Tropical Wort Chiller

[Batz]

You may be interested in this if you live in a hot part of Ozzie , the water from my tap was 34c , so my wort chiller is not going to bring my wort anywhere near pitching temperture.
This is what I tried the other day , an old esky with another coil in it , fill it with ice water and run the tap water through this first then on to the wort chiller

 

[Batz]

OK so this is the idea , lots of ice slurry , I made it out of let over tube I had and it's only 8 metres long.
Next one will be twice as long , will be much better

 

[Batz]

This is it all happening , it worked well.
I first used just the tap water and when that temperture was reached , I attached the esky chiller , just clip on hose fittings.
It was a trial so it's a bit 'rough and ready' but proved it does work.
As I said , 16 metres of copper would I believe be tops
Cheers batz

 

[dicko]

Good day Batz
I have had similar thoughts about a wort chiller.
Have you done a test run with your set up on a brew?

I saw on another post that you made your wort chiller out of 13mm copper pipe and I was wondering how this worked?

I read on a yankee site somewhere that they recon they should be made out of 10 mm pipe.
Would this be for cost reasons as most parts of USA would not be as hot as where you are or even as hot as where I am?

Any one with any other thoughts or ideas on the above subject?

Regards

B B B.

 

[big d]

done the same thing up here batz.the tap water is just too hot.
i will just run the boiler temp down to tap temp then shut one v/v then open another to go through the ice chiller.

cheers
big d

 

[dicko]

Have you done a test run with your set up on a brew?


Batz,
Sorry about the first question in my post,
your third post was not downloaded when I replied

B B B.

 

[Batz]

BBB
Yes did an AG yesterday (photos) and used it then , worked well , but could be more efficient , hence the longer tube bundle.
I use 12mm tube , easy to obtain , and I don't think it would make any difference , in fact I believe it would be better than 10 mm
Too easy to knock up another longer tube bundle soon

 

[big d]

looking good batz.
what was the ag brew you had cooking

 

[wessmith]

Just a little hint guys - add a half cup of methylated spirits to the ice slurry. You will see a significant improvement in cooling again. The meths enables the water temp to drop below 0c and effectively increases the rate of heat transfer.

Wes.

 

[dicko]

Yeah,
Top stuff Batz, I will be using 12 or 13 mm (the old half inch) when i build mine.
I guess the coil in the esky could be the same as the wort cooler itself!

Wessmith,
Thanks mate - top idea, you learn something every day.
Anything that helps when the temp is in the high 30's or higher!

B B B.

 

[johnno]

Batz,
Excellent setup.
I noticed the 3 ring gas burner. Thats what im probably going to get. Can I ask how long it takes to brew 30 to 35 litres of liquid?
Do many others use these?
Apologies for going of subject.

cheers

 

[Guest Lurker]

Batz
Dont put the metho in the ice, put it in the brew, gives you those Belgian solvent flavours that are so sought after.
Johnno
I have the three ring cast iron burner and I think it would be OK for 30 l. But I put it under an 80 l keg with 45 l of tap temp water in it. 4 hrs later it wasnt boiling, although the temp in the water at the bottom was 95 degrees. Pretty disappointing. Got pissed off and went to bed. Don't know much about gas burners, maybe I could make it more efficient or get a higher pressure bottle regulator? Next day I put the keg on bricks and built a jarrah fire under it, boiled in 40 mins, so looks like my brew day will require a pile of firewood or a bigger burner.

 

[big d]

boost it along with an immersion heater.2400w of power + gas helps heaps.i need it as ive only got a piddly 2 ring burner at the moment.

 

[johnno]

Thanks for the info Guest Lurker and big d.
I still would have thought that a 3 ring would be enough.
dang .......why doesnt anyone in Oz sell the ones like in the States at a reasonable price I wonder.

cheers

 

[big d]

johnno
i posted something along this line awhile back cant remember exactly what it was maybe boil time or something.anyway i do remember doc posting his boil time and it seemed very reasonable.
im only using the piddly 2 ring gas one as its all ive got so bought the immersion heater as a booster.havent timed it but its heaps better than the 2 ring burner on its own.i will eventually invest in a three ring.
i think also that you need the appropriate gas regulator to maximise the burners output.

cheers
big d

 

[Batz]

Johnno it's a four ring burner and only taks around 10mins to get to a rolling boil , not forgetting the wort is already at around 65c ish
Cost me about $80 from rememory

 

[big d]

batz
cant remember if you use it to bring up water to sparge/mash temp but if so how long does it take considering northern tap temps.

 

[johnno]

aha!! 4 ring.
Havent seen one of those around yet but now that I know they are out there i will keep a lookout for them.
How many litres in 10 mins are you talking about Batz?

cheers

 

[Batz]

Have a tea urn big d , my HLT is not to far off and will make like easier , the tea urns only 20 Lt

 

[dicko]

When I look at the Batz set up on his kettle it appears to me that he has a FOUR RING BURNER.
I would imagine that when he fires this thing up it would cause a partial eclipse.

Batz,
Let us all know how long it takes to boil your 26/ 28 ltre wort.

Very interested,

B B B.