OT - Wort Chilleer/Beer Brewers

Griffin

Hey brewers, got a quick question. Gonna brew another batch of beer this weekend (an IPA following Papazian's recipe). I remembered my new "cousin in law" brews beer and I borrowed his wort chiller. First time using one and I hope it really cuts down on the brew day. I know to drop it in the boiling wort the last 15 minutes or so and it will sanitize it, but I'd really like to clean it first. It's been sitting in a garage for who knows how long, no idea what kind of "stuff" is on it and its a bit "sticky". I guess from his last batch. I know boiling it will sanitize it, but I don't want any off flavors in my beer from whatever is on it. So what's the best way to clean it, ie chemicals/soap/etc? Oh, and it is copper if that helps.

caliking

Clean it with soap and water then boil it for a while in regular water. Rinse and repeat. Should be good to go after that. I just got my wort chiller back after loaning it to someone for a while and am in the same situation.

Oh and copper has natural antibiotic/antimicrobial properties so it's not so much the cooties but the crusty stuff that you need to clean off.

RedSkip

This would be my process...

Step 1

Heat up 4 gallons of water (180+) and put in 5-6 gal bucket.

Add 1 gallon white distilled vinegar to the hot water, stir.

Soak in hot water until water temperature drops (+3 hrs - just looking for contact time)

Rinse

Step2

Heat up 3-4 gallons of water (165) and put in 5-6 gal bucket. (Enough water to cover the chiller)

Add (2) fifths of cheap vodka to the hot water.

**Alcohol's boiling temp is 173F, so DO NOT take your water temp above 173.  If the alcohol vaporizes it's highly flammable, like gasoline.  

Soak in bucket until temperature drops.  (Again, looking for contact time.)

The best was is if you can circulate the fluid through the chiller, but not sure you're setup to do that.  A small submersible fish tank pump can circulate a lot of water, but remember you'll need hoses and fittings too.  (If you go this route, be sure to run the pump for a few hours to clean it well.)

The vinegar will clean the copper (mild acid wash) and the alcohol will clear the vinegar from the system. 

Griffin

Looks like I got a project to do Friday night on top of bottling my saison. Well, the wife left for Vegas today, so all I got is time to kill. Was planning on running some water through it as well, but not really that concerned with how clean it is on the inside. I will make sure to use plumber's tape when I attach the hoses to it so no water will leak into my wort.

RedSkip

My mistake, forgot a chiller cools from outside not inside... soaking it should be fine...

SOS/Brillo pad would work well too...

CANMAN1976

Griffin said:

Looks like I got a project to do Friday night on top of bottling my saison. Well, the wife left for Vegas today, so all I got is time to kill. Was planning on running some water through it as well, but not really that concerned with how clean it is on the inside. I will make sure to use plumber's tape when I attach the hoses to it so no water will leak into my wort.

Gotta start kegging griffin that bottling is a pain!!!!!!!

Thatgrimguy

I really want to get into this hobby. I was thinking about starting off brewing from extract. But every time I start to gather what I need, I get confused.  Anyone know of a good homebrew forum?

fishlessman

i use ketchup on old copper fishing lures but it smells like kethup after washing it off, its really quick though and shines right up, try it on a penny, smear and let it sit there 1 minute and rinse. now its probable the vinegar and salt in the ketchup so maybe just boil it in water vinegar and salt

Griffin

@CANMAN1976 I found a freezer on Craigslist by my house for $100 that I think would work great. Just gotta see if it would fit in the nook in my garage. And if my expecting wife is onboard for that idea. I think she'll probably nix the idea.

@Thatgrimguy HomeBrewTalk forum seems like a good place. I lurk there and get ideas, but honestly talking to the people who work at a local homebrew store has given me more knowledge as well as friends and watching YouTube videos. My first two or three batches were pure extract batches and I have since moved up to partial mashes or mini mashes (whatever you want to call it) with some grain and some extract. Someday I'll graduate up to the Big Boy League and go all grain, but that requires more equipment which means more $$ and more time and knowledge. Someday. Someday.

