Membership questions? Log in issues? Email info@brewersassociation.org

Author Topic: How do you chill your wort?  (Read 20736 times)

Offline dan1076

  • Cellarman
  • **
  • Posts: 28
Re: How do you chill your wort?
« Reply #45 on: November 12, 2009, 11:48:33 am »
50' of 1/2" copper along with a March pump to whirlpool to the wort.  I was able to cool my latest 10 gallon batch done to 65 degrees in 13 minutes.  It was the first time I used this since I upgraded from my old 3/8" 25 foot immersion chiller.
On Tap: Jamil's Evil Twin and an Alt
Bottles:BVIP
Primary:
Secondary:

Offline Nagel Family Brewing

  • Cellarman
  • **
  • Posts: 80
Re: How do you chill your wort?
« Reply #46 on: November 13, 2009, 11:47:41 am »
SS Immersion Chiller and a lot of stirring below 100 degrees.  5 gallons usually chills in 15-20 minutes.

Offline 1vertical

  • I spend way too much time on the AHA forum
  • ********
  • Posts: 2702
  • Ozone Layer. Actual location
Re: How do you chill your wort?
« Reply #47 on: November 15, 2009, 07:13:25 pm »
My chiller is 50ft. of half inch copper immersion  AND if I need it another 50ft. of 3/8 that I can
sit in a cooler of Ice water to chill on down to Lager land temps.
« Last Edit: November 15, 2009, 08:59:06 pm by 1vertical »
A fine is a tax for doing wrong. A tax is a fine for doing well.

Offline Matt B

  • Cellarman
  • **
  • Posts: 78
Re: How do you chill your wort?
« Reply #48 on: November 15, 2009, 08:55:46 pm »
Counter flow chiller (from morebeer), I start off using municipal water to get it the bulk of the way down, probably 120-100 depending on the time of the year and temp of the municipal water. Then switch to drawing off ice water that I put in my hot liquor tank (have to pre-freeze a few gallon milk jugs full of ice that I cut open and break up) to a march pump and run that through the counter flow chiller to get it down to wherever I want it. I've gotten it down to 50F with no problem. The reason I let the municipal water do the bulk of the work is that it has much higher pressure than the march pump can produce, therefor more cooler water to hot wort heat contact, but once that exchange hits diminishing returns based on the temp differential, the ice water cools it down the rest of the way, if not quite as fast. And I see no reason why you couldn't do something similar with an immersion chiller with any pump you may have that's properly sanitized.

Offline k4df4l

  • Cellarman
  • **
  • Posts: 60
Re: How do you chill your wort?
« Reply #49 on: November 16, 2009, 03:51:02 pm »

Offline ndcube

  • Brewmaster
  • *****
  • Posts: 612
Re: How do you chill your wort?
« Reply #50 on: November 17, 2009, 06:18:00 am »
25 ft copper IC to 80F then an ice bath while the trub settles out until pitching temp.

Offline onebarrel

  • 1st Kit
  • *
  • Posts: 20
Re: How do you chill your wort?
« Reply #51 on: November 17, 2009, 07:24:25 pm »
Therminator - most $$ spent = best $$ invested

Offline mtbrewer

  • Assistant Brewer
  • ***
  • Posts: 101
Re: How do you chill your wort?
« Reply #52 on: November 20, 2009, 04:36:26 pm »
Homemade I.C. 50 foot 3/8 copper, my well water is around 50 degrees. I can chill 12 gallons to 60 degrees in less than 30 minutes.

Offline MDixon

  • Brewmaster General
  • *******
  • Posts: 2313
Re: How do you chill your wort?
« Reply #53 on: November 21, 2009, 02:08:38 pm »
I use a 50' immersion. I hook it up first to my rain barrels with a pump and chill to 100F or so. Then I change the setup to a recirculation in a bucket filled with ice and a quart or so of fresh water and bring it to below pitching temps. A bit of a pain to stretch out the hose to the rain barrel, but I use only about a quart of fresh water from my tap + the ice in the bucket.
It's not a popularity contest, it's beer!

