Immersion Chiller with a Birko

[acarey]

Hi All,



I just finished making this immersion chiller. Thought I'd straight up that I made it as you could be forgiven for thinking its a professionally made uber chiller and I didn't want to illicit comments such as 'Where did you get that from?' or 'That is the greatest chiller I have ever seen, it must have cost thousands' or 'I will trade you one night with my wife and 1 million dollars for that chiller which looks so professional'.

Now that I've made it, I've started thinking about the finer points of using it.

My pre chiller process was:

1. Mash
2. boil
3. wait for a bit for the convection currents to stop
4. whirlpool and wait for a bit
5. drain to cube

Now I assume the steps will be

1. mash
2. boil
3. Chill then remove chiller
4. whirlpool
5. drain to fermenter

Is this what you guys* do? or is the whirlpool not necessary? or am I totally off track?

Are there any tips, tricks or hidden pitfalls that I haven't thought of?

* you guys refers to those of you who brew in urns and have an immersion chiller

 

[warra48]

I put my immersion chiller into the kettle about 15 minutes before the end of the boil, to sanitise it etc.

Once my wort is chilled, I remove the chiller from the kettle, and give it a quick clean. A hard spray with the flat settings on the garden hose is usually enough to clean off any trub etc.

Only then do I whirlpool, and allow the kettle to settle for about 20 to 30 minutes before draining to the fermenter. I find a slower drain helps to maintain the trub cone better towards the end of the drain. Do it too fast, and you upset the cone and undo the benefit of the whirlpool.