Wort Cooler Pipe?

[sid]

Hey all, I was wondering if 15 metres of 12.7mm diametre copper pipe would do for my wort cooler? Going into a 90 litre pot.

thanks, Sid

 

[gibbocore]

holy cow, yep. I have 5m of 12mm and it cools my wort down to 25 degs in around 25 mins.

 

[TidalPete]

I've got about that in my chiller (Same dia tubing) to cool single & double batches in my 70 litre Robinox so you should be ok.

TP

 

[technocat]

Hey all, I was wondering if 15 metres of 12.7mm diametre copper pipe would do for my wort cooler? Going into a 90 litre pot.

thanks, Sid

Syd I used 15metres of 10mm copper tubing for a counterflow chiller and that gets wort just under boiling temp down to pitching temps in one go. At a calculated guess I would say 15metres of 12.7 tube as an immersion chiller would be fine in a 90L boiler depending on the temperature of your water. If you live in the Northern states and high water temps are an issue you could always use a prechiller.

I see you live in Upper Hutt just out of Wellington NZ don't think you would have any problems with high water temps there


Cheers

 

[RetsamHsam]

Why don't you cut a length out of it and make a pre-chiller?

 

[jjeffrey]

I used to use 15m of 1/2" Cu tube as an immersion coil and used tap water through the tube (about 15 degrees)- generally I could get 50L of wort down to about 40 degrees with about 120L of water.

I now use a 15m coil of 1/2" Cu tube as a counterflow double pipe heat exchanger. The unit has 1" clear polyurethane tube (painstakingly) threaded over the outside of the copper coil to form the heat exchanger (see pdf). View attachment double_tube_hex.pdf With this puppy, I can get the wort down from boiling to 40degress in about 5 minutes producing about 40L of hot water (used for cleaning), then chill down to 8degrees with 2-3 bags of ice in water (using a ice bucket and external pump).

jj.

 

[Sammus]

I've got a plate chiller than gets me down to 20C in 5min. Copper coils are old school

 

[TidalPete]

I've got about that in my chiller (Same dia tubing) to cool single & double batches in my 70 litre Robinox so you should be ok.

TP

Forgot to mention that I get down to approx 30 deg c (In Qld summer) doing this then recirculate iced water through a cheap pond pump in an old esky to get down to 17 deg c or so (Three 2 litre ice cream containers of ice).
This adds to my brewday but I will live longer than if I no-chilled. h34r: :lol: :lol:

TP

 

[flattop]

Ahh flame suit on TP?
Seriously though, it's a good idea to recycle the water....

 

[sid]

Hey thanks guys, sounds like I might get that pipe then., I'll have read up on the prechiller and I can't afford a plate chiller, It was $50 for the copper pipe, so thought I might go for it.

thanks, sid.

 

[mr_tyreman]

Forgive me for hijacking, but i have 5m of 1/2" copper pipe, but i had decided it wasnt going to do the job, so i will just NC the first brew... But apon reading this thread i thought about maybe i should use the immersion chiller, does it matter if it takes a little bit longer to chill it down, am i risking infection this way?

 

[sid]

Hey tireman, I've left my pot with lid on the sink for a couple of hours with ice and even left one over night in the fermenter before pitching yeast and had no problems with infection so far.

 

[np1962]

Forgive me for hijacking, but i have 5m of 1/2" copper pipe, but i had decided it wasnt going to do the job, so i will just NC the first brew... But apon reading this thread i thought about maybe i should use the immersion chiller, does it matter if it takes a little bit longer to chill it down, am i risking infection this way?

Was going to do the same as you Mr T with my first AG brew. I am friendly with a pro brewer and he got me worried about all the NC stuff, not that I think there is any problem if people choose to go thet way. Anyway, after listening to him, I was at the big green shed and they had 6m Cu tubing for $25 so I got a roll.
I get 25L from boiling to mid 20C in about 20mins with it. Into fermenting freezer for an hour or so and pitch. Maybe I'm just not patient enough to wait more than 24 hours before pitching my yeast.
Long story short, 5 or 6 metres of copper does the job for me.

Nige

 

[RetsamHsam]

Forgive me for hijacking, but i have 5m of 1/2" copper pipe, but i had decided it wasnt going to do the job, so i will just NC the first brew... But apon reading this thread i thought about maybe i should use the immersion chiller, does it matter if it takes a little bit longer to chill it down, am i risking infection this way?

It is worth a try.. If the water coming out of the outlet is hot than it is doing its job..

 

[jjeffrey]

Forgive me for hijacking, but i have 5m of 1/2" copper pipe, but i had decided it wasnt going to do the job, so i will just NC the first brew... But apon reading this thread i thought about maybe i should use the immersion chiller, does it matter if it takes a little bit longer to chill it down, am i risking infection this way?

Not a big deal if you leave the lid on. If no lid, then use foil. The only issue may be DMS production with pale or pilsener malts, if the wort sits above 60degrees for an extended period of time (suck and see).

If your immersion chiller uses too much water and takes to long (like mine did), another option is to sit your immersion chiller in a recycle bin filled with water and a few bags of ice, then (slowly) run your wort through it from the kettle to the fermenter (assuming you have no pump), or back to the kettle agin (if you have a pump). I did this to good effect- it also helps coagulate more break, and if you return to the kettle with a pump you can whirlpool.

jj.

 

[mr_tyreman]

Awesome, i guess we will see on sunday, i will run the chiller for a while see how it goes, if it doesnt work efficiently i will just cube it.

 

[dr K]

surely a slow chill is better than a no chill.
unless of course you discounts the benefits of faster chilling bro
the Kurtzurian Planispiral ChKiller has been assembled bar the brazing and should have its first test run in about a month.

K

 

[technocat]

To the best of my knowledge a rapid chill benefits the quick arrest of Isomerization of alpha acids to enhance the taste and aroma of late hop additions rather that any bittering which has been done in the early stage of the boil.

 

[Bribie G]

To the best of my knowledge a rapid chill benefits the quick arrest of Isomerization of alpha acids to enhance the taste and aroma of late hop additions rather that any bittering which has been done in the early stage of the boil.

:icon_offtopic:
We no chillers often make appropriate adjustments to the recipe to take account of this.
For example:

30g Chinook 60 mins
15g Cascade 20 mins
15g Cascade flamout

would, in my case, become something like this:

30g Chinook 60 mins
15g Cascade 5 mins
15g Cascade hop tea added to secondary

Some no chillers such as Butters who make more malt driven beers, report little difference.
:icon_cheers:

Edit: and in the case of my beers that have small addition of bittering hops only (Cerveza, Australian Old, Australian Classic Lager) the difference would be negligible.