Offline lonnie mac

  • Assistant Brewer
  • ***
  • Posts: 180
    • Alenuts
Re: How do you chill your wort?
« Reply #54 on: November 21, 2009, 02:31:19 pm »
Therminator here as well... Everything on my system is counter recirculating...

I first knock down the temp with hose water to feed my trees... I bring it down to a hundred or so, then I switch the cold side of the therminator to the HLT/ice recirculation tank. This brings it down to lagering temps in a few minutes...

Look at the frost on them babys! :)



Offline bluesman

  • I must live here
  • **********
  • Posts: 8825
  • Delaware
Re: How do you chill your wort?
« Reply #55 on: November 21, 2009, 02:49:22 pm »
Hey Lonnie,

Thanks to you...I'm building one of your Brutus 10 systems. I just got the plans last week and I'm working with a welder... our own Capozzli. I want to get the therminator to chill the wort. How easy is it to brew beer on your Brutus 10 compared to the more conventional batch sparge methods? Your system looks fantastic!  8)
« Last Edit: November 21, 2009, 02:51:05 pm by bluesman »
Ron Price

Offline beerrat

  • Assistant Brewer
  • ***
  • Posts: 186
Re: How do you chill your wort?
« Reply #56 on: December 14, 2009, 04:53:15 pm »
Greetings,

I use an Immersion Chiller with a water recirculating system.


Equipment:
1) home made IC - 25' copper coil
2) pond pump
3) 50qt cooler
4) 3-4 gallon of cold water
5) ice (store bough in summer, harvested snow/ice from yard in winter)
 
Process
1) At 5 minutes prior to end of boil, kill heat source and whirl pool by manually stirring
2) load up cooler with ice and water
3) At 0 minutes insert starsan soaking IC into pot
3) Start pond pump to start the IC working
4) I usually let the first couple gallons of real hot water empty into sink or another bucket to reuse for cleaning
5) I then redirect the return water back into the cooler, and add ice as necessary
6) Usually gets to 65F in about 25 minutes


If I'm lucky, Santa will bring me a march pump and then I'll make a "mr malty whirlpool chiller" to augment this process.

Good luck and let us know what you end up doing.
 

Offline lupy

  • Cellarman
  • **
  • Posts: 71
Re: How do you chill your wort?
« Reply #57 on: December 14, 2009, 07:21:07 pm »
50' x 1/2" homebuilt IC. Add a pump and ice water for the summer. Try not to overcool in the winter.
~20mins.
$2 words for a 2ยข story

Offline hankus

  • Cellarman
  • **
  • Posts: 48
Re: How do you chill your wort?
« Reply #58 on: December 15, 2009, 07:28:43 am »
Perhaps U would like to visit my recent post under "a new IC"

Offline makemehoppy

  • Cellarman
  • **
  • Posts: 54
Re: How do you chill your wort?
« Reply #59 on: December 15, 2009, 07:37:52 am »
I'll post because I have something a little unique. I use a standard 25' immersion chiller. However, I do not have a good hookup in the kitchen where I brew so I fill my bottling bucket and place it on a milk crate on the counter. I move the kettle from the stove to the floor and run the water into 4 gallon water cooler bottles.
I run about 8 gallons of tap water thru and collect to use for clean up and other uses. I then start to recirculate the water back into the bottling bucket what I have now put ice into.
This method is perfect for me because it requires no electricity for a pump and I still have my kitchen faucet available for other uses. By adding ice near the end I can get the wort down into the low 60's easily anytime of year.
I stir the wort while chilling and usually I get from boiling to 60 in 20 minutes and I capture about 12 gallons of water that can all be reused. The plastic bottles can handle the near boiling water that initially comes out and 4 gallons is a convenient size for carrying around.