Switching from Counterflow to Immersion Chiller... Advice?

[beerded]

I'd appreciate any advice as well as tips on a few specific questions. Here's my situation: currently I brew 5 gallon batches in a keggle (~15 gal) and chill with a homemade counterflow chiller I made years ago. I followed some great directions online, it has served me well but I think it's time has come. I didn't quite get one end of the garden hose over the copper end enough. It leaks water like a SOB, doesn't leak wort anywhere but sure makes a wet mess. I'd rather not melt solder and adjust this connection, I tried once and didn't get anywhere--I blame the fact that the whole system is already coiled but it may just be my crappy soldering job

I don't like the extra "step" in elevation this adds to my setup. I don't use a pump, nor to I want to. I find that I have to have my propane burner up fairly high in order to be able to drain out the valve in my keggle, and still drain out of the CFC into my fermenter. SO, I think it's time to swap out for an immersion chiller.

Questions:
-I like how fast my CFC works (about 15 minutes for 6 gallons), can i expect similar results from an immersion (I"m pump-less so no Jamil-style bad-assery).
-Currently, at flame out I throw the lid on my keggle and don't take it off until yeast is pitched in the fermenter and it's clean-up time. What do folks do for a lid with an immersion chiller? Obviously there will be two copper lines going into the kettle. I'm thinking I could cut a round piece of wood to fit the keggle top and notch it out for the copper lines. I'd like to have the lid/keggle/immersion connection as air tight as possible. Am I being too anal about this?
-If I did the custom lid, I'm toying with the idea of drilling a small hole in the center and inserting something like a sheetrock mud/paint stirrer through it. I would attach this to a drill and run at a low rpm to create a whirlpool thus achieving faster chilling. Anyone ever try something like this?

Thanks in advance for the advice. Long live Tasty MD.

[NateBrews]

I think that you will find very slow cooling times unless you have a way to circulate the wort. I did exactly what you are suggesting with a paint stirrer (I got a metal one like this: http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/6 ... L1500_.jpg ) in my drill at low speed. That worked pretty well, but holding it got old quick. I was going to make a little motorized thing that would attach onto the top of the kettle to do this, but then I just got a pump. Circulation vs not is the difference between 20 minutes cooling time (most of which is from 120F to 65F) and an hour.

For the lid, I think you might be too getting a little too anal with it. I don't think you need a perfect seal on the thing. You mentioned making a lid out of wood...good luck getting that sanitary. For mine, I just took the stainless lid that came with the kettle (really cheapo thin metal lid) and used some tin snips to cut a few notches in the edge for the chiller pipes, a thermometer, and the pump hose. In 40 batches since I made the setup it has never been an issue.

-Nate

[Ozwald]

-I like how fast my CFC works (about 15 minutes for 6 gallons), can i expect similar results from an immersion (I"m pump-less so no Jamil-style bad-assery).

Depending on your location, ground water temp, chiller, etc. You can probably expect a more than significant increase. Probably around 45 to an hour. You can knock that down by using a pre-chiller, but you're still not likely to get under the 30 minute mark.

-Currently, at flame out I throw the lid on my keggle and don't take it off until yeast is pitched in the fermenter and it's clean-up time. What do folks do for a lid with an immersion chiller? Obviously there will be two copper lines going into the kettle. I'm thinking I could cut a round piece of wood to fit the keggle top and notch it out for the copper lines. I'd like to have the lid/keggle/immersion connection as air tight as possible. Am I being too anal about this?

Short answer, yes. When I used an immersion chiller, I didn't use a lid at all. If you feel you really must cover it (which is going to increase the chilling time significantly) it does not need to be air tight what so ever. Wood is an even worse idea, since you can't get it clean. A metal lid slid over to the side enough to allow the chiller ends to stick out would be more than enough.

-If I did the custom lid, I'm toying with the idea of drilling a small hole in the center and inserting something like a sheetrock mud/paint stirrer through it. I would attach this to a drill and run at a low rpm to create a whirlpool thus achieving faster chilling. Anyone ever try something like this?

It's been done, although it's a lot more work, tinkering & probably money than if you were to just buy a pump & be done with it. The few that have done something like this compared to the tens, if not hundreds, of thousands that use pumps for the same end result should tell you something.

All in all, going from a CFC to immersion is going to be a big step backwards in almost every aspect. The cheap option would be to get a box to stand on.

[brewinhard]

Just as a data point, I have only used a cheap IC for my 5 gallon batches. I usually use a pre-chiller hook up in an ice bath to speed things up though. I NEVER put a lid on my cooling wort and have not had an infected beer in a couple hundred batches. My chilling can even take upwards of an hour in some situations. I do brew in my garage though and am not outside where I would be more concerned about the lid issue.

[Charlie]

When I started out I made a counterflow chiller (of an admitedly unusual type), and rarely got above 0.25 GPM flow by gravity. I tried pumping, but that just sucked more crud into the fermentor, so in 2010 I ponied up for a Blichmann Thermonator, and have never regretted it. Yeah, you have to keep the input flow pretty clean or it will plug up, but a brisk whirlpool (long spoon), a one minute rest, and drawing off a couple of pints of wort make for a pretty clean flow.

I get 1 GPM flow from my BK (sitting on a 32" tall burner stand) to a fermentor setting on the floor regardless of the level in the BK (weird, I know). So a minute or two of futzing around plus 10 minutes to chiill 10 gallons, and that is acceptable to me.

Thermonators are pricey suckers, and have to be cleaned and autoclaved each and every time they're used, but it's become part of my SOP.

Charlie

[barleyboy]

Don't buy an immersion chiller. Buy a plate chiller from Duda diesel. Get the biggest one you can afford. I have a B3-36 20. It chilled 10 gallons in 5 mins. Very little water waste. My cost $149
https://www.dudadiesel.com/search.php?q ... oCjZ7w_wcB

[J.Brew]

I've been looking at the Diesels. Good to know they're a thumbs up.

[BDawg]

The biggest thing about CFC and Plate chillers is sanitation. They offer nooks and crannies inside of them that you can never see, so you have to be incredibly diligent in your sanitation procedures with them. Otherwise, they are incredibly effective and a huge time saver.