrenlw63 (17/3/06)

Mine's pretty boring by comparison.

One thing that has helped me is to put a couple of valves on the frame. Saves me running down the yard to turn the tap on and off in a hurry if there's anything wrong. I use a couple of easy hookers to link up to the chiller. No leaks or hoses bursting over the boiler/wort this way. :beerbang: 

Warren -


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## Jazzafish (17/3/06)

Here is mine... does the job well.

With Ray's comments... I didn't ferment my Braidwood Ale until a month after, it turned out fine.

I also use a chiller because I want to ferment it asap, that way I can drink it sooner :chug: 

I use all of the post chiller water for cleaning my gear. Eg: First collections go into the fermenter & mash tun, the rest goes into a bucket(s). Add the cleaning agents and let them soak while I prepare the next stages. 

The water was going to be used to clean my gear anyway, may as well use it to cool my wort, and the wort to heat my water.


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## MAH (17/3/06)

warrenlw63 said:


> One thing that has helped me is to put a couple of valves on the frame. Saves me running down the yard to turn the tap on and off in a hurry if there's anything wrong. [post="114800"][/post]​




Hi Warren

I do a similar thing. I use a CFC and run a hose from a tap to the CFC, which connects with standard garden QD's. About 50 cms from the connection to the CFC I added an in-line valve. This way I can control the flow rate of the chillier water while standing next to it. If wasting water wasn't an issue I would just open the valve right up and let it run fast as possible, but I try and balance the chilling with the amount of water being used. 

The main benefit will come when I eventually install an inline thermometer on the outlet of the CFC and use a pond pump to pump pre-chilled water from jerry cans. Being able to stand next to the whole thing and adjust the chilling water flow rate to match the desired wort temp would be nice. Although I might just adopt the no chiller method!

Cheers
MAH


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## warrenlw63 (17/3/06)

MAH

The ice slurry and metho method works particularly well with an immersion chiller when the temp's at about 25c from tap water.  I've been able to get my wort to lager pitching temps in winter (about 14c) in about 30-45 minutes with recirculation.

Note that it's still not a perfect world in the summer months. Main problem is my tap water will only get the wort to say 30c in hot weather. Using the ice recirculation from this temperature always seems to create a bit of a losing battle. With persistence I can get it as low as 17-18c. Good for Ales OTOH it's why I don't bother with lagers in summer.  

Not overly cluey with CFCs. However I'd say you'd need quite a bit of ice to be able to cool wort with it exclusively. Certainly worth looking into though. That said for 23 litre batches I couldn't see it being a problem. :beerbang: 

Warren -


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## Pumpy (17/3/06)

This Post Spawned the 'No Chiller method' for mor information continue to the post 'No chiller method'

pumpy


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## mudsta (17/3/06)

This is my counter flow chiller. I swear these things are bloody gods at cooling, cant love them enough!!!  9m of copper coil with garden hose sleeve.

I leave my wort to settle for 15mins after the boil. My kettle is well insulated so it stays in the 90'c-100'c range. I sanitize me chiller and hook up the cold intake hose to the grey fitting shown. Switch on the stock tap water, hook a clear pvc hose to the bottom drain on my kettle onto the hot wort inlet. Fit a drain hose to the outlet at the top of my chiller and switch her on.

Chills bloody hot wort down to 14'c in winter and approx 20'c in summer all in under 30mins for a 23L batch. The cold break settles out very well. :beerbang: 

Made it for under $50 too....

Happy chillin,

Mudsta h34r:


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## domonsura (30/5/06)

Here's mine, 





4 inch 316 stainless, with triple 1/4 inch copper coils (just under 15 metres in total) inside. the coils are merged using a freeflow manifold I designed for it. I split the wort flow to increase the surface area, because I wanted to be able to contain it all in as small a package as I could 450mm long x 100mm diameter.

It will chill my 55 litre batches to pitching temp in 20-30 minutes or so. I think that the extra step taken in chilling the wort is worth it to be able to pitch immediately. In the time it takes to chill the wort, it's also aerating the wort really well (which is an added bonus), and in the mean time I'm getting most of the clean up out of the way, feeding the spent grain to the goat & chooks etc. I save my cooling water, my brewstand has a water filter tucked into the plumbing underneath so it's all good drinking water. 
I just wish that I was on tank water, because if I was I would take advantage of the brilliant idea someone (not me) piped up with recently, and run my wort through coils inside the main water tanks ( or recirculate water from water tank back to water tank. Can't remember which way it went but it doesn't really matter does it, either would work.)

