Immersion Chiller Questions

[Brizbrew]

Along with drilling two kegs and fitting taps this weekend I am going to make an immersion chiller in preparation for my first AG batch scheduled for early August.

I had a quote this afternoon from a local plumbing type place for an 18M roll of 3/8 copper at $68, this sounds pretty good and is the best price I have seen so I will probably buy it unless someone knows of a cheaper source?

What I want to know though is what is the best method for rolling the form for the chiller? I have looked around the web and there seems to be two camps, the neat and tidy asthetically pleasing perfect roll and the scruffy spiders web zig zag type, I tend to think that the zig zag would work better (Due to thermal currents) although not look as good, how do you stand on this?

Also as this will be 3/8 copper will I have any trouble fitting it to a standard garden hose? I am not sure what the inner diamater of hose is but this is something to think about.

 

[Batz]

I would go 1/2" not 3/8" , but that's only how I do it.

I also like the neat type chiller , if your not looking for this...talk to Guest Lurker

I can't find that pic with the Perth boys holding up that chiller

Someone got it ?

Batz

 

[sosman]

Efficiency is the go, not aesthetics. Also I am in the 3/8 camp.

If you want a simple way to connect garden hoses to 3/8 copper, buy a brass male-male garden hose joiner, cut it in half and then solder a half on each end of your chiller. You can then just click your hoses on.

 

[vlbaby]

briz,
$68 bucks for that much copper is a great price. I have seen it cost up to $120.
3/8" is a little small to hook a garden hose onto directly. Try hooking up something like this to bring it up to 1/2".


But my suggestion would be to buy a couple more fittings and use only half your copper and make a counterflow chiller.


vlbaby.

 

[Coodgee]

Brisbrew, Tradelink has 1/2" pipe for around that price - ask for trade price- tell him you'll bring him a beer. I got mine from the Taringa shop but they have a few shops around bris. then just go to mitre ten and get 1/2" - 3/4" converter compression fittings, and you can screw ordinary hose fittings onto those. works really well. no soldering, you just do them up with two spanners.

 

[Guest Lurker]

I would go 1/2" not 3/8" , but that's only how I do it.

I also like the neat type chiller , if your not looking for this...talk to Guest Lurker

I can't find that pic with the Perth boys holding up that chiller

Someone got it ?

Batz

[post="67577"][/post]​

You mean this? Cant find the other one with the Perth guys laughing. It works better guys!

 

[ausdb]

Must stop saying this

Get your 3/8" copper from a refrigeration supplier as its a standard size and generally cheaper.

Go with VLbaby's suggestion and use 1/2 of it for a counterflow chiller. Buy the compression fittings from brewgoliath as they are already drilled out for a slip fit over the 3/8 tube (they normally have a stop machined in them) and are the same price as buying them undrilled anyway.
http://www.brewgoliath.com.au/catalog/prod...products_id=122

dont owrry about buying brass tees for the fittings, just get the black nylon rural ones and some director fittings to get it to barbed connections. If you use the black poly retic pipe it works out pretty cheap

Cheers

Ausdb

 

[Batz]

Rough Rough Rough



Batz

 

[Justin]

I'm a 3/8" believer, I'm also of the neat winding camp-mainly because it's easier to do it successfully with out kinking the tube. My 3/8" chiller is 9m long in the coil and works well, but if you've got the extra length you might as well use it. I have quite cold tap water so mine is still a raging success.

I actually soldered on some 1/2" copper to the coil to come up out over the side of the kettle, the bonus to this happens to be that 1/2" is a bit more rigid and help when lifting your chiller in and out, but 3/8 should also be fine. Otherwise do as the others have said and buy the proper fittings to step up to 1/2" barbs-my recommendation would be to bypass Mitre 10 and go straight to a specialised hose and fittings place-if the Mitre 10 in your area is anything like mine it will be a wasted trip.

I'm not a CFC convert, I love my immersion chiller. Just roll it carefully around something that is the right size so that your chiller will easily fit in the hole in the top of your boiler. Roll it once

Cheers, Justin

 

[Brizbrew]

Cheers for all the pointers, I have learned one or two things and got a few ideas from you all.

I think I will stay with an immersion chiller for now, don't see the benefit of a CFWC with all the added effort of cleaning the inside of it although it is more economical on water.

I don't think I will find an 18M roll for less than $68 so that will be the go!
I am tossing over the idea of using around half for the chiller and the other half for a pre chiller in a bucket of ice, I have seen some pictures of that kind of thnig here and it would be useful during the summer when the cold water is room temp.

Cheers and beers to you all. :super: