DIY Immersion Chiller

[gwcr]

One of the first things I needed when I moved to 5 gallon batches was a way to cool the wort to fermenting temps quickly. I'm a big DIY type guy, so rather than shell out the $ for a new wort chiller I decided to build one instead.

Parts:

3/8" OD copper coil (20 ft)
Small hose clamps (3)
Female hose adapter with 3/8" barb
3/8" ID vinyl tubing (12 ft, or whatever length you need)

The first step was to form the main coil. Very easy since it already had a coil to it. I didn't have a tube bender, so i used an empty paint can and formed the tube around it. You want to go slow here as you do not want to kink the copper.


Next, I carefully bent the ends so they would come up and be outside the rim of the kettle.


Then it was a simple matter of attaching the vinyl tubing to each end with the hose clamps. I got 1.5"-2" of the copper inside the vinyl tube.

The final step was to attach the hose barb to the other end of the "cold water in" tube. Make sure to slide the hose clamp on the tube first before you put the hose barb on. The final result looks something like this:


This little beauty cools 5ish gallons of boiling wort to 70 degrees in about 15-20 minutes. I built this 2 years ago, and it's still going strong. These run you ~$70 at the HBS or online. Total cost for mine with all parts from Lowes was about $35 IIRC. This was also a very quick and easy project to build. If I would do it again, I would get a tube bender so my final bends would be a little nicer, but that would add about $10 to the build...

[jivex5k]

Awesome info and great pics!
An immersion chiller is a huge help when brewing 5 gallon batches.

Thanks for the thread man. =D

[Beer-lord]

Great job. I was too lazy and bought mine (but got a great deal) but in the summer, without the pond pump in ice, my 84 degree tap water would put me out of commish.
Yours is neat and clean and professional looking.

[jimjohson]

that looks good. my lhbs wants $99 for one

[gwcr]

Thanks guys. This was definitely the easiest DIY I ever did. I would say just about everyone should be able to complete a project like this. The only tool you NEED is a screwdriver for the hose clamps...

[haerbob3]

NICE!!! I do have one concern, the length. You said it is 20 feet?

[gwcr]

Yep. I used a 20' coil. I know most of the "small" ones you can buy are 25', but it was either 20' or 50' when I built this one. So far I don't think I have missed the extra 5 ft. I might make the next one longer if this one ever craps out on me.

[haerbob3]

I started with a 25 for my last MR B & first AG batches. It worked, but I have since switched to a 50' recirculation immersion coil chiller. I usually brew a 6 gallon (trub loses) to 15 gallons. are you going to be running a pre-chiller?

[gwcr]

I haven't needed to so far, but I don't brew in the summer too often. I've thought about a pond pump in a cooler full of ice water for the final stage, but haven't set that up yet. If/when I move to 10 gallon batches, I'll probably make a 50 footer. What do you do for a pre-chiller?

[Beer-lord]

I haven't needed to so far, but I don't brew in the summer too often. I've thought about a pond pump in a cooler full of ice water for the final stage, but haven't set that up yet. If/when I move to 10 gallon batches, I'll probably make a 50 footer. What do you do for a pre-chiller?

I wish I would have done the pond pump thing last year but so far this year, 4 times this summer, I've used it and got my 83 degree tap water down to 65 pitching in under 30 minutes. Well worth the $29 I paid for the pump and you can find smaller, cheaper ones too.

[gwcr]

Which pump do you use Beer-lord? Where did you get it?

[Beer-lord]

I lied, it wasn't $29, it was $22 and it still is at that price on Amazon.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B006M6 ... UTF8&psc=1
It comes with attachments to allow use of 3 different size tubes 1/2", 5/8" and 3/4" . I think I use 5/8" but 1/2" will work just fine.

I can get 20lbs of loose ice for $1.50 near my house behind a Shell gas station. It's automated and open 24 hours. On brewday, I start my mash and while I'm waiting the 60 minutes, I run to the ice house with an ice chest and get 20lbs. When the boil is done, I simply use the hot water coming out the chiller to melts a little ice as the pump needs to be in water when plugged in and flowing.
You can likely get something just as good at Lowes or Home Depot or even Ace Hardware if you don't want to go the Amazon route.

[gwcr]

Thanks Beer-lord. I always like to try local first, but I end up on Amazon more often than not...

[haerbob3]

I haven't needed to so far, but I don't brew in the summer too often. I've thought about a pond pump in a cooler full of ice water for the final stage, but haven't set that up yet. If/when I move to 10 gallon batches, I'll probably make a 50 footer. What do you do for a pre-chiller?

I do not need one. The well water I have stays 55* all year, 200 ft.