Help me fix my busted wort chiller

[msa8967]

Something was creating a blockage in my wort chiller today and one of the coils busted. I am not sure if it was ice or something else. I had the chiller stored in my attached garage and the temps had been in the upper 40s. I placed the chiller in the boiling wort for about 15 minutes before using it and this still happened.

I am wanting to try to patch this w/o creating any further problems. Two options come to mind.

1. Try to bend the metal back into place with pliers and then seat a copper jacket patch over it.

2..Cut the broken segment out and then try join the two pieces back together by sweating copper.

Any thoughts?

 

[mort012]

You could push or crimp the ripped area and then solder. I would probably cut out the ripped area and use a couple of connectors and a short piece of copper and solder those together

 

[sportpak]

I think you'll have hell, but your best option would be cutting it out and sweating in a female piece to join either ends.

 

[AnOldUR]

Lazy way? Slide a short piece of silicone tubing over it and put a hose clamp on either end.

 

[day_trippr]

Cut out the failed section, brighten the cut ends, and sweat on a tubing coupler...

Cheers!

 

[deadfall]

I'd sweat a copper cuplink in. You might have trouble with the curve of the pipe though. Patching might prove to be harder then it sounds. If you go with the lazy method make sure the hose clamps are all stainless. .

I see your in iowa. Odds are it froze. You might find more then one leak in the tubing. I'd hate to see you ruin another batch. Maybe a new chiller is in your future.

 

[thumpersk_a]

Cut the bad copper out close quarter tubing cutters if you have them. clean up the ends to be soldered get a short piece of copper tube and 2 couplings. Clean the couplers and new tubing flux all joints and sweat the couplers. Clean any residual flux off the coil so it doesnt get in your next batch of beer. Back in business.

 

[ChelisHubby]

I agree it froze and a new chiller is in the future, not to say it can't be fixed but it might not be easy or pretty!

 

[dbcbrews]

Another option would be to cut out the burst part and then use a push together (i.e., shark bite) coupling. Would be a lot easier than soldering.

 

[deadfall]

I doubt sharkbites are rated for boiling temp. I put mine in and boil it for a boil it for a few minutes to sterilize it.

If it did freeze, which it looks to have, there may be many other eventual leaks. I've seen a lot of copper leaks and none of them looked like that unless they froze. I'd have to pressure test it before i'd take a chance losing a batch.

 

[Kaleco]

To the OP, did you ever try the repair? How did you manage?

 

[msa8967]

To the OP, did you ever try the repair? How did you manage?

I learned to sweat copper jackets over the breaks. Now it works just fine.

 

[rhys333]

Last brew day I heard a faint hissing sound near the bottom of my wort chiller. For the life in me I can't find the pinhole though. Any ideas?

 

[day_trippr]

Submerge it hook-up ends first and maybe the trapped air will leak out through the pin hole - and if not find some way to drive air into it...

Cheers!

 

[MaxStout]

Can you hook it to some compressed air or CO2 tank? Just a few PSI--submerge it in water and look for the bubbles.

 

[rhys333]

Submerge it hook-up ends first and maybe the trapped air will leak out through the pin hole - and if not find some way to drive air into it...

Cheers!

I managed to find it by forcing water through. There's a very fine jet of water.

Unfortunately, it's right on the bottom coil where it bends at 90 degrees and becomes the outflow section. Will it work to clean the tube and then apply a little silver solder over the pinhole? Plumbing work isn't my thing so I don't know if this is a viable solution.

 

[rhys333]

This highly technical sketch shows where it's leaking...

 

[day_trippr]

You should be able to fill pinholes in copper tubing with lead-free solder and some water soluble flux...

Cheers!

 

[rhys333]

You should be able to fill pinholes in copper tubing with lead-free solder and some water soluble flux...

Cheers!

I just looked at prices for plumbing solder and a torch.

I'm wondering now if I should just amputate everything after the bend and then straighten our the last two coils to form a new outflow.

 

[IslandLizard]

I just looked at prices for plumbing solder and a torch.

I don't know if a gas burner should be able to heat that area enough to solder it.

Or have a friend somewhere with a torch and a little solder?
Beer in exchange.

Or easiest, cut a small piece of silicone hose lengthwise, place over the pinhole and put a clamp over it.

 

[beren]

I just looked at prices for plumbing solder and a torch.

