Counter Flow Cleaning Question

Folks, I purchased a counter flow chiller which has a copper coil that the wort flows through. The initial cleaning suggestion was 2 Tablespoons of Clorox per gallon of water which they suggested boiling. I then allowed the Clorox/Water solution to sit in the chiller for two hours. When I empty the chiller the solution comes out light brown. I assumed after the first time that this was dirt but after three tries I’m thinking the solution is reacting with the copper. I’ve also flushed it with high pressure water from a garden hose (that seemed to be clear) Any ideas ? Is there a better way to clean the coil ?

I decided to move on from “kit beer” makers and have only chilled my wart by added cold water, so this is new to me. Any help would be appreciated.

I cleaned mine by running boiling water through it, then poured in some no rinse sanitizing solution. After that, I capped both ends until the following day (brew day). It's quite the pain.

I always fill my bottling bucket up with one-step on brew day. Normally I'll elevate it, and allow it to run through the counterflow down into my carboy. Sometimes I'll do this twice. I'll let it sit in my carboy for 30min to sanitize it too. After the brewing is done, I just let the sanitizer run back down through the wort chiller and drain it.

Probably not the best method, but it's been working for me so far.

http://www.bodensatz.com/staticpages/index.php?page=2002041307572139

I might build a hopback like the one mentioned here when I do my Amarillo cream ale.

Cheesefood said:

http://www.bodensatz.com/staticpages/index.php?page=2002041307572139

I might build a hopback like the one mentioned here when I do my Amarillo cream ale.

Click to expand...

Excellent resource, CF. Thanks much for the link.

We were considering what to do for a chiller, and that article is pretty much lays out the pros and cons of both systems.

What isn't discussed are the chill plates like the Shirron. I don't fully grok how those work. They seem to be simple water blocks. Is that the case?



Gedvondur

Run hot vinigar thru it. If it really starts to turn a green/blue, use some new vinigar.
Then rinse it well, cap it off and your good to go.

Cool I try that

Great, thanks for responding so quickly. I think the chlorinated solution was probably unwise.

Normally the way I clean mine is rinse it after I'm done using it on brew day, then befor the next use I run 5 gallons of star san through it and let it drain completely prior to use again. I store my empty carboys full of star san and it it for sanatizing through out brew day. I use 6.5 gallon primarys so thats about 1.5 gallons for various stuff then the other 5 for the CFC

They are a lot more maintenance than a IC, but I think that overall they're the better choice. Not just because they chill wort faster, but also because they have less surface area and therefore less infection risk.

Isn't it bad to use star-san on copper? I heard that somewhere.

Star San is a bit acidic but then again so is your wort. I wouldnt let my chillers sit in starsan for an extended period of time but to clean them with it is fine IMHO

All we do is run about a gallon of san into the chiller before hooking it up to the kettle. The wort coming out is hot enough to kill most of the nasties that the san didn't get to. Then we use a high pressure hose attachment to flush it out after the transfer.

Haven't been infected yet. *knocks on wood*