Need a better wort chiller

[Chattan]

I've been doing 5 gallon batches in a Blichmann Boilermaker. The burner and Boilermaker are very efficient at heating up the wort. I used two 25' coils for cooling the wort and it took only 10 minutes to chill from 212 F to 64 F.

I have just finished my first 10 gallon batch in a keggle. I used the Blichmann burner under the keggle but could not sustain a vigorous boil.

I have a 3/8" OD tubing with 50 feet to chill the wort. It seemed to take forever to cool the wort.

I am looking for suggestions to heating and cooling. I would like to sustain a vigorous boil and cool the wort in about ten (10) minutes. I do like the coiled wort chiller and do all gravity brewing.

Concerned.

 

[trnitz]

From what you described, it looks like there is too much mass for the immersion wort chiller to handle.

Cheapest possible option would be to add a pre-chiller (smaller immersion chiller in a bucket of ice+water). If that doesn't do it, then a counterflow or plate chiller are probably in your future.

 

[mnstorm99]

What is forever?

Stirring your wort while it cools will obviously speed up the process. Also, expect some more time now as the ground water warms up.

This is the chiller I use and it works great, but in the heat of summer it struggles to get anything below 75°. I still have my old 25' chiller and plan to use it a pre-chiller this summer.

 

[goodgodilovebeer]

I use this one (via gravity) with a ball valve/thermometer assembly on the wort out side to help limit flow and fine-tune the temperature going into the fermenter. The nice thing about plate chillers, is that kettle volume is pretty much a non issue.

http://www.dudadiesel.com/choose_item.php?id=HX2330BWC

 

[Chattan]

What is forever?

Stirring your wort while it cools will obviously speed up the process. Also, expect some more time now as the ground water warms up.

This is the chiller I use and it works great, but in the heat of summer it struggles to get anything below 75°. I still have my old 25' chiller and plan to use it a pre-chiller this summer.

Is your chiller 3/8 or 1/2?
Thanks

 

[Chattan]

What is forever?

Stirring your wort while it cools will obviously speed up the process. Also, expect some more time now as the ground water warms up.

This is the chiller I use and it works great, but in the heat of summer it struggles to get anything below 75°. I still have my old 25' chiller and plan to use it a pre-chiller this summer.

I stir to increase thermal conductivity. Living in PA this winter and the water was always cold. Not sure what the temp is now, I will have to test it the next time I brew.

 

[Chattan]

I use this one (via gravity) with a ball valve/thermometer assembly on the wort out side to help limit flow and fine-tune the temperature going into the fermenter. The nice thing about plate chillers, is that kettle volume is pretty much a non issue.

http://www.dudadiesel.com/choose_item.php?id=HX2330BWC

I want to do all gravity! I like the idea of a plate chiller. Which one do you use? I went the copper tubing coils because they were cheaper and didn't think you could use them in a gravity system. Tell me more.

 

[goodgodilovebeer]

This is the assembly I was talking about earlier:






I brewed a Marzen a few weeks ago, and with (wicked cold Canadian ground water) it went from 96C to 14C in one pass, taking about 10 minutes to fill a carboy. Pretty decent IMO. The cold break was crazy!

 

[mnstorm99]

Is your chiller 3/8 or 1/2?
Thanks

3/8" copper.

 

[mikescooling]

I want to do all gravity! I like the idea of a plate chiller. Which one do you use? I went the copper tubing coils because they were cheaper and didn't think you could use them in a gravity system. Tell me more.

I use the smaller 40plate chiller becasue my water is cold from the great lakes. If you have warmer ground water, the one he listed is a great chiller. This is how mine is set up without a pump.

 

[Chattan]

I used to live in Michigan, cold weather and water. I like the big beers and I am concerned about hops clogging the chiller. Are hops an issue with the plate chiller?

 

[goodgodilovebeer]

I used to live in Michigan, cold weather and water. I like the big beers and I am concerned about hops clogging the chiller. Are hops an issue with the plate chiller?

Whole cone hops can, yes. I made that mistake once. Use either pellets or whole cones in a hop bag with a lot of room for them to move around.

 

[Brulosopher]

Your just not using your IC right! Trust me on this- I've used counterflow of both types and I've recently returned to a copper IC because it is easier to clean and just as efficient:

1. Make sure your source water faucet is on full blast when chilling.

2. Agitate the IC and/or wort the entire time you chill.

I have an almost exact setup as yours (10" banjo, copper IC) and I can chill 11 gallons to groundwater temp in 15-18 minutes.

Re: burner - there is no way you shouldn't be be able to get a raging boil with that burner; make sure it's setup right (there are videos on YouTube).

 

[orion7144]

A lot of people use the same burner with keggles. You either have the flame setup wrong or the pressure in your propane tank is low.

 

[Chattan]

There was a light breeze, maybe it was enough to disturb the flames heat path. Hmmm...

 

[Rivenin]

another issue could be this....
if you open the valve too fast, the pressure coming out of the tank will be slow to very light (it's a safety feature). i've had that happen to me and other people. try turning off your tank and then disconnect the burner. wait about 2-3 minutes.
connect the burner and make sure the regulator is set to off
open the valve on the tank all the way and slowly open the regulator and see what happens.

that burner should be able to boil way more then 10 gallons with ease.

with the chilling.
stir the wort around while it's going.
i use a pump and recirc with a 25' immersion chiller... this works in about 10-15 minutes for a 10 gallon batch.
Just make sure to have it on full blast and stir stir stir

 

[hops2it]

In the spring when my water is cold, I have no issues with an IC. However as the water warms, it takes too long to cool so I made a 2nd IC and shotgunned them together. First one goes into an ice bath. Then a short length of hose connects to my brew kettle IC. Instant cold water. Not sure if that'd work for your situation but just throwing it out there. Helps that I'm doing 5 gallon batches.

 

[fixitoscar]

have you adjusted the air intake on your burner? you want to set it to were you can just barely see a blue flame. if you are seeing a yellow flame then its not set properly. doing this will drastically help with heating.

 

[tre9er]

Stir the wort continuously while chilling, and stir in the opposite direction of water flow. Ie. if water is exiting in a counter-clockwise direction, stir clockwise. Stirring DRASTICALLY reduces chill times.

 

[Rbeckett]

To eliminate the possibility of buying even more uneeded stuff, give your IC a load of ice, salt and water to pump through the chiller when your ready. A small inexpensive pond pump in a pail with holes will strain the ice chunks and allow you to pump pure chilled salt water. I would think 10 minutes is well within a reachable temp range without a lot of expense or new fangled equipment. Plate chillers are nice, but......what happens if they get clogged. My ground water is 72 year round and I chill a 5 gallon batch in about 10 min or less now. The added cooling from the ice and salt should offset the ground water temp nicely.

Wheelchair Bob

 

[Chattan]

I moved inside for the next brew. The wasn't boil was a lot more consistent and was able to keep the boil going. So, I blame it on the wind.

The first chiller I used was a 3/8" by 50 feet and it was really slow. I did not time it but it sure took a long time. I used a different chiller on the second batch. It was also 3/8" by 50 feet but I had 25 feet fed by one hose and another separate 25 foot coil being fed by another hose, chilling in parallel. Only took 13 minutes to chill from boil to 72 degrees.

Two in parallel is better than one long one.