setting up for AG, what chiller?

[stretch69]

Hi guys,

I'm trying to get some gear together to finally have a go at AG,

As far as cooling goes I was going to make my own immersion chiller out of 3/8 or 1/2 inch copper tubing after watching a bit of you tube,

The problem is its about 140 bucks for an 18m roll (that was from 2 different plumbing suppliers, bunnings is 100 I think), beer belly in adelaide sell a 30 plate chiller for 130 the thing is I don't know much about these or how it would compare to the chiller I was going to make

Any advice,?

 

[Drew]

Yes - see if there's a Polyaire near you. They usually have 15m of 1/2" for ~$60. I built two 7.5m coils.

Most of the bending was easy using a keg, but the 90 degree turns was better with a pipe bender.

 

[Dan Pratt]

Im currently using a 18m roll of bunnings 1/2 inch pipe that was $100, plus the fittings which made it $130. I can cool the boiled wort down to about 40c in under 7 mins but it takes another 15mins to get it to picthing temp and 100's of litres of water. ( i only cool to 40c then transfer FV to fridge for further cooling)

With my brewing skills increasing Im about to start hopbacking beers and a plate chiller is required to chill the wort after going through the hopback. After using a immersion chiller for 6 months now I can see the advantages of a plater chiller, however the immersion chiller has its advantages too.

I think that with a plate chiller you will get the wort to pitching temps straight into the FV with less water usage, i may be corrected though. :unsure:

 

[Blackened]

In a nut shell,
Immersion chillers are slower, less efficient (more water used), cheaper (less fittings etc) but very simple to construct and don't take up any extra space.
Counter flow chillers are external to kettle, faster and use less water to chill the same volume of wort, but more difficult and expensive to construct
Plate chillers are compact and efficient, but virtually impossible to construct. Not sure what they are selling for at the moment.

So it depends if you want a DIY device and if your water usage is restricted.

I use a plate chiller myself, after trying all of the above methods.

 

[stretch69]

Thanks, just rang them, apparently they aren't doing it now :-(

 

[Drew]

Just rang Fyshwick - they still have it. 9 in stock. $56 + GST. Not sure why other branches come up with different answers.

Where are you located?

 

[Bribie G]

Why not save a few $$$ and get a 20L poly cube or two and no-chill?
Get you going a lot quicker and you can try wort chilling later if you feel like it.

 

[stretch69]

I'm located in adelaide, tried two branches with no luck.
Just emailed them to see if they can send a roll to an adelaide branch lol,
Doubt they will

 

[slash22000]

Took me about 10 minutes to make my wort chiller. Wrapped the copper around one of my kegs, stuck on some plastic hose. Chiller.

 

[fletcher]

Why not save a few $$$ and get a 20L poly cube or two and no-chill?
Get you going a lot quicker and you can try wort chilling later if you feel like it.

i second this. i got fed up with chilling, and no-chilling cut the brew day down by at least an hour for me. easy too.

my 2c. (i'd prefer to chill if i could, but it's an extremely cheap and easy second best).

 

[GalBrew]

I'm pretty sure if you have a look around you can get the finished product for a similar cost (plate or immersion). Or you could no chill as has been suggested..

 

[Bribie G]

It's kerbside collection here this week and I just picked up a couple of 25L very sturdy cubes with taps - not 20 mins ago - they had contained commercial dishwashing detergent. That's saved me forty bux at Bunnings
I'll be doing a couple of 25L brews for the forthcoming comps and no chill in them so I'll have enough for a keg and a few comp bottles. :beerbang:

 

[Khellendros13]

My plan is to make the chiller, and use a $13 pond pump to pump a limited amount of water through the loop, cooled by frozen plastic ice bricks or the reusable sealed dry ice. No need to waste 100s of litres of water. 20L should be enough I am thinking.

 

[woodwormm]

will be interesting to see how you go with only 20L of chilled water, you'll be surprised how much hot water you'll get 'out' of your chiller, when one of my mates is brewing we all roll around for a hot car wash - so as to not waste the water

I intend a similar process but i'll have a 1000L reservoir (rainwater tank) and pump that through my miracle box coil in an ice bath, then return to rainwater tank.

a mate of mine does similarly using an Engel 40L to chill his tank water and it returns to tank after use

 

[Beer_Horse]

I've been tossing up making an immersion chiller vs buying a plate chiller too. http://connorbreware.com/ have medium plate chillers for $60 plus postage, which is what I think I'll do. Only good for cooling around 19L though according to their website, and the bigger ones are pricey. Might be worth a look though, dunno if anyone else has bought one from them and has a better idea of how well they work?

 

[Bribie G]

My plan is to make the chiller, and use a $13 pond pump to pump a limited amount of water through the loop, cooled by frozen plastic ice bricks or the reusable sealed dry ice. No need to waste 100s of litres of water. 20L should be enough I am thinking.

Had a brew day at Lyall Cottam's place North of Bris last year. He always does well in comps and a couple of years ago his Bo Pils was champion beer of Australia in the Nats.

What you describe is the exact method he uses. If I were ever to build a chiller (which I won't :lol: ) it would be that system precisely.

Edit: IIRC he used two Bunnings / Masters 15L handi pails full of smashed up ice from blocks he froze in ice cream containers then topped up with fridge water.

 

[_HOME_BREW_WALLACE_]

My plan is to make the chiller, and use a $13 pond pump to pump a limited amount of water through the loop, cooled by frozen plastic ice bricks or the reusable sealed dry ice. No need to waste 100s of litres of water. 20L should be enough I am thinking.

this is the route i would be going down. Buy an 18m coil, use 12m on the chiller, and 6m on a pre-chiller.

 

[Khellendros13]

will be interesting to see how you go with only 20L of chilled water, you'll be surprised how much hot water you'll get 'out' of your chiller, when one of my mates is brewing we all roll around for a hot car wash - so as to not waste the water

I intend a similar process but i'll have a 1000L reservoir (rainwater tank) and pump that through my miracle box coil in an ice bath, then return to rainwater tank.

a mate of mine does similarly using an Engel 40L to chill his tank water and it returns to tank after use

How much water fits in an 18m coil? I don't know if it will require 20 or 40L or a bit more, but I will find out I guess

My only issue is having enough frozen vessels to cool the water down with, bugger all freezer space.

Could possibly add in a radiator with fan to the loop. Just something to save on the water!

 

[koots]

I've been tossing up making an immersion chiller vs buying a plate chiller too. http://connorbreware.com/ have medium plate chillers for $60 plus postage, which is what I think I'll do. Only good for cooling around 19L though according to their website, and the bigger ones are pricey. Might be worth a look though, dunno if anyone else has bought one from them and has a better idea of how well they work?

anyone got any feedback on one of those connorbreware chillers? they're quite cheap compared to other places but I was looking at buying one myself.

 

[seamad]

don't have one of those but do have the CB 30 plate which works well. Advantage of plate chillers is that you can then use a hop rocket as well. Having said that i still no chill beers , tend to use the chiller/rocket for beers i won't that big late hop flavour/aroma.