Show us your DIY wort chillers
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Quan
Well-Known Member
You kidding me? Heat transfer between two liquids even in its simplest form is an incredibly complex set of equations. If we simplified it to just mixing 10 gallons of 32 degree water with 5 gallons of 212 degree water... it would still only create 15 gallons of 91.67°F. And that's the best case of heat transfer.
Put time, heat capacity, heat flux, thermal conductance, etc of 5 different materials and temperatures (wort, pot, water, plastic water bottle, ice)... it becomes an incredibly complicated problem.
So again, 212°F to 60°F in 5 minutes? Complete BS. And yes, kladue, I'd love to see your "math".
Here is mine. Taking my time with it. It is a tube/shell style heat exchanger made from 304 stainless. The wort will flow through the tubes and the chilling water will flow through the shell. The shell is not installed in photos below, and I still have a few tubes to install.
Original design was 57x12" long tubes of 3/16" OD in a 3" shell. The tubes are 11.875. I have 7 baffles to cause turbulence. On each end there will be a sanitary fitting and cap (with wort passage) fit with gasket and triclamp so I can remove the core for cleaning.
The design was simulated to cool 212F wort to 92 with 45F water (from my prechiller) first pass, and since I recirculate through the brew kettle to whirlpool, I should be able to get the wort down fast with this device.. <crosses fingers>
More progress:
Here is how the end tanks will fit on. Half of the sanitary fitting will be welded to the end plate, and the cap will have a fitting welded in to connect a 1/2 hard pipe to my manifold.
I f@@ked up, the 12 liters of ice is BS , I plugged the information to the heat exchange calcs at work and best it could ever get the wort cooled down to was 86 degrees, it was possible in theory if 17 liters was used but, the 10 gallon bucket would be full to almost overflowing.
Probably so if you could somehow circulate both the water in the tub and the wort in the fermenter, however, it ain't no way gonna happen in 5 minutes and probably not in 30 minutes either.
BrewBeemer
Well-Known Member
What's not to understand, the new math and ebonics generation get with the program LOL! Here im pissing around with 59 degree wellwater thru the IC instead of frozen water bottles. I bet my water waste is 400 times more than bottles but then the yard gets watered.
More progress:
Here is how the end tanks will fit on. Half of the sanitary fitting will be welded to the end plate, and the cap will have a fitting welded in to connect a 1/2 hard pipe to my manifold.
I would wager that you will do a lot better than 212F to 92F in a single pass with 45F cooling water using that baby. A whole lot better!
leboeuf
Well-Known Member
I think DavidR probably has the coolest looking cooler I've seen on this forum... That thing is ridiculous. How turbulent can you keep the coolant?
Props to you sir. This is the first non-IC I've seen here that can be inspected visually.
Props to you sir. This is the first non-IC I've seen here that can be inspected visually.
The coolant water that flows through the shell passes around seven baffles on the inside of the shell. Look here and you'll see every other baffle is cut at the bottom to allow the water to pass by. I hope it is turbulent enough.
It is far from the coolest thing, but thanks! I would love to construct a steam powered kettle with a calandria, but, steam is just too dangerous for 10 gallons of beer.
When I was in college, Jamie and Adam from the Mythbusters came to our campus and did a show. I got called on stage for the "beer cooling techniques" experiment. I was the one who sprayed the six pack with the extinguisher.
Also, all the other volunteers took sips of their cans, while I chugged mine. After the show, Adam actually started a conversation with me. At some point in that conversation I found out they didn't need any help on the show from a mechanical engineering student. Jamie was pretty quiet in person too.
TiberfiftenminutesoffameBrew
BrewBeemer
Well-Known Member
Adam's my fun loving hero, Jamie I find rather an odd duck I met both several times at the old Alameda Navel Air Station the island for many tests.
