Possible new project...

[JimH]

Hello Borg!
I have been trying to figure out how to make my project idea work, if it even will. My current wort chiller setup isn't quite working, and I have a few things lying around that might work to make a new one. I was thinking of making a sort of counter flow chiller. I saw someone who made one out of a five gallon bucket, and it seemed to work okay. I have a spare kettle with the holes drilled for a valve and a thermometer. I think if I somehow attach some 3/8" copper tubing to the inside of the kettle with an in and an out, with flex tubing to and from, I can make a gravity feed chiller. Fill the kettle with ice water and then let it flow. Think this will work?

Any ideas on the transition?

[JimH]

http://www.hazardhomebrewing.org/2014/0 ... n-chiller/

Here is similar to what I was thinking, but I was going to use gravity vice pump.

[Jon]

Have you thought about just adding a pre-chiller to your current chiller? Just another coil that you submerge in a bucket of ice water after you get your water down however low your tap water will get it quickly?

[John Sand]

I think it will work well, and quickly. Let us know what you do.

[MadBrewer]

I'm not sure how well it would work via gravity. You probably wouldn't get very much flow, especially as your kettle level goes lower, your flow rate would probably slow down even more or even stall. Other than that I think it would work well with a pump. The one thing I always keep in mind with a plate or counterflow chiller is everything transfers over from kettle to chiller. I'm not saying there is any harm in that, just that I like transfering clear wort to the fermenter.

Personally I always been a fan of an immersion chiller. It's easy to sanitize and can work really well under the right conditions. There's not a lot of waste because I use the water exiting the chiller for cleaning. Now that I'm getting into the warmer months I think I will try recirculating ice water through my immersion chiller to get to lower temps. I picked up a nice pump last year for $60. If you are looking for a pump check out https://www.williamsbrewing.com/MARK-II ... P4028.aspx

[Whamolagan]

I have used a pond pump from harbor freight for years, first with an immersion chiller and now on my plate chiller. I reuse the water to make blocks of ice. I don't think gravity will move enough liquid to get the heat out. I say give it a whirl if it don't cost much money. I use my mash tun for the ice water

[JimH]

Thanks for the input guys.

FWIW, I have a counter top in my basement which I would use to hold the kettle at a good height, and build a stand to hold the chiller setup at a level lower than the kettle, but above the fermentor. However, I have never tested this to see if gravity in fact would be enough. Sounds like not having enough height could be a problem.

Perhaps I may just go with the immersion chiller, but maybe go with one I purchase at the LHBS. My current one is a homemade chiller. I went with 1/2" OD copper pipe, it fit a pump I had laying around, but it isn't very long. It worked great on smaller batches, but may not be enough for larger batches I am doing now. I could probably buy one and retrofit my pump situation to fit the chiller and get better results.

The big problems I am trying to solve are water related. My water bill is stupid high here, so I was trying to find a way to save water. Seems like a big waste to use an immersion chiller and send that to the drain from the faucet. I have been using an ice bath in my utility sink and a pump system to pump water through the chiller. I have used 4 bags of ice and it seems to work well. Last time, I don't think I stirred the wort enough and I ended up with some temperature stratification and too hot of wort in my fermentor, which got me thinking of solutions to having stagnant wort in the pot. I liked the idea of counter flow, but don't want all the extras that go along with that, and still have the water waste issues.

[philm00x]

Buy water in bulk at one of the warehouse stores (Costco, Sam's Club, etc). They usually sell 5 gallon carboys of some brand of spring water. You can measure your volumes and not run up your water bill at home, unless your water bill is cheaper than buying bulk spring water.


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