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Not yet implemented, but I have this idea: use my counterflow chiller to get the wort to groundwater temperature (as I do now), then in summer (groundwater at 70+) run the wort through a second coil immersed in a bucket of ice water. I suspect 10 lbs of ice will get 5 gallons down another 15 F.

(5 gal @ 70 run thru 5 gal @ 32 means 51 F should result, but in reality it might be closer to 56 F)
 
This is my solution, 1 gallon bag of ice water, insulated on the outside not pictured, works good, I just empty the fridge ice
IMG_20240401_143153379~3.jpg
 
Craigerrr said:
@Sunfire96
Maybe what would be most effective would be to reserve the ice until you get down to 80F, and add it to help with the last 15 degrees.
I could see it making more of a difference then.

You may recall the Frankenchiller I made a few years ago, I gave it to a friend as I couldn't use it any more.
(I switched to a CF chiller as I am boiling with a steam condenser)

Another option for quicker chilling would be this type of chiller
https://jadedbrewing.com/products/the-hydra

FRNAKENCHILLER
Two flow paths, so cool water flowing through two separate coils of tubing.
I would prefill it with tap hot water before putting it in the kettle so the boil would come back quicker.

View attachment 29062
Click to expand...
Dats a BEAST!

Dunno if the boil would recover quicker with hot water or if it was completely drained when dropped in. I suspect the latter may be truer.
 
Donoroto said:
Not yet implemented, but I have this idea: use my counterflow chiller to get the wort to groundwater temperature (as I do now), then in summer (groundwater at 70+) run the wort through a second coil immersed in a bucket of ice water. I suspect 10 lbs of ice will get 5 gallons down another 15 F.

(5 gal @ 70 run thru 5 gal @ 32 means 51 F should result, but in reality it might be closer to 56 F)
Click to expand...
Would you not rather just run the cooling water through the ice? Call me kooky, but one would think that would avoid sanitizing/infection issues by not having an additional piece of hardware contact the wort below 140F. Just thinkin outside the box. (or the chiller as the case may be).
 
RoadRoach said:
Dats a BEAST!

Dunno if the boil would recover quicker with hot water or if it was completely drained when dropped in. I suspect the latter may be truer.
Click to expand...
I gave this chiller to a friend, but I do recall that having it filled with hot tap water helped the boil recover more quickly. My theory in trying that is that air is actually a good insulator. Think dual pane glass windows, and old time building construction when they had inner and outer walls with an air space in between.
 
RoadRoach said:
Would you not rather just run the cooling water through the ice? Call me kooky, but one would think that would avoid sanitizing/infection issues by not having an additional piece of hardware contact the wort below 140F. Just thinkin outside the box. (or the chiller as the case may be).
Click to expand...
Ice is expensive. Water is relatively inexpensive.

The idea is to bring the wort down to water temperature (70-75 summer) first, using inexpensive water, and only then drop the last 10-15 degrees using ice.
The alternative is using only ice to drop from 200F to 60F, which seems to me like a lot of BTUs - the ice would melt before I could cool 5 gallons.

My counterflow chiller is 30 feet of good efficiency, bringing the wort down to incoming water temperature - perhaps a bit warmer, but so little I can't measure it. I built it using the 'plans' in Palmer's book.

When I got the Brewzilla, it came with a stainless immersion coil, which I have never used. The idea would be to use it for that last few degrees with ice.

Sanitation and cleaning, even the insides of a long squiggly tube, isn't a problem. Warm PBW for a little while, then several good rinses, followed by a big splash of StarSan, which is driven through (and out of) the coil by compressed air. Followed by a small fan-on-a-funnel that draws filtered* air through and dries everything inside up in a day. (*a clean but old sock wrapped around the far end). I don't PBW the counterflow every time, but it does get well-rinsed a few minutes after it is used, along with the starsan & drying treatment. Plus, it is re-sanitized with boiling wort before each use.

Of course, the extra cooling is not needed in winter, the ground water is 55 F then.
 
This whole thing is the reason i went with an air-water heat exchanger. No ice, just keeps the water near room temp
 
An update after trying this new method for the first time:
I ran cold tap water through the immersion chiller until it reached 90' F (pitch temp is 75'F for the Lutra kveik I'm repitching). Then I added a gallon of ice to the water and the pump sent this colder water through the chiller. It took 13 minutes to reach 90 and an additional 5 to hit 75. It got all the way down to 70 by the time I got everything turned off. It worked great!! An excellent first run
 
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