Wort Chiller Just Ain't Chillin

[Mattrox]

To add to what Goose has said......

Have enough water to be pumped through the system. Dump enough block ice in the water. Add a good dose of salt.

That will reduce the temperature of the water..... while there is ice still in it.... to below 0° if you do it right.

 

[Goose]

Add a good dose of salt.

That will reduce the temperature of the water..... while there is ice still in it.... to below 0° if you do it right.

Interesting one. Yes it would reduce the temperature of the water.... but not so sure I want salt on the water side of my plate chiller somehow... :unsure:

 

[Parks]

Not to mention the fact I don't like putting salt on my garden.

 

[Bribie G]

I'd forgotten about the latent heat of melting / freezing. Will recalculate.

 

[Mattrox]

Interesting one. Yes it would reduce the temperature of the water.... but not so sure I want salt on the water side of my plate chiller somehow... :unsure:

Not sure how a plate chiller works, but in a copper coil it should be fine.

 

[Mattrox]

Not to mention the fact I don't like putting salt on my garden.

Think of it as bath salts.... warm bath after a brew session?

 

[The Judge]

Be mindful that long exposure to salt water can foster corrosion. Glycol is harder to get your hands on, but won't corrode your fancy steel and alloys.

 

[pk.sax]

I can attest to the corrosion issue. However a soft water rinse goes a long way in negating that, don't leave any salt on the steel when it goes dry.

 

[Ducatiboy stu]

Be mindful that long exposure to salt water can foster corrosion. Glycol is harder to get your hands on, but won't corrode your fancy steel and alloys.

Its in every car parts shop. Even BigW & Kmart.

Its the green stuff you put in your radiator

 

[The Judge]

Totally never thought of that Stu

 

[itmechanic]

I wouldn't use automotive glycol under any circumstances (ethylene glycol), you should use a food grade polypropylene glycol in case of accidental leaks and ingestion. Not really that hard to come by.

 

[booargy]

Cheaper to buy metho in 20L drum about from bunnings if it contaminates your brew you will know but it won't kill you. If you have noticed 40% vodka won't freeze solid. So 20l will give ya 50l of coolant.

 

[danestead]

Cheaper to buy metho in 20L drum about from bunnings if it contaminates your brew you will know but it won't kill you. If you have noticed 40% vodka won't freeze solid. So 20l will give ya 50l of coolant.

Wont kill you..... maybe not in a small amount but I personally know of a guy who decided it was a great id to drink some metho (not sure how much). Result, coma for about a week then they switched off life support.....

 

[Ducatiboy stu]

I wouldn't use automotive glycol under any circumstances (ethylene glycol), you should use a food grade polypropylene glycol in case of accidental leaks and ingestion. Not really that hard to come by.

Good point.

Forget that they are 2 different glycol.

You could always saline water if your not putting it on your garden.

 

[Goose]

how would you lads in tend on cooling the glycol please ?

 

[Steve]

Chilled with my home made immersion chiller today. Worked great. Went from boiling to 20 degrees in 19 mins. Dropped 50 degrees in 10 mins! Slow flow rate with continuous stirring. Used approx. 40 litres of water which has been saved for the HLT for the next batch. Happy with that.

 

[The Judge]

how would you lads in tend on cooling the glycol please ?

I don't use glycol, but... I'd have it stored in the freezer in an insulated cube, and when it's ready to use, recirculate it through a counter-current coil exchanger using a dedicated pump (i.e. one that is never used for pumping anything that comes in contact with wort).

 

[Dave70]

I wouldn't use automotive glycol under any circumstances (ethylene glycol), you should use a food grade polypropylene glycol in case of accidental leaks and ingestion. Not really that hard to come by.

Bit of glycol wont hurt ya..
Just the ticket for that 'sweet stout'.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1985_diethylene_glycol_wine_scandal