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Main
Date: 13 Aug 2006 20:14:45
From: Brian Foster
Subject: Chillin Wort, not as easy as I thought
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I made a batch today and was really excited to try out my (2) new immersion
wort chillers.
Put the first one in a round 5 gal cooler with two 10lb bags of ice (the
first chiller is a 20' made out of 1/4' copper) then linked it to the 2nd
chiller (30' of 3/8 copper) that sat in the wort kettle (36qt SS stock pot).
My tap water comes out at +/- 85'f and the ambient temp was in the low 90s
(I did this outside).
The initial chill from boiling to about 100'f went amazingly fast (<15 min).
This was a little over 5 gal (I started the boil with 6 gals and lost > 1/2
gal during the boil to evaporation.)
Then the whole thing hit the brakes. Going from 100' to 90' took 20-25min.
90' to 86' took 15 more min.
So I figured I was fighting the ambient temp and decided to take the whole
mess inside to the kitchen and try to ice down the outside of the pot in the
sink. My chillers will not fit my kitchen sink faucet (it's a fancy Delta
job my wife loves) I've tried everything to get some kind of hook up for the
kitchen sink but found nothing so far.
So now I'm confused. I expected the wort chiller in the 5 gal cooler with
all the ice to act as a great heat exchanger and put a serious chill on the
water. It appears it did not.
If you can't tell, I'm not an engineer :)
Any suggestions or ideas on what might make the whole setup work better?
Possibly putting the 3/8 chiller in the ice and the 1/4 chiller in the wort?
I'm enjoying this whole brewing thing alot but chilling the wort is becoming
a big hurdle. I'm afraid that I might have lost my sanitation today because
it was over an hour (out doors) chilling down to 80'.
Thanks for your help.
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Date: 13 Aug 2006 21:07:36
From: Ranger Steve
Subject: Re: Chillin Wort, not as easy as I thought
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>
> The problem with a pre-chiller setup is that the pre wants a low
> flow rate to make the water colder, while the immersion chiller
> wants a high flow rate to carry away more heat. Finding the best
> balance could be tricky. There's also the possibility that your
> pre just isn't up to the task. The only remedy there would be
> adding length.
>
I don't really know the science of heat exchange, I sure there are
quite a few out there that know thermodynamics well. But my
experience (using a 25' pre-chiller in a bucket of ice water and a 25'
3/8" OD immersion chiller) is that I can go from boiling to 70F in
30-35 minutes. I don't add any ice to the pre-chiller until the wort
drops below 100F.
I use a pretty slow flow rate and judge what's happening by feeling the
discharge water. If my water going in is cold (touch the tube coming
out of the pre-chiller) and the water going down the drain is luke warm
I know that I'm carrying heat away.
Dont forget to gently swirl the both chillers from time to time also.
85F tap water? Yikes! and good luck.
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Date: 13 Aug 2006 21:30:47
From: Scott Sellers
Subject: Re: Chillin Wort, not as easy as I thought
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Brian Foster <brianfoster@houston.rr.com >:
>I made a batch today and was really excited to try out my (2)
>new immersion wort chillers.
>Put the first one in a round 5 gal cooler with two 10lb bags of
>ice (the first chiller is a 20' made out of 1/4' copper) then
>linked it to the 2nd chiller (30' of 3/8 copper) that sat in the
>wort kettle (36qt SS stock pot).
>My tap water comes out at +/- 85'f and the ambient temp was in
>the low 90s (I did this outside).
>The initial chill from boiling to about 100'f went amazingly
>fast (<15 min).
>This was a little over 5 gal (I started the boil with 6 gals and
>lost > 1/2 gal during the boil to evaporation.)
>Then the whole thing hit the brakes. Going from 100' to 90' took
>20-25min.
>90' to 86' took 15 more min.
>So I figured I was fighting the ambient temp and decided to take
>the whole mess inside to the kitchen and try to ice down the
>outside of the pot in the sink. My chillers will not fit my
>kitchen sink faucet (it's a fancy Delta job my wife loves) I've
>tried everything to get some kind of hook up for the kitchen
>sink but found nothing so far.
>So now I'm confused. I expected the wort chiller in the 5 gal
>cooler with all the ice to act as a great heat exchanger and put
>a serious chill on the water. It appears it did not.
