wort chiller

I use a wort chiller, but I have been wondering if I am using too much pressure on the hose. Is there some logic in running the water through more slowly so that the heat transference can take place?

Reply to
<stumboke
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I changed the fittings on my immersion chiller and noticed better chilling. I went from just having the hoses clamped to the copper tubing to using quick disconnects, like on air tools. I put the male fittings on the chiller so the steam can escape when I put it in the pot during the boil. The restricted flow allows the water to move at a slower rate through the chiller thus taking more heat along with it. Opening the faucet less should do the same thing, I just put the fittings on because I didn't want to carry the hoses around. I boil upstairs and the sink I use for chilling is down in the "brewery".(basement) Cheers,

Reply to
DragonTail

If your goal was to transfer heat to the discharge water, it would help to run slowly. You goal should be to transfer cooling to the wort. The more volume of cool water through the chiller, the faster the wort will cool. The discharge water will be cooler because the transfer of heat is distributed over a larger volume of water. Don't use so much pressure you blow a coupling and shoot a bunch of tap water into your brew. I was taught to lightly stir the wort while chilling to help with faster cooling. You can tell an immediate warming of the discharge water when doing so.

cheers!

Reply to
Robert Coffey

It depends on whether you are trying to heat the water or cool the wort. The more efficient thing to do is to use a counter-flow wort chiller so the wort is constantly coming in contact with colder water and is being recycled into the kettle lowering the overall wort temperature.

Dick

Reply to
Dick Adams

There is no such thing as being able to "transfer cooling". You can only transfer heat.

Reply to
basskisser

I was in laymans terms referring to a -Dt as cooling.

Where q = heat transferred, DT = the change in temperature and Cp = the specific heat. q = m(DT)Cp

Reply to
Robet Coffey

On advice of someone else I used to use a slow feed of cool water thinking if it came out warm than it was working. I was wrong. It took forever and when I sent more water running through the chiller it chilled MUCH faster even though the water comes out cool still. Live and learn I guess.

Reply to
harsley

In this case, the cooler the cooling water comes out the more heat it can take with it. Faster water flow=more cooling.

Reply to
BierNewbie

I almost got suckered into the same advice. A professional engineer friend of mine took the time to explain to me in layman's terms why this takes longer and uses much more water.

Dick

Reply to
Dick Adams

Yes, like me, you must be better at technology than writing! A -Dt is the loss of heat. And to gain the most heat loss, you should be pushing enough water through the chiller that the water coming out isn't hot at all. The more closely you get the water in the chiller to the temp. of the wort, the less efficent it is.

Reply to
basskisser

You are 100% correct! The closer the exiting chiller water is to the temperature of the wort, the less heat transfer can take place. If you push enough water through the chiller so that when it exits, it's cool, then you are cooling the wort faster. It's hard for a lot of people to understand that because it just seems like if the chiller water exits hot, then they are transferring heat at a greater rate.

Reply to
basskisser

I agree with you. Some people are concerned (for various reasons) with water conservation AND chilling. You basically have a tradeoff between CHILLING FAST and CONSERVING WATER. You can do one or the other, but NOT both (with just a regular chiller).

The compromise I make is to immersion chill FAIRLY quickly down to around

100F. Then I switch to a cooler of ice water and pump and recirculate (which doesn't use any more water). I've basically traded the cost of electricity to make the ice for not using the extra water... but I can ALSO reach lager temps with the recirculated ice water method (and I cannot with tap water).

Derric

Reply to
Derric

Heat exchange is defined by difference in heat and surface area. If the water running through the immersion heater is hot when it exits the chiller, then the difference in heat for the entire wort chiller is the average of the incoming verses out going heat.

I have actually gone to a dual exhanger system. Water from the tap goes into a coil immersed in an ice/saltwater bath, out of this and into the immersion chiller. I find that I have to be careful with the salt content in the first bath as too much salt means the temperature of the first bath drops to 14-15 deg. F. The incoming water will freeze in the line. If I schedule it right, the water going into the boil pot is just about freezing. With this I get 5 gallons of wort chilled to pitching temp in about 15 minutes.

