Feedback on proposed cooling system

[Nottsbeer]

Hi,
I'm planning to make a system to cool my wort and would love some feedback, even if to say don't bother!

I'm conscious about the amount of water used in cooling set-ups which are connected to a continuous feed and I'd like to use something which is env. Friendly (I know I could collect the used water, but as I already have water butts there is no use for it, and I have no extra storage capacity). As I have an abundance of water in water butts, I plan to use that in a system whereby the wort is passed through the water via copper pipe into the FV - something like my badly drawn pic.

My thinking is that (esp over winter), I will fill a container with cold water to cool the wort, changing the water once it has warmed (putting it back into my water butts and getting new, cold water). I'm sure this has been done before, I just can't find reference to it. My thinking for summer periods is to have ice on hand to place in the container.

My only concern is to ensure the inside of the pipe is sterile. I was thinking of forcing no-rinse steralizer through it before use and then a wash after.

I'm thinking of using push-fit connectors onto the pipe. My work bench should be high enough to get the wort to flow. I had thought about having an outlet from the base of the cold water container to pass the copper pipe through instead of having it go upwards, however this may pose an issue with leaks.

Any feedback gratefully received, and if someone already has something like this then please send a pic.

Thanks.

 

[The Baron]

Just No Chill there is no water waste and that is the reason I started doing it to save water. I tried saving the water to clean down which does not work well for me so I went No Chill and have never looked back

 

[Nottsbeer]

Just No Chill there is no water waste and that is the reason I started doing it to save water. I tried saving the water to clean down which does not work well for me so I went No Chill and have never looked back

I've done that once recently and it worked fine, it just made me very nervous about infection....and not sleep too well!! Your probably right tho about using that method. Do you let your wort cool down naturally with the lid and airlock on, or in a brew fridge?

 

[The Baron]

It depends on if I am doing a whirlpool if not I let it cool down for 1/2 hour to about 80c so that the trub settles out then transfer to my FV put the lid on and cover the airlock hole with a clean tea towel to stop any ingress. When it is cool enough to pitch I then add the airlock.
If doing a whirlpool very similar as I whirlpool and let it cool whilst doing this naturally, then exactly the same i.e remove whirlpool hops then let it stand for 1/2 hour for trub settle then FV again and cover the airlock whole with a towel again.
If you have a good routine you would be very unlucky to get a infection I have been doing this for years and never had a problem.
Ps the anal crew will try to scare you re infections-just trust yourself as long as you have good cleaning and sanitation regimes it will be ok. I also do overnight mashes in conjunction with this so I can split my brewdays that is late evening mash then insulate and a reasonably early start thr next morning for the boil and usually finished by 9.30am so the rest of the day for SWMBO

 

[Hazelwood Brewery]

Your proposed system should work fine though the final temperature will depend of the time of year, flow-rate, etc. so will be a bit variable.

A fast chill has two main benefits; it allows less opportunity for bacteria and wild yeast to infect your wort before you dose it with the yeast you do want, it minimises the concentration of Dimethyl Sulphide (DMS) in your wort. DMS is naturally produced in your wort at higher temperatures and is boiled off during the boil but is still produced by hot wort that is no longer venting through boiling. If the concentration reaches the taste threshold you will get a cooked corn off-flavour.

 

[Nottsbeer]

Thanks for the replies. I think flow rate will be slow as I only brew 13l batches and the head pressure won't be too great. Yes, temp variability during the year is expected, so I think the ice addition in the summer may work.

This is a long-term plan if I go down that route - my brew shed is very small so another bit of kit creates new problems! I'm planning a brew on Sunday so will probably use the natural cooling method overnight. However, I have a fridge I can use with an inkbird connected and I've toyed with using that....maybe that's best? Set the temp to 20o C and let it do it's thing?

 

[The Baron]

Me personally I would not put overhot wort in the fridge to cool as it may tax the compressor but I am sure somebody will have more experience with that

 

[Nottsbeer]

Me personally I would not put overhot wort in the fridge to cool as it may tax the compressor but I am sure somebody will have more experience with that

Yes, that's a good point, and possibly why I haven't used it for that purpose before.

 

[gavp1979]

I put my wort in the fridge to do the final part of cooling but I do get it down to around 30 with an immersion chiller first. I am no expert so am happy to be corrected but if you have not bypassed the original thermostat then won't the compressor stop once the fridge has cooled to the set temperature? I know that it will kick in again when the hot wort re-warms the internal temp back above the threshold but I wouldn't have thought that it would cycle too quickly

 

[Hop_it]

I use a coiled copper tube immersion chiller for my wort. (I know that many other brewers swear by counter-flow chillers, but I have never been confident of being able to thoroughly clean out the pipe between brews . . . . but that's just me ) Anyway, I use a large water butt perched on the roof of my garage fitted with a feed from a rainwater downpipe to supply cold water by gravity to the immersion chiller. It works very well in all but the hottest weather, and particularly well during the winter months. I normally run the hot water away onto the garden (because that is where it would end up anyway), but have the possibility to run it into another water butt at ground level if needs be.
I realise that I am fortunate in having a flat roofed garage, and a rainwater downpipe in just the right place to allow for a gravity feed, but it should be possible to do something similar with a pond pump immersed in a water butt at ground level to pump cooling water through an immersion chiller. You do not need a very high flow rate to achieve adequate cooling.

 

[Nottsbeer]

I use a coiled copper tube immersion chiller for my wort. (I know that many other brewers swear by counter-flow chillers, but I have never been confident of being able to thoroughly clean out the pipe between brews . . . . but that's just me ) Anyway, I use a large water butt perched on the roof of my garage fitted with a feed from a rainwater downpipe to supply cold water by gravity to the immersion chiller. It works very well in all but the hottest weather, and particularly well during the winter months. I normally run the hot water away onto the garden (because that is where it would end up anyway), but have the possibility to run it into another water butt at ground level if needs be.
I realise that I am fortunate in having a flat roofed garage, and a rainwater downpipe in just the right place to allow for a gravity feed, but it should be possible to do something similar with a pond pump immersed in a water butt at ground level to pump cooling water through an immersion chiller. You do not need a very high flow rate to achieve adequate cooling.

Sounds like a great setup. I think my water butt maybe too far away, and slightly awkward to pipe water in, thus thinking about having a container with cold water. Very jealous of anyone with a brew garage/big shed . Will carry on with current plans and ponder.