Emersion Wort Chiller

[Juniper Hill]

I'm thinking about making a wort chiller for a 15 gallon brewkettle. If I use 3/8" copper tubing, it looks like I'll need about 35' or so. Is that about right? Home depot doesn't have anything longer than 20 feet. Any suggestions as to where to look for the tubing?

What about PEX tubing? There tons of that, and less than 1/2 the price of copper. Does it have the heat transfer capabilities of copper, or least least good enough for my purposes (chilling 5-10 gallon batches).

Thanks in adavance.

Neil

[AllanMar]

You wouldnt want to be putting PEX in your wort I wouldnt think, and its not going to transfer heat well.

I know Rona has 25' rolls for a good price, not sure if they have longer. Few places around (kent I know) will sell it by the foot also.

EDIT: Home Hardware I think also has some longer rolls/by the ft. You could always solder two pieces together pretty easy, thats pretty common. Just make sure you use silver solder rather then lead.

[Jimmy]

If I was buying again I'd buy this one:

http://www.nybrewsupply.com/copper-wort ... -x-50.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Hop Dawgs has a 3/8" one - that's what I use:

http://hopdawgs.ca/index.php?route=prod ... uct_id=339" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

To buy the material to make one of these is only slightly cheaper than it is to buy one premade.

[AllanMar]

Yea, although shipping usually hurts.

I paid $35 tax incl for 25' of 1/2" for my CFC at Rona, so pre-made is defiantly something to look hard at.

[Jimmy]

Yea, although shipping usually hurts.

I paid $35 tax incl for 25' of 1/2" for my CFC at Rona, so pre-made is defiantly something to look hard at.

I understand that you can do it cheaper, but it's a bit of a difference in comparison. I'm talking a 50' chiller (50' of 1/2" tubing is hard to find - especially at a reasonable price), with hose connections directly attached to the chiller.. It's all pre-made, no purchasing materials/tools to make it. Some people enjoy DIY - but for me it has got to be a significant savings to make it worth my time. If I tried to make an immersion chiller it would probably look like a rats nest, leak everywhere, and take 3 hrs out of my day between picking up materials and actually making it.

[bluenose]

Yea, although shipping usually hurts.

I paid $35 tax incl for 25' of 1/2" for my CFC at Rona, so pre-made is defiantly something to look hard at.

I understand that you can do it cheaper, but it's a bit of a difference in comparison. I'm talking a 50' chiller (50' of 1/2" tubing is hard to find - especially at a reasonable price), with hose connections directly attached to the chiller.. It's all pre-made, no purchasing materials/tools to make it. Some people enjoy DIY - but for me it has got to be a significant savings to make it worth my time. If I tried to make an immersion chiller it would probably look like a rats nest, leak everywhere, and take 3 hrs out of my day between picking up materials and actually making it.

I bought the nybrewsupply one, haven't used it yet, but it sure looks pretty

[AllanMar]

I think I came off wrong, I was agreeing with you. At say $70 for 50ft of copper add $10-15 for fittings and factor in time, it comes pretty close.

I tend to DIY stuff with little cost-benefit, but as you mentioned some people are just like that.

[LeafMan66_67]

I think I came off wrong, I was agreeing with you. At say $70 for 50ft of copper add $10-15 for fittings and factor in time, it comes pretty close.

I tend to DIY stuff with little cost-benefit, but as you mentioned some people are just like that.

What?!? An engineer who likes to do DIY? I thought that's what technologists were for!

Just kidding!

[AllanMar]

What?!? An engineer who likes to do DIY? I thought that's what technologists were for!

Just kidding!

haha, I guess its must be more obvious then I thought (likely not a good thing...).

You might be on to something though, its likely because I don't get to do much (re: any) of it at work.

[Follows]

Home Hardware
25' rolls
- 3/8" .035 copper tubing $27.99
- 1/2" .035 $37.99

By the foot
- 3/8" .035 $1.59
- 3/8" .032 $1.29
- 1/2" .035 $1.99
- 1/2" .032 $1.39

So for a 5 gallon batch, will there be much difference in cooling time for 1/2" tubing compared to 3/8"? Also, will the thinner walled tubing make any difference?

[Juniper Hill]

Made the chiller over the holidays. It turned out great. Used a keg as the template to wrap the copper pipe around. I ended up using a 25' roll of 1/2" copper wire. I'm on a well, and the water is a steady 4 C coming out of it year-round...should (hopefully) quicky chill any wort.