With Nam in the early 70's myself a A&P mechanic at a Allison 501-D13 engine shop were contracted out pulling maintenance on C-130 engines. On these monthly reserve weekends the Navy had emptied Co2 bottles for some strange reason they never figured out?
Best part is having Co2 fights you can't breathe as the trigger in the throat
blocks the diaphragm from functioning. "Jamie wants big boom!". What did Karri have, 5 kids at once? Dang she was big, a hoot also with that smile, note her tatoo?
I have one of these below, a Vortex Cooler model 721 NEMA 12 but a pig consuming air, for free a must toy. http://www.vortexair.biz/Cooling/VortexCooler/NEMA12/nema12.html
With Nam in the early 70's myself a A&P mechanic at a Allison 501-D13 engine shop were contracted out pulling maintenance on C-130 engines. On these monthly reserve weekends the Navy had emptied Co2 bottles for some strange reason they never figured out?
Best part is having Co2 fights you can't breathe as the trigger in the throat
blocks the diaphragm from functioning. "Jamie wants big boom!". What did Karri have, 5 kids at once? Dang she was big, a hoot also with that smile, note her tatoo?
I have one of these below, a Vortex Cooler model 721 NEMA 12 but a pig consuming air, for free a must toy. http://www.vortexair.biz/Cooling/VortexCooler/NEMA12/nema12.html
Well, crap, there goes my dream job for when I graduate.
What?
BrewBeemer
Well-Known Member
Kids, LOL! If there was trouble or a wrong way to do things for a thrill I bet i've done it.
Throw in ammonia refrigeration, very efficient but nasty when cutting piping apart with spilling liquid ammonia spilling out.
TheBroonery
Well-Known Member
50' of 3/8" copper bent around a paint can, rubber washing machine hose (has the female garden hose fitting preattached, I just cut it off the other end), and some clear plastic tubing. It works.
50' of 3/8" copper bent around a paint can, rubber washing machine hose (has the female garden hose fitting preattached, I just cut it off the other end), and some clear plastic tubing. It works.
Sure don't look like 50 ft to me. More like 25 ft probably. I had a similar one like that years ago. Yes, it worked, but not all that well. Still took much longer to chill a five gallon batch than I wanted and when I moved up to 12 gallon batches it took forever.
Captain_Bigelow
Well-Known Member
I was thinking the same. It looks a little sparse for 50ft.
TheBroonery
Well-Known Member
I think you guys are right, now that I recall it was a 25' coil
Captain_Bigelow
Well-Known Member
50ft should look like this -
Here is mine, Almost finished. By far the easiest and coolest DIY project I have done, and pretty cheap too.
Some stripped romex electrical cable lying around to twine it together. Also I needed a 1/4 to 1/2 reducer for my 3/8 inch tubing??? well it all is soldered together, and I cant wait to use it.
Some stripped romex electrical cable lying around to twine it together. Also I needed a 1/4 to 1/2 reducer for my 3/8 inch tubing??? well it all is soldered together, and I cant wait to use it.
SamuraiSquirrel
Well-Known Member
Old thread but it's like the "show us your kegerator" thread. It shouldn't ever die and is just a compilation of greatness.
Here is my attempt at a 50' 1/2" refrigeration tubing chiller...
Here is my attempt at a 50' 1/2" refrigeration tubing chiller...
LarsonLE
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that looks amazing.
SoonerDoc
Well-Known Member
I did a ribcage style chiller (1/2" x 50') but it was only about half submerged chilling 5 gallons in an 8 gallon pot, so I modified it in a way that it's now about 80% submerged.
It's nice because this way it straddles my bazooka screen, but if I were to do it over again, I would make a "standard" style chiller. That thing sucked to make.
It's nice because this way it straddles my bazooka screen, but if I were to do it over again, I would make a "standard" style chiller. That thing sucked to make.