And the whole kit 

Brewboy Page


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## Darren (30/5/06)

Looks the goods Domonsura.


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## Kai (30/5/06)

Duck's nuts, wayne.


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## domonsura (31/5/06)

No, they're bigger than that honest.


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## Sammus (1/6/06)

I have one of these chillers bought from the man himself, and I may as well confirm that it is indeed the ducks nuts, or the bulls bollucks, if you prefer. Great stuff mate!


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## KoNG (1/6/06)

me wants one....my precious


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## WilBier (2/7/06)

Are there any negatives at all from using copper as a wort chiller? 
I know it is readily available, and maleable are easy to use, but are there any implications from the copper being in contact with the wort? Does any copper leach into the wort? I have noticed that some copper looks all pink from sanitising I guess. 

That being said, does anyone think it would be worth attempting to make an imersion coil from 1/2 inch stainless tube? I have a couple of lengths available (cheap) from a mate who has them left over from a job. I was thinking of annealing the tube and bending it. Slower and painful process than using copper, but methinks it could be worth it. Could even clean up the oxidising layer with pickle paste to get the stainless back to shiny.

But if there are no negatives at all from using copper, it would be cheaper and easier to use copper.

WilBier


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## Pumpy (2/7/06)

WilBier said:


> Are there any negatives at all from using copper as a wort chiller?
> I know it is readily available, and maleable are easy to use, but are there any implications from the copper being in contact with the wort? Does any copper leach into the wort? I have noticed that some copper looks all pink from sanitising I guess.
> 
> That being said, does anyone think it would be worth attempting to make an imersion coil from 1/2 inch stainless tube? I have a couple of lengths available (cheap) from a mate who has them left over from a job. I was thinking of annealing the tube and bending it. Slower and painful process than using copper, but methinks it could be worth it. Could even clean up the oxidising layer with pickle paste to get the stainless back to shiny.
> ...



Wilbier,

I have been using a copper chiller for years with no adverse affect :blink: 

But not for the last six batches in order to save water and time and improve the clarity of the wort , you really do not need a chiller these days.

Unless you wish to pitch the yeast on the day you mash .

Pumpy


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## WilBier (2/7/06)

Wilbier,

I have been using a copper chiller for years with no adverse affect :blink: 

But not for the last six batches in order to save water and time and improve the clarity of the wort , you really do not need a chiller these days.

Unless you wish to pitch the yeast on the day you mash .

Pumpy 
[/quote]


So after boiling, you just let the wort sit there to cool down to twenty something degrees?
Wait overnight or something?

WilBier


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## Jez (2/7/06)

Hi Wilbier,

For more info do a search on "no chill" and "no chill method". 

A lot of brewers on brewday just drain the hot wort into plastic cubes (the 20L water cubes like you get at Bunnings), then pack them away to ferment whenever. Same theory as a fresh wort kit you can buy in 15L cubes at brewshops. Works fine from all reports.

Jez


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## BrissyBrew (14/9/06)

If you want stainless steel, I can always plug my 304 Stainless Steel, braized with pure copper in an oxygen free furnace plate heat exchangers, rippled plates to avoid laminar flow, chillout for under $100.00 most people will pay more for a coil of copper pipe and some fittings.


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## Pumpy (19/10/06)

I no longer use a Chiller 

It is in the history books along with 

Carbon paper 

Candles for the purpose of lighting 

Valves in computers 

leather soled shoes 

Hops not supplied in vacuum paks 

brewing kit beers in a poly bag in a dustbin

Druids .

Cask ales in Australia

Flowery shirts 

Winkle picker shoes ( Oh they may be making a comeback

Dinky toys 

Frys Chocolate bars 

just a few examples of the end of a era 

No chill is less risk of infection and clearer wort and more wort too 

GO the NO!!!

Pumpy


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## poppa joe (19/10/06)

Pumpy..
Do you miss theIce Man..
The Rabbitoh Man...
The Clothes props...
If you still had Milk delivered in SS containers...You could probably talk him into
loosing a couple ...for boilers ETC.
PJ


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## Coodgee (19/10/06)

I've got to admit I am a die hard chiller. My 18M of copper pipe hasn't done me any harm so far ( fingers crossed).

