Dry ice to cool wort

[NanoMan]

Let's say that you have just enough time to chill your wort to 100F but would really like to get to at least 65 to pitch. Any harm in throwing in some dry ice to rapid chill. Assume the CO2 off gases, and yes it's a few more pennies, but for the convenience, and yes, time can be that tight!

Cheers!

NanoMan

 

[Uziyahu]

It sounds to me like you want to toss the dry ice into the hot wort. That would make a huge splattering mess. When dry ice hits water, it sputters and spits. Enough to cool hot wort would make a huge mess.

 

[stpug]

I have read numerous times that dry ice is not necessarily sanitary - regardless of it's extreme cold temperature - therefore you run the risk of contaminating your wort. Again, I've only read this and have no proof.

If dry ice IS sanitary then I see no reason why this wouldn't work. ..... well, except that you'd be inundating your fresh wort with co2 (stresses yeast) instead of O2.....

I take that back. It's not a good idea.

 

[RachmaelBenApplebaum]

it can have certain industrial chemicals on it, though sometimes folks put pices of it in punch for halloween &such. I wouldn't, purely for the reasons mentioned above, talk about a big, VIOLENT reaction. Really adding it under your brewpot in an ice bath can help cool it faster than your typical ice bath, but the improvement is marginal.

 

[NanoMan]

The contamination consideration is a concern. Maybe using dry ice to prechill the water going to the immersion chiller (I have a an additional immersion chiller)...

 

[The542]

Thermal expansion would be huge, essentially an explosion. You would have a wort outline of you on the wall behind you. If you do this, make sure you video it, you can post it to you tube after you get your burns treated.
Ever throw ice in a deep fryer? Same thermal offset. Dry ice sits at about -109 degrees.

 

[The542]

The contamination consideration is a concern. Maybe using dry ice to prechill the water going to the immersion chiller (I have a an additional immersion chiller)...

This sounds a little safer, but nothing a bag or two of ice wouldn't handle. I applaud thinking outside the box, but really consider safety concerns. Please don't add it directly to hot wort my friend.

 

[RachmaelBenApplebaum]

If you have an extra cooler lying around somewhere use a wort chiller and a submersible pump, fill the cooler wth ice, water, and dry ice, and throw the submersible pump in. You can re-circulate the chilling water into the same vessel.

 

[marinosr]

If you want to be on the bleeding edge of wort chiller insanity, make a recirculating chiller system that circulates 99% EtOH through dry ice. After dry ice sits in an ethanol bath for a few minutes, the ethanol will stabilize at -78 C, which should be quite sufficient to chill your wort.