Brilliant! As important as this is for building your own CFC it is equally educational regarding exactly how a CFC works exactly. 11 years on and still valuable
Hi Stefano, I hook up the counterflow to the kettle and pump boiling wort through it and back into the kettle again to sanitise it for about 10 minutes before I turn on the cold water for chilling. Then at the end of the brew day, It is left connected to the kettle during cleaning and all of the cleaning solution used in the kettle is run through the it to flush it and clean it out.
Best counter-chiller build video, ever. I've been meaning to build one for a while, but imperial measurements and a parts list I'd have no hope of full-filling here in the outer suburbs of Melbourne have stalled my efforts time and again. Checking the website now, everything you have listed is available at Bunnings down the road.. Guess what I'm making this weekend :)
Me and a mate were so impressed we made one each. We found compression fittings, tees etc that did the job nicely, haven't soldered for 20yrs so that got interesting but got the copper in the tube so all good. Problem is the tap water here is 23 degs so now looking at making a recirculating water chilled reservoir to get from 35degs(current wort exit temp) to 22degs. But to chill wort from 100degs to 35 in 10secs shows how efficiently it works all for $85. Thanks for sharing!
This CFC has now cooled over 180ltr of wort without any leaks, and an average cooling time from boil to pitching temp of 15min per 20ltr. Well worth the build
Thank you for sharing this video! I built one of these a few months ago using this video as a guide. The plumbing department at the hardware store became my second home for a couple weeks while I figured the connections out. I ended up drilling the compression fittings like you recommended, and everything came together and sealed up nicely. I've brewed two batches with it so far, and it works like a charm. Your channel has outstanding content.
Yes the longer the pipe, the more surface area and a better transfer. You could probably increase the flow rate for a faster cool down also with a longer pipe. But one thing to consider is that the water flowing in the opposite direction will eventually start putting the heat back into the wort, and eqaulize the wort and the water to the same temp. It would take some serious algebra to calculate the exact length of pipe needed before that started happening. Cheers
I made one of these myself years ago, and it works like a charm. I think coiling wire around the beer tube to create turbulence is unnecessary (not to mention the hardest part of this process). The copper tube doesn't sit perfectly centered in the hose, and the variations in the water gap will create plenty of turbulence on their own.
This is awesome. I built my immersion chiller which is working fine for now (I only do 23L brews). I'll use this vid as a resource when I'm ready for a counterflow chiller. Thanks!
Just wanted to say thanks for putting this video up. I built this thing a while back and it has improved my brewing process so much. Love the videos. Keep up the good work.
Hi Michele, that will be fine, the glaze will burn off where you weld the wire to the pipe, and only water is running on the outside of the pipe so no glaze containment will effect your beer. Try to weld a bit of glazed wire first, and see how well it bonds though, just to be sure.
Hi Rick, I went to a plumbing wholesaler, and looked around at all the bits, trying them out for size, sort of an adhock design process. The most important part was finding a reducer that fit the snuggly around the internal copper pipe that I had.
Cheers for the comment. The copper that the wort runs through doesnt have any obstructions so its pretty easy to clean by hooking it up to a pump and recirculating cleaner through it. Before I use it I pump the boiling wort through it and back into the kettle, that kills anything that could be left behind. As for sediment I haven't had it block up yet, pipe ID is about 10mm, plus I normally whirl pool, or run through a turb filter first so sediment is minimal coming in. Cheers have another1
Once water is flowing the turbulence settles down. The theory behind the wire around the pipe, is to increase the travel path for the water passing over the copper. So instead of flowing along the pipe it flows in a spiral around the pipe. this means that water has a longer contact time to transfer heat. The wire also adds a little bit more surface area for heat transfer, even though it is minimal. Ideally Convoluted pipe, of finned pipe would be more efficient, but is wire is easier for DIY
Hi Aaron, I have mine connected to a march pump, so it has no issue. I tried it with a gravity flow but, like you suggested the overall length of pipe is just to much to handle, there are also to many opportunities for air pockets to form and restrict the flow. I have to prime mine by pumping into it, to ensure all of the air has been expelled. If I rely on gravity to fill the coil, the liquid soon equalises pressure after a couple of coils and then, its going nowhere.