A friend has devised a system withe a "pre-chiller", a small roll of copper pipe immersed in an ice bath before flowing into the main immersion chiller. he hooks it up when the temp gets to about 25 degrees, because the water out of the tap is about 22-23. get's it down to 20 degrees for him.


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## Pumpy (20/10/06)

poppa joe said:


> Pumpy..
> Do you miss theIce Man..
> The Rabbitoh Man...
> The Clothes props...
> ...




Yay !That is the spirit PJ 

Coodgee , 

Dont worry there is a guy along my street who drives a 1957 Holden , 

habits can be hard to break 

Pumpy


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## benno1973 (20/10/06)

WilBier said:


> That being said, does anyone think it would be worth attempting to make an imersion coil from 1/2 inch stainless tube? I have a couple of lengths available (cheap) from a mate who has them left over from a job. I was thinking of annealing the tube and bending it. Slower and painful process than using copper, but methinks it could be worth it.



I think (and I'm no scientist here) that you'll probably not get the same results as using copper. The thermal conductivity for copper is around 400W/mK, while stainless only has a thermal conductivity of somewhere between 10 and 40 (depending on the type of stainless being used). So assuming a higher thermal conductivity, you're going to get a more efficient chill using copper rather than stainless. 

Which doesn't mean stainless won't work, just means that you'll use a lot more water in the process, and water is fairly scarce these days in some areas...


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## TasChris (20/10/06)

Hi all,
with all the talk and concern with regard to brewing and water usage the time to install water tanks is right. This way you can control your water quality and recycle your cooling water back into the tank.
The other option is move to NW Tas as the definition of drought here is a week without rain. 
Chris


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## Ducatiboy stu (20/10/06)

I live off water tanks, and my chiller water goes straight back into the tank, so I dont use any water at all. B)


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## colinw (20/10/06)

I'm curious about the lengths of everyone's chillers.

My immersion chiller is a mere 6 metres of copper tube, formed into an open coil (ie. not touching itself anywhere) by bending around a corny keg.

It brings 25 to 30 litres of wort down to 28C in 15 minutes with the best of 'em. Better than that in winter.

I suspect that most of the chilling happens in the first 3 or 4 metres of coil, after which the heat differential isn't enough to make much difference.

I also have a CFC. 9 metres long. I bet it would work fine at half that.


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## Pumpy (20/10/06)

Ducatiboy stu said:


> I live off water tanks, and my chiller water goes straight back into the tank, so I dont use any water at all. B)




Stu this is the post that spawned 'the No chill method'


Pumpy


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## hupnupnee (20/10/06)

colinw said:


> I'm curious about the lengths of everyone's chillers.
> 
> My immersion chiller is a mere 6 metres of copper tube, formed into an open coil (ie. not touching itself anywhere) by bending around a corny keg.
> 
> ...





I agree ColinW, 

my chiller is also a shorty and I get similar cooling time to yours. I have also put a few kinks in the copper tube to restrict the flow and generate turbulance, which may or may not help. I also find that slowing hte flown until the water coming out is only a few degrees cooler than the wort does not slow the cooling down to any appreciable amont for the same reasons. This saves heaps of water, I have found.

Also 6m of copper is only about $20.

T


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## Brewtus (20/10/06)

Kaiser Soze said:


> WilBier said:
> 
> 
> > That being said, does anyone think it would be worth attempting to make an imersion coil from 1/2 inch stainless tube? I have a couple of lengths available (cheap) from a mate who has them left over from a job. I was thinking of annealing the tube and bending it. Slower and painful process than using copper, but methinks it could be worth it.
> ...



You can design around this by having about ten times the suface area and the same cross sectional area so ,visavi, the same water flow. To do this you would have a very flat shaped or ribbon like stainless pipe. As stainless is much tougher than copper you could also reduce the thickness of the wall by half so only need five times the surface area. You could also make it twice the length so then have only 2.5 times the cross sectional perimeter.

This is a bit acedemic but WTH it friday arvo.


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## Murray (20/10/06)

Pumpy said:


> I no longer use a Chiller
> 
> It is in the history books along with
> 
> ...



Stop spamming. The thread is about chillers.


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## Murray (20/10/06)

colinw said:


> I'm curious about the lengths of everyone's chillers.
> 
> My immersion chiller is a mere 6 metres of copper tube, formed into an open coil (ie. not touching itself anywhere) by bending around a corny keg.
> 
> ...