>If you can't tell, I'm not an engineer :)
>Any suggestions or ideas on what might make the whole setup work
>better? Possibly putting the 3/8 chiller in the ice and the 1/4
>chiller in the wort?
The problem with a pre-chiller setup is that the pre wants a low
flow rate to make the water colder, while the immersion chiller
wants a high flow rate to carry away more heat. Finding the best
balance could be tricky. There's also the possibility that your
pre just isn't up to the task. The only remedy there would be
adding length.
I don't use a pre-chiller. What I do is use regular tap water to
do most of the cooling, say down to 100-110F. Then I switch the
line over to a small pond pump, submerged in a bucket of ice and
water. This easily powers the wort into the low 60Fs.
Scott S
--
Scott Sellers
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Date: 13 Aug 2006 16:29:22
From: The Artist Formerly Known as Kap'n Salty
Subject: Re: Chillin Wort, not as easy as I thought
|
Brian Foster wrote:
> I made a batch today and was really excited to try out my (2) new immersion
> wort chillers.
>
> Put the first one in a round 5 gal cooler with two 10lb bags of ice (the
> first chiller is a 20' made out of 1/4' copper) then linked it to the 2nd
> chiller (30' of 3/8 copper) that sat in the wort kettle (36qt SS stock pot).
>
> My tap water comes out at +/- 85'f and the ambient temp was in the low 90s
> (I did this outside).
>
> The initial chill from boiling to about 100'f went amazingly fast (<15 min).
>
> This was a little over 5 gal (I started the boil with 6 gals and lost > 1/2
> gal during the boil to evaporation.)
>
> Then the whole thing hit the brakes. Going from 100' to 90' took 20-25min.
>
> 90' to 86' took 15 more min.
>
> So I figured I was fighting the ambient temp and decided to take the whole
> mess inside to the kitchen and try to ice down the outside of the pot in the
> sink. My chillers will not fit my kitchen sink faucet (it's a fancy Delta
> job my wife loves) I've tried everything to get some kind of hook up for the
> kitchen sink but found nothing so far.
>
> So now I'm confused. I expected the wort chiller in the 5 gal cooler with
> all the ice to act as a great heat exchanger and put a serious chill on the
> water. It appears it did not.
>
> If you can't tell, I'm not an engineer :)
>
> Any suggestions or ideas on what might make the whole setup work better?
> Possibly putting the 3/8 chiller in the ice and the 1/4 chiller in the wort?
>
> I'm enjoying this whole brewing thing alot but chilling the wort is becoming
> a big hurdle. I'm afraid that I might have lost my sanitation today because
> it was over an hour (out doors) chilling down to 80'.
>
> Thanks for your help.
>
Sounds like you're in the deep south, as am I (when I lived in New
Orleans, our tap water could come out in the low 90s easy). Here's the
best way to cool with an IC down here:
Lose the pre-chiller. It won't buy you very much cooling. Use 50-60 feet
copper coil in the kettle -- 30 feet really won't cut it.
Start your chill by using tap water till you get down to around the low
100s (or whenever cooling starts to slow).
Then, get a plastic tub (the kind used for kids toys -- you can get
these cheaply from wal-mart/target/etc), a submersible garden pump (also
available cheaply from walmart or ant big hardware outlet) and a few
bags of ice. Fill the tub with a little water and your ice. Connect the
inlet hose from your chiller to the outlet of the pump. redirect the
chiller outlet back into the tub.
Use the pump to recirculate ice water through your chilling coils and
back into the tub. I suggest going back into the tub, since the exiting
cooling water will likely still be cooler than your tap water. Agitate
the chiller occasionally, and give the ice water a little stir now and
again. I believe it probably helps if the cooling water enters from the
top of the coils rather than the bottom.
Do this, and you can get the wort as cool as you need it to be even in
the dead of summer. I can get boiling wort down to the upper or mid-40s
for lagers easily this way. Obviously, ale temps can be achieved very
rapidly.
Hope that helps -- m
--
(Replies: cleanse my address of the Mark of the Beast!)
Teleoperate a roving mobile robot from the web:
http://www.swampgas.com/robotics/rover.html
Coauthor with Dennis Clark of "Building Robot Drive Trains".
Buy several copies today!
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Date: 14 Aug 2006 01:15:54
From: Brian Foster
Subject: Re: Chillin Wort, not as easy as I thought
|
"The Artist Formerly Known as Kap'n Salty" <mikey666@666swampgas.666com >
wrote in message news:44df9af9$0$2363$c3e8da3@news.astraweb.com...
