I’m thinking about dipping my toe back into the brewing waters this spring or summer. (probably not the best analogy for a brewing post, I suppose.)
One problem I’ve always had with summertime brewing is how to get your wort to chill down to 60F or so when the water is coming out of the tap higher than that?
Any pointers/solutions? Thanks in advance! :cheers:
I saw a few people who said that they got a cheap transfer pump from like Harbor Freight and used it with an IC cooler and just put both hose ends in a 5-gal bucket full of ice and water. I would think that would work pretty well.
I do what is mentioned above and it works very well. Use your chiller to get it low before using the slush bucket or it won’t be very efficient.
I usually let the chest freezer bring it down the last 20 degrees or so to pitching temperature.
Same here. Chill to ground water temp., then recirculate ice water for the last 5 to 10 degrees.
I use a pond pump. A smaller fountain pump won’t push enough head on my IC.
Same here. Chill to ground water temp., then recirculate ice water for the last 5 to 10 degrees.
I use a pond pump. A smaller fountain pump won’t push enough head on my IC.[/quote]
I use a utility pump. Pumps 1800 gals/hr.
A pump-less option is to daisy chain two ICs together. I have a 25 footer in the first stage that sits in a large pot filled with ice, salt, and water. Water passes from the tap, into the pre-chiller, then into the main IC in the boil pot. It works quickly and for the price of a bag of ice, it makes warm weather brewing sessions no longer than a January brew day.
Same here. Chill to ground water temp., then recirculate ice water for the last 5 to 10 degrees.
I use a pond pump. A smaller fountain pump won’t push enough head on my IC.[/quote]
I use a utility pump. Pumps 1800 gals/hr.[/quote]
The one I have now was a last minute “oh shit” purchase. :oops: The little one didn’t work.
Do you have a way to control the flow, or just full bore?
Full bore baby… but I could install a ball valve on it. The ‘out’ is threaded. I got it at the place where you ‘save big money…’
Move to a place where you won’t have to deal with warm weather. We got enough sleet yesterday to turn the ground white.
I’m in the south and in the worst of summer, my ground water is 83 or 84 so I use a wort chiller to get it down to 110 or so then grab 20 lbs of ice (I only pay $1.50 for it) and use a cheap pump to get it down to 65. It does take me an extra 15 minutes during the summer but it works.
I then use the Cool Brewing bag which holds my fermenters and a few plastic jugs of ice and I can keep my beer between 62-65 in a 78 degree house by changing out the ice jugs every 12 hours. It is more work but worth it and works.
What do you have for fermentation temp control?
I have a 14 gal heated/cooled fermenter and a 12 cf chest freezer with digital thermostat.
Next project is a 6’x6’ temp controlled room that I am building to fridge specs if I want to use it as a walk-in fridge.
Right now swamp coolers, but I also have plans for a fermentation room under the stairs in my basement.
Similar to Greg Mullers. I plan on insulating, then lining with aluminum sheets. Cooling will come from an air conditioner.
I’ve done most of the setups and find that using tap water to get the wort down to about 100 and then using a pump in ice water works best.
here is my page so not to type it all again
http://thebeerjournals.com/chilling.htmlAfter using the plate chillers for many years I’m considering trying a counterflow rig now as I now have a whirlpool kettle and no filter in the kettle. I’m now getting a lot more debris into the plate chillers and cleaning needs more time.
