Imersion Chiller

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rude

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Hello all ,I have been waiting for the cool weather to start brewing again as I am yet to get a ferment fridge.
Allso I am keen on using a chiller either copper coil or a plate.
Have done a couple of AG no chills, so just want to compare the chiller.
I have access to a pool so just wondering does anyone pump water from their pool to chill.
If so what sort of pump do you use aquarium, pond?
Thanks for all replies.
 
One thing to concider is to ensure you have enough water going through to be efficiently cooling the wort.
What pressure does you water-tap have?
You should aim for similar or greater then pressure.
Google is your friend.
 
Hello all ,I have been waiting for the cool weather to start brewing again as I am yet to get a ferment fridge.
Allso I am keen on using a chiller either copper coil or a plate.
Have done a couple of AG no chills, so just want to compare the chiller.
I have access to a pool so just wondering does anyone pump water from their pool to chill.
If so what sort of pump do you use aquarium, pond?
Thanks for all replies.


First I think you will need to finish the chill with some other water. My tap water, here in the USA, runs about 6C and I am sure your pool is warmer then that. If I were to graph the cooling by time it starts fast and the last few degrees to pitching temp take forever. You could start with pool water then finish with tap water. Or why not just use tap water and use the warm water from the chiller to top off your pool?

As to a pump, a medium sized pond or fountain pump would work. I find my chiller works better at less then full flow from the tap. I think it has to do with odd currents and such in the tubing.
 
First I think you will need to finish the chill with some other water. My tap water, here in the USA, runs about 6C and I am sure your pool is warmer then that. If I were to graph the cooling by time it starts fast and the last few degrees to pitching temp take forever. You could start with pool water then finish with tap water. Or why not just use tap water and use the warm water from the chiller to top off your pool?

As to a pump, a medium sized pond or fountain pump would work. I find my chiller works better at less then full flow from the tap. I think it has to do with odd currents and such in the tubing.

Wort_temp.jpg

I did, and it does.
http://www.aussiehomebrewer.com/forum/inde...showtopic=30229


Cheers,
Jake
 
Thanks crew I had a swim the other day & the water was pretty cold.
So in a few months it should be quite cold.
Will search for a pond pump.
Its just I havent chilled yet so its hard to know the best way to do it.
Maybe imersion from the pool then plate chiller to finish it off, bit expensive though?
I have access to ice so maybe plate chiller with ice water, just wondering how much water is needed.
 
Have used this method succesfully for the past 2 years. Bought a cheapo ($40) submersible transfer pump off evilbay. Toss it into the pool and pump through the plate chiller, return to the pool. Have recently moved, no pool here but a tank, so bought a transfer pump from ALDI for $70.

Summer, the chiller gets the wort down to 30 in 20 min, winter down to 20 on the Sunshine Coast, normal temps, could not have brewed on the few 36-40 days experienced of late.

Cheers,

Screwy
 
1) Don't bother mixing immersion and plate chillers - go one way or t'other

2) The pump and recycling water are a great idea. Kudos to you. But be careful of your connections and hoses, particularly on the hot side. I tried this once (with a washing machine pump, which was crap) and it made a huge mess as the connectors were bad and the hoses softened when hot

3) If your pool is at or around 10 degC you will probably get to pitching temps OK. Otherwise use a pre-chiller - a second coil placed in a bucket of ice that cools the pool water BEFORE it gets to your kettle. This method will use the ice very slowly, and greatly reduce the temp you can get down to. But it's more stuff...
 
Thanks all this chilling is a bugger.
Its not my pool so really just trying to think about ways of bringing the wort down without buying all methods to find the best way.
Would a 44gallon drum with ice water in it chill the wort 25litres in one passing to ale temps using a 10 or 20 plate chiller to ale temp 18 c ?
 
Agree that you shouldn't need both an immersion chiller and plate chiller. If you were to go with the immersion chiller; at first connect it to tap water and collect the hot exit water in a bucket to use later for cleaning. When its cooler (60, 50, 40 degrees?) you can, and this is what I do, take it off the tap water and connect to a submersible pump (Bunnings for $20, mine is brand name Waterwerks) in a bucket of ice and water. And once the exit water is coming out cool just recirculate back into the bucket and add ice to the bucket as needed. This will get you to 18 degrees and lower. The submersible pump should be cheaper than another coil of copper for a "pre-chiller".

Thanks all this chilling is a bugger.
Its not my pool so really just trying to think about ways of bringing the wort down without buying all methods to find the best way.
Would a 44gallon drum with ice water in it chill the wort 25litres in one passing to ale temps using a 10 or 20 plate chiller to ale temp 18 c ?
 
If I had a pool, I would put the wort into a cube, seal it up and chuck it in the pool for an hour.

Should be chilled by then huh?
 
Ohits that is sound advice so how big is youre bucket, how much water do you use?
 
