Do you clear the water out of a wort chiller after use?

[mtnagel]

I just made a wort chiller and plan to brew this weekend. Do you bother trying to remove the leftover water from the wort chiller for storage? And if so, how do you do it?

If it matters, I usually brew every 1-2 months.

 

[Mb2658]

I just made a wort chiller and plan to brew this weekend. Do you bother trying to remove the leftover water from the wort chiller for storage? And if so, how do you do it?

If it matters, I usually brew every 1-2 months.

I have an immersion chiller that I hold upside down after use and the water quickly runs out. It's as simple as that.

 

[mariojr]

Yes. I use gravity and my air compressor to get the water out. Don't ever want that to freeze up in the winter because it will crack it.

 

[LLBeanJ]

I have an immersion chiller that I hold upside down after use and the water quickly runs out. It's as simple as that.

I do this as well.

 

[AnOldUR]

Do you clear the water out of a wort chiller after use?

Do you clear the water out of your copper pipes after taking a shower?

 

[BridgewaterBrewer]

Tap water in copper pipe is unlikely to grow any thing nasty and if anything does thats why you boil in the wort anyway so I don't stress about getting all the water out. However if there is a good amount of water in the chiller when you put it in boiling wort you can get a jet of boiling water shooting out of it.

 

[Jayhem]

Why would the water in the coils matter, that water will never come into contact with wort.

Just hang the chiller upside down on a hook for a few minutes after each use to get most if the water out to avoid a mess if you store the chiller in your house like I do.

- J

 

[Yooper]

Do you clear the water out of your copper pipes after taking a shower?

That's a good point!

But I will mention this just as something only a dummy like me would do. Not that this actually happened, of course.

Say that this person didn't drain the water out, and the chiller was fine. But then, they stuck it in the brewpot to sanitize (an immersion chiller) before hooking up the hoses. And then just suppose that they had no awareness of science and how the wort would cause the liquid IN the chiller to boil as well and so this water would expand and shoot boiling water out at the brewer standing right there.

Now I'm not saying this was me, of course. Because that would be admitting doing something very very stupid.

But after that, a brewer might find they should either a) empty the chiller by just holding it upside down or blowing through it, or b) hook the hoses up before placing the chiller in the wort to sanitize, or c) both.

I'm not saying this was me!

 

[glugglug]

Yooper makes a good point, not that it happened to him, and also the fact that it could freeze is also a good point. I always blow the water out. Why not?

 

[mtnagel]

Thanks all. Looks like I will try to drain it out by holding it upside down.

Do you clear the water out of your copper pipes after taking a shower?

As I said, I only brew every 1-2 months whereas I use my water daily or more. Sitting water will grow mold and even though that will never make it into my beer, why not try to avoid to that?

That's a good point!

But I will mention this just as something only a dummy like me would do. Not that this actually happened, of course.

Say that this person didn't drain the water out, and the chiller was fine. But then, they stuck it in the brewpot to sanitize (an immersion chiller) before hooking up the hoses. And then just suppose that they had no awareness of science and how the wort would cause the liquid IN the chiller to boil as well and so this water would expand and shoot boiling water out at the brewer standing right there.

Now I'm not saying this was me, of course. Because that would be admitting doing something very very stupid.

But after that, a brewer might find they should either a) empty the chiller by just holding it upside down or blowing through it, or b) hook the hoses up before placing the chiller in the wort to sanitize, or c) both.

I'm not saying this was me!

Hehe.

 

[AnOldUR]

I always blow the water out. Why not?

As I said, I only brew every 1-2 months whereas I use my water daily or more. Sitting water will grow mold and even though that will never make it into my beer, why not try to avoid to that?

Sometimes the question is "why" not "why not." If you store your IC in a place where it could freeze or don't hook up the lines before putting it in your wort, then sure, drain it. For most purposes it's just a waste of time.

Kind of like, "why not sanitize the water in you HLT before mashing in."

 

[TyTanium]

Water in the chiller also means more mass to heat when you first stick it in the wort...may temporarily lose your boil.

 

[mtnagel]

Sometimes the question is "why" not "why not." If you store your IC in a place where it could freeze or don't hook up the lines before putting it in your wort, then sure, drain it. For most purposes it's just a waste of time.

Kind of like, "why not sanitize the water in you HLT before mashing in."

I did answer why. Because I don't want mold growing in the tube.

