Ahb Wiki: The No-chiller Method / Using A Cube

[BennyBrewster]

Could someone remind me why i cant cool my cube in the swiming pool?

And could i chill the wort than fit the tap and a Siphon Spray Wort Aerator to my cube?

TYVM

It is my understanding that cooling it down quickly will prevent the hot wort from effectivly pasturising the inside of the cube.

 

[Damian44]

I could leave the wort in the cube for 20 min to pasturize, than give it a dip in the pool. Than i could start fermenting sooner.

I do like the idea of brewing Saturday and fermenting Sunday though. Especially being a newbie and all. More time to run through the steps in my mind.

 

[Thirsty Boy]

You can cool you cube down in the pool - then it isn't no chill... its just another method of chilling and - like you do with other chilling methods - you are going to have to be very careful about sanitation.

If your reason to cool it down in the pool is because you want to get fermenting faster - be careful about sanitising the inside of the cube and then go for it.

If you want to store that cube for a few days/weeks/months before fermenting it, then you have removed a layer of infection prevention by cooling it rapidly and it might not be such a great idea.

TB

 

[Bribie G]

I'm going all grain in December. I've got all the gear sussed out except for the wort chilling gear which was going to be a PITA (plate chillers whatever) so I'm now absorbing all this information about no-chill as it seems the way to go.

I have a 20 L Willow Jerrycan from Bunnings I bought for lagering, brand new and never been used so I'm set up already. I'll do a test and if it actually holds up to 23 L then perfect.

On the subject of cooling the cube, I'm only interested in getting it to pitching temp, no desire to store it for weeks so would the following be safe:

Brew during the day and end up filling the cube say around 5pm.
Let it sit till about midnight and put into fridge and hopefully transfer to fermenter and pitch in the morning?

Another thing, has anyone used one of those stick on thermometers on a cube to check for pitching temperature or would the high temperatures destroy it?

 

[buttersd70]

I'm going all grain in December. I've got all the gear sussed out except for the wort chilling gear which was going to be a PITA (plate chillers whatever) so I'm now absorbing all this information about no-chill as it seems the way to go.

I have a 20 L Willow Jerrycan from Bunnings I bought for lagering, brand new and never been used so I'm set up already. I'll do a test and if it actually holds up to 23 L then perfect.

On the subject of cooling the cube, I'm only interested in getting it to pitching temp, no desire to store it for weeks so would the following be safe:

Brew during the day and end up filling the cube say around 5pm.
Let it sit till about midnight and put into fridge and hopefully transfer to fermenter and pitch in the morning?

Another thing, has anyone used one of those stick on thermometers on a cube to check for pitching temperature or would the high temperatures destroy it?

bribie
with the blue willow containers, the flat section on the underside of the handle is 24L, and when filled to that point, when sitting flat, the liquid comes to just under the lip of the opening. I lways try to aim for 24L out of the kettle, it fills the willows perfectly, and with 4% shrinkage during cooling, you get a nice even 23L out of the cube (or slightly less if you leave the break behind, but many don't bother). If you want even more in, if you get the angle just right, you can get up to 25L in there (just), but thats a pita.

If you finish at 5pm, by midnight they will have cooled quite a bit (depending on ambient temperature obviously), so by that stage they would be well under the temperature range for pasteurisation anyway, so I don't see any issue with cooling quicker at this point. You want it to remain in the pasteurisation temperature range for as long as possible, but once it drops under this naturally anyway, all bets are off imho. If putting into a constantly running fridge at midnight, it would posibly be too cold to pitch by morning....you might want to even have a timer on to knock off some time in the early am, maybe 5ish?

The stickers don't like the heat, but they do (often) come back to life when the temp comes down.

 

[Bribie G]

Thanks,obviously the way to go. My Willow is actually a white one, so hopefully that means it's less likely to leach anything into the brew, not that would be a problem as I guess they are all certified food grade whatever. Only thirty eight more sleeps :icon_drunk:

 

[buttersd70]

Bribie, prep the cube before using it, fill with boiling water and allow to sit and cool. Repeat until all 'plasticy' smells are gone.

Edit..you can use this as an opportunity to measure the actual capacity, and mark if so inclined...I don't know if the white ones are any differant to the blue, I can only assume they are the same...and we all know what assumption is the mother of.

