Diy Counter Flow Chiller

[sidearm]

Hi,
i'd like to make my own CFC and but i'm not sure what type of hose i can get away with that'll last a long time. What's a good hose to use that's not gonna burn my pocket too much? i'll use 12mm (1/2") inner tube so i'll need maybe a 19mm (3/4") ID hose (is that alright?).

Would your average garden hose be ok? or any pvc hose will do?

cheers,
desmo

 

[katzke]

Hi,
i'd like to make my own CFC and but i'm not sure what type of hose i can get away with that'll last a long time. What's a good hose to use that's not gonna burn my pocket too much? i'll use 12mm (1/2") inner tube so i'll need maybe a 19mm (3/4") ID hose (is that alright?).

Would your average garden hose be ok? or any pvc hose will do?

cheers,
desmo

Your using this for wort?

 

[_HOME_BREW_WALLACE_]

I reckon its for his meth lab...... maybe he should check out www.aussiemethlabber.com.au




Honestly.................

 

[Wolfy]

Would your average garden hose be ok? or any pvc hose will do?

The wort-in and the water-out ends both tend to get very hot (close to boiling), so while garden-hose does work fine, I'm not sure I'd go for the black-polly-type pipe you can buy.

 

[IainMcLean]

I reckon its for his meth lab...... maybe he should check out www.aussiemethlabber.com.au

Sounds like a cool place. Almost entrepreneurial.
I might join up but their thread on crystallizing versus no crystallizing seems pointless and kinda bores me...

 

[Greg Lawrence]

Sounds like a cool place. Almost entrepreneurial.
I might join up but their thread on crystallizing versus no crystallizing seems pointless and kinda bores me...

Is that you Heisenberg?Walter?

 

[alfadog]

Is that you Heisenberg?Walter?

Totally going to make some "fat stacks"

 

[yardy]

Your using this for wort?

take a wild guess..

 

[woodwormm]

Is that you Heisenberg?Walter?

i hate it when i get the barrels mixed up and my ales come out all blue and funky and my sheets of crystal are malty...

 

[sidearm]

The wort-in and the water-out ends both tend to get very hot (close to boiling), so while garden-hose does work fine, I'm not sure I'd go for the black-polly-type pipe you can buy.

Thanks for the input Wolfy. i wasn't sure if the garden hose would last because of the heat of the wort/water involved. I'm still a bit unconvinced that it'll last that long but don't mind being proved wrong. it'll be the cheapest option i think. Does anyone have one made from normal garden hose?

TIA for any input.

_Wallace_ : You've a sarcastic sense of humour mate. I didn't know AHB isn't just about brewing beer. Now i know better

Seriously though, I am in a beer forum....... right??

 

[katzke]

Well he was not clear. Some of you use pre-chillers to cool tank water and an immersion chiller. All the self made counter flow chillers used on wort here in the USA use copper for the inside that has wort flowing through it, and cheep clear plastic tubing (same as used for transfer tubing) as the outside. Who cares what the hot water tastes like, I do care what the final beer will taste like. Copper is a good conductor of heat.

Do not have the specs for a home built counter flow chiller, however I would think about 3 meters of copper would work. The fun part of home builts is finding the correct fittings for the ends. You dont want cold or warm water all over the place.

Home built counter flow chillers are not as efficient as a real one. If your water is not cold enough then you will not get very good results. Our tap water is cold and you get pitchable wort with as fast of a flow as you can get with a commercial chiller. Good results from home made ones if they are long enough, though you may have to slow the wort down a bit.

So if you are using Copper for the inside, then use whatever you have that fits the fittings you have for the ends for the outside. If you are going to drink or water the garden then I would use something suitable.

See how easy it would have been for them to answer my simple question? I could have given a simple answer instead of a long one with out all the stupid posts to clog up the thread.

