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For the first stage of this project. Does anyone know where I can get a coil of stainless steel tubing, either 3/8” of 1/2”. I want to put a coil in my other pot similar to the copper one shown below. Also, if I did find some SS tubing, how difficult is it to bend/form stainless steel tubing?

Thanks

Try Stellar Industrial in Burnside. Seems that they had some on the floor the last time I was in, I think.

You could also try any of the hydraulic fittings/hose guys around. You're gonna want to have someone form it for you, stainless is a real prick to form unless you've got the right gear.

As far as 3/8" tubing goes, it can be bent in large circles by hand , but I don't think you'd want to practice with your own stuff. Forget bending 1/2" by hand. Would require a machine(lathe) and custom jigs.

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http://www.nybrewsupply.com/beer-home-b ... llers.html

These guys have SS wort chillers that you could use

I got mine pre-bent from stainlessbrewing.com (1/2"). Shipping is going to be pricey, but nice guy and will do whatever you need. As mentioned, forget bending it without a jig.

Thanks for the awesome advice and links. I thought it would be nearly impossible to bend. This one looked good from Jon’s site: http://www.nybrewsupply.com/beer-home-b ... -coil.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I would simply connect it to the sides of the pot with elbow connectors and wouldn’t need to do any bending or forming. There might be enough on that coil to do two pots. Although if I use the whole 50’ of 1/2” in one pot, I’ll get more efficient and quicker cooling.

I was reading about the Blichmann Boil coil and it is a circular heating coil and they say it’s design generates impressive convection currents …” The BoilCoil stainless immersion heater has a circular coil on the perimeter of the pot . This stays neatly out of the way and generates an impressive convective current in your pot driving off DMS and other undesirable compounds.”

My plan is to get one of those boil coils when they come out in March, and install it in my Bayou Classic boiling pot at the bottom. I’d then install a cooling coil higher up in the pot that would have much the same appearance, and since the coiling coil would also be a circular coil around the perimeter of the pot, I would probably also benefit from maximizing convection currents in the same way as the heating coil does (the Blichmann engineers must have put some thought into it). The convection flow would obviously be in the reverse direction for cooling.

What I’d end up with would be an electric boiling and fermenting machine. It would be a boiling pot with an integral wort chiller, and at the same time It would be a primary fermentor with an integral cooling system for fermentation temperature control, to be used for a week before kegging for keg conditioning.

Cleaning will have to depend on a quick rinse followed by a soaking in PBW.

I will update with pictures when it happens.

Thanks for the help on this Guys. I had got stuck, and I think it might be a go now.

I’ve been thinking about this. That SS coil will be too heavy to be supported by an elbow at each end. Also with my current pot I always take the coil out for cleaning by undoing the compression fittings with a wrench. Takes less than a minute to do that but still a bit fiddly.

I need a new coil for a couple of reasons 1) I want better efficiency 2) I’d prefer a neat SS coil as would be easier to clean 3) One of the judges at the Big Spruce comp (Adam) reported a slight metallic after taste, and I think that is from the copper which is sitting in the alcohol for a week during the primary ferment.

I’m coming up with an installed coil that can be easily removed with quick connects that are screwed on by hand (Blichmann has them, see picture below). An elbow as pictured would connect to the coil with the compression fitting and the male 1/2" threaded end would pass through the pot and the quick connect would hook up the water lines on the outside of the pot. The holes in the pot are above the water level so a complete seal isn't required, although I plan to have an O ring for a reasonable seal.

I’m looking at modifying this 50’ 3/8” coil: http://ihomebrewing.ca/ss-wort-chiller- ... ewing.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; But the more expensive option is a 50’ ½ inch coil: http://www.nybrewsupply.com/beer-home-b ... -x-50.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Am I going to regret not spending the extra $$$ on the 1/2” coil? I have a niggling feeling it would be much quicker at chilling the wort. Also I wonder how much volume the ½” coil would take away from my boil pot.

…couldn’t get to sleep last night trying to figure this out.

GuingesRock wrote:
Am I going to regret not spending the extra $$$ on the 1/2” coil? I have a niggling feeling it would be much quicker at chilling the wort. Also I wonder how much volume the ½” coil would take away from my boil pot.

…couldn’t get to sleep last night trying to figure this out.

50' x 1/2" Of stainless coil would eat up about 7.7L from the kettle.

Great! Thanks for figuring that out for me Derek.

That's nearly 2 gallons which is a lot. I wonder how much my existing 3/8 25' is using up. I think I can spare an extra gallon but not 2 gallons as I'd be too close to the top with the boil.

Do you think the 1/2" coil would be a lot more effective?

GuingesRock wrote:Great! Thanks for figuring that out for me Derek.

That's nearly 2 gallons which is a lot. I wonder how much my existing 3/8 25' is using up. I think I can spare an extra gallon but not 2 gallons as I'd be too close to the top with the boil.

Do you think the 1/2" coil would be a lot more effective?

25' x 3/8" displaces approximately 2.2L. As far as the 1/2" being more effective - personally I think it would be, but I'm an electrical guy!

Thanks again Derek. Based on your calculations I'm going with the 3/8".

Regarding the heat exchange aspect and cooling efficiency/time to cool of the two different diameter tubes. I've been trying to work out the difference in surface area percentage wise between 3/8” tubing and 1/2” tubing?