Griffin

Hey @CANMAN1976 what do you do if you've moved to kegs, but want to bring some beer over to a friend's house to share while watching a game or something? Can you just pump some into a bottle and cap it? Or a growler? I know we know have a few places in Dallas where you can get growlers filled, but I've never done it so I don't know how that works.

Griffin

@Thatgrimguy most brew stores will have beginner kits that get you everything you need to get started if you are confused about what you need. If you know what you need, stuff is always popping up on Craigslist as people get out of the hobby or upgrade to bigger and more expensive options. The first partial mash I did, I ordered a recipe from Northern Brewer, but have since found that you can just print out their recipes, take it into your local shop and they'll set you up with the stuff you need for a whole lot cheaper and no s/h charges.

I'd recommend reading Charlie Papazian's The Complete Joy of Home Brewing. I hear Palmer's book is pretty good, but I haven't read it yet.

And however you proceed, clean, clean, clean and sterilize everything. That can't be stressed enough. Especially anything that comes into contact with your wort after the boil finishes.

MaskedMarvel

Just boil water in your kettle and dunk the chiller in there for ten
Minutes Or so. That should take care of it.

Griffin

I'll try that @MakedMarvel Simplest solution so far and sometimes simple works. If not I'll go with @caliking method

Thatgrimguy

Thank you @Griffin You are the man!

Griffin

@Thatgrimguy thank you. When it comes to beer, I know far less than many here have forgotten already, but I know that if I have a question and ask it here I'm likely to get a response. Even if it is OT.

I don't know if you have a home brew store near you, but the one by me has everything way cheaper than anything I've seen online. I've looked at numerous online stores and Amazon and they still beat it by a mile. Well...except for their wort chillers. For some reason, they have a high price tag on those and I've found several places online that beat them. But I might just build my own after watching a few vids on YouTube. Gotta love having a job with a lot of down time. Leaves plenty of time for research.

NervousDad

Getting cooled down to pitching temps with just an immersion chiller will be difficult. In Philly I had to use two in series, one in an ice bath (25ft) connected to the other in the wort (50ft). I was able to get down to about ~70 in the summer time, but it took a long time.

MaskedMarvel

They make a prechiller which I always wanted - a miniature coil that goes through an ice bath. I'll bet that'd speed things up immensely.

Griffin

I'm sure it will work better than my current method of sticking the kettle in the sink and filling the sink up with ice and water @NervousDad . I think what you and @Masked Marvel suggested with two chillers would be even better (I was also thinking along those lines) but I don't have time to scrounge up a second one, make one or purchase one and my local store is sold out and waiting on a shipment,

Skiddymarker

Do you have a standard 5 gallon plastic primary? Throw a cup of diversol (pink chlorinating detergent sold as SaniBrew, Sterilite, etc...) cold water and soak your chiller for 2 to three hours. Plug the inlet and outlet cause the interior does not need to be that clean. Cover the carboy with a garbage bag to slow the chlorine evaporation. Super cheap and very effective. (Guinness invented the stuff)

Rinse well with warm water.

NervousDad

Griffin said:

I'm sure it will work better than my current method of sticking the kettle in the sink and filling the sink up with ice and water @NervousDad . I think what you and @Masked Marvel suggested with two chillers would be even better (I was also thinking along those lines) but I don't have time to scrounge up a second one, make one or purchase one and my local store is sold out and waiting on a shipment,

Yep it will work much better it's just difficult in the summer no matter what type of chiller you use. The ground water temp is just too high. If you have well I think it would much better.

Cookinbob

I am on the minimum side on this topic.  Don't think you have much to worry about regarding off flavors, etc.

I have a copper wort chiller, and when I am done chilling wort, I rinse with the water still flowing through the chiller, let it dry, and store in a garbage bag for the next use.  As for cleaning your borrowed one, I would just give it a good wash with dish soap in hot water, rinse and use.  Anything on it will be water soluble, so you should be good to go.  Spray it down with star san or whatever if it makes you feel better.  I put mine in the wort 10 minutes before the end of the boil and it is absolutely sterile.

