Wort Cooling Idea

[Salt]

Hey all, thought I would share this after I was watching some BIAB videos on youtube...



Towards the end of the video (collection of photo's)...they use a way of cooling the kettle I hadnt seen before. Excuse this if you have seen it before, but since I hadnt I thought I would share. I typically use the laundry tub, but will probably give this a crack next extract brew, before I embark on BIAB for the first time.

Kettle/Wort cooling idea from Video;
Large plastic Rubbish bin (large enough to easily get your kettle in and out of - will work for my 19L job)
Hole on one side up high for garden hose to pop through
Hole on other side lower down - presumably this is at a height below the top of the kettle but above the height of the wort within the kettle.
Hose water goes in, water cycles keeping water cool, and goes back out lower hole.

I like the idea. Any one tried it or similar. Anyone think of problems with this method.

Cheers
Salt

 

[Tanga]

Definite risk for melting the bin with the hot metal. Put a couple of hessian sacks in the bottom and have it already full of water when you put it in and it may be okay. If it works you'll have to add it to the ghetto thread. =)

 

[Nick JD]

Great idea.

The only thing I can think of is I reckon it'd be a good idea to have the rim of the bucket below the rim of the pot lid. If for any reason you get higher flow in than out (tap or cold water pressure wonkiness), or a blockage in the exit hole (HEh HEH) then you're gonna contaminate your wort.

 

[QldKev]

Get a man pool from BigW for $20, and a pump to move the water

Great to sit around with your feet in on a hot day and have beer stubby races


QldKev

 

[Naztone]

Yeah I've been thinking the exact same thing for a while now. I knew I'd seen it before somewhere but couldn't remember where! Thanks :icon_chickcheers:

My only other thought was to get a second bin so that you could somehow recycle the water rather than letting it run out.
I think I'll try this on the weekend.

Cheers

 

[riverside]

Get a man pool from BigW for $20, and a pump to move the water

Great to sit around with your feet in on a hot day and have beer stubby races,,


+ 1 :icon_chickcheers:

 

[Tim F]

Main problem I see is that it will cool pretty slowly if the kettle contents aren't moving. But if you give the kettle a bit of a stir I think it would work. Might be better putting hot wort in the fermenter, then cooling the fermenter.

 

[Shed101]

I just used a full 1200 gallon water tank for the first time.

Tie the cube onto a big crowbar, pop the cube in with the crowbar outside the hatch. Come back in the morning and fish it out.

 

[XavierZ]

Looks like a Ghetto Brewer Setup. Didn't pay the money for an immersion chiller and not a bad lazy man's way of doing it.

The only major problem that I see is the lack of surface area.
Compared to an immersion chiller, the heat transfer it greatly restricted.
Thus longer chilling time.

None the less, if the parts are on hand and you don't mind wasting the water, it's quite ingenious.

 

[eamonnfoley]

How long does it take to cool the wort using this bin method? Even chucking ice in there, I bet you waste a ton of water. Not very environmentally friendly. I think if your committed to full volume boils, its worth getting at least an immersion chiller.... Its fairly cheap to build one if you can get some copper tubing for a good price.

 

[Salt]

Definite risk for melting the bin with the hot metal. Put a couple of hessian sacks in the bottom and have it already full of water when you put it in and it may be okay. If it works you'll have to add it to the ghetto thread. =)

Was thinking the same thing...not sure what temp these bins would melt at??

The only thing I can think of is I reckon it'd be a good idea to have the rim of the bucket below the rim of the pot lid. If for any reason you get higher flow in than out (tap or cold water pressure wonkiness), or a blockage in the exit hole (HEh HEH) then you're gonna contaminate your wort.

Yip definately agree with you on that one. Perhaps as smaller bin, with the pot rim a few inches above the bucket rim.

Main problem I see is that it will cool pretty slowly if the kettle contents aren't moving. But if you give the kettle a bit of a stir I think it would work. Might be better putting hot wort in the fermenter, then cooling the fermenter.

Hey, I currently cool in the laundry tub and this works fine for me - and the kettle contents aren't moving - keeping in mind, im only cooling 6-8 lts from extract brewing. Takes about 30min or so....


The idea is definitely 'ghetto' enough, but from what I have learnt about home brewers, they are an inventive lot!
Built not bought is always the way...better yet, Brewed not Bought is the way!

 

[stux]

Get a man pool from BigW for $20, and a pump to move the water

Great to sit around with your feet in on a hot day and have beer stubby races


QldKev

I reckon that might belong in the ghetto thread

 

[Phoney]

How long does it take to cool the wort using this bin method? Even chucking ice in there, I bet you waste a ton of water. Not very environmentally friendly. I think if your committed to full volume boils, its worth getting at least an immersion chiller.... Its fairly cheap to build one if you can get some copper tubing for a good price.

There's no shortage of water (or ice for half of the year) in Canada.

 

[Shed101]

There's no shortage of water (or ice for half of the year) in Canada.

Well ... not exactly

http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/st...ba-ea2f35386bb0

 

[Robbo2234]

I have had an idea to use a esky full of ice/water and pump it in to a immersion chiller and back into a esky, anyone tried this? I am still setting up for BIAB so I haven't had the chance to test it out yet.

 

[Nick JD]

I just put it on the floor and walk away for 12 hours. Works a treat.

 

[rich_lamb]

I have had an idea to use a esky full of ice/water and pump it in to a immersion chiller and back into a esky, anyone tried this? I am still setting up for BIAB so I haven't had the chance to test it out yet.

Doesn't work as the hot wort will kill all your ice in seconds. But what you can do (and a lot of us do) is have a second chiller coil in the ice water before your main coil - called a pre chiller. So your cooling water hits the ice bath and is cooled down to hopefully a couple of degrees before it goes through the immersion chiller. This way your ice is only being hit by tap water, and your cooling water is a few degrees lower for chilling the wort - the ice will last for half an hour or more easy.

As to the use of water:
1) I agree this is a waste in places where water is precious. That's whay I went to no-chill but came back to my immersion chiller when I got my tanks and pump installed. Now I can circulate tank water which is free, and I keep the output
2) If you are using tap water you should definitely catch the output. All that free heat makes for good cleanup water. Recycle, Reuse, Repair...

 

[Greg.L]

Just sit it in the creek or the dam for a couple of hours.

 

[bcp]

Get a man pool from BigW for $20, and a pump to move the water

Great to sit around with your feet in on a hot day and have beer stubby races


QldKev

In the cooler weather the kids'd love the warm water!

 

[felten]

I have had an idea to use a esky full of ice/water and pump it in to a immersion chiller and back into a esky, anyone tried this? I am still setting up for BIAB so I haven't had the chance to test it out yet.

You can chill your wort down initially with tap/tank water until you can't get it any lower, and then swap to recirculating through the ice water. This way your ice won't melt too fast.