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Posted: 7/17/2023 8:20:14 PM EDT
I'm still getting the equipment together to make the switch from extract to BIAB.  I bought a 15 gallon kettle with ball valve, bag, and ordered an Anvil Burner.  I still need to purchase a grain mill and a wort chiller.  

I'm having a hard time deciding on a wort chiller.  I planned on getting an immersion chiller, but there aren't many options that fit my pot; it is 19" tall, but 5.5 gallons of wort only come up to about 6".  Most 25' chillers aren't tall enough while 50 footers will leave half the coils above the wort line.  The Jaded King Cobra was designed for my application, but it is almost $200 and has a 6-8 week lead time.  

A plate chiller is appealing because of the speed (less water wasted) and ease of storage, but would.require much more maintenance/cleaning.  I also don't want to mess with a pump, so I'd gravity feed it.  Use is probably easier than an immersion, but cleanup is much harder (especially without a pump to circulate cleaner though it).  

Need some advise.   My ultimate goal is to have the simplest, hassle-free brew day.

Link Posted: 7/18/2023 5:16:07 AM EDT
[Last Edit: BFskinner] [#1]
If you want an immersion chiller and can't buy one that fits in your pot it isn't exactly rocket surgery to get a roll of soft copper and the proper fittings at home depot and make one that is just as effective as a store bought version.

I had one for a while but then went to a DIY counterflow chiller which is only slightly more expensive to put together than an immersion chiller and much more effective.  It also is easier to get clean than a plate chiller.  

You could probably gravity feed it if you didn't want a pump if you kept your kettle high enough.  

https://byo.com/project/build-a-counterflow-wort-chiller/

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Link Posted: 7/18/2023 7:33:59 PM EDT
[Last Edit: frankiebagadonuts] [#2]
Making my own immersion chiller is an option, but copper and fittings aren't cheap.  I could buy a decent plate chiller for less; just not sure if I want the added complexity.  Maybe I should get a 6 gallon torpedo keg to ferment in.  Then I can just dump the hot wort into it, seal it up, and do no-chill.  BIAB, no-chill, and pressure ferment seems to be the ultimate hassle-free set-up.

Forgot to mention that I am in Florida where our water temp is currently about 80 degrees.  Unfortunately, no chiller design is going to be very effective.
Link Posted: 7/19/2023 5:45:44 AM EDT
[#3]
25 ft of 1/2 soft copper is about $30 on Amazon.  Fittings would be another $20 or so.  You could probably build a chiller with the proper coil size to fit in your kettle for about $60 in less than an hour.  That isn't too much cheaper than a 25 ft premade chiller from Northern Brewer but it would fit.

The warm supply feed water is something I had to deal with in the summer before I was on a well.  To get a good cold break I had to use a second smaller coil immersed in an ice bath to pre chill the feed water to get a good cold break.  

Link Posted: 7/19/2023 8:01:25 AM EDT
[#4]
Have you priced copper tubing lately?  Average Amazon price for 25ft of 3/8 is $45 and 1/2" is $70!  

Cuss Brewing (the guy who holds the patents for the Jaded chillers) sells the unassembled components for the King Cobra for $115 shipped.  Considering that it comes with 75 ft of 3/8 and all of the connections and fittings, it is actually a really good deal.  While I have sweated copper before, that is a pretty advanced design to tackle though.  I'd hate to leak hose water into wort because I jacked up one of the three into one fittings.
Link Posted: 7/19/2023 8:39:37 AM EDT
[#5]
Discussion ForumsJump to Quoted PostQuote History
Originally Posted By frankiebagadonuts:
Have you priced copper tubing lately?  Average Amazon price for 25ft of 3/8 is $45 and 1/2" is $70!  

Cuss Brewing (the guy who holds the patents for the Jaded chillers) sells the unassembled components for the King Cobra for $115 shipped.  Considering that it comes with 75 ft of 3/8 and all of the connections and fittings, it is actually a really good deal.  While I have sweated copper before, that is a pretty advanced design to tackle though.  I'd hate to leak hose water into wort because I jacked up one of the three into one fittings.
View Quote


I thought the whole point was that a commercial version wouldn't fit in the pot?  

Regardless, it appears you already have decided what you are doing anyway and really don't want any suggestions.

Bye...
Link Posted: 7/28/2023 4:51:42 PM EDT
[#6]
Immersion.
I've never heard of anyone using a gravity fed plate chiller, but, especially with 80 degree source water, you won't get down anywhere near pitching temp in one pass, so you will need to circulate it, and a pump is going to be the only practical way.
Immersion has many other advantages; it is just simpler, easier to clean, easier to sanitize, easier to set up and take down, etc, etc.

If your kettle is oversize and your wort level is low, you probably only "need" a 25ft, but, I would still get a 50' for future proofing.  Ever since I got a 50, my 25 has sat in the closet.  I might use the 25' as a prechiller one day.

Either way, with 80 degree source water, you will need a really good prechiller setup to get to pitching temp, or you'll need to finish chilling in a fermentation chamber as I do.  Or an ice bath.
Link Posted: 7/30/2023 7:26:00 PM EDT
[#7]
Still haven’t bought anything, but I did nix the plate chiller idea.  I have decided to recirculate ice water through an immersion chiller using a cooler and pond pump.  I bought 5 cu ft chest freezer and Inkbird to use as a ferm chamber, so I'm just using it to make ice while not fermenting.  By brewday, I'll have plenty of free ice to use for this purpose.  Still need to find a chiller the right size though; or find a good deal on 50ft of copper tubing.
Link Posted: 8/3/2023 8:05:06 PM EDT
[#8]
Another vote for immersion.

When I started brewing I got a counter flow but I was never really set up to use it effectively.

The immersion is so much easier to just toss in the kettle and turn the water on. So long as you have the water to waste it's great for the average home brewer.

Looks like you're getting set up with an ice bucket and circulator pump, that will let you really crash the temp.
Link Posted: 8/5/2023 5:02:49 PM EDT
[#9]
My local Lowes had 20ft of 3/8 copper tubing on clearance today for $31.  With that price and no longer needing hose fittings since I will just be recirculating,  I went ahead and built my own.  I used a ribcage design to better fill my pot.  It came out better than expected.  

Also scored an older JSP Maltmill from Craigslist on Friday.  I think that I now have everything that I need (other than ingredients) to have a brewday.
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