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Author Topic: wort chiller  (Read 2061 times)

Offline dannyj621

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wort chiller
« on: January 13, 2010, 08:57:59 am »
what can i buy to hook it up to my sink i dont have access to a hose or anything can i get one of those attachments?
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Offline mikeypedersen

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Re: wort chiller
« Reply #1 on: January 13, 2010, 09:06:03 am »
There are immersion chillers that can be hooked up to the sink.  You will often see people abbreviate that by writing IC.  Anyway, it is a small copper coil that you submerge in your kettle for the last 10 - 15 minutes of the boil to sanitize.  Then when you are ready to cool down your wort, you screw it onto the sink and turn on the cold water.  You can find them on any brewing supply web site, or if you are courageous, there are instructions on how to build one out on the internet.

Offline Hokerer

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Re: wort chiller
« Reply #2 on: January 13, 2010, 09:36:51 am »
Sounds like you've already got the chiller, just need to hook it up to the sink?  If so, and assuming it has garden hose type connectors, you just need one of these...

http://www.northernbrewer.com/brewing/faucet-adapter.html

unfortunately, they're out of stock at the moment, but someone else probably has them.
« Last Edit: January 13, 2010, 09:39:32 am by hokerer »
Joe

Offline yaleterrace

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Re: wort chiller
« Reply #3 on: January 13, 2010, 09:48:50 am »
the least expensive option (either purchased or fabricated by you) is an immersion chiller.  it will chill your wort somewhat quickly (depending on batch size) and give you a decent cold break.  you don't know how much you're gonna love this thing until you use it... like a bottle washer.  it also doesn't require gravity or a pump for operation, as the water flow from your sink/hose does the work. a step up from this is a counterflow chiller, which is pricier and runs the wort through an inner tube, surrounded by an exterior tube that cold water is run through in the opposite direction, making it more efficient and faster.  even better, and more expensive,  is a plate chiller, which is a little box with H2O-chilled steel plates but operates like a counterflow chiller.  this is the fastest, most efficient and most comparable to commercial systems.

one more option (no, i'm not going to say ice bath) is a hybrid chiller, and this is a DIY contraption.  It is effectively a counterflow chiller, but instead of the exposed tube-within-a-tube idea, you are basically running your wort through a tube coiled to a diameter just less than the inside diameter of, lets say PVC, piping, which again, cool water is running through the opposite direction.  never made one myself, but mr. papzian outlines the basic design components in his book, and claims effectiveness.  only benefits to the hybrid i can see are that its less expensive than buying a $200 counterflow device, and you have variable exposure to w20 depending on the length of PVC you use and the number of wort coils within.

good luck and cheers!

Offline yugamrap

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Re: wort chiller
« Reply #4 on: January 13, 2010, 09:50:36 am »
If your IC has garden hose fittings, the item in the link in hokerer's post will work.  Since it's out of stock, you can probably find what you need at a Home Depot or Loew's.  If you don't have garden hose fittings, take a piece of the hose to the store with you and go to the plumbing department.  You'll need a hose barb that fits your hose, and then some sort of fitting to adapt from the hose barb to your faucet.  Another way to do it is to use a short piece of an inner tube and a couple hose clamps to adapt from the faucet to the hose barb.
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