XL Immersion Chiller help

Northern Brewer General
1

I’m looking at upgrading my 25’ IC with the 70’ XL IC. I think I want to go the IC route again, over a counter flow or plate chiller.

I have a keggle, 75ish tap water and do 10 gallon batches. Does anyone have experience with a similar set up? How long does it take to chill into the 80’s?

I have been using ice baths and pump with my chiller now and it takes 30-40 minutes to get the temps down. I don’t want to wait that long, or buy ice for every brew!

Any help would be appreciated!

2

I went the same route went from a 25’ sst IC to the XL copper. I use my 25’ as a pre-chiller in a 5 gallon bucket of ice water. I freeze a couple of 1 gallon jugs of water a few days before brew day so I don’t have to buy ice every time. This method seems to be the quickest I’ve experienced with my equipment.
30-40 Minutes doesn’t seem very long to me for 10 gallons.

3

I will probably rig up something similar.

I thought I’d heard of some people cooling batches pretty quickly with the larger IC’s. I was hoping for under 90F in 20 minutes or so.

4

I use 70’ 3/8 copper on 10-12 gal batches in a keggle. down to 90 goes pretty fast if you stir pretty regularly.

5

Stir constantly and you will get the temp down in 15min. Theres no substitute for having the wort flowing over the coils. I either stir or hook up my March pump and recirc during chilling.

6

+1 You’ve got to have motion over the IC to get max eff.

7

I’ve got one of More Beer’s :shock: , 50 ft 1/2 inch that fits in my 10 G pot and my keggle. At least I think it’s 50 ft. It’s the one designed for a keggle.

I use a pump with ice water after 90 ~ 100 F and stir during cooling.

Last week for a German PIlsner I went from Boil to 52 in 15 minutes!

Of course, my water is going to start off colder than yours to begin with.

Get the larger IM chiller and never look back! 8)

Good Luck

8

I’m OK with getting it to just under 90. I put it in fermenters then, and let it chill in the fridge the rest of the way while I clean up. If it was able to get close to 70 with just a little more time, I’d leave it, though.