I just made the move to Partial Mashing and the next move i want to make is doing full boils. One piece of essential equipment i need is a chiller.
Due to the simplicity of the design, i would like to go with an immersion chiller. My philosophy is "Do it right the first time" with projects like this, so i am going to make a 50 foot chiller even though it might be overkill now.
I brew in the kitchen and have low water pressure from the faucet. I wonder if i will be able to flow enough water from my faucet to make the IC effective. My other idea is to use a prechiller on the IC. This will also help in the hot Georgia summers where the faucet water is pretty warm. I can make a prechiller for free from an old 300zx oil cooler. While this seems like a good idea, i think this will just further restrict the flow thru the IC, so i thought a pump might be needed. i have an old 480 gph water pump that i used to use in a fish tank.
Here is my basic idea, do you think it will work effectively? Also should i use 3/8" or 1/2" copper tubing. 3/8" in 50' length is $33.55 + s/h and 1/2" in 50' length is $42.80 + s/h. is it worth the increase in price for the extra 1/8"?
Also what capacity of ice water will i need to bring 5 gallons of wort down to pitching temps?
or
Due to the simplicity of the design, i would like to go with an immersion chiller. My philosophy is "Do it right the first time" with projects like this, so i am going to make a 50 foot chiller even though it might be overkill now.
I brew in the kitchen and have low water pressure from the faucet. I wonder if i will be able to flow enough water from my faucet to make the IC effective. My other idea is to use a prechiller on the IC. This will also help in the hot Georgia summers where the faucet water is pretty warm. I can make a prechiller for free from an old 300zx oil cooler. While this seems like a good idea, i think this will just further restrict the flow thru the IC, so i thought a pump might be needed. i have an old 480 gph water pump that i used to use in a fish tank.
Here is my basic idea, do you think it will work effectively? Also should i use 3/8" or 1/2" copper tubing. 3/8" in 50' length is $33.55 + s/h and 1/2" in 50' length is $42.80 + s/h. is it worth the increase in price for the extra 1/8"?
Also what capacity of ice water will i need to bring 5 gallons of wort down to pitching temps?
or