I have a ic that I made a while back as well as a counterflow that I recently inherited from a brewer upgrading to a plate chiller, I like the immersion because I feel like it keeps cold break out of the fermenter, but I also like how fast the cfc chills, so here is my question: can I pump thru the cfc and back to the boil kettle to whirlpool, then drain into fermenter? Is anyone else doing this? Or is the chance of infection too great whirlpooling after the wort is chilled, if you guys think I can pull this off I plan on using my old ic as a prechiller
I pump through the CFC and back to the kettle in a continuous loop while chilling. I have been doing it this way for a long time with excellent results and no problems. This is essentially the same thing as Jamil's whirlpool method only using a CFC rather than an IC.
Perfect, that's exactly what I was hoping to hear. I was all pumped about the cfc until I read jamil's article on mr. Malty. This was the only way I could think of to leave behind both hot and cold break and still uses a counterflow. Almost got my single tier up and running, waiting on the pump and qd's to arrive. Other than that, all I lack is the whirlpool and diptube in the boil kettle. Can't wait to get it all put together
firebird400
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I have mine installed and as a part of the mash tun.
Seen here https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f51/my-new-homemade-micro-brewery-241691/
Seen here https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f51/my-new-homemade-micro-brewery-241691/
domnu_mircea
Member
Here's mine:
deerelk4x4
Member
How my beer do you brew at a time that would make a 57 x 12 sheel and tube counter flow chiller efficient. Great design though. Love it.
I ran across this yesterday while looking at options for a chiller not too expensive and looks like it would do a hell of a job
Solar Pool Heat Exchanger -Stainless Steel -SP-155Ksolar pool heat exchanger- stainless steel pool heat exchanger [] - $240.00 : NL Solar Heating - Solar Heating - Solar Water Heaters, Solar water heating, solar heating system, solar space heating, s
it is made to solar heat a swimming pool so i imagine it would cool a 10g batch pretty fast. Dose anyone know a calculation to estimate heat transfer based on the 2 flow rates, temperature and heat transfer area to estimate outlet temperature
Solar Pool Heat Exchanger -Stainless Steel -SP-155Ksolar pool heat exchanger- stainless steel pool heat exchanger [] - $240.00 : NL Solar Heating - Solar Heating - Solar Water Heaters, Solar water heating, solar heating system, solar space heating, s
it is made to solar heat a swimming pool so i imagine it would cool a 10g batch pretty fast. Dose anyone know a calculation to estimate heat transfer based on the 2 flow rates, temperature and heat transfer area to estimate outlet temperature
matho
Active Member
here is my CFC i can get to within 4 deg C (7 deg F) of my tap water and can chill 23l (6 gal) in 15 - 20 min
its a bit rough and ready but does a good job, the PVC hose in the wort path has been replaced with silicon.
cheers steve
its a bit rough and ready but does a good job, the PVC hose in the wort path has been replaced with silicon.
cheers steve
deerelk4x4
Member
I have a friend who has created a recirculating cooing water setup with ice water and a bilge pump. Water is pumped out and through his plate chiller and goes back into the ice bucket. We last used this setup this last weekend and he got his 5 gallons of wort from boiling down to 55 degrees in one pass Flow rate resulted in the 5 gallons transferring in 10 minutes.
CCBrewer
Well-Known Member
plate chillers are the way to go in my opinion, and with a "pre chiller in a ice bath.... it is just magic how fast it chills.
I believe I will be going the electric chiller route and using peltiers with a plate chiller.
I believe I will be going the electric chiller route and using peltiers with a plate chiller.
TheMagicHatter
Well-Known Member
So I have 2, 20ft coils of 5/8 diameter that I'm trying to combine and not having much luck. I picked up a Sharkbite, but that won't work.
I'm considering sweating/soldering a coupling to combine the two coils. Does anyone know if the solder would impart off flavors or would it be ok to have it sitting in the wort as it cools?
I'm considering sweating/soldering a coupling to combine the two coils. Does anyone know if the solder would impart off flavors or would it be ok to have it sitting in the wort as it cools?
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