Draining Wort Chiller

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Bibinimis
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Draining Wort Chiller

Post by Bibinimis » Sun May 02, 2021 9:55 pm

I have recently knocked up a wort chiller with microbore copper tube etc.and would prefer to be able to completely drain it after use. I am convinced water remains in the spiral yet do not have any air tools that might shift it. This might not be crucial but it goes against the grain😄with me to leave it so wonder if anyone has any suggestions please.

guypettigrew
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Re: Draining Wort Chiller

Post by guypettigrew » Mon May 03, 2021 7:49 am

Is it an immersion chiller or a counterflow chiller?

Guy

Bibinimis
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Re: Draining Wort Chiller

Post by Bibinimis » Mon May 03, 2021 8:04 am

guypettigrew wrote:
Mon May 03, 2021 7:49 am
Is it an immersion chiller or a counterflow chiller?

Guy
It's a simple immersion chiller.

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MashBag
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Re: Draining Wort Chiller

Post by MashBag » Mon May 03, 2021 8:23 am

Ignore it. I have same issue.

If you are worried about something festering I there.....

Don't #1.. Its copper. A fungicide.
Don't #2.. Its never in contact with the beer.
Don't #3.. Flush it first.

One of the reasons the smart people make immersion coils in copper and not stainless.

Ps. Never place it in the boiling wort with the "out" tap closed. I did.. A few seconds later the tap was the other side of the yard 😱😱😱

Bibinimis
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Re: Draining Wort Chiller

Post by Bibinimis » Mon May 03, 2021 10:30 am

MashBag wrote:
Mon May 03, 2021 8:23 am
Ignore it. I have same issue.

If you are worried about something festering I there.....

Don't #1.. Its copper. A fungicide.
Don't #2.. Its never in contact with the beer.
Don't #3.. Flush it first.

One of the reasons the smart people make immersion coils in copper and not stainless.

Ps. Never place it in the boiling wort with the "out" tap closed. I did.. A few seconds later the tap was the other side of the yard 😱😱😱
Thanks for the reassurance though as for the last bit that's simple as there is no tap just a Hozelock end bit to weigh it down and run into an outside drain.

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Trefoyl
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Re: Draining Wort Chiller

Post by Trefoyl » Mon May 03, 2021 2:43 pm

I just hang mine upside down so it drains out.
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Re: Draining Wort Chiller

Post by MashBag » Mon May 03, 2021 3:11 pm

That works well for some but not all. Mine is a multi coil that strips 80c in about 8 mins so has lots of silly joints.

Ps. they store well in a clean bucket.

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Re: Draining Wort Chiller

Post by guypettigrew » Tue May 04, 2021 12:06 pm

MashBag wrote:
Mon May 03, 2021 3:11 pm
That works well for some but not all. Mine is a multi coil that strips 80c in about 8 mins so has lots of silly joints.

Ps. they store well in a clean bucket.
Wow, impressive! Wish my IC worked as fast.

Do you have any pictures? I'd love to see how it's designed.

Guy

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MashBag
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Re: Draining Wort Chiller

Post by MashBag » Wed May 05, 2021 7:43 am

Huge amount of 10mm copper. Twin coil. Cold in at the top. Inspired by Jaded brewing.

I think running the pump helps reduce temp lamination too.

Will get a pic. That said a mark 2 would be a bit different.
Last edited by MashBag on Wed May 05, 2021 7:49 am, edited 1 time in total.

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Re: Draining Wort Chiller

Post by MashBag » Wed May 05, 2021 7:48 am

Here you go..
Turbo Chiller_resized 2.jpg

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Re: Draining Wort Chiller

Post by f00b4r » Wed May 05, 2021 8:48 am

MashBag wrote:Ignore it. I have same issue.

If you are worried about something festering I there.....

Don't #1.. Its copper. A fungicide.
Don't #2.. Its never in contact with the beer.
Don't #3.. Flush it first.

One of the reasons the smart people make immersion coils in copper and not stainless.

Ps. Never place it in the boiling wort with the "out" tap closed. I did.. A few seconds later the tap was the other side of the yard ImageImageImage
I have to disagree about the copper versus SS, I had a copper chiller before I moved to the BM and started to use the Spiedel one.
I was expecting a significant slowdown in chilling, due to the different thermal properties but in real world usage found no perceptible difference. It is also MUCH easier to clean compared to the copper one, stuff just comes straight off it compared with the copper one (I would be guessing as to the reason why but it is noticeably different and shocked me - I sold the copper one after using the new one a couple of times).
With my current water (the pipes are buried very deep in Germany so ground water temperatures are 14C all year round with less than 1C variance) I can chill a batch to pitching or close to pitching temperatures in 12-20 minutes (I make sure the pump is switched on ASAP, the water comes in from the bottom of the chiller and I do sometimes stir it for 1-3 of those minutes). It was slightly less effective when I lived in Newcastle but more stirring and I was still able to chill in abut 20 minutes. Given the ease and minimal time required for cleaning I didn’t think I would gain from switching to a double coil immersion chiller (or CF/plate one either).
The only downside I have found is remembering to turn off the pump at the end to allow the wort to settle for 20-30 minutes before transfer to the FV.
It empties out pretty well too, being a single coil and machine made (i tend to get a syphon effect going and spin it round slowly upside down), but ultimately I am not that bothered about getting every little last bit out as the chiller is sized perfectly for the BM so anything inside will never be dripping int or be in contact with the wort.

