jockeybox coil

[mfroes]

Have been thinking on building a coil jockey box instead of the chiller plate one, as can never know the temperature that will be outside on the summer.
found these coils on ebay. anyone have any thoughts on if it would work ?
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Super-Ef...l-Home-Brewing-Wort-Chiller-Pipe/232503159239

 

[Pnutapper]

It should work.

Chiller plates provide much more efficient heat transfer than coils, but if you have your heart set on a coil, you should achieve reasonable results.

 

[mfroes]

It should work.

Chiller plates provide much more efficient heat transfer than coils, but if you have your heart set on a coil, you should achieve reasonable results.

I've read somewhere that when the beer is too warm that it was better to use coils as they have longer tubing, so they would cool better.
Is that not right?

 

[zensome]

I've read somewhere that when the beer is too warm that it was better to use coils as they have longer tubing, so they would cool better.
Is that not right?

I just had 10 days at the beach with 5 kegs sitting at ambient temperature (20-25c) dispensing 2 kegs at a time through a cold plate, I was surprised at how efficiently my setup worked (KK cold plate) and did not have a single beer that wasn't at the perfect temperature. Ice was also not a problem, a 5kg bag would last almost 2 days as long as I kept the esky draining water.

 

[Pnutapper]

I've read somewhere that when the beer is too warm that it was better to use coils as they have longer tubing, so they would cool better.
Is that not right?

Stainless steel (coil) takes longer to cool down than aluminium (plate) so any benefit gained from more volume can be lost to time. The heat transfer with aluminium is virtually instant.

The coil that you have linked has a 3/8" diameter, whereas most plates have a 5/16" diameter. This means that you are asking the ice to cool down a larger volume of beer.

This is probably not an issue if you are only pouring a few litres per hour, but if you are asking any more of it than that (i.e. a party) it may struggle to keep up.

 

[n87]

I just had 10 days at the beach with 5 kegs sitting at ambient temperature (20-25c) dispensing 2 kegs at a time through a cold plate, I was surprised at how efficiently my setup worked (KK cold plate) and did not have a single beer that wasn't at the perfect temperature. Ice was also not a problem, a 5kg bag would last almost 2 days as long as I kept the esky draining water.

Draining the water would actually cause your ice not to last as long.
Leaving the water in gives 2 benefits:

1. An increase in the thermal mass, which means that much more energy is required to warm it up
2. greater contact with the object being cooled (in this case, plate chiller) as water is mostly conforming, whereas ice is not until it melts.

 

[Pnutapper]

Unless there is an agitator motor in the esky, there is not much to be gained by leaving water in the esky as it will be subjected to stratification. This is why they are built in to ice bank chillers.

By keeping the ice dry, water from melting ice will refreeze on the plate and form a crust of ice around it.

You do need to tamp down the ice periodically though to prevent it "bridging."

 

[fdsaasdf]

By keeping the ice dry, water from melting ice will refreeze on the plate and form a crust of ice around it.

True. And if you put some dry ice in the esky (e.g. to keep the ice cold over a long weekend) don't let it touch the chill plate or your beer will freeze inside it...

 

[stilvia]

My experience with my ice box is that the ice lasts longer when the water is drained out of it a few times a day.

 

[fungrel]

I just had 10 days at the beach with 5 kegs sitting at ambient temperature (20-25c) dispensing 2 kegs at a time through a cold plate, I was surprised at how efficiently my setup worked (KK cold plate) and did not have a single beer that wasn't at the perfect temperature. Ice was also not a problem, a 5kg bag would last almost 2 days as long as I kept the esky draining water.

View attachment 108816

Just as a side question, what size is that box?

 

[zensome]

Just as a side question, what size is that box?

40 litre

 

[Rik]

I made a coil box and took it camping. Got to the camp set up and poured myself a cold a very cold beer...Amazing.. the next day went to pull a beer and nothing left. I hadn't tightened the connection between the coil and the tap, beer leaked into the ice. Moral of the story.......Bloody check that it has no leaks but the results are amazing.