> Start your chill by using tap water till you get down to around the low
> 100s (or whenever cooling starts to slow).
>
> Then, get a plastic tub (the kind used for kids toys -- you can get these
> cheaply from wal-mart/target/etc), a submersible garden pump (also
> available cheaply from walmart or ant big hardware outlet) and a few bags
> of ice.
Like this?
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=45014
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Date: 14 Aug 2006 08:20:46
From: The Artist Formerly Known as Kap'n Salty
Subject: Re: Chillin Wort, not as easy as I thought
|
Brian Foster wrote:
> "The Artist Formerly Known as Kap'n Salty" <mikey666@666swampgas.666com>
> wrote in message news:44df9af9$0$2363$c3e8da3@news.astraweb.com...
>
>>Start your chill by using tap water till you get down to around the low
>>100s (or whenever cooling starts to slow).
>>
>>Then, get a plastic tub (the kind used for kids toys -- you can get these
>>cheaply from wal-mart/target/etc), a submersible garden pump (also
>>available cheaply from walmart or ant big hardware outlet) and a few bags
>>of ice.
>
>
> Like this?
> http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=45014
>
Probably overkill -- the kind I'm talking about is generally used for
outdoor fountains. I guess that one would work, though. The nice thing
about the fountain pump I git (Little Giant) was that my chiller tubing
(braid-reinforced) would fit directly over the outlet.
--
(Replies: cleanse my address of the Mark of the Beast!)
Teleoperate a roving mobile robot from the web:
http://www.swampgas.com/robotics/rover.html
Coauthor with Dennis Clark of "Building Robot Drive Trains".
Buy several copies today!
|
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Date: 14 Aug 2006 12:45:41
From: stencil
Subject: Re: Chillin Wort, not as easy as I thought
|
On Mon, 14 Aug 2006 01:15:54 GMT, "Brian Foster" < > wrote:
>
>"The Artist Formerly Known as Kap'n Salty" <mikey666@666swampgas.666com>
>wrote in message news:44df9af9$0$2363$c3e8da3@news.astraweb.com...
>> Start your chill by using tap water till you get down to around the low
>> 100s (or whenever cooling starts to slow).
>>
>> Then, get a plastic tub (the kind used for kids toys -- you can get these
>> cheaply from wal-mart/target/etc), a submersible garden pump (also
>> available cheaply from walmart or ant big hardware outlet) and a few bags
>> of ice.
>
>Like this?
>http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=45014
>
>
Sorta, but don't get this one: the hose fittings are very much too
large and it is grossly over-powered. Go to WallyWorld or Home Depot,
and examine the unit to ensure that it has the 3/4-in fittings you're
used to working with. Note that you usually can rent these things
from a home center, and get some application advice too.
stencil sends.
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Date: 15 Aug 2006 21:06:59
From: Scott Alfter
Subject: Re: Chillin Wort, not as easy as I thought
|
-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
Hash: SHA1
In article <e9QDg.9955$1D.9036@tornado.texas.rr.com >,
Brian Foster <brianfoster@houston.rr.com > wrote:
>
>"The Artist Formerly Known as Kap'n Salty" <mikey666@666swampgas.666com>
>wrote in message news:44df9af9$0$2363$c3e8da3@news.astraweb.com...
>> Start your chill by using tap water till you get down to around the low
>> 100s (or whenever cooling starts to slow).
>>
>> Then, get a plastic tub (the kind used for kids toys -- you can get these
>> cheaply from wal-mart/target/etc), a submersible garden pump (also
>> available cheaply from walmart or ant big hardware outlet) and a few bags
>> of ice.
>
>Like this?
>http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=45014
They have a much smaller pump that I've thought about getting that ought to
be more appropriate:
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=45305
Right now, I'm using a swamp-cooler pump. Its motor housing isn't
waterproof, so it needs some care to make sure it doesn't get tipped over
and submerged (you'd definitely want to plug one of those into a GFCI
circuit).
_/_
/ v \ Scott Alfter (remove the obvious to send mail)
(IIGS( http://alfter.us/ Top-posting!
\_^_/ rm -rf /bin/laden >What's the most annoying thing on Usenet?
