After using copper for years I found a 1/2 dia 50 ft stainless steel one from Midwest and I wouldn’t trade it for anything cools great and cleans a lot easier than the copper ones.
Question is does it cool faster than the copper ones of the same size I like to think so but I’m not sure.
Depends on how big the coil is too.
Also, you’ll pay about $14 for shipping from NB too.[/quote]
Another online home brew shop, that shall remain nameless, has a chiller near that price with free shipping over $59.
Depends on how big the coil is too.
Also, you’ll pay about $14 for shipping from NB too.[/quote]
Another online home brew shop, that shall remain nameless, has a chiller near that price with free shipping over $59.[/quote]
Does anything rhyme with that homebrew shop
Depends on how big the coil is too.
Also, you’ll pay about $14 for shipping from NB too.[/quote]
Another online home brew shop, that shall remain nameless, has a chiller near that price with free shipping over $59.[/quote]
Does anything rhyme with that homebrew shop[/quote]
yes.
Oh, floor schmeer. 
I’ve had both and they were both the same size. They both clean up about the same, they cool about the same also. I remember the stainless one was a little cheaper but nothing to get into a twist about.
I would still have the copper one but forgot and left it out side one night last winter, and it froze and split. Add that to the dumb things list.
I brewed for about 5 years before buying a chiller, and was kicking myself for waiting so long. Not only did the longest single task of the brew day drop go from hours to minutes, but the beer quality improved. Not by the same level as some other things, but noticeably.
I think it’s also worth mentioning that a short, cheap pre-chiller running through a salted ice bath can dramatically increase the efficiency of your immersion chiller. My municipal water gets warm enough that I leave my shower dial on cold throughout the peak summer months. Without a pre-chiller, brewing would be a lot harder. Even during the winter, it adds noticeable efficiency.
I would never consider stainless. My reason for this is that I stir my beer during the whole boil with a stainless spoon and it never gets hot to the touch. My wort chiller which is made of copper, is placed in the wort at 10-15 mins before end of boil. Within a short period the copper wort chiller becomes absolutely burning hot and untouchable. The simple reason for this is the difference in the two metals and their conductivity of heat. Copper is much more conductive, a difference may not be seen when the wort is 200 degrees but I assume this difference will be realized when you are begging for those last ten degrees of chill to occur. On a related note, I was shopping for my chiller one day with a buddy who is a mechanical engineer and he floored by the notion of buying stainless for this very reason.
I read that the old copper kettles had an advantage of imparting some zinc, which is good for yeast health. Perhaps a copper chiller does this.
In terms of durability, my copper chiller is no worse for wear after 12 years of use.
Also, the chiller is one of the best additions to my brewery I ever bought. It is so convenient to chill fast. And, it is helpful in preventing infection to chill and pitch quickly. I have read that wort between 80 and 100 degrees is most susceptible to bacteria.
I use a stainless spoon and it gets hot as $*%@
Granted we are not engineering anything that demands that we go bonkers on this one. Here is a link to the thermal properties of copper ans stainless steel. According to the source, copper has one of the most thermally conductive metals, whereas stainless steel is one of the worst.
http://www.engineersedge.com/properties_of_metals.htm[quote=“mppatriots”]Granted we are not engineering anything that demands that we go bonkers on this one. Here is a link to the thermal properties of copper ans stainless steel. According to the source, copper has one of the most thermally conductive metals, whereas stainless steel is one of the worst.
http://www.engineersedge.com/properties_of_metals.htm[/quote]Silver is a better conductor than copper, perhaps you should use that. Or should that be saved for “military-grade” chillers?
I used to have a copper wort chiller, went to “no-chill” for a while, (gave my chiller to a nephew). I now have a stainless chiller, works great. Plus I like shiny things. :cheers:
[quote=“rebuiltcellars”][quote=“mppatriots”]Granted we are not engineering anything that demands that we go bonkers on this one. Here is a link to the thermal properties of copper ans stainless steel. According to the source, copper has one of the most thermally conductive metals, whereas stainless steel is one of the worst.
http://www.engineersedge.com/properties_of_metals.htm[/quote]Silver is a better conductor than copper, perhaps you should use that. Or should that be saved for “military-grade” chillers?[/quote]
I considered military grade, just didn’t think i had the budget for the shock qual.
[/quote]
I considered military grade, just didn’t think i had the budget for the shock qual.[/quote]
Not to mention the awe. 
[quote=“Rookie L A”][/quote]
I considered military grade, just didn’t think i had the budget for the shock qual.[/quote]
Not to mention the awe. [/quote]
Rookie, the shock and awe factor that i want to go with is a conical fermentor in stainless steel. “What did he just promote stainless steel?!”