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Trefoyl
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Re: Draining Wort Chiller

Post by Trefoyl » Wed May 05, 2021 11:28 am

I have the Mantis https://jadedbrewing.com/collections/fr ... cts/mantis and occasionally soak in PBW, rinse, and soak again in Starsan (which is mildly acidic) and the copper stays shiny.
The famous Hydra seemed unwieldy to me but I like the look of the new Concentric Hydra!
My water is never that cold so I stir or move the chiller the whole time and my wort is chilled in 15 minutes. In the summer in need to daisy chain to my original cheap immersion chiller in a bucket of ice water which SWMBO stirs while I stir the wort.
Sommeliers recommend that you swirl a glass of wine and inhale its bouquet before throwing it in the face of your enemy.

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Re: Draining Wort Chiller

Post by MashBag » Wed May 05, 2021 12:05 pm

f00b4r wrote:
Wed May 05, 2021 8:48 am

I have to disagree about the copper versus SS, I had a copper chiller before I moved to the BM and started to use the Spiedel one.
I was expecting a significant slowdown in chilling, due to the different thermal properties but in real world usage found no perceptible difference. It is also MUCH easier to clean compared to the copper one, stuff just comes straight off it compared with the copper one (I would be guessing as to the reason why but it is noticeably different and shocked me - I sold the copper one after using the new one a couple of times).
With my current water (the pipes are buried very deep in Germany so ground water temperatures are 14C all year round with less than 1C variance) I can chill a batch to pitching or close to pitching temperatures in 12-20 minutes (I make sure the pump is switched on ASAP, the water comes in from the bottom of the chiller and I do sometimes stir it for 1-3 of those minutes). It was slightly less effective when I lived in Newcastle but more stirring and I was still able to chill in abut 20 minutes. Given the ease and minimal time required for cleaning I didn’t think I would gain from switching to a double coil immersion chiller (or CF/plate one either).
The only downside I have found is remembering to turn off the pump at the end to allow the wort to settle for 20-30 minutes before transfer to the FV.
It empties out pretty well too, being a single coil and machine made (i tend to get a syphon effect going and spin it round slowly upside down), but ultimately I am not that bothered about getting every little last bit out as the chiller is sized perfectly for the BM so anything inside will never be dripping int or be in contact with the wort.
Not disagreeing thermally about stainless steel, it is more about its natural properties. For something that has the potential to stay wet (mine has many twists and turns) I would rather it have natural fungicide properties that copper offers. It does not drain well and draining was not a requirement when I built it .. I mitigated that with copper.

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MashBag
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Re: Draining Wort Chiller

Post by MashBag » Wed May 05, 2021 12:08 pm

Trefoyl wrote:
Wed May 05, 2021 11:28 am
I have the Mantis https://jadedbrewing.com/collections/fr ... cts/mantis and occasionally soak in PBW, rinse, and soak again in Starsan (which is mildly acidic) and the copper stays shiny.
The famous Hydra seemed unwieldy to me but I like the look of the new Concentric Hydra!
My water is never that cold so I stir or move the chiller the whole time and my wort is chilled in 15 minutes. In the summer in need to daisy chain to my original cheap immersion chiller in a bucket of ice water which SWMBO stirs while I stir the wort.
https://jadedbrewing.com/collections/fr ... concentric

Now that is a pretty thing. Its is almost a shame that I have given up using the chiller.

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Re: Draining Wort Chiller

Post by Jocky » Wed May 05, 2021 12:15 pm

MashBag wrote:
Mon May 03, 2021 8:23 am
Ignore it. I have same issue.

If you are worried about something festering I there.....

Don't #1.. Its copper. A fungicide.
Don't #2.. Its never in contact with the beer.
Don't #3.. Flush it first.

One of the reasons the smart people make immersion coils in copper and not stainless.

Ps. Never place it in the boiling wort with the "out" tap closed. I did.. A few seconds later the tap was the other side of the yard 😱😱😱
I have to disagree on the copper vs steel chiller. If you leave any wort on the copper it will grow mould on it.

I shifted to using a steel immersion chiller a couple of years ago because my copper one was considerably undersized for my brew length, and I never liked the fact that my chiller went into the wort dull and came out all shiny.

The newer chiller is faster and cleans very very easily.
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