3/8” = 9.525mm x pi = 29.92 circumference.
1/2” = 12.7mm x pi = 39.03 circumference.

Thus the 1/2" only has about a 30% increase in surface area over the 3/8 tubing. Is that all roughly correct, and does that mean the 1/2 inch coil would only be approximately 30% better at cooling than the 3/8" coil.

Ps. From the circumferences I was trying to work out displacement for the two different 50’ coils, and came up with different figures from yours Derek for the 1/2" coil (same as you for the 3/8" coil, if you double your figure for the 25' coil to get 50').

3/8” ….50’ = approx. 15 meters x 29.92mm = 4.5 L
1/2" ….50’ = approx. 15 meters x 39.03mm = 5.85L

If my calculations are right, roughly a 50' x 3/8" coil eats up 1 gal and a 50' x 1/2' coil eats up 1.5 gal.

LeafMan66_67 wrote:As far as the 1/2" being more effective - personally I think it would be, but I'm an electrical guy!

Circulating the wort while chilling is probably where you get the biggest improvement in any immersion chiller. I'd say work on that with a 3/8" tube.

mr x wrote:

LeafMan66_67 wrote:As far as the 1/2" being more effective - personally I think it would be, but I'm an electrical guy!

Circulating the wort while chilling is probably where you get the biggest improvement in any immersion chiller. I'd say work on that with a 3/8" tube.

Thanks X, you are correct, but I don't really have that option with a fixed coil and no recirculation pump, so was trying to do what I could with improving the coil.

...taking the coil to the wort rather than the wort to the coil. Thinking about that concept ...I think the length of the coil might be the most important factor with my setup.

...also with a smaller diameter tube, the surface area to volume ratio is much greater = more efficient cooling. Countering that, the flow rate will be less with the smaller tube, so the temperature differential between the wort and the coolant (water) will not be as great = less effective cooling.

mr x wrote:Circulating the wort while chilling is probably where you get the biggest improvement in any immersion chiller. I'd say work on that with a 3/8" tube.

This is key - I had an immersion chiller and movement of either the coil or wort is essential for efficient cooling, even if is just gentle stirring with a large spoon. Wort cools great next to the coil, but just doesn't get seem to get enough convection currents to circulate and cool efficiently.

I’ve been thinking about the comments from Rob and Derek above, and from what I have read also about whirlpool chilling, they are right. A whirpool would increase the effectiveness of the built in chiller dramatically. I also think a whirlpool would be useful for trub management.

After I have installed the 50’ x 3/8” coil. I have been thinking of drilling two holes in the pot one above the other, one hole would be near the bottom of the pot and the other would be about half way up. In these holes I would install two 1/2” ball valves. Each ball valve would have a 90 degree elbow on the inside. One tap’s elbow would be pointing horizontally in one direction and the other tap’s elbow would be pointing the other way.

If I then hook up a pump to these taps with quick connects and silicone tubing, would that give me a good whirlpool for 12 gal of wort.?

What pump should I use? ...I was thinking a chugger.

I'd try a stir test first. The added complication may only be a small change in efficiency.

Sandy

If I got one of these ($38.99), would it bend a 90 in 3/8" stainless tubing? It says it's for copper and aluminum.

If you don't think that would work, I wonder if they would have something I can rent at Home Depot that would do the job.

Three-in-one bender for soft copper and aluminum tubing
•For use with 1/4", 5/16" and 3/8" pipe
•Bending Capacity: 0 - 180 degrees for 6mm, 8mm, and 10mm O.D.
•Graduated scale allows partial bends (45, 90 and 135 degrees)
•Position of handles allows bending from 0 - 180 degrees in one operation
•Effort saving by starting to bend with handles at 90 degrees

Maybe. Why are you bending the tubing?

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Thanks, I want to spread the coil vertically a bit and shorten the risers of the immersion chiller and put a 90 into them to take them through the pot wall near the top. I could use elbows and compression fittings, but it would be cumbersome, especially because I want to position the coil in the centre of the pot. I'll post a picture when done.

EXCITING! I got my whirlpool going. Two taps with 90 elbows inside the pot pointing in opposite directions. I even respected the whirlpool gods and have the whirlpool going clockwise for the northern hemisphere. Nice whirlpool going. You might say I didn’t need the bottom tap as I could have used the bottom ball valve that is already on the pot, but because it will also be a primary fermenter I need to keep that one plugged and heat sanitised by the boil for when I run the beer into the kegs, wouldn’t work so well if it had rotting wort in it.

The integral cooling coil for wort chilling and fermentation temperature control hasn’t arrived yet so not installed. I bought a tube bender from home depot for $13 and I will have a go at bending the stainless steel tubing.

When the Blichmann boil coils come out next month I’m putting one of them in the pot as well.

I received my BIAB bag from Becky today for my new 20 gal full volume Blichmann mash pot. I love the new Velcro design.

I’m on my way! I think I will be able to do a lot with this machine …whirlpool cooling and hopping, fermentation control, boiling indoors at a reasonable speed, and in my other 20 gal mashing pot, full volume mashing and with the aid of the chugger I should be able to do step mashes if I want to.

Pictures of the sister full volume 20 gal mash pot (10 gal batches) with false bottom:

Very nice. I believe that unit will do 3/8" ss.

Thanks