Hi there, I built mine based on this video, works great! was getting extremely sick of my immersion chiller. BTW your brewery looks awesome. Thanks for the info, Jeremy.
I have a pipe flaring tool, and I used that to flare out the end enough so that when I screwed in a 1/2" nipple it compressed against the flare to might a tight seal. A metal spike would do the same thing with a bit of force behind it. Another option is to use a silicone washer to create a tight fit. Cheers
Well done video. Key I was looking for is the connection from the outflow of the kettle to the pump, then the chiller. Nice job showing how it is done all the way through, though.
yes, I pump back into the kettle to bring the entire volume of the kettle to pitching temp, I have done a video called the "chill off challenge" where on I compare both recirculation and straight into the fermentor, and both methods took the same amount of time. But I prefer recirculating as it is easy to setup, and a no fuss method, were as straight into the fermentor ball valve adjustment is needed to control output temp.
Cheers, I brought heavy gauge electrical wire and stripped the insulation of it, it is about 1mm thick wire. Galvanized would be okay though, as its primary purpose is to create turbulence not heat transfer. It might start to rust though at the welds, although solder would protect it somewhat. An alternative would be aluminium, but then soldering could be an issue.
Absolutely awesome piece of craftsmanship. Well done. If you put this much care and effort into your equipment, I can only imagine how good your beer tastes. Is there any chance you could put up an exact list of what you used for the build (what to ask for in the store). I would love to give this a go. :)
Using cornelius keg to coil ... love it, classic DIY ... very creative, great build, and good video. Already have a really effective coil chiller (not counterflow) but I'm gonna give this one a go.
Cheers Dave, the clear tubing is cool, I am going to use 1/2" clear Polycarbonate for my brewery plumbing, so I can see the flows everywhere, one big sight glass! might even bling it by putting LED light strips behind it to.
Awesome Design!!!! I loved my "rib-cage chiller" design, but it is still a simple design with no counterflow. I am re-building the brewery and think Im gonna build this next! I love it!!! Thank you for sharing.
As long as it is lead-free flux it is safe, like the solder and flux used in most plumbing. A good clean down with boiling water cleans away any flux that is left over also. 95% of the soldering is also on the water side of the pipe.
Cheers Gordon, the flare seems to be holding up fine, I have run it a couple of times without the wort lines connect to see if it was leaking, but looks all good. I have been meaning to get a silicone seal to ensure a tighter fit against the flare also, just havent got to it yet.
Unfortunately not, I went to plumbing supply shop with my copper tube and put together the bits that I needed, so I didnt think of keeping a note of the part sizes. But in one of my other videos "Counterflow chiller, Homebrew Wednesday Episode 3" I layout the bits that I got. Hope that helps and cheers for the sub
I really like your video and have decided to make one of these chillers as well. I'm a newborn to brewing, currently putting together my equipment. I've already made my keggle with the same 3 piece ball valve ending as the one in this vid. What I can't get my head around is how do you withold hops from clogging your thin diameter copper spiral pipe? I'd like to add whole and pellett hops directly in the keggle without using bags or spiders.
4ttys Great stuff, its awesome getting gear ready for a brew setup. My kettle has its dip tube 1/4 from the outside edge, so after a whirlpool the hops form a cone in the centre and don't clog anything. I always use pallets though, as they don't clump together while the hot wort is flowing, leaf hops would form a blockage. Luckily I have never had any blockages, a good pump with a decent flow rate will keep everything moving. Cheers
I have a mate that got me the copper, he works in air conditioning, and 1/2" is the standard that they use. Cheers Your CNC project looks great, I have been wanting to put together my own CNC.
Thank you for taking the time to put this together. How do you sanitize/sterilize this device? That is, especially to ensure that there are no deposits which remain to cause off-flavors, etc.