 

[Revvy]

You really really really need to get in the habit of somehow blowing out the water in your chiller, if you don't, and you brew in the late fall or early winter in a cold clime, you are going to forget and perhaps even leave it in the garage, where it's going to freeze, and the next time you go to use it, you'll probably post something like this that happened to a friend of mine.

While I was cooling the wort down to pitch the yeast, I went to start dumping the sanitizer out of my carboy and my ale pale. I happened to walk by the kitchen door and look out side to see me brew kettle over flowing all over the porch. I raced outside, and sure enough, my brew kettle was flooding. I yanked the wort chiller out, and sure enough there was a split in the bottom most coil. Needless to say, I wasn't happy at all. I threw the wort chiller across the back yard and yelled a certain 4 letter word. I went in and grabbed a hydrometer and took a reading...1.005. A whole freakin 10 gallon batch of beer ruined. Twenty-three pounds of grain and 3 ounces of hops poured out it the grass.

I am ready to chew nails right now.

You can do it with an air compresser, you can do it with your red oxygen bottle or aquairum pump if you use those to aerate your wort, or you can do it with your lungs if you are reasonably healthy. But if you live in a clime with a winter, you really should make removing the water a habit for every brew day.

 

[mtnagel]

Thanks for that. I probably would store it in my garage and while not temperature controlled, I don't think it ever gets to freezing, but better safe than sorry.

 

[hunter_le five]

Say that this person didn't drain the water out, and the chiller was fine. But then, they stuck it in the brewpot to sanitize (an immersion chiller) before hooking up the hoses. And then just suppose that they had no awareness of science and how the wort would cause the liquid IN the chiller to boil as well and so this water would expand and shoot boiling water out at the brewer standing right there.

Now I'm not saying this was me, of course. Because that would be admitting doing something very very stupid.

I too learned that lesson the hard way. I had even dumped "most" of the water out, but there was enough left in the coil to build up pressure and squirt a boiling glob at me.

Now I let it drain a full 30 minutes before I put it up after my brewday. That may be overkill, but I'd like to avoid a repeat close call.

 

[AnOldUR]

Here is a list of pasteurization temperatures and the time that is needed at that temp to properly sanitize something.

...
96ºC (204ºF) 0.05 seconds Higher-Heat Shorter Time (HHST)
100ºC (212ºF) 0.01 seconds Higher-Heat Shorter Time (HHST)

There's really no reason to put your IC in the wort until your ready to start the chill. Clean it before storing and rinse it before you chill.

As for the leaky IC. Personally, I hook up the lines and start the flow before putting it in the kettle. But that's just me. There are too many reasons for a leak to develop to not give yourself the chance of catching it beforehand. But I do agree with Revvy. If you store it in a place that has the slightest chance of freezing, drain it.

 

[Felixio]

That's a good point!

But I will mention this just as something only a dummy like me would do. Not that this actually happened, of course.

Say that this person didn't drain the water out, and the chiller was fine. But then, they stuck it in the brewpot to sanitize (an immersion chiller) before hooking up the hoses. And then just suppose that they had no awareness of science and how the wort would cause the liquid IN the chiller to boil as well and so this water would expand and shoot boiling water out at the brewer standing right there.

Now I'm not saying this was me, of course. Because that would be admitting doing something very very stupid.

But after that, a brewer might find they should either a) empty the chiller by just holding it upside down or blowing through it, or b) hook the hoses up before placing the chiller in the wort to sanitize, or c) both.

I'm not saying this was me!

That does make a lot of sense. I'm not saying that I've learned it from experience as well. I'm not saying you did either. But I will say that I drain my immersion chiller after every use.

 

[PackerfaninSanDiego]

I wonder how many are laughing at those that remove the water in their wort chiller?

 

[Revvy]

Who gives a care? Noone who lives in a cold clime is laughing, I know three different brewers who had ruptured chillers and ruined batches that way...

 

[MuddyCreek]

But after that, a brewer might find they should either a) empty the chiller by just holding it upside down or blowing through it ...

Heh heh... Yoop blows her chiller.

 

[DPBISME]

I do just by turning it upside down but any that is left stays.

Mostly to make sure I don't track water all over the place.

Some always comes outthe next time it goes in the wort for it's 20 minute boil before I start running water through it.



DPB

 

[Shred]

Yooper makes a good point, not that it happened to him, and also the fact that it could freeze is also a good point. I always blow the water out. Why not?

*Her