Reply to
Daffaed

I use a different method of "immersion" chilling- The pot goes into a deep sink over the drain (which blocks it), then I start filling the sink with cold water. When the sink is nearly full I put a wedge under the pot so the water drains out as fast as it is going in. The faucet spout has a directional nozzle on it which helps to circulate the water, and stirring the wort or must keeps that moving.

I haven't timed it, but it works pretty quickly. And I didn't have to build anything and I don't have anything extra to clean/sanitize.

Reply to
Zaphod Beeblebrock

In reality, it shouldn't use more water - it should use less to get the same cooling since more heat is transfered more slowly to each unit of cooling water. But it will be much slower.

The more each unit of cooling water is warmed in the process, the less water it will take to carry away the needed heat energy.

Bob

Reply to
Bob F

Yep, it's a classical tradeoff.

Do you want to: * save water or * cool as fast as possible? Choose one, you can't do both.

You CAN arrive at a happy medium if both are important to you. You can also chill normally at first, until the temp is around 100F, then use a pump and recirculate ice water thru the chiller. In that case, you are trading the power used to freeze the ice against the amount of water used. It just depends on which variable is most important to you.

Derric

Reply to
Derric

There was a lengthy thread on this in 2006. It would be well worth the time of anyone thinking of using a slow feed of cold water to retrieve it and read it.

The purpose of chilling is to reduce the temperature of the wort from its boiling phase to its fermentation phase without acquiring unwanted bacteria AND to minimize the possibility a pronounced sulpher taste in the fermented beer. Time is of the essence here. It's just not just an issue of faster is better, but that slow is hazardous to the success of your beer.

WHY DOES IT TAKE SO MUCH LONGER? The temperature of the surface area of the coil in contact with the wort is the primary determinant of the heat transfer rate. The slower the water is run the warmer the surface gets and the longer it takes.

WHY DOES IT USE MORE WATER? Logic, without Physics, would suggest if you ran the water at 'half speed', it would take twice as long to achieve the same temperature decrease in the wort. This is not the case because rather than chilling the wort, you are heating the water. Every person who has tried running the water slower can attest that it takes more than twice as long.

The culprit here is the temperature decrease from

212F to 140F (100C to 60C) where slower running water will have its lowest heat transfer rates.

You would need to put a water meter on your chiller and run it both ways to actually know the actual amounts of water usage.

HOW TO CHILL FASTER WITH LESS WATER USAGE? The general recommendation is to vehemently stir the wort while chilling. This creates a much needed turbulent flow of the wort around the coils.

I read somewhere that using your chiller to stir the wort increases the heat transfer process because it shakes off wort that might be clinging to the chiller coils.

Dick

Reply to
Dick Adams

The one thing I have often wondered................ Should there be concern about condensation that builds up on the upper part of the coils that aren't submerged in the wort? It seems to drip into the wort. At least on mine.

Reply to
tmgrood

That condensation is, basically, distilled water coming out of the wort... it is inherently sterile. If your unsubmerged coils are clean and were sanitized by the heat of the boil, there shouldn't be any problem. That's my thinking on it, anyway. (Same with what might drip off the boiler lid, if you use one).

Derric

Reply to
Derric

I put a 5gal pot in a deep sink, put in a submersible garden pump and fill halfway with cold water then add ice. This attaches to the "in" of my chiller and the "out" goes into the garden. As the ice water is going through the chiller, I stir the wort to get more wort against the coils. Before I went to 10gal batches, I would put the brew pot in the deep sink and surround it with ice water and run the ice water through the coils. 5gal batch boil to pitch 8 minutes. 10gal batch boil to pitch 20min. I leave the lid on the brew pot and the hop bags inside until I rack to my conical. Quicker is better in this case. Wayne

Reply to
wayne edgin

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