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Version: GnuPG v1.4.5 (GNU/Linux)
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Pswb6M9+T4fmVELZGA7G4J4=
=LKaB
-----END PGP SIGNATURE-----
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Date: 13 Aug 2006 21:10:01
From: Dick Adams
Subject: Re: Chillin Wort, not as easy as I thought
|
Brian Foster <brianfoster@houston.rr.com > wrote:
> I made a batch today and was really excited to try out my
> (2) new immersion wort chillers.
>
> Put the first one in a round 5 gal cooler with two 10lb bags
> of ice (the first chiller is a 20' made out of 1/4' copper)
> then linked it to the 2nd chiller (30' of 3/8 copper) that
> sat in the wort kettle (36qt SS stock pot).
So far so good.
> My tap water comes out at +/- 85'f and the ambient temp was
> in the low 90s (I did this outside). ......
Your tap water is at 85F? H^*y s#!t. When it was over 100F
(38C) here a week ago, my tap water was still 60F (15.5C).
I see from your e-mail address that you are near Houston
which is the cooler part of Texas.
You appear to have a few choices:
1) Brew when your tap water gets below 72.5F (22.5C).
2) Use a chest freezer as a chiller.
3) Wrap your pail with dry ice.
4) Buy stock in an ice cube company.
Dick
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Date: 14 Aug 2006 16:07:25
From: Brian Foster
Subject: Re: Chillin Wort, not as easy as I thought
|
Thanks for all the great advice. I think I can see some things I can do to
improve immediately. First, I don't think I had enough water in the
prechiller bucket and the ice alone was not effective. I did stir the crap
out of the wort with a power drill and a squirrel cage paint mixer I bought
at home depot. Gotta love power tools and gadgets. I cleaned and sanitized
prior to use.
I like the idea of a submersible pump recirculating ice water from a large
bucket or my 5 gal cooler (more gadgets). I also like the idea of adding
refrigerated water to top off the wort at the end. No gadgets,just smart.
I've got a very active batch in the fermentor today. Far more bubbles than
my first batch. About 1 big bubble/second. I'm doing a Sam Adams lager
recipe.
So how will I know, or how can I find out if my long chill and power stir
screwed up my sanitization? Is there any way to know if I infected the
batch?
Thanks again.
PS: I know not to worry, have a homebrew. My first batch isn't quite ready
yet, so I worry....
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Date: 14 Aug 2006 17:53:00
From: John 'Shaggy' Kolesar
Subject: Re: Chillin Wort, not as easy as I thought
|
On Mon, 14 Aug 2006 16:07:25 GMT, <brianfoster@houston.rr.com > wrote:
> So how will I know, or how can I find out if my long chill and power stir
> screwed up my sanitization? Is there any way to know if I infected the
> batch?
Taste it when it's done fermenting.
John.
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Date: 14 Aug 2006 15:41:10
From: John 'Shaggy' Kolesar
Subject: Re: Chillin Wort, not as easy as I thought
|
On Sun, 13 Aug 2006 20:14:45 GMT, <brianfoster@houston.rr.com > wrote:
> I made a batch today and was really excited to try out my (2) new immersion
> wort chillers.
>
> Put the first one in a round 5 gal cooler with two 10lb bags of ice (the
> first chiller is a 20' made out of 1/4' copper) then linked it to the 2nd
> chiller (30' of 3/8 copper) that sat in the wort kettle (36qt SS stock pot).
>
> My tap water comes out at +/- 85'f and the ambient temp was in the low 90s
> (I did this outside).
>
> The initial chill from boiling to about 100'f went amazingly fast (<15 min).
You don't need the prechiller for the initial part. The speed of chilling
is related to the difference in temps. Even with 85F tap water, the
difference between 212F boiling wort and your 85F water is plenty to
do the initial chilling fairly quickly. Using ice for this part is really
just a waste of ice.
Once the wort temp starts to get close to your tap water temp is when you'll
need the prechiller. IMO, don't just use ice though. What will often happen
is that the ice around the copper tube will melt, but the rest of the ice
won't necessarily fill in around it. You end up with an air gap between
your copper prechiller and the ice in the bucket, and your heat exchange
goes to hell. I think using ice water in your prechiller bucket should
work out much better than just using ice. The ice water will keep
surface area contact between your copper tubing and should be more effective.
John.