 

[Damian44]

Does anyone no where to get replacement lids for the 25l cube with a black lid?
I was talking to Primus who import them, and they cant help.

 

[Damian44]

I just purchased some chlorine for the pool, and noticed the 20l container that it came in has the exact same lid as my cube. Theres a $10 deposit on the container.
Ill give them a call tomorrow too see if they have any spare.

 

[MCT]

I just purchased some chlorine for the pool, and noticed the 20l container that it came in has the exact same lid as my cube. Theres a $10 deposit on the container.
Ill give them a call tomorrow too see if they have any spare.

Most cubes have the same lids I've found.
I was missing a couple of lids and I just went to Bunnings and bought the cheapest 10L water containers, fits and seals fine.

 

[white.grant]

I grabbed a 22L cube a red jerry can (for lagering) and a couple of taps today from Ray's Outdoor and noticed that they had a heap of loose cube caps and bungs for a dollar or so.

Also, the checkout person showed me that there's a thread on the inside of the cap that's sized to fit the tap and bung so you don't loose them when travelling or cleaning or drying. I hadn't noticed that before.


cheers

grant

 

[Goofinder]

Also, the checkout person showed me that there's a thread on the inside of the cap that's sized to fit the tap and bung so you don't loose them when travelling or cleaning or drying. I hadn't noticed that before.

Ha! So there is... never knew that either. Might be handy to keep the bungs in there so I don't lose them.

 

[wambesi]

Thats funny, you learn something new here everyday....

(had to rush out and check myself)

 

[Pollux]

So I'm not the only one who just went to check the lid to their cube??

As someone who is planning a move in AG come xmas time, this NC idea is most interesting....


Might go get some fresh jerries though as I like using the cube a secondary right now...

 

[Fents]

Could someone remind me why i cant cool my cube in the swiming pool?

And could i chill the wort than fit the tap and a Siphon Spray Wort Aerator to my cube?

TYVM

mate if you have a pool why the hell are you no chilling! you have access to the best cooling plant in town and even better you dont waste a single drop!

pool>pump>heat exchanger>wort>back in to pool

i now a 700Litre brewry that uses a pool to cool all their wort down and it happens in 20mins! although the size of their heat exchanger is somthing to behold.

 

[PostModern]

*cough* Wiki article discussion *cough*

 

[Damian44]

The following info is from the Wiki (The No-chiller Method / Using A Cube)

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Caveats

- Do not be tempted to cool the cube prematurely by putting it into a swimming pool or other body of water. Rapidly cooled hot packed wort can give rise to infections as it does not allow for the cube to be exposed to the hot wort for long enough to ensure that any bacteria in the cube is killed.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

If i was going to ferment straight away, wouldnt that be ok as it wouldnt be staying in the cube?


Grantw great news about the caps. Good find. I love a bargain.

 

[MCT]

I think the point is letting the hot wort do the job of sanitizing the cube.
Even if your fermenting straight away I'd leave the cube hot for 20 mins or so to sanitize, so you don't carry across any nasties from the cube into the fermentor.

 

[Bribie G]

I'm going AG no chill shortly and whilst I agree with achieving the highest level of sanitation possible, wouldn't a cube nuked for a week on chlorine, like my fermenters, be germ free - unless we are dealing with a monster mutated home brew bug of some sort? I've done 25 brews on chlorine only and my fermenters are always sweet as.

Is the cube thing to do with the intrinsic difficulty of getting a brush or whatever into the cube when cleaning and sanitising???

 

[buttersd70]

I'm going AG no chill shortly and whilst I agree with achieving the highest level of sanitation possible, wouldn't a cube nuked for a week on chlorine, like my fermenters, be germ free - unless we are dealing with a monster mutated home brew bug of some sort? I've done 25 brews on chlorine only and my fermenters are always sweet as.

Is the cube thing to do with the intrinsic difficulty of getting a brush or whatever into the cube when cleaning and sanitising???

You mean the laying on the side to pasteurise the lid and handle, and not cooling rapidly? For me, thats a backup to my regular sanitation, more than anything else. I look at it as one of those things, like handling yeast....no such thing as too many sanitation precautions.