Check your IC hose clamps

Mashing
1

I received a phone call just after knock out and ended up running my immersion chiller for about 2hrs. To my surprise, I found that my volume had increased by a little less than a gallon. It took me a second to figure out that the culprit was the 15 year old hose clamp and tubing at the top of my IC. I wonder how many batches it leaked into? I haven’t had any contamination problems, but the thought of it gave me the willies.

I suppose it’s not a bad idea to periodically run an IC in a dry bucket to proof the hose clamps and tubing seals.

This came out of left field, so I thought it might be worth passing along.

2

One way to prevent this is to bend the ends down over the side of the pot, if they’re long enough.

Splits in the copper can also be an issue, don’t let water freeze in your chiller.

Mine is about 14 yrs old, so I check before every use.

3

Two hours? Dang. Must’ve been an important phone call. Ya couldn’t just say, “Hey, gotta do something quick, let me give you a call back”?
Either way, sucks it leaked like that. My chiller has hose fittings on it, so it’s not as much of an issue. I had it leak once so I make sure the hose is on tight enough before putting in to the boil.

4

I’ve noticed mine with a slow leak too and it’s only about 2 yrs old. I assume from heating and cooling, the tubing the connects to the copper loosens a bit and will leak from the one side (from the hot water out side, I think). I’ve had to tighten the clamps a few times. Next brew day I plan on pushing the tubing on further and adding a second set of clamps, two on each side.