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Date: 14 Aug 2006 10:29:20
From: Mark R
Subject: Re: Chillin Wort, not as easy as I thought
|
"Brian Foster" <brianfoster@houston.rr.com > wrote in message news:VKLDg.6940
>
> My tap water comes out at +/- 85'f and the ambient temp was in the low 90s
> (I did this outside).
>
> The initial chill from boiling to about 100'f went amazingly fast (<15
min).
>
> 90' to 86' took 15 more min.
>
> Any suggestions or ideas on what might make the whole setup work better?
> Possibly putting the 3/8 chiller in the ice and the 1/4 chiller in the
wort?
First I wouldn't swap the chillers, keep the 30 ft of 3/8 in the wort for
max cooling. As was suggested in another post chill down to 100 with just
the tap water. Once below 100 add the ice, water, and salt combo and that
should get you into the 60s or better depending on how long the ice lasts.
You could slow the flow down a little to the smaller prechiller to help with
the heat transfer from your ice bucket.
I have to use Houston bath water to chill my wort so I feel your pain. If
your still having problems you could do what I do. I start with a 5 gallon
boil and boil down to about 4 gallons. After chilling down to the 80s I use
water that I've chilled in the fridge overnight to top off to just over 5
gallons. That usually drops it into the mid 60's, perfect for starting the
ferment.
Mark R
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Date: 14 Aug 2006 12:14:22
From: William Benz Jr
Subject: Re: Chillin Wort, not as easy as I thought
|
"Brian Foster" <brianfoster@houston.rr.com > wrote in message
news:VKLDg.6940$1D.1111@tornado.texas.rr.com...
> I made a batch today and was really excited to try out my (2) new
immersion
> wort chillers.
>
> Put the first one in a round 5 gal cooler with two 10lb bags of ice (the
> first chiller is a 20' made out of 1/4' copper) then linked it to the 2nd
> chiller (30' of 3/8 copper) that sat in the wort kettle (36qt SS stock
pot).
>
> My tap water comes out at +/- 85'f and the ambient temp was in the low 90s
> (I did this outside).
>
> The initial chill from boiling to about 100'f went amazingly fast (<15
min).
>
> This was a little over 5 gal (I started the boil with 6 gals and lost >
1/2
> gal during the boil to evaporation.)
>
> Then the whole thing hit the brakes. Going from 100' to 90' took 20-25min.
>
> 90' to 86' took 15 more min.
>
> So I figured I was fighting the ambient temp and decided to take the whole
> mess inside to the kitchen and try to ice down the outside of the pot in
the
> sink. My chillers will not fit my kitchen sink faucet (it's a fancy Delta
> job my wife loves) I've tried everything to get some kind of hook up for
the
> kitchen sink but found nothing so far.
>
> So now I'm confused. I expected the wort chiller in the 5 gal cooler with
> all the ice to act as a great heat exchanger and put a serious chill on
the
> water. It appears it did not.
>
> If you can't tell, I'm not an engineer :)
>
> Any suggestions or ideas on what might make the whole setup work better?
> Possibly putting the 3/8 chiller in the ice and the 1/4 chiller in the
wort?
>
> I'm enjoying this whole brewing thing alot but chilling the wort is
becoming
> a big hurdle. I'm afraid that I might have lost my sanitation today
because
> it was over an hour (out doors) chilling down to 80'.
>
> Thanks for your help.
>
>
>
Brian,
Here is what I do and it works well in 10 to 12 gallon batches. My
summertime tap water is 78*. I have a 30 foot 3/8" prechiller in a 5 gallon
bucket with a 2 bags of ice and top up with water. This feeds my 50 foot
3/8" immersion chiller in the brewpot.
The key is to not use the prechiller until you get below 100*. Before 100*
you are wasting ice. I have 2 valved garden hose Y fittings at the
prechiller so that I can bypass it until I get down to 100*. I also stir
the wort constantly and agitate the prechiller up and down. The constant
stirring really helps speed up the process. Much easier with help. I can
get 12 gallons to 70* in 18 to 20 minutes.
Hope this helps.
Bill
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Date: 14 Aug 2006 07:06:51
From: Larry Bristol
Subject: Re: Chillin Wort, not as easy as I thought
|
Brian Foster wrote:
> I made a batch today and was really excited to try out my (2) new
> immersion wort chillers.
> [...snip...]
Brian, there is something you can do that would help quite a bit, and since
you did not mention it, I will.