After a brew I flush it with water to clear it out, then drain it. Then on the next brew day, before I start to cool the wort through it, I hook it up to the kettle and recirculate the boiling wort for 15min. That sanitises it up. I cool my wort by recirculating it back into the kettle until the entire kettle volume has reached pitching temp, then transfer to the fermentor. I haven't had any issues with it at all, no off flavours etc. But I am looking at another counterflow design, one that is parallel, so that you can actually get line of sight through the copper. But thats another video, that will be coming up soon. Cheers
Those couplings are sweet. The only improvement I would make is to add an o2 in port somehow, close to, but after where the wort in port is, so that you could aerate as you cooled. I do see some cavitation happening in there though, so aeration might just be happenging naturally anyway. All in all, nice setup.
Cheers glad you enjoyed the video. I have plans for a second version on the drawing board now, want something that I can had plumb in a bit better with my brew setup.
That is a lot of work for something that works just as good as a regular coil. I use 2 double 1/2 coils. one in a ice pre chiller and one for immersion, just running straight garden hose water through it can crash 12 gals of boiling wart to 70deg in 11 mins flat.
after the brew, I run the kettle cleaning water through it, and finally star sans. Then I let it drain and the star sans evaporates. Before I use it again, I also run the boiling wort through it, and back into the kettle for 10 min to give it a further sanitise.
that was awesome!!! if you had a 7meter coil instead of 5meter it would be even better because the wort is more dense than water so it will chill not as easily. anyway great idea and I envy your Kiln/BrewPot
Is there a limit to the length of copper tubing when NOT using a pump? I have a 20 foot run of copper tube but I don't want to have to purchase a pump, wondering if gravity will be enough. Thanks for the great video.
Yeah those imperial wrenches are hard to find, lol. We only use inches as a measure of a man now, everything else is metric ;) total build cost was around $140USD, which included the blingy brass hose fittings, copper pipe was extremely cheap, picked up a 5m off cut for $20
Gravity should be able to do it, as long as your kettle is high enough so that everything runs down hill into the fermenting vessel. However I prefer to use a pump so that I can reticulate the wort back into the kettle, once the entire kettle volume has reached pitching temp I then run it into the fermentor. Also I run boiling wort through the counterflow for 5min first, without cooling, this ensures that the counterflow is 100% sanitised.
That is pretty sweet!! I'm trying to decide whether to build something like this, or buy a plate chiller. Your solution was really elegant though, great little package.
Keith Christofferson I have used plate chillers before, but they blocked and caused cavitation issues with most of my brewdays. However alot of brewers haven't had any issues with them at all. I also have a parallel counterflow chiller build that I have done as well. Parallel Counterflow Chiller part 1 of 3 I built this to look at the tear down and cleaning of a counterflow chiller.
Time4Another1 That's interesting! I'll take a look. Did you find your coil counterflow ever had blockage or debris issues, or was the motivation to make a parallel counterflow chiller more so just for piece of mind?
have you thought to put a valve on the out put? That may help bring the water temp. up and the wort temp down by giving the wort more contact time with the liqur. I like what you are doing ! Very nice. I'll have to make one myself. Do you have a list of parts? That would be a great help. Thanks
if you mean the output of the waste water, no. I can control the flow of the water going in via the main water tap, and there is a ball valve to restrict the wort coming out, so that allows for pretty good heat transfer. I have found that slowing the water down you get better cooling, instead of having the water full bore. Unfortunately I don't have a list of parts, as some the parts were picked up from a local plumbing store and are not globally available. However I have a brand new counterflow video that I am working on at the moment, and with that one all the parts I have chosen can be sourced from international supplies, so that anyone can make it. Cheers
Thank. looking forward for the new and improved counter flow video. Hope to have some videos of my own some time down the rode of the brewing and random stuff that I'm doing in Northern BC Canada. :) Much love
Nice build but I've got to be that guy. That's not welding 😉that's soldering aka sweating. Welding is melting the 2 materials together along with a filler material. That can be