[BrewBama]

Hope not a stupid question but what is difference between the hydra and a regular IC?


thx

A hydra is really three IC(s) connected together into one. https://jadedbrewing.com/products/the-hydra


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[denny]

At one point, just for a moment, I found myself considering what it would take to plumb in a full pressure garden spigot under the kitchen sink to run a Hydra off of.  Then I realized this might be a sign of an unhealthy obsession.   

Hey, that's minor compared to what some people do.  It's nearly sane!

[klickitat jim]

A garden spigot under every sink! There are several uses for them, such as a fixing drain clogs with a bladder style sprayer...

[Robert]

I may have to think about this.  I mean if I can rationalize it as a practical home improvement that just coincidentally has brewing applications. 

[tommymorris]

I may have to think about this.  I mean if I can rationalize it as a practical home improvement that just coincidentally has brewing applications. 

Is Hydra really better than a 50’ immersion chiller? That’s $170 for the chiller and more bucks for plumbing for a few minutes of savings per brew day.

But, I guess knowing thermodynamics is your $&@#% is priceless.

[Robert]

I may have to think about this.  I mean if I can rationalize it as a practical home improvement that just coincidentally has brewing applications. 

Is Hydra really better than a 50’ immersion chiller? That’s $170 for the chiller and more bucks for plumbing for a few minutes of savings per brew day.

But, I guess knowing thermodynamics is your $&@#% is priceless.

No, in fact it's not any more efficient when you look at it:  Hydra at 6gpm reportedly does the same job in 3 minutes as my chiller at 1gpm in 18 minutes.   That's 18 gal of water either way to go to 10F above groundwater.  Or, in my case, 10F above prechilled water temperature, well below groundwater, so really my rig gets more bang for the gallon, if you will.  But if you already have 6gpm flow available,  and you're buying your first chiller, and don't want to build one,  it would at least be worth considering.   And if I ever had to replace mine, I'd think about it.  Time and materials, I probably am into it for not too much below the price.  But then the Hydra would require a pump to finish the job with ice water, so that changes the equation.  Again, if you already had a pump available, and the right water supply, worth looking at. It's not for me right now.

 But now I'm thinking about that spigot.  I could run my RO off that instead of the utility sink in the basement, at even higher pressure differential for better rejection, and not lug the water upstairs.  And maybe someday a different chiller.  But I've got a lot of projects that are queued up way ahead of this.

[denny]

I may have to think about this.  I mean if I can rationalize it as a practical home improvement that just coincidentally has brewing applications. 

Is Hydra really better than a 50’ immersion chiller? That’s $170 for the chiller and more bucks for plumbing for a few minutes of savings per brew day.

But, I guess knowing thermodynamics is your $&@#% is priceless.

World's better in my case.  1/3 to 1/4 the time of my 50 ft. 3/8 in.

[tommymorris]

I may have to think about this.  I mean if I can rationalize it as a practical home improvement that just coincidentally has brewing applications. 

Is Hydra really better than a 50’ immersion chiller? That’s $170 for the chiller and more bucks for plumbing for a few minutes of savings per brew day.

But, I guess knowing thermodynamics is your $&@#% is priceless.

World's better in my case.  1/3 to 1/4 the time of my 50 ft. 3/8 in.

Wow. That’s a big speedup.

[Robert]

I may have to think about this.  I mean if I can rationalize it as a practical home improvement that just coincidentally has brewing applications. 

Is Hydra really better than a 50’ immersion chiller? That’s $170 for the chiller and more bucks for plumbing for a few minutes of savings per brew day.

But, I guess knowing thermodynamics is your $&@#% is priceless.

World's better in my case.  1/3 to 1/4 the time of my 50 ft. 3/8 in.

But is that at the same flow rate?  Or is it just running the same amount of water faster?  That would make it more effective,  but not more efficient, like with my rig.   So it's down to what your time is worth, as Tommy suggested.  If you're in an area where water usage is a critical factor,  I think I'd want to know if that would really be reduced.   If so, fantastic.

[denny]

But is that at the same flow rate?  Or is it just running the same amount of water faster?  That would make it more effective,  but not more efficient, like with my rig.   So it's down to what your time is worth, as Tommy suggested.  If you're in an area where water usage is a critical factor,  I think I'd want to know if that would really be reduced.   If so, fantastic.

Good point.  Water flow from the tap is the same, but I use less since it goes faster.  With my well, I'm not concerned about usage.

[hawkbox]

My point about whole leaf hops and the Hydra was that the hops get stuck between the IC coils and copper wires. It takes forever to get the hops out of it.

[Robert]

My point about whole leaf hops and the Hydra was that the hops get stuck between the IC coils and copper wires. It takes forever to get the hops out of it.

I kind of wondered about that looking at pics of it.  I made mine as a loose double coil with no wire frame,  and it's easy enough to shoot the cones out with a spray hose,  though they do get lodged in there and really try to stay.  How about general cleaning -- I find soaking in PBW doesn't prevent buildup and tarnishing unless I also use a sponge or brush on it.  That could be tricky too, no?

[tommymorris]

My point about whole leaf hops and the Hydra was that the hops get stuck between the IC coils and copper wires. It takes forever to get the hops out of it.

Whoops. That makes sense.

[hawkbox]

I just do a good rinse after chilling most of the time and it's fine but those cone hops kicked my ass.  I had other issues with the hops so I'm going back to pellets anyway so it's not really an issue.  And it's getting cold here so I don't have to worry about water temperature.

[MNWayne]

If you build one yourself out of 50' soft copper coil you will save enough $$$ to install a garden hose bib under the sink. I love having a hose and sprayer available for clean up and it's way easier to fill a kettle that won't fit under the sink-tap. Guess that's a win-win-win.... wait, money still left over, that's 4-wins.