Wort chiller

[BigDaddyBeard]

I made a wort chiller that is 20' by 1/2" and it worked great for small batches. I moved to all grain and with the 5.5 gallon volume it takes forever to cool it down. Can I solder another 20' on to make it 40' or is the lead free solder not good to put in the wort?

 

[kombat]

I'd be worried about the fragility of the connection and the potential of it snapping during chilling and spraying unsanitized chilling water into your wort. You could guy another 20', make another coil, and connect them with high-temperature silicone tubing that would sit above the wort (i.e., not submersed) and interlace the 2 coils. Or buy a 50' length and just make a new coil. Use your existing coil as a "pre-chiller" in an ice bath in a camping cooler. Or get a plate chiller or counterflow chiller.

 

[BigDaddyBeard]

I have 50' of 1/4" laying around do you think that would be sufficient with the pre chiller?

 

[kombat]

Yup, that should be fine.

 

[Spoonmann]

I have 50' of 1/4" laying around do you think that would be sufficient with the pre chiller?

1/4 is really small... I don't know what your source water is but if it's a hose your pressure is too great for compression connectors (I only know because I tried to do the same). If you can, use a bigger copper tube.

 

[d3track]

I made my chiller from 2 1/4"x20' pieces (ribcage style) but I don't open the hose full blast, and no problems.

 

[Spoonmann]

I broke down and bought 50' of 1/2, I just couldn't get it to work with 1/4. If you have the tubing already, there is no harm in trying.

 

[BigDaddyBeard]

Just got a bonus at work and am going to buy a new chiller and use my 1/2" x 20' as the pre-chiller. I am looking at a 1/2"x 50' for $90 and a 3/8" x 50' for around $75. Is the 1/2" worth the $15 extra?

 

[Spoonmann]

I went 1/2 and have been happy.
This is where I ordered from, much better deal than the big box HW stores and shipping was quick for me-
https://www.coppertubingsales.com/storefront/index.php

I got 50' 1/2" and all the fittings for hose hookup for 56.75 USD. shipping for me was around 16 bucks ground - about 73 USD total.

 

[BigDaddyBeard]

I went 1/2 and have been happy. This is where I ordered from, much better deal than the big box HW stores and shipping was quick for me- https://www.coppertubingsales.com/storefront/index.php I got 50' 1/2" and all the fittings for hose hookup for 56.75 USD. shipping for me was around 16 bucks ground - about 73 USD total.

How did you bend it?

 

[Spoonmann]

Around a bucket for the coil, I used a tube bender for the tight bends that lead to the hose hookup (Just a spring - >5 USD at the hardware store). It's pretty easy to do, there are many youtube videos about the process. Start to finish it took me 30 minutes or so, the tube is already in a coil you just need to tighten the coil.

 

[BigDaddyBeard]

Around a bucket for the coil, I used a tube bender for the tight bends that lead to the hose hookup (Just a spring - >5 USD at the hardware store). It's pretty easy to do, there are many youtube videos about the process. Start to finish it took me 30 minutes or so, the tube is already in a coil you just need to tighten the coil.

Thanks! I will definitely keep that in mind for future reference, but I just broke down and bought the 1/2" x 50' with the hose fittings from NY Brew Supply.