Thinking of installing chiller in kettle

[Ladd]

Hey all,

Just wondering if anyone here has their chiller permanently installed in their kettle? I am thinking of modifying my copper immersion chiller and installing it in my BK so the ends come out through the wall up near the lid like this:

HERMS_coil.jpg

I am thinking it would help reduce the possibility of contamination as I could just throw the lid on at flame out, turn on the water to the chiller and let it cool. Anyone see any downside to doing this, other than it may be a little harder to clean, although just filling the kettle with PBW and letting it soak should do the trick.

Thanks for your input!
Matt

Edit for spelling

[jtmwhyte]

I've been thinking about doing this when I install my heating element for my electric kettle

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[GuingesRock]

Only thing is I jiggle my cooler around from time to time as the wort is cooling to stir it. Not sure if that's a bonus or not. The way to find out I suppose is I should time how long it takes to go from boiling to pitching with stirring, and then time how long it takes without. Might be just 5 minutes difference or something futile like that.

Wouldn't work really for BIAB which is what I do. On the other hand it looks like a very attractive idea. That looks like a nice quick hookup with no risk of water spills into the beer from leaking at the usual plastic to copper attachment that is very prone to leaking water into the beer, I find, unless I remember to tighten the clamps each time. I agree, potentially less risk of contamination.

I wonder if soldering a copper tube in a spiral around the outside of the pot, might work for a BIAB pot, probably be less efficient but would still work to a degree and help to reduce contamination risk.

[Ladd]

I thought about that too and am considering picking up one of those little $70 pumps from OBK and installing a recirculation port. Then I could run it from my drain valve to whirlpool and chill at the same time, again keeping the lid on while doing it. Even if I don't go the pump route, I have my own ground well water here and it is pretty cold at ~8°C. It usually takes less than ten minutes to chill to ale pitch temps with only the occasional stir (I am usually side tracked with getting my fermenter sanitized while its cooling).

[jason.loxton]

I think it's a good idea, but once you start getting into fittings, etc., how much more would it cost to just buy a counterflow chiller? I have not regretted upgrading at all. The ability to drop wort from boiling to fermentation in seconds is great (the whole shebang still takes a while, but the drop of any chilled unit of wort is essentially instantaneous). I can't say for sure that this has improved by beer clarity, but the Internet makes it seem as if it possibly should, and my post-change batches of beer have been brilliant.

[jason.loxton]

Aside: I don't know what you do for a mash tun, but if you go with the plan above, with a pump, then you also suddenly have a HERMS system as a bonus.

[Ladd]

I made a counter flow chiller (25' of 1/4" copper tubing in 5/8" garden hose) and was using it in a gravity feed scenario but found it brutally slow at about a half hour to get 22L through it. I considered buying that little pump from OBK to use with it but am not sure it would handle pushing the wort through it (didn't see where anyone tested it with one) or if I would need a stronger pump like a Chugger or March etc. (two-three times the cost). The pump is also a secondary thought, I likely wouldn't go with it until I have the extra cash to spend. I also have most of the fittings I would need kicking around out in the shop to put the chiller into the kettle and it would be one less point to have to worry about potential infection...

[chalmers]

Ladd: I use a 3/8" copper tubing in 5/8" garden hose, and the under-powered "Great Brew Eh" pump does a great job of pushing the wort through. If it already moves through the coil by gravity, I can only see the pump helping significantly. You might even have to recirc it a bit first (or throttle the flowrate) to ensure the temp of the beer is OK as it hits the fermentor, in case the cooling isn't quite enough to keep up with the flow.

[Ladd]

Ladd: I use a 3/8" copper tubing in 5/8" garden hose, and the under-powered "Great Brew Eh" pump does a great job of pushing the wort through. If it already moves through the coil by gravity, I can only see the pump helping significantly. You might even have to recirc it a bit first (or throttle the flowrate) to ensure the temp of the beer is OK as it hits the fermentor, in case the cooling isn't quite enough to keep up with the flow.

Good to know, my setup is the same! I just realized that I had typed above that I am using 1/4" copper tubing in 5/8" hose, it is actually 3/8" tubing not 1/4". Not sure what I was thinking there... Maybe I'll just get that little pump and give it a try. It will feed through by gravity and comes out at lager temperature when the BK valve is open full bore. I just don't like how slow it is. A pump should make a significant difference.

[LeafMan66_67]

I made a counter flow chiller (25' of 1/4" copper tubing in 5/8" garden hose) and was using it in a gravity feed scenario but found it brutally slow at about a half hour to get 22L through it. I considered buying that little pump from OBK to use with it but am not sure it would handle pushing the wort through it (didn't see where anyone tested it with one) or if I would need a stronger pump like a Chugger or March etc. (two-three times the cost). The pump is also a secondary thought, I likely wouldn't go with it until I have the extra cash to spend. I also have most of the fittings I would need kicking around out in the shop to put the chiller into the kettle and it would be one less point to have to worry about potential infection...

I'm surprised that the gravity feed takes that long. Mine drains in ten or less but I'm putting my carboy a couple of feet below my chiller and the chiller sits 6 inches below the ball valve. I drain over the side of my deck.

[jason.loxton]

Ladd: John G ran a series of excellent tests with the club pump provided by OBK. He describes them here: http://www.brewnosers.org/forums/viewto ... =25#p59420" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Bottom line: the little pump moved his HERMS fine!

[GuingesRock]

Hey all,

Just wondering if anyone here has their chiller permanently installed in their kettle? I am thinking of modifying my copper immersion chiller and installing it in my BK so the ends come out through the wall up near the lid like this:

HERMS_coil.jpg

I am thinking it would help reduce the possibility of contamination as I could just throw the lid on at flame out, turn on the water to the chiller and let it cool. Anyone see any downside to doing this, other than it may be a little harder to clean, although just filling the kettle with PBW and letting it soak should do the trick.

Thanks for your input!
Matt

Edit for spelling

I liked this idea and gave it a go. Pictures here: http://www.brewnosers.org/forums/viewto ... 995#p70970

I also plan to use it for fermentation temperature control by fermenting in the boiling pot.

Thanks for the tip.