Chilling Wort, I've Been Doing It Wrong

[Pleasure Master]

I'm looking around for a new chiller and just realized,call me a dumb ***, but I've been doing it all wrong or have I've been doing it better? h34r:

My technique, using a copper coil, pump from kettle thru chiller back to kettle and now for the sneaky bit, chiller is submerged in an esky full of ice..

From effin hot to pitching temp in no time at all for a single batch..

I live near a ice factory and a large Coleman esky of ice costs like $3..

oh, and by the way my old chiller has been in the wars and I'm looking for something a little longer..

What are your thoughts?

 

[IainMcLean]

I'm looking around for a new chiller and just realized,call me a dumb ***, but I've been doing it all wrong or have I've been doing it better? h34r:

My technique, using a copper coil, pump from kettle thru chiller back to kettle and now for the sneaky bit, chiller is submerged in an esky full of ice..

From effin hot to pitching temp in no time at all for a single batch..

I live near a ice factory and a large Coleman esky of ice costs like $3..

oh, and by the way my old chiller has been in the wars and I'm looking for something a little longer..

What are your thoughts?

Don't break what isn't fixed.
Why change it if it works so good?

 

[mjadeb1984]

Would the wort sanitize the inside of the coil quickly enough before it cools too much? If that makes sense?

 

[Bribie G]

Lyall in Queensland (frequent winner of Nats Lager Gongs) has an interesting variation that really impressed me at a brew day there. He puts the coil in the fermenter full of hot wort, then runs cold water through the coil using a garden pump that recirculates from a couple of big tubs full of ice / water. That way the coil can be sanitised beforehand as only the outside surface comes into contact with the wort. I would imagine the insides of the pipes are good as they only carry water but who cares.

Sort of an inside out version of what you are doing, one would be worried about what's building up inside the pipes which carry wort.

 

[Nick JD]

Lyall in Queensland (frequent winner of Nats Lager Gongs) has an interesting variation that really impressed me at a brew day there. He puts the coil in the fermenter full of hot wort, then runs cold water through the coil using a garden pump that recirculates from a couple of big tubs full of ice / water. That way the coil can be sanitised beforehand as only the outside surface comes into contact with the wort. I would imagine the insides of the pipes are good as they only carry water but who cares.

Sort of an inside out version of what you are doing, one would be worried about what's building up inside the pipes which carry wort.

Spoken like a dedicated no chiller!

 

[Pleasure Master]

Cleaning comes in the form of a hot water/vinegar and salt solution pumped thru, the PBW, santizer then wort whilst it's still on the boil..

 

[Pleasure Master]

I wonder what the science is with both techniques? anyone an expert with thermal dynamics?

Is one method more effective in thermal transference than the other?

Could be one for Dr. Karl..

 

[Thefatdoghead]

I wonder what the science is with both techniques? anyone an expert with thermal dynamics?

Is one method more effective in thermal transference than the other?

Could be one for Dr. Karl..

The thermal coefficient of copper is going to be the same either way you go. If you had exactly the same setup but reversed it technically it should cool at the same rate.

 

[mark0]

There may be some differences in the rate of temp decrease (coil in ice faster at start than coil in wort) but overall you are still moving heat (kJ of energy) through the same coil with fluid which have very similar thermal properties.

Swings and roundabouts.

 

[Bribie G]

Spoken like a dedicated no chiller!

It certainly reinforced my dedication to no chill. I forgot to take my camera and didn't have a mobile then, otherwise I would have taken a shot. During the chilling process his brewhouse looked like the deck of a sinking ship where they were vainly trying to pump out the seawater - I should have worn a pair of wellies - however he did get to pitch straight away.