If you had to buy it all over again, what chiller would you get?

[Catt22]

(snip) However, that said (and what BK has already said) the most effective solution is the recirculating immersion chiller.

(snip)Even if you are recirculating using a plate chiller/CFC, the immersion chiller + reciric is still going to bring the body wort temperature down the quickest.

Until now, that is! I'm pretty sure my chiller could hold it's own with any IC. I use the recirc back to the kettle with a pump method. It's fast! Cheap to build too:

The final connections aren't shown in these pics. There's a water inlet and outlet on the PVC and adapters on the copper for the wort. I can post more pics showing these if there's any interest.

 

[GoBrewers]

I used to use an IC but recently made the switch to a Shirron plate chiller and I couldn't be happier with it. Gravity feeding a 5 gallon batch is no problem and in the time it takes to rack into the fetmentor the wort temp is below 60F.

Visually, the improvement in cold break has been dramatic. With an inline chiller (plate or CFC), you are dropping the temp of a given volume of wort in just a few seconds (ie the time it takes that volume to pass through the chiller). Compare that to the 15-25 minutes it will take to chill that same volume of wort with an IC. In terms of cold break quality, there's no comparison. And DMS production in the pre-chilled wort is not a factor.

You can alleviate the risk of plugging it up with any number of hop filters on your kettle outflow (SS braid, washing machine lint trap, Brillo pad, etc.). And cleaning/sanitization is as easy as running PBW/Starsan through it. If it's brew day, you already have those solutions made up already anyway, right?

So I would definitely reccommend making or buying a CFC or plate chiller. They might be a little more work but they're just better.

 

[brewt00l]

I started out with an IC and then purchased a plate chiller. I still use both but I really dig the one pass convenience of the plate.

 

[bob1852]

Thanks for all the great thoughts, comments, and personal experience.

May I suggest that Bobby's comparison get's snipped and added to Llama's "vs." thread (if something like that isn't already there; haven't looked close enough).

I was leaning towards the 50' IC since I don't have a spigot on my brew pot, and it's the method I'm used to, but now I'm leaning towards a plate chiller.

 

[humann_brewing]

Personally I am not seeing a good reason to upgrade my basic and small IC. I am not sure of the length, probably 15-25ft (big range I know but it was given to me and I know nothing other than it works).

The point is that my method of putting the brew pot on the top step of the pool (the 50* water over the winter really helped but still helps when it's 70* now) with the sanitized chiller in it, I them walk over and turn on the hose, walk back over to the pot, grab the inlet hose and start moving it around in and out of the water, splashing, circular motions whatever which is how I get a lot of oxygen into the wort and my main goal is to get below the 140* mark which is done in about 3 minutes. I continue pretty vigorously until I am under 100* which is another 3-4 minutes then I let it sit and get the fermentor ready if it is not already and within 5 minutes it is in the 70s and ready for the primary.

Granted this is only with 5 gallon batches and will need to upgrade if I go to 10 gallon batches most likely but this works too good to upgrade my chiller right now.

 

[Catt22]

Personally I am not seeing a good reason to upgrade my basic and small IC. I am not sure of the length, probably 15-25ft (big range I know but it was given to me and I know nothing other than it works).

The point is that my method of putting the brew pot on the top step of the pool (the 50* water over the winter really helped but still helps when it's 70* now) with the sanitized chiller in it, I them walk over and turn on the hose, walk back over to the pot, grab the inlet hose and start moving it around in and out of the water, splashing, circular motions whatever which is how I get a lot of oxygen into the wort and my main goal is to get below the 140* mark which is done in about 3 minutes. I continue pretty vigorously until I am under 100* which is another 3-4 minutes then I let it sit and get the fermentor ready if it is not already and within 5 minutes it is in the 70s and ready for the primary.

Granted this is only with 5 gallon batches and will need to upgrade if I go to 10 gallon batches most likely but this works too good to upgrade my chiller right now.

It's not a good idea to splash around in the hot wort. The risk is hot side aeration which can result in oxidation of the wort. Aeration or oxygenation should only be done when the wort is 100 deg F or under IIRC.

Your IC is working a lot faster than mine ever did. Getting down to 75 F seemed to take forever, especially in the warmer weather when the tap water was not as cold.

 

[Yambor44]

I started with a small IC when I was doing 5 gallon batches. I switched to a homemade CFC a few brews back. I love the one pass transfer as I use an ice bath and sometimes have to wait for my wort to warm up as it comes out at 48 degrees.

That being said, I have been researching recirculating in my Mash Tun for mashing and also my BK. I had a batch recently (10 gallon) that half was the best beer I ever made and the other half had a funny sweet, malty, caramel kinda taste (Memory Lapse Pale Ale). A friend who brews and has for over 20 years said it could be oxygen. I think it could also be from the wort sitting too long in the BK at near boiling temps waiting to pass thru the CFC. I don't know what DMS tastes like. I think I asked before on another thread but cannot remember the answer nor find it.


I am going to try my IC again and use my pump to recirculate the wort to create a whirlpool to not only expedite the chilling but also move the trub/hop break to the center away from my drain in the BK.

All that being said I think the OP should use a 25' 3/8" IC for 5 gallon brews or a 50 foot ½" for 10 gallons. Then down the road he can add a pump and recirculate if he wants.

 

[bob1852]

Thanks for everyone's input - it seems to me that that IC is my best fit.

I will be doing mostly 5 gallon batches - occassionally 10 gallon batches, and I don't have a spigot on my brew pot, and I don't have any pumps, and I live at a high elevation so my tap water is pretty chilly.

I know the CFC and plate chillers work great; but quite honestly, I'll capture the water I run through the IC and use it in the garden. The extra work to maintain/clean a CFC or plate just doesn't seem worth it to me at this time -- unless someone can talk me out of it.

I like the thought of dunking an IC into the wort and getting the job done.

 

[Yambor44]

Thanks for everyone's input - it seems to me that that IC is my best fit.

I will be doing mostly 5 gallon batches - occassionally 10 gallon batches, and I don't have a spigot on my brew pot, and I don't have any pumps, and I live at a high elevation so my tap water is pretty chilly.

I know the CFC and plate chillers work great; but quite honestly, I'll capture the water I run through the IC and use it in the garden. The extra work to maintain/clean a CFC or plate just doesn't seem worth it to me at this time -- unless someone can talk me out of it.

I like the thought of dunking an IC into the wort and getting the job done.

You can also use the first captured water (the hotest) to clean up afterwards. Make sure not to run the hot, hot water straight onto grass or the garden as it can kill the vegetation.

 

[bob1852]

okay, I bought a CFC today from my NLHBS.....

he gave me a pretty good price, and it just seemed like a good buy.

 

[Yambor44]

okay, I bought a CFC today from my NLHBS.....

he gave me a pretty good price, and it just seemed like a good buy.

You got a CFC or an IC? Just asking cause you said you were gonna buy an IC as you didn't have a pump or spigot on your BK.

 

[bob1852]

You got a CFC or an IC? Just asking cause you said you were gonna buy an IC as you didn't have a pump or spigot on your BK.

a CFC -- now I need at least a spigot, but will probably get a pump eventually

 

[Coastarine]

I've got a 25' copper in cheap garden hose CFC and a self-priming pump on the cold side to draw the wort through. I've been using it for something like 6 months and I love it. I'd go with it again.

 

[Catt22]

I've got a 25' copper in cheap garden hose CFC and a self-priming pump on the cold side to draw the wort through. I've been using it for something like 6 months and I love it. I'd go with it again.

What brand of pump are you using? I'd like to find a good self priming pump at a reasonable price.