I can't even remember exactly how long my cfc is now, but it is over 10 metres. It works well, just pump through unrestricted with a low cooling water flow rate.

I've never had a problem, but I'm tempted to go back to an immersion chiller simply due to my not liking not knowing what is inside the cfc.


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## Ducatiboy stu (20/10/06)

Pumpy said:


> Ducatiboy stu said:
> 
> 
> > I live off water tanks, and my chiller water goes straight back into the tank, so I dont use any water at all. B)
> ...




WOW...I have managed to change brew history...  


Thats one up for the " Stu's "... World domination is not far away.. h34r:


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## Murray (20/10/06)

So it is your fault


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## bindi (20/10/06)

I have 18M of expensive coiled copper I don't use anymore <_< .


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## Pumpy (21/10/06)

Another 100 feet of unused copper here Bindi 

Perhaps this should become the 'museum' for Historical items of copper .


Chiller (RIP)


Pumpy


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## Pumpy (21/10/06)

Ducatiboy stu said:


> Pumpy said:
> 
> 
> > Ducatiboy stu said:
> ...




No Doubt Stu The post 'Natural Born Chillers" is a discerning moment in AHB history for it changed the way home brewers process there Wort at the end of the boil .

Somehow this Post should be preserved for future home brewers, so they can see the point in history when a process in mashing changed as we know it today .

Maybye it can be remembered by taking that famous line from Neil Armstrong who first walked on the moon and said 

"One step for the brew ,One step for Brewkind"


Pumpy


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## Screwtop (21/10/06)

And just when the price of copper had gone through the roof, I'll have to sell my shares and poor Ross' income will be down, hope your not holding too much copper Ross. Don't you guys flood the market with all your no longer required copper coils.


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## Coodgee (21/10/06)

another way to increase cooling times is to put increased pressure through the cooler. you can do this simply by putting a rock or other heavy item on the "out" hose to kink it a bit.


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## Murray (22/10/06)

Pumpy, could you please pull your head out of your back-side and save your inane bleating for one of the many no chiller threads where it would be on-topic? Save this for people who like to be able to pitch their yeast on brew-day. 

You never cease to whinge when Darren questions your methods in a no chill thread, so don't be a hypocrite. :angry:


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## Pumpy (22/10/06)

Murray said:


> Pumpy, could you please pull your head out of your back-side and save your inane bleating for one of the many no chiller threads where it would be on-topic? Save this for people who like to be able to pitch their yeast on brew-day.
> 
> You never cease to whinge when Darren questions your methods in a no chill thread, so don't be a hypocrite. :angry:




Dont Worry Murray , I know some people have difficulty with change.  

Pumpy


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## mikem108 (23/10/06)

Call me old fashioned but I still prefer to see my wort fermenting away by the time I finish the brewday clean up.


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## Fingerlickin_B (23/10/06)

Pumpy said:


> I no longer use a Chiller
> 
> It is in the history books along with
> 
> ...



Don't forget this guy:




h34r:


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## Darren (23/10/06)

Last batch I did I chilled through my counterflow chiller. 65 litres of wort at pitching temp in 20 mins. Used less than 60 litres of water that I re-cycled for clean-up and then it ended up on the garden. Was happily fermenting by the morning. Three days later it was beer.

cheers

Darren

PS Pumpy wern't you the one who suggested using roadside gravel as a sparge manifold? You still doing that? That is another thread though!


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## Pumpy (23/10/06)

Darren said:


> Last batch I did I chilled through my counterflow chiller. 65 litres of wort at pitching temp in 20 mins. Used less than 60 litres of water that I re-cycled for clean-up and then it ended up on the garden. Was happily fermenting by the morning. Three days later it was beer.
> 
> cheers
> 
> ...




Darren , I suppose if I had spent $296 on a flash American counterflow chiller I would still be using it .

But you must understand not everyones circumstances are the same .

here in the Sydney we have a water shortage and they wont even allow us to water our gardens .

I cant fit my 60 litre fermenter in my fridge so it suits me to choose when I ferment my stored fresh wortin smaller batches .

Funny you shoulld mention my gravel manifold ,yes, I was experimenting in my early days of brewing, but wait there is more, I will soon be posting a revised maniflod based on an inert plastic granual , It may revolutionise the way we use a manifold .