 

[yardy]

See how easy it would have been for them to answer my simple question? I could have given a simple answer instead of a long one with out all the stupid posts to clog up the thread.

why didn't you just throw caution to the wind and assume it was wort, he said CFC, not pre chiller or immersion chiller.




@ desmo, beerbelly have one here http://www.beerbelly.com.au/chilling.html if you're looking for inspiration.

Yard

 

[paulwolf350]

I made one 3 years ago, used 8 metres of 10mm copper and a regular garden hose and pre fabbed ends from beer belly.
This unit is still going strong!

I dont think you need to use 1/2 in, and if you do, it will need to be longer (prob 12 - 15 metre) to allow time for the wort to exchange heat, mine works excellent running straight off the tap, although a pre chiller would be good for lagers


HTH

Paul

 

[sidearm]

Thanks Paul, I'll give the garden hose a go. I had a look at Bunnings a week ago and the smallest copper pipes i saw were 1/2" (12mm) OD types where they sell in 18M rolls. It's possible that it's ID is 10mm i don't know. Maybe we're talking about the same ones.?

Anyone want to go half on an 18M roll?

Also, i see now that my original post wasn't clear.. i should've also said that i'm basing my build on this one http://www.homebrewtalk.com/wiki/index.php...er_Flow_Chiller but the hose he's using seems to be for hot water and they're not cheap that's why i was asking if i could use other materials. My bad

I made one 3 years ago, used 8 metres of 10mm copper and a regular garden hose and pre fabbed ends from beer belly.
This unit is still going strong!

I dont think you need to use 1/2 in, and if you do, it will need to be longer (prob 12 - 15 metre) to allow time for the wort to exchange heat, mine works excellent running straight off the tap, although a pre chiller would be good for lagers


HTH

Paul

 

[paulwolf350]

the 1/2 inch is a tight fit in (normal size) garden hose, you will need something bigger, as you said in your post.

 

[Wolfy]

Home built counter flow chillers are not as efficient as a real one.

I have no idea what you mean by this, the boiling wort from my kettle was cooled to within 1 or 2 degrees of the tap-water, as quickly as I could drain the kettle.
That's pretty efficient and useful if you ask me.

 

[Thefatdoghead]

Hi,
i'd like to make my own CFC and but i'm not sure what type of hose i can get away with that'll last a long time. What's a good hose to use that's not gonna burn my pocket too much? i'll use 12mm (1/2") inner tube so i'll need maybe a 19mm (3/4") ID hose (is that alright?).

Would your average garden hose be ok? or any pvc hose will do?

cheers,
desmo

I was going to make a counterflow chiller because I got some cheap copper off a mate but then I just ended up using it as and emersion chiller and it worked not bad. Then I bought a plate heat exchanger from craftbrewer and im pretty happy with the efficiency of it. Run wort straight into the fermenter at the same temp as tap water going in.
I priced up making a counterflow chiller with all items bought from bunnings and it was going to cost around $80-$90 and im pretty sure the 30 plate chiller is about $130.
I just think the plate chiller has a couple more advantages than the other types of chillers for not much more $

 

[katzke]

I have no idea what you mean by this, the boiling wort from my kettle was cooled to within 1 or 2 degrees of the tap-water, as quickly as I could drain the kettle.
That's pretty efficient and useful if you ask me.

How big/long is it? A plate chiller is small. The Chilzilla is a very small coil.

Yes home builts work, just need to be larger to work. Possible they require larger water flow also.

 

[alfadog]

The 10mm copper tubing can be purchased from an air conditioning supplier, it is much cheaper than the 12mm that you can find at most stores. The only issue I have found with the 10mm tubing is the lack of compression fittings, all fittings will most likely have to be brazed

 

[IPWS]

I made mine from garden hose and 10mm copper tube and used 3/8 swagelock tees at either end the swagelock tees have a 3/8 bsp outlet so i just made adapters to get 3/4 bsp to get on to the hose tap i also had to run a 12 mm drill halfway through the swagelock to allow clearance for water in/out the length of hose was 10 meters