Sorry for the questions ohits but you sound like you have it sussed.
So Im thinking tap water into the immersion chiller hot water into the washing machine.
Pump from bunnings bucket or buckets of chilled water to bring down to 18 c
The magical question how long does it take you to get there say now in march?
Cheers
 
1) Don't bother mixing immersion and plate chillers - go one way or t'other

2) The pump and recycling water are a great idea. Kudos to you. But be careful of your connections and hoses, particularly on the hot side. I tried this once (with a washing machine pump, which was crap) and it made a huge mess as the connectors were bad and the hoses softened when hot

3) If your pool is at or around 10 degC you will probably get to pitching temps OK. Otherwise use a pre-chiller - a second coil placed in a bucket of ice that cools the pool water BEFORE it gets to your kettle. This method will use the ice very slowly, and greatly reduce the temp you can get down to. But it's more stuff...


Agree, you don't need the additional step, mostly during summer I can drop the temp to around 30C. I recirc full bore until the wort return at the kettle reads around 40C then throttle back the wort return to increase the cooling rate, once the temp of the returning wort stops dopping then the flow is directed to the fermenter. Put the fermenter into the fermenting fridge and it is usually at pitching temp in 8 hrs, pitch then.

Hope this helps

Screwy

PS: I woldn't ever consider putting a container of hot wort into a swimming pool, especially someone elses pool. Spilled or leaking wort in your own pool would be bad enough plus I wouldn't want any vessel used for wort anywhere near swimming pool water. Chilling using a closed system incorporating a copper barrier separating wort and pool water is as close as I want the two.
 
If I had a pool, I would put the wort into a cube, seal it up and chuck it in the pool for an hour.

Should be chilled by then huh?

Some people have reported probs. with infections doing this. The theory is that the cube cools quickly enough that bacteria survive around the handle of the cube and that its better to just no chill in the cube at ambient T.
 
On the weekend i ran my 43ltr batch through my 20plater chiller, then had an ice and water mix in my 15lt HERMS. Plate chiller got it down to 30.c and after the HERMS it was down to 15.c perfect as i brewed a lager.

Cheers KHB
 
Some people have reported probs. with infections doing this. The theory is that the cube cools quickly enough that bacteria survive around the handle of the cube and that its better to just no chill in the cube at ambient T.

Only a problem if you intend to store the wort before pitching. Same as any rapidly chilled wort.
 
Pass it through a sterile car radiator with a fan blowing on it.
 
Ohits that is sound advice so how big is youre bucket, how much water do you use?

The submersible pump is quite small. I just put it in a standard supermarket bucket which is maybe 8 litres? I top it up as necessary until I'm recirculating. I've never measured how much water I use, but I'm concerned about it like everyone else. Come brew day admittedly, I'm most concerned about the beer I'm making!

Sorry for the questions ohits but you sound like you have it sussed.
So Im thinking tap water into the immersion chiller hot water into the washing machine.
Pump from bunnings bucket or buckets of chilled water to bring down to 18 c
The magical question how long does it take you to get there say now in march?
Cheers

I don't take proper notice but I would say it takes me 45mins to get to 18deg this time of year. And Ive certainly chilled down to 14deg accidentally. I do the same size batches as you, 25L. I would like it to take less time but at least I can chill to a low enough temperature easily. The first time I used the immersion chiller it took 40mins to get to 24deg on a 40deg plus day in December. But I had the pump connected from the beginning til end, which I don't think is as effective. I have a chiller like the one at the top here. I wouldn't mind more coils than that, alas. And they tend to be in the middle and towards the bottom, not at the top, which would be better.

Obviously it depends on a few things. When pumping the chilling water (with my pump and equipment), the flowrate is significantly less than when connected to the tap with the mains pressure. Thats why I'd suggest connecting to the tap to begin with to knock off the first few degrees with water that isnt chilled but has a high flowrate. As you get closer to your pitching temp you'll definitely want the ice. I buy a couple of bag of ice on the day and often have some left over. But then again I could use more and chill faster I believe. Also if you have a big laundry sink you can fill that with water and ice and sit your pot in that at the same time as running the immersion chiller. I often do that too. Id like to be able to chill as fast as possible. I havent done a lager yet but Im hopeful if I continue the same method and chill for longer I'll get it down to 8 or 10 deg.

If you want to chill fast, I would consider: getting a chiller with more coils (length) and more at the top. Using a lot of ice. Selecting an appropiate pump (a bit hard when you don't know the system curve through your chiller and tubing). Immersing the brew pot as well, unless you have a spigot on it (potential worry for infection). Connecting the chiller straight to the tap to begin with when temperatures are very hot. And saving all the water! Washing machine, cleaning brew equipment, flushing toilets, watering garden. By the way this is all with the lid on and aluminium foil sealing all the gaps the chiller over the top creates.

Apologies for the length. Was going to cut it down to a couple of sentences but remembered I had all these questions a year ago and wanted the detail.
 
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