Pumpy


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## AUHEAMIC (25/10/06)

I made my immersion chiller which will chill 25 litres to 25 deg in 30mins and uses 60 litres of water. 

I like making gadgets almost as much as I like brewing and I wanted a more efficient cooling system so I made a pre-chiller. It is small enough to fit I an ice cream container which I fill with water and freeze the night before brew day. It drops the ambient water temp by 8 deg and I can now chill 25 litres to 25 deg in 20mins and use 35 litres of water.

Next will be to set up a 44gal drum full of water so I can recirculate the water with a pump.


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## Brewtus (26/10/06)

Has anyone thought of using and old bonair evaporative cooler to cool the water and pump it back into the chiller? if you pump the water from the base of the EC through the chiller and out at the top of the cooler, the fan will cool the water before being recycled through. If you start with 15l of chilled water it may do the trick and use far less water. Basic heat exchange.

I know I am only a KK brewer but the engineering gets me in......


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## Ken Man Do (26/10/06)

You could set your BK in a tub, and use a crimped stub of tubing on the IC exit. Have it exit out the top, spraying in a fan-type pattern down to the tub as a way to cool the water. Then just keep recirculating it. I've done something similar before.


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## Ducatiboy stu (26/10/06)

Brewtus said:


> Has anyone thought of using and old bonair evaporative cooler to cool the water and pump it back into the chiller? if you pump the water from the base of the EC through the chller and out at the top of the cooler, the fan will cool the water before being recycled through. If you start with 15l of chilled water it may do the trick and use far less water. Basic heat exchange.
> 
> I know I am only a KK brewer but the engineering gets me in......




Brewtus...your a bloody genius mate.......I can see an army of brewers scouring the secand hand shops for old bonair coolers.... :super:


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## Brewtus (26/10/06)

Ducatiboy stu said:


> Brewtus...your a bloody genius mate.......I can see an army of brewers scouring the secand hand shops for old bonair coolers.... :super:



Thanks for the compliment.  

I though more about it and came up with this idea. 

From the chiller, using garden hose, run the pipe to the top of a stand so it is horizontal for the last 40cm and about 160cm off the ground. It needs to be supported so cable-tie it to a beam you can hang about 10kg off. Drill lots of 4 to 6 mm holes in the hose in the last 40cm and cap the end. Get an old sheet, blanket, Hessian bags or whatever you can and make it/them into a piece 3m long and 40cm wide. Hang the sheet over the stand and hose. Put a bucket or large plastic dish, like you would use to mop the floor, below it and have the sheet hang into it. Fill the bucket. Buy a fountain pump such as a pond pump or an old washing machine pump and use it to feed the water in the bucket up to the chiller. The water should heat up in the wort and then run down the sheet where it cools. This is all theory of cause but if some water conscious brewer wants to try it, let me know how it goes.


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## Doogiechap (26/10/06)

Sounds grand Brewtus,
I have an old Evap cooler in my shed and might install my submersible pump in and recirculate from the sump. Joy  another project for me to conquer. Next chance to fiddle in the shed is in 7 weeks time  .
My last batch was cooled with about 60 litres of tap water with my CFC and then recirculated through again with the submersible sitting in a 20 cube of chilled water doing the second chilling phase. I would love to reduce the wasted energy of chilling the water with my fridge.
Great idea bloke !
Cheers
Doug


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## Doogiechap (1/11/06)

G'day Brewtus,
Further to your idea I tested the evap cooler concept and the results weren't that inspiring.  The ambient temp in my shed was about 34 the water temp from my tap that filled the cooler was about 24 after a few hours of running flat out the reserviour water of the cooler was at about 20. A 4 drop from the tap to the cooler is marginal and I am unsure how much impact the cooling of 20-25 l of 30 warm wort with 15-20 l of 20 coolant would help. I would love for some others to prove my results wrong  
Cheers
Doug


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## Brewtus (1/11/06)

I am glad you gave it a go. It is a bit of a buzz to see someone try out one of my ideas.  

Do you know what temp the water comes out of a chiller early on? 

If you still the test rig set up, try putting hot water in the evaporative cooler and see how quick it drops. Evap coolers don't cool that much beyond ambient and if your ambient is 35deg then its pretty good that it got it to 15 below ambient (ok you started at 24deg) As they rely on the water evaporating to loose enegry, at 35 deg the ambient air will warming the water.

Just a thought. :huh:


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