Stainless or Copper for HERMS coil

[starsman20]

I've spent 45 minutes unsuccessfully looking for the thread that this question is undoubtedly answered in so sorry if this is a big repeat. I have a copper coil now in my keggle but I am switching to 20 gal pots. Is there an advantage of stainless over copper for the herms coil? I hear that beer likes copper but I am sticking with my immersion chiller that is copper so this is purely a herms question. Thanks.

 

[microbusbrewery]

Copper has better conductivity but in a HERMS setup the difference is negligible. Copper is easier to work with. I have a standalone HERMS with a fairly tight coil, so I went with copper because it was easier to shape. Stainless is pretty sweet though and it should last forever.

 

[acidrain]

Copper tarnishes, and SS does not.
If the copper turns green, that's poison.
Since you can never see what's on the inside of the coil, I went with SS.

 

[P-J]

Copper tarnishes, and SS does not.
If the copper turns green, that's poison.
Since you can never see what's on the inside of the coil, I went with SS.

However, with a proper cleaning process there is no problem at all.

Copper and the proper solder & flux works magically. Also it is very easy to accomplish. SS? - It is more difficult for most to fabricate. A real PITA!

Just saying..

P-J

 

[mwill07]

any risk of galvanic corrosion with a SS coil in an aluminum pot?

 

[P-J]

any risk of galvanic corrosion with a SS coil in an aluminum pot?

IMHO - No, none at all. SS is really very stable.

P-J

 

[Stealthcruiser]

any risk of galvanic corrosion with a SS coil in an aluminum pot?

Yes,getting the conditions right, which you will do when brewing / mashing / recirculating, etc.....

However, you will not maintain these conditions long enough for it to be a factor, as when you are finished, it will be cleanup and dry time.

Stainless is stable, but just 'cause it's stainless does not mean that it will always play well with other metals.

No metallurgist here, just a sheetmetal weenie with about 25 years experience in the field.

 

[P-J]

Yes,getting the conditions right, which you will do when brewing / mashing / recirculating, etc.....

However, you will not maintain these conditions long enough for it to be a factor, as when you are finished, it will be cleanup and dry time.

Stainless is stable, but just 'cause it's stainless does not mean that it will always play well with other metals.

No metallurgist here, just a sheetmetal weenie with about 25 years experience in the field.

** --

 

[dogpoundbrewery]

I think it's all in how much you can afford to spend . I just coiled up 25 feet of 1/2 for my herms coil tonight for my hot liquor tank Im hoping 25 ft is good enough if not I can tighten up the coil and solder more on .


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[Rockn_M]

Looks nice. How did you get that nice coil?


Sent from my kegerator

 

[dogpoundbrewery]

Poured an ice cold ipa disconnected the c02 and severing hose from my corny keg and starting wrapping the copper coil around it . I was done in less than five minutes didn't even give my beer a chance to warm up lol


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[Thedutchtouch]

I plan to go SS with my upcoming herms build. The cost difference in the long run is not that great, and pales in comparison with the ease of cleaning etc. while I know that we can clean copper tubing, the green stuff is poison, and not being able to see inside the tube worries me. You can get a 50 foot 1/2 inch stainless coil from a vendor such as stainlessbrewing.com for 85 dollars. Copper isn't that much cheaper.

 

[stevehaun]

I have been using copper for over 10 years and I am still alive. I rinse mine with the sparge water during every batch. Once or twice a year I pump an acid rinse thru the coil and rinse with water.

 

[Thedutchtouch]

I have been using copper for over 10 years and I am still alive. I rinse mine with the sparge water during every batch. Once or twice a year I pump an acid rinse thru the coil and rinse with water.

True. And there's copper pipe and possibly lead and who knows what bringing the water to my tap lol... I suppose it may be just the bling factor.

 

[baaroose]

I've spent 45 minutes unsuccessfully looking for the thread that this question is undoubtedly answered in so sorry if this is a big repeat. I have a copper coil now in my keggle but I am switching to 20 gal pots. Is there an advantage of stainless over copper for the herms coil? I hear that beer likes copper but I am sticking with my immersion chiller that is copper so this is purely a herms question. Thanks.

A fairly decent "authoritative" source can be found here. It might help answer your question.

 

[starsman20]

Thanks for all the feedback. Still not 100% sure. My current coil is copper and I have had no problem but I was thinking about buying a ss coil from stainless brewing with the fittings etc when I replace my keggle with a 20g from spike (already replaced boil pot, the guy does awesome work).