Is this an alternative to an immersion wort chiller

[Likefully]

So I am getting ready to do my first all grain. I have read a lot about throwing ice in to the wort until it cools down ..... until I realised that discussion (ice in the wort) was about extract.

I think I have blown my budget for this month on brewing equipment so won't even consider asking SWMBO if i can invest in the materials needed for an immersion chiller.

so, will what i have done in the photo work? I will suspend the smaller pot in the kettle and fill that with ice blocks (i litre each) and then circulate the wort around this until it cools.

the pots are both aluminium which i presume is fine for conducting heat. I will take a LOT of precautions to make sure everything is sanitised.

thanks in advance.

 

[elkshadow]

I don't see why it wouldn't work. If your pot fits in the sink, you could do an ice bath that way too.

 

[kontrol]

What a plan lol. The only thing that concerns me is the wood. If water drops gets on it and fall back in the wort...

Not sure how efficient it will be, but I'm pretty sure it will be better than no chilling. For best result if you can also drop the pot in an ice bath or something...

 

[Facinerous]

I think your idea would work though I don't think it would be highly effecient. Ice in a very hot pot will melt incredibly fast, and ice floats so your coldest point would take a bit to transfer heat. I like the idea though.

I always did the ol pot in the sink trick, but your pot looks quite large for that. Pot in the bathtub?

Also ice in the wart would work for either extract or all grain, at the cool down point its all the same.

 

[DPBISME]

Sure... I like since you can now just stir the wort around it.

Ya best sterialize that pot though...

 

[amandabab]

it will be better than nothing.

 

[NivekD]

Have you done any testing? Make sure the little pot does not displace too much to cause an overflow.

 

[RM-MN]

Have you considered no-chill? Finish your boil, put a lid on the pot and pitch the yeast the next day.
I've even dumped the boiling wort directly into my plastic fermeter bucket and put a sanitized lid on it. Don't fill the airlock too much because you will get suck back as the wort cools.

 

[Pratzie]

take some 20oz aquafina bottles or soda bottles or whatever. even 2 liter bottles would work.....Throw them in the freezer. when they are frozen, take them right out , spray the outside with star san, wait a few minutes for the sanitzer to work and plop them in. Stir occaisionally, put on some gloves and take them out and put new ones in if needed. I used to keep the lid partially on when i would do this with other batches before i got my counterflow chiller.

When i worked in a restaurant we had a special food grade plastic thing we filled with water, froze and then put into 10 gallon pots of chilli or sauces or whatever to get it down to safe temps before throwing it in the freezer. It worked like a charm.

 

[Likefully]

Wow! Thanks for the quick replies.
I haven't done any testing yet but will. The big pot is 36 liters and the small is less than 6 and I won't do a boil larger than 25. So I assume it will work.

I am glad to hear someone propose a no chill, will give that some thought as the pot has a lid that will seal pretty tight.

Pratzie - is there any risk of the plastic bottles melting (like a 2 liter coke bottle) when thrown into the hot wort?

 

[Likefully]

I ended up using a slight variant of the approach in the photos.

I used a camping aluminium cooking pot which took about 3litres. I filled that with water and froze it. I whirled the pot around the wort after flame out and kept replenishing the ice.

I got the temp from 90 (celsius) to 60 in 30 minutes and then drained into my fermenter. I left the fermenter (with an airtight lid on it) in cold water until I could pitch (about another 40 minutes).

I think if i could have put the pot i boiled the wort in into a tub with ice the my technique would probably have worked ok, the problem was i had a massive volume of hot wort sitting in a hot pot. The pot was not cooled down and surely kept the temp up/slowed its cooling.

right now there is a lot of activity going on in the fermenter which holds 24litres of .... something ... we will see in a months time!

 

[RM-MN]

Wow! Thanks for the quick replies.
I haven't done any testing yet but will. The big pot is 36 liters and the small is less than 6 and I won't do a boil larger than 25. So I assume it will work.

I am glad to hear someone propose a no chill, will give that some thought as the pot has a lid that will seal pretty tight.

Pratzie - is there any risk of the plastic bottles melting (like a 2 liter coke bottle) when thrown into the hot wort?

The melting point of the plastic used in those bottles is about 236 degrees...Celcius. Your wort won't be over about 110C so nothing to worry about.

 

[traylorbrew]

i had the same buget problem went to walmart got a 7$ plastic tub, drilled 4 1/4 inch hole in one end, froze 4 2 liter bottles. drill hole a couple inchs up from buttom of tub, place pot in tub place as many frozen bottles around the tub that u can place a hose in opposite side from holes drilled turn water on and mantain input flow with output, cooled mine in 20 minutes