I'm wondering now if I should just amputate everything after the bend and then straighten our the last two coils to form a new outflow.

Ask around someone you know is bound to have a torch. If not, it’s useful to have and should last at least 2 lifetimes if you don’t lose it. There are cheaper torches and expensive ones. You don’t need fancy but the expensive ones do get hotter and some $$$ can do MAP as well.

 

[MaxStout]

I just looked at prices for plumbing solder and a torch.

I'm wondering now if I should just amputate everything after the bend and then straighten our the last two coils to form a new outflow.

Yeah, that stuff is getting scary expensive. Must be that 1% silver content. Sucks cause you'll only need a few grams but they sell it in 1/4 lb. rolls.

This might be a viable option.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0015H6JYS?psc=1&ref=ppx_pop_mob_b_asin_title
Maybe a friend or neighbor has a torch you could borrow?

 

[beren]

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Oatey-Safe-Flo-1-oz-Lead-Free-Silver-Solder-Wire-530612/100210902

 

[hotbeer]

Area around the pinhole might be really thin too if this is from rubbing and hammering from dropping it on it's bottom over time.

But you can always just try if you can find friends or others with the torch and solder so you don't have to invest in something you'll never use again.

If that doesn't work, then just consider buying a coil of copper tubing from one of the big box stores and carefully bending the ends to shape so they extend over the edge of the pot and tightening up or loosening the coil to fit your pot.

Then you'll have a new immersion coil.

 

[rhys333]

Thanks for the advice everyone. Many good points.

I've decided the best approach for me is to cut off the last section of pipe just ahead of the pinhole. I'll then straighten out the last coil and form it into a new outflow line. The section I'm cutting off is 30" and one coil-worth of line yields 27", so I think I can make this work. It's a 50 foot coil, so I can spare 1.5 feet without an appreciable drop in cooling efficiency.

 

[tld6008]

Take it to a Air conditioning service company or a welding shop

 

[belgabrewing]

Something was creating a blockage in my wort chiller today and one of the coils busted. I am not sure if it was ice or something else. I had the chiller stored in my attached garage and the temps had been in the upper 40s. I placed the chiller in the boiling wort for about 15 minutes before using it and this still happened.

I am wanting to try to patch this w/o creating any further problems. Two options come to mind.

1. Try to bend the metal back into place with pliers and then seat a copper jacket patch over it.

2..Cut the broken segment out and then try join the two pieces back together by sweating copper.

Any thoughts?

Something was creating a blockage in my wort chiller today and one of the coils busted. I am not sure if it was ice or something else. I had the chiller stored in my attached garage and the temps had been in the upper 40s. I placed the chiller in the boiling wort for about 15 minutes before using it and this still happened.

I am wanting to try to patch this w/o creating any further problems. Two options come to mind.

1. Try to bend the metal back into place with pliers and then seat a copper jacket patch over it.

2..Cut the broken segment out and then try join the two pieces back together by sweating copper.

Any thoughts?

View attachment 241934

Cut out the hole with a copper tubing cutter and use one of these compression unions.

https://www.supplyhouse.com/Bluefin...i5ezuZE-fS46QOVK0Tjk00aO0YAlD100aAjYwEALw_wcB

 

[tld6008]

Cut out the hole with a copper tubing cutter and use one of these compression unions.

https://www.supplyhouse.com/Bluefin...i5ezuZE-fS46QOVK0Tjk00aO0YAlD100aAjYwEALw_wcB

I agree the compression fitting would be easiest if the pipe ends are round

 

[hotbeer]

The compression fitting might be easy, but there will be of wort trapped in the threads even going up under the nut. And also from where the tubing enters the nut to the crush ring that goes around the tube that won't get removed with a simple rinse. Which is about all I do with my current immersion coil.

So while the initial heat of the boil might sanitize all that, there is still some yuck factor involved.

 

[belgabrewing]

It would be very quick and easy to disassemble the union for cleaning. The crimp rings would not move and provide very little in the way of a space to hide any yuck. The nuts and the "union" could be rinsed completely.

The union is still the least expensive and best way to salvage the chiller.

 

[BBeerme]

Any brewer who has any copper piping in their setup needs to make friends with an HVAC tech. The leaks posted in this thread are no more than a 2 minute repair with an oxy/acet torch and silphos (an extremely common silver braze material). Just trade beer for their services, it's a no brainer.