Every now and then, you need to stir the wort while chilling. The wort
chiller works more efficiently when the temperature difference between the
wort and the water is higher. As it runs, the coolest is that which is
nearest (in contact with) the chiller. Stir it occasionally to make it
cool more quickly.
--
Larry Bristol --- The Double Luck
http://www.doubleluck.com
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Date: 13 Aug 2006 22:55:06
From: Shane Boyd
Subject: Re: Chillin Wort, not as easy as I thought
|
A pretty slow rate should not be a problem--gives the water more time
to take heat out. Also, i heard mention of ice in the cooler, but
thats not gonna work unless there's water in there too... If you're
really looking to get hte temp down, add some salt to the ice water and
make sure to stir it up some, that'll get the salty ice water temp down
to 25F or so.
Ranger Steve wrote:
> >
> > The problem with a pre-chiller setup is that the pre wants a low
> > flow rate to make the water colder, while the immersion chiller
> > wants a high flow rate to carry away more heat. Finding the best
> > balance could be tricky. There's also the possibility that your
> > pre just isn't up to the task. The only remedy there would be
> > adding length.
> >
>
> I don't really know the science of heat exchange, I sure there are
> quite a few out there that know thermodynamics well. But my
> experience (using a 25' pre-chiller in a bucket of ice water and a 25'
> 3/8" OD immersion chiller) is that I can go from boiling to 70F in
> 30-35 minutes. I don't add any ice to the pre-chiller until the wort
> drops below 100F.
>
> I use a pretty slow flow rate and judge what's happening by feeling the
> discharge water. If my water going in is cold (touch the tube coming
> out of the pre-chiller) and the water going down the drain is luke warm
> I know that I'm carrying heat away.
>
> Dont forget to gently swirl the both chillers from time to time also.
>
> 85F tap water? Yikes! and good luck.
|
| |
Date: 15 Aug 2006 04:06:24
From: Thomas Adams
Subject: Re: Chillin Wort, not as easy as I thought
|
"Brian Foster" <brianfoster@houston.rr.com > wrote in message
news:VKLDg.6940$1D.1111@tornado.texas.rr.com...
> I made a batch today and was really excited to try out my (2) new
immersion
> wort chillers.
>
> Put the first one in a round 5 gal cooler with two 10lb bags of ice (the
> first chiller is a 20' made out of 1/4' copper) then linked it to the 2nd
> chiller (30' of 3/8 copper) that sat in the wort kettle (36qt SS stock
pot).
>
> My tap water comes out at +/- 85'f and the ambient temp was in the low 90s
> (I did this outside).
>
> The initial chill from boiling to about 100'f went amazingly fast (<15
min).
>
> This was a little over 5 gal (I started the boil with 6 gals and lost >
1/2
> gal during the boil to evaporation.)
>
> Then the whole thing hit the brakes. Going from 100' to 90' took 20-25min.
>
> 90' to 86' took 15 more min.
>
> So I figured I was fighting the ambient temp and decided to take the whole
> mess inside to the kitchen and try to ice down the outside of the pot in
the
> sink. My chillers will not fit my kitchen sink faucet (it's a fancy Delta
> job my wife loves) I've tried everything to get some kind of hook up for
the
> kitchen sink but found nothing so far.
>
> So now I'm confused. I expected the wort chiller in the 5 gal cooler with
> all the ice to act as a great heat exchanger and put a serious chill on
the
> water. It appears it did not.
>
> If you can't tell, I'm not an engineer :)
>
> Any suggestions or ideas on what might make the whole setup work better?
> Possibly putting the 3/8 chiller in the ice and the 1/4 chiller in the
wort?
>
> I'm enjoying this whole brewing thing alot but chilling the wort is
becoming
> a big hurdle. I'm afraid that I might have lost my sanitation today
because
> it was over an hour (out doors) chilling down to 80'.
>
> Thanks for your help.
>
>
>
I have an immersion chiller made of 3/8 copper. I'm guessing that I used
around 30 to 35 feet of copper tubing double wound around a 3 lb. coffee
can. I also have several corny kegs that I use as well. I fill the kegs with
ice and top off with water. I connect both in series and then to the
chiller. I use a garden hose to feed this monster. I open the valve slowly
to a slow flow. This will introduce 32 deg. super chilled water into chiller
at the bottom of the brewpot. I go from full boil to 70 deg. in around 7
min. The slower the flow the greater the btu exchange will be. We get hot
tap water up in Bryan as well.
