home made immersion chiller

I'd say thats a fantastic start!! From 200+F down to 95F in less than 15 minutes...thats not bad at all!! I'd hold on to it if I were you, you can always buy a commercially made chiller...or use it as a lesson and make another (better one) and use this one as a "prechiller" in a bucket of ice water.

You can also run cold water through it, temporarily seal it off and toss it in the freezer for an hour or so before using it, just don't let it freeze solid or it may rupture the tubing.

I myself am anxious to build a chiller, but I'm going with a counterflow because I use an inline hopback/filter.

Anyway, I'd say..hold on to it & upgrade to a SS kettle, it may be more pricey, but in the long run a SS kettle is worth every penny.

Kent

Congrats! Many, many folks use homemade chillers just fine. Ugliness doesn't matter... in fact there was an informal contest for the most ugly back on rec.craft.homebrewing a year or two ago.... there are some REAL ugly chillers out there.

Actually, aluminum is a better conductor than stainless steel. That's why the better SS pots have thick copper or aluminum bottoms bonded on them - for better conduction! Aluminum boilers are fine - spend your money on another batch!

Derric

No you can't, because the chiller needs to be immersed in the boiling wort for 15 minutes to sanitise before chilling.