Chiller Recommendation?

[BeastMaster]

I currently have a brass 25' x 3/8 immersion chiller and I'm not too pleased with it. It takes 25+ mins to get below 100F and a ridiculous amount of water. I'm looking to upgrade, not sure what I should buy. I'd rather not get a plate or counterflow chiller as I do not have a pump, but could be convinced otherwise. Assuming I'm willing to spend $150 to upgrade my chilling capabilities what are my best options?

Currently doing only 5 gallon batches but I have capability to do 10 gallon batches.

 

[tally350z]

I am assuming you are using copper and not brass? What is your technique? are you opening your water all the way to maximize the cooling capacity? What temp is your ground water?

 

[cpa4ny]

I use gravity with my Therminator and I think it is a great heat exchanger. I use a simple non-high-temp pump (http://morebeer.com/products/selfpriming-diaphragm-pump-beer-transfers.html) to circulate PBW & StarSan through it for cleaning / sanitizing.

In my case, I use 25' 3/8 IC in an ice bucket as a pre-chiller to my Therminator.

I guess SD would also have pretty high ground water temps - with the above set-up, you'll notice a LOT of difference in chilling speed.

Therminator is slightly above $150, $200 I believe, but I think it is worth saving up for.

My $0.02

 

[fartinmartin]

Are you stirring or agitating the brew during cooling, I have found massive reductions in cooling time by keeping the brew moving when the cooler is in, it's better than getting a local cool in the brew.

 

[troy2000]

Another vote here for a pre-chiller. I have a 3/8" OD by 50' 'ribcage' copper chiller. Since right now I'm using a relatively wide tamale steamer for a brew kettle, probably only about 30' sets in the wort when I'm using it.

But I also have a 3/8" OD by 10' pre-chiller, which I set in a stockpot full of ice and water to cool the flow before it enters the main chiller. Using the two chillers in tandem, I can take 5 gallons of wort from boiling down to 70 degrees F in 12-14 minutes....

edit: should have added that I also set the brew kettle in a sink of ice water. But when I was doing only that and stirring, without the chillers, it took me more like half an hour to cool a batch.

 

[BeastMaster]

I think I may just buy a bigger immersion chiller and use my current chiller as a pre-chiller.

 

[Homercidal]

I've used a CFC for gravity fed chilling since forever. The only issue I've had was having too much hops when I make a big IPA. Sometimes it would slow down or clog the hose going into the chiller. But that was a rare event.

Since I've gotten a pump I've tried recirculating the wort and it's worked well too. There is still the issue of water use, but you won't get away from that unless you do no-chill. The best you can do is maximize the efficiency of what you are doing.

You could easily double the amount of copper you are using in your IC (Probably just by soldering an extension onto it...) and making one of them convoluted ICs. And the advice on stirring is absolutely dead on. You HAVE to maintain proper contact time. Just leaving the chiller sitting there in still wort is going to cool the wort right next to the chiller great, but the wort that sits away from it is still hot.

As far as that goes, I've heard of some US Solar pumps that might automate the stirring process. They are small and very cheap.

 

[BeastMaster]

I stir and move my chiller around. I think my biggest problem is just the ground water temp. Also, I realize you can use a CFC without a pump but with my setup it would require me to move a pot full of 200+ degree wort to a higher location, which I would like to avoid. I also worry about clogging with a counter flow chiller, what implements do you guys have in place to keep that from occuring? I use hop bags and or a hop spider, but I still seem to have a lot of break in the bottom of my boil kettle at the end of the boil.

Thanks for all the help guys, my favorite thing about this place is the large pool of experiences from which I can draw information from.

 

[JaDeDBrewing]

Hey BeastMaster,

We are a bit new on HBT, but we are a homebrewing equipment manufacturer that has a main focus on immersion chillers. Do you happen to know what your tap water temp currently is and what it gets up to during the summer? Also, what is your chilling water source (kitchen faucet, utility sink, garden hose sigot)? This has a big impact on your chilling capacity and what your best option is.

 

[BeastMaster]

Hey BeastMaster,

We are a bit new on HBT, but we are a homebrewing equipment manufacturer that has a main focus on immersion chillers. Do you happen to know what your tap water temp currently is and what it gets up to during the summer? Also, what is your chilling water source (kitchen faucet, utility sink, garden hose sigot)? This has a big impact on your chilling capacity and what your best option is.

I was actually checking your site out earlier.

My tap water in the summer is 70-75, currently 65-70. I use a garden hose spigot with great pressure. If I buy another chiller I will be using the one I have as a pre-chiller.

Sent from my SPH-L710 using Home Brew mobile app

 

[processhead]

I am a fan of CFC type chillers, and have been using the same home-made one I build 14 years ago.

With higher temperature water like you have, you need a system that maximizes efficiency and a CFC will be generally more efficient than an immersion type chiller.

A CFC can do this at a reasonable cost especially if you are able to contruct your own.

I use my 20' CFC with 55 degree well water, and get more than adequate cooling with very low flow rates from the tap.

I gravity feed from my BK through the coil and while using a screen on the kettle dip tube which effectively makes clogging a non-issue.

You might consider a longer coil since your tap water is somewhat warmer.

 

[lowelldw]

I was maker a copper cooler this morning and had no idea what temp. my water was...checked and it is right at 50 degrees.

Is "low flow rate" better to cool with than high flow rate???? Or is low flow rate just to conserve water??

 

[processhead]

I was maker a copper cooler this morning and had no idea what temp. my water was...checked and it is right at 50 degrees.

Is "low flow rate" better to cool with than high flow rate???? Or is low flow rate just to conserve water??

Both, actually.
I found that my wort temp. would be too low for optimal pitching of some yeast types if I flow the tap water at a high rate.

 

[Homercidal]

Break material is no problem for a CFC. It's not big or strong enough to clog. Hops matter is another matter. I don't have a problem if I stir the wort up real good and get it all spread out, but if you are using a hops bag and spider, you should have no worries.

 

[experimike]

I use a CFC (25 feet of 1/2 inch copper pipe in a 1.5 inch water jacket). The BK has a stainless steel screen tube formed in a circle to a tee that connects to the pickup tube. The screen has about 1/16 inch openings which keeps out most of the hop debris and is certainly fine enough to prevent any clogging. I am toying with the idea of a stainless steel hop spider with 400 mesh to make cleanup easier.

I can cool 5 gallons down to tap water temperature in less than 10 minutes at with the water flow set lower. Plenty of efficiency in the CFC. Since I have warm tap water (70 - 75) as well, I just put the carboy in the fermentation chamber to cool it down the last few degrees to pitching temperature. That's easier for me than setting up a secondary cooler with an ice water bath. But a secondary cooler works fine too; especially if you do not have a temperature controlled fermentation chamber.

But if you do not have a temperature controlled fermentation chamber, I would use that $150 to build a fermentation chamber before updating your chiller. That's plenty of cash to get the build done.