As for cooling time, my tap water is about 64 degrees, I can cool to 80 in about 20 minutes. It goes really slow.  FYI, I do a full boil, so have little need for top off water.  I pour from kettle into primary through a large stainless steel screen strainer which catches all the spent hops, and does a great job of aeration.

I normally use dry yeast which I hydrate for 30 minutes (no starter), and have been pitching my yeast into 76-80 degree wort for years with no problems, I would not worry about getting it colder than that

caliking

@Griffin‌ - I built my own out of copper tubing and parts from Home Depot. I'll try and post pics when I get home.

Cookinbob

Thatgrimguy said:

I really want to get into this hobby. I was thinking about starting off brewing from extract. But every time I start to gather what I need, I get confused.  Anyone know of a good homebrew forum?

There is nothing wrong with extract brewing.  If you are pushing the creative boundaries, there are things you can achieve with all grain that you cannot with extract, but I have brewed stellar beers for years with extract.  From start to cleaned up and fermenting with an extract batch takes me about 3 or 3-1/2 hours.  When I brew with my son who is all grain brewer, it is a 6 hour project, more time than I want to spend.

There are many good online retailers with some awesome kits and equipment packages.  I have used kits from both Northern Brewer and Midwest Supplies with excellent results  Check them out.  I have also downloaded recipes from both and bought the ingredients locally.  It is about a break even after you add shipping, and I like to support the local business.

For the boil, a turkey fryer kit gives you a suitable burner and pot for starters (don't ever use the pot with oil though >-), you can move up to a stainless kettle if you get into it.

At any rate, you should just go for it.  It is not very hard to make really great beer!

Griffin

Cookinbob said:

Thatgrimguy said:

 

For the boil, a turkey fryer kit gives you a suitable burner and pot for starters (don't ever use the pot with oil though >-), you can move up to a stainless kettle if you get into it.

 

I'm using an ole turkey fryer burner. Was using a turkey pot that was brand new till my wife got a craving for fried turkey. After that, I went and bought a kettle that is dedicated to beer now.

I always try and support local when I can, if they are not ridiculous on prices. If they are close, I'll spend more. Never know when you might need something ASAP and find out the place closed because  nobody shopped there.

@caliking that's what I was planning on doing till I remembered my "new relative" might have one and he did. I'll probably build one soon.

Cookinbob

Griffin said:

I'm using an ole turkey fryer burner. Was using a turkey pot that was brand new till my wife got a craving for fried turkey. After that, I went and bought a kettle that is dedicated to beer now.

I too now have a dedicated brew pot, it is an 8 gallon stainless steel Polarware that will last a lifetime.

BREWnQ

I'm with CookinBob. Wash with soap or PBW and toss it in dont overt hink it. I have a 25' prechiller that I made because it was taking a long time to chill during summer. It quickly became a hassle and I saw little improvement with it. What I have found though is stirring the chiller counter to the flow helps drastically.

Griffin

Started heating it on the propane burner. Lots of crud floating up, water turned green. Took it out, let it cool down. Scrubbed with dish soap. Heating again in a pot on the burner. Water still clean. Glad I didn't wait till brew day to mess with it.

BREWnQ

St. Pattys brew in August

Griffin

) took me a sec to figure out what you meant. Why? Oh why do they do that?

BREWnQ

I'm Guilty.  I do it cuz everyone else does.

TheBrewerMoose

A little late to comment... but I will anyways.  I've been brewing for years, and have had a number of equipment changes along the way.  Immersion chillers (IC) are the easiest to clean.  Warm soap and water, rinse well, drop in last few minutes of boil, etc. as you stated.  I wouldn't worry about trying to polish it, it's copper and it's going to be tarnished after being submerged in the wort.

I currently use a counterflow, and just run alkali cleaner through the copper coils and then rinse well.  The cleaning concept is the same though.