Immersion chiller has anyone used this

[2much2spend]

I was just looking at the new byo mag and I seen this ad http://jadedbrewing.com/collections/frontpage/products/the-hydra. And has anyone used this type?
it looks f#$%n nuts and with the dollar likely to drop (soon yah democracy) I was thinking of making it but I really like what they have done.

 

[earle]

Recent discussion in this thread http://aussiehomebrewer.com/topic/92060-jaded-hydra-chiller-australian-alternative/

 

[Borneogoat]

I just received my Hydra from Jaded a couple weeks ago. I haven't had a chance to use it yet, but I can say that it is very well built. Feels sturdy, welds are nice & clean, everything looks built to last. It's sitting next to my new SS conical in my Man Cave as industrial erotic art ... yes, I stare at it and salivate. I made a DIY immersion chiller during Uni in the 90's: looked dodgy, leaked all over, but got the job done. Now that I'm a little more cashed up, I'm happy to pay for a well made product. I hate the extra sanitizing and cleanup time for my counter-flow chiller, so I bought the Hydra. If it works as advertised, the unloved CFC is going up for sale this forum.

 

[Lyrebird_Cycles]

Feels sturdy, welds are nice & clean,

You sure it's welded? It's normal practice to braze copper tube.

 

[sp0rk]

You sure it's welded? It's normal practice to braze copper tube.

Or soldered for non load bearing joins like that

 

[Lyrebird_Cycles]

The divide between soldering and brazing is merely the melting point of the alloy, above 450 oC it's brazing, below that it's soldering.

The liquidus temps of the common CuAgP rods used to join copper tube are over 800 oC* so it's technically brazing even though many plumbers call it soldering.

* Higher silver levels lower the liquidus and the solidus / liquidus gap; 15% Ag is around 800oC, anything >15% is very expensive. The 56% silver rod I use on stainless has a liquidus of 650 oC but you buy it by the troy ounce due to the cost.

 

[sp0rk]

The divide between soldering and brazing is merely the melting point of the alloy, above 450 oC it's brazing, below that it's soldering.

The liquidus temps of the common CuAgP rods used to join copper tube are over 800 oC* so it's technically brazing even though many plumbers call it soldering.

* Higher silver levels lower the liquidus and the solidus / liquidus gap; 15% Ag is around 800oC, anything >15% is very expensive. The 56% silver rod I use on stainless has a liquidus of 650 oC but you buy it by the troy ounce due to the cost.

All the plumbers I know don't use silver bearing solder, reason being is it's too expensive and use Aquasafe instead
Consolidated Alloys Aquasafe is liquidus at 227°C

 

[Lyrebird_Cycles]

Thanks, I didn't know that. Since I mostly work with stainless I need the high silver stuff.

 

[Dave70]

Is there anything super dooper about that chiller that I cant see? Just look like a they've increased the surface area by cramming twice the coils in and soldered it into a 3/4 by 1/2"reducer. Price point is a little rude if thats all it is.

 

[sp0rk]

I think that's about the long and the short of it, they hype up their product quite a bit
It does look to be a well built chiller, but nothing you couldn't make at home given a little practice bending and soldering copper & brass

 

[moonhead]

I just received my Hydra from Jaded a couple weeks ago. I haven't had a chance to use it yet, but I can say that it is very well built. Feels sturdy, welds are nice & clean, everything looks built to last. It's sitting next to my new SS conical in my Man Cave as industrial erotic art ... yes, I stare at it and salivate. I made a DIY immersion chiller during Uni in the 90's: looked dodgy, leaked all over, but got the job done. Now that I'm a little more cashed up, I'm happy to pay for a well made product. I hate the extra sanitizing and cleanup time for my counter-flow chiller, so I bought the Hydra. If it works as advertised, the unloved CFC is going up for sale this forum.

Did you order that from the States or get a local supplier?

