Cleaning An Immersion Chiller?

[Flynnoftheoutback]

$100 worth of free advice required please...

New to (extract) brewing, the gear used in our first few brews was crude; however we liked the beer that we had made. Our first brews had an awesome aroma and flavour, however more recent brews have increased bitterness and less aroma? Recently we have been chilling in our fermentation drum (as it is smaller than the kettle, quicker and easier to handle). This has been done by emptying the contents of the kettle soon after flame out into fermentors and then chilling them separately... Due to the inconsistencies in the aroma and flavour of our beer we have decided to trial an immersion chiller in our kettle, theory being, maybe by emptying the kettle soon after flame out, we have reduced the time for the wort to take on the full benefit of the aroma Hops added at flame out? (comments on this theory also welcome, as we don't really know)

For our chiller we are using 15m of 1/2" copper tube, looped back into a 205ltr drum of water & ice (not that much ice really) so i think this should be fine. Our intention is to submerge the chiller with approx 10mins of the boil still to go to sanitise the chiller, my question is, should i be cleaning the chiller first and if so could someone give me any tips on the best method of doing this, cleaning copper that is? Or is it just the same way that I would clean a stainless kettle?

Cheers Matt

 

[goatherder]

Give it a bit of a clean first - make sure there is no obvious gunk on it. Don't get too carried away, it will get sanitised in the boil.

Once they've had the first use, they come out of the boiler pretty clean, save for a coat of wort and some hop bits on it. A quick hose and a bit of a scrub with a brush is all I do for mine. Store it somewhere out of the dust and it's ready to go next time.

 

[Flynnoftheoutback]

Cheers, thanks for taking the time to answer my question.

 

[sqyre]

We have an old 30 litre fermeter with the top cut off that our chiller fits into nicely...
When we are not using it we keep the chiller submerged in vinegar and water.. (about 4-6 litres of elcheapo white vinegar then topped up with water.)
Its seams to keep it quite clean and just before we chuck it in the wort we give it a quick hit with a stiff brush, hose it down and give it a quick spray with star-san..

Not sure if its the best way, but it works for us...

Sqyre...

 

[Carbonator]

Acetic Acid
Acetic acid, also known as white distilled vinegar, is a very effective cleaner for copper. Brewers who use immersion wort chillers are always surprised how bright and shiny the chiller is the first time it comes out of the wort. If the chiller wasn't bright and shiny when it went into the wort, guess where the grime and oxides ended up? Yes, in your beer. The oxides of copper are more readily dissolved by the mildly acidic wort than is the copper itself. By cleaning copper tubing with acetic acid once before the first use and rinsing with water immediately after each use, the copper will remain clean with no oxide or wort deposits that could harbor bacteria.
Acetic acid is available in grocery stores as white distilled vinegar at a standard concentration of 5 percent acetic acid by volume. It is important to use only white distilled vinegar as opposed to cider or wine vinegar because these other types may contain live acetobacteria cultures, the last thing you want in your beer! Some brewers use a number of brass fittings in conjunction with their wort chillers or other brewing equipment and are concerned about the lead that is present in brass alloys. A solution of two parts white vinegar to one part hydrogen peroxide will remove tarnish and surface lead from brass parts soaked for 15 minutes at room temperature. The brass will turn a buttery yellow colour as it is cleaned. If the solution starts to turn green, then the parts have been soaking too long and the copper in the brass is beginning to dissolve.

 

[white.grant]

or then again you could abandon it completely and no chill h34r:

 

[rude]

Well Grant are you having a go? I havent AGed yet but my preference is to get a good cold break when I do.But I have'nt got a chiller.
So I was thinking well reading, a cube, it takes 25 litres & a half so when hot wert goes in how much?
Then I was thinking geting it down best I could to 30 odd degrees with the free ice I can access as fast as I could.
Then put it in the fridge till the next day & pitch my healthy ale yeast.
Hopefully produce I nice Brains Welsh Ale due to the knowledge of Roy from Deliverance in Spearwood West Aust no affiliation rar rar rar.
Roy doesnt say much (bugger all) but Ive tasted his well, 4 beers (three at a demo & one we made in the bucket of death, the brains a real quaffer) he can make nice beer.
Maybe Im not listening though lol but jeez Ide be happy to get between my kit standard & his.
Sorry Grant I have rattled on .
Hey mate when you rack from kettle how much do you leave behind cause I have inverted the bottom of my kettle put a pick up tube in and ????
lots of Questions I need to go & AG
How much grain for 26L
I have promash beersmith but
I think I just gotta Jump & stuff up & learn

 

[rude]

whoops sorry off topic my apoligies.

 

[white.grant]

Well Grant are you having a go?

No not having a go, I just believe that the no chill technique saves a lot of hassle, and water. There is a good howto by Cortez the Killer in the Articles section http://www.aussiehomebrewer.com/forum/index.php?autocom=ineo&showarticle=56 ://http://www.aussiehomebrewer.com/for...showarticle=56 if you want some more information.

cheers

grant