--
Thomas Cameron Adams
imcelt2@redrivercamerons.org
darkhorsebrewing@verizon.net
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Date: 14 Aug 2006 17:45:13
From: Adam Preble
Subject: Re: Chillin Wort, not as easy as I thought
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Brian Foster wrote:
> I'm enjoying this whole brewing thing alot but chilling the wort is becoming
> a big hurdle. I'm afraid that I might have lost my sanitation today because
> it was over an hour (out doors) chilling down to 80'.
I've made some beers without chilling at all and there was no problem.
These were beers that I didn't need to be clear. When I do chill, I
don't stir, but rather raise the chiller up for moments to the top of
the wort. The chiller will get hot the first time so a glove it
recommended. If you can remember which end the water's entering, you
can lift by that and not get scorched.
I'm in Austin and our water gets kind of warm too. Before getting
something like a pump or other more elaborate setup, consider the costs
and if that's the part of your setup you think you really need to
improve. IMO it isn't. If you don't have it already, take that money
and convert a fridge off Craigslist and/or get a temperature controller.
Get the wort down as far as you can and have the fridge get it to the
fermentation temperature.
Heck, ferment in it since the ambient air temperature is probably too
hot. Your A/C probably probably isn't taking you to 68F if the water
coming in to the house is at 85F. I think an unwanted estery/fusel
fermentation will be a bigger issue than saving 45 minutes on your chill.
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Date: 15 Aug 2006 07:45:08
From: speckking
Subject: Re: Chillin Wort, not as easy as I thought
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Brian Foster wrote:
> I made a batch today and was really excited to try out my (2) new immersion
> wort chillers.
>
> Put the first one in a round 5 gal cooler with two 10lb bags of ice (the
> first chiller is a 20' made out of 1/4' copper) then linked it to the 2nd
> chiller (30' of 3/8 copper) that sat in the wort kettle (36qt SS stock pot).
>
> My tap water comes out at +/- 85'f and the ambient temp was in the low 90s
> (I did this outside).
>
> The initial chill from boiling to about 100'f went amazingly fast (<15 min).
>
> This was a little over 5 gal (I started the boil with 6 gals and lost > 1/2
> gal during the boil to evaporation.)
>
> Then the whole thing hit the brakes. Going from 100' to 90' took 20-25min.
>
> 90' to 86' took 15 more min.
>
> So I figured I was fighting the ambient temp and decided to take the whole
> mess inside to the kitchen and try to ice down the outside of the pot in the
> sink. My chillers will not fit my kitchen sink faucet (it's a fancy Delta
> job my wife loves) I've tried everything to get some kind of hook up for the
> kitchen sink but found nothing so far.
>
> So now I'm confused. I expected the wort chiller in the 5 gal cooler with
> all the ice to act as a great heat exchanger and put a serious chill on the
> water. It appears it did not.
>
> If you can't tell, I'm not an engineer :)
>
> Any suggestions or ideas on what might make the whole setup work better?
> Possibly putting the 3/8 chiller in the ice and the 1/4 chiller in the wort?
>
> I'm enjoying this whole brewing thing alot but chilling the wort is becoming
> a big hurdle. I'm afraid that I might have lost my sanitation today because
> it was over an hour (out doors) chilling down to 80'.
>
> Thanks for your help.
I had the same experience when I first began using an immersion
chiller. After failing, I asked for advice from this group and have no
problems since. The most helpful advice I got was to simply stir the
wort during the chill. If you don't stir you'll notice that the water
exiting the chiller quickly because cool even after passing through the
hot wort. If you stir the wort, you'll notice the water coming out gets
very hot very quickly. The wort next to the chiller coils chills
quickly while the rest of the wort remains hot.
I have gone to a setup similar to yours because I live in louisiana and
my tap temperature is 85 to 90 degrees. I use a single chiller coil. I
have a fountain pump that I immerse in an ice chest. I fill the ice
chest with 30-40 pounds of ice plus enough water to fill the chest.
Then I just pump that water through the chilller. I don't return the
water to the ice chest. When the water level in the ice chest gets low
I just add tap water. This set up, along with stirring the wort while
chilling gets it down to the mid 70s in about 15 minutes. The most
important thing though is the (gentle) stirring of the wort to keep the
chilller working at maximum efficiency.
Lewis
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