 

[Dave70]

All the plumbers I know don't use silver bearing solder, reason being is it's too expensive and use Aquasafe instead
Consolidated Alloys Aquasafe is liquidus at 227°C

Aquasafe is only soft solder though. Its a pain in the arse to use unless the conditions are perfect due to the low melting point and the fact that it has to harden. Neither is it much chop for fixing holes or in slightly out of round joint as it relies on capillary attraction to do seal. 2% silver is pretty economical, its the red tipped 15% you use on mechanical services and such that costs the big bux Flows like a dream though.
When I left, polly pipe and compression fittings was the flavor of the month.
Anyhow, what all this business with plumbers and penny pinching over welding accessories nowadays? Whats the world coming to..

 

[Meddo]

So I'm looking at making up my own squat coil chiller as the one I've got now only half submerges in my kettle when doing single batches. Bunnings have two brands of 1/2" by 18m annealed copper tubes, from what I can tell they're identical spec-wise and only $1 difference in price. Is there anything I'm missing that would make one of these a better option than the other?

Thanks,

https://www.bunnings.com.au/kembla-1-2-x-18m-annealed-copper-coil_p4910023
https://www.bunnings.com.au/syneco-1-2-x-18m-annealed-copper-tube_p4910009

 

[sp0rk]

Aquasafe is only soft solder though. Its a pain in the arse to use unless the conditions are perfect due to the low melting point and the fact that it has to harden. Neither is it much chop for fixing holes or in slightly out of round joint as it relies on capillary attraction to do seal. 2% silver is pretty economical, its the red tipped 15% you use on mechanical services and such that costs the big bux Flows like a dream though.
When I left, polly pipe and compression fittings was the flavor of the month.
Anyhow, what all this business with plumbers and penny pinching over welding accessories nowadays? Whats the world coming to..

Admittedly lots of young plumbers these days are JUST working on project homes so have the luxury of only working on clean, brand new copper that is perfectly round.
When we moved into the house we're living in, I noticed heaps of incredibly shitty soldering, flux left behind and corroding pipe, etc
So I went around and fixed a few joins up that were already leaking

I'll admit I do like 2% (bought a few sticks at Masters for a dollar or 2 each), it's so much easier to flow and fill gaps, I've only ever used 15% once and it was great to work with, but I got it for free, screw buying it
Most of my soldering is done on other hobbies, so heating 4" heat exchangers to be able to braze (without an oxy setup) is a massive pain, it's easier just to do heaps of prep work and be able to soft solder it

 

[sp0rk]

So I'm looking at making up my own squat coil chiller as the one I've got now only half submerges in my kettle when doing single batches. Bunnings have two brands of 1/2" by 18m annealed copper tubes, from what I can tell they're identical spec-wise and only $1 difference in price. Is there anything I'm missing that would make one of these a better option than the other?

Thanks,

https://www.bunnings.com.au/kembla-1-2-x-18m-annealed-copper-coil_p4910023
https://www.bunnings.com.au/syneco-1-2-x-18m-annealed-copper-tube_p4910009

Nope, just different manufacturers, either would work fine
If you're in Melbourne (or you're ordering more than $100 worth of stuff for free delivery) Plumbing Sales have 18M of 1/2" for $64.90
Even then, shipping is $15
http://plumbingsales.com.au/
Trade accounts are free and you don't need an ABN

 

[Meddo]

Nope, just different manufacturers, either would work fine
If you're in Melbourne (or you're ordering more than $100 worth of stuff for free delivery) Plumbing Sales have 18M of 1/2" for $64.90
Even then, shipping is $15
http://plumbingsales.com.au/
Trade accounts are free and you don't need an ABN

Thanks for that sp0rk, this is how it wound up. Ugly as sin but hopefully it performs a bit better than the SS coil in my setup:

 

[timmi9191]

ugly smuggly.. thats a work of art!!

 

[Camo6]

My God. Stu will want to marry you.

 

[spog]

Thanks for that sp0rk, this is how it wound up. Ugly as sin but hopefully it performs a bit better than the SS coil in my setup:

IMG_20161112_160435 - Edited.jpg

IMG_20161112_160400 - Edited.jpg

With the configuration on that one the chilling won't take much time at all,all areas covered.

 

[Mardoo]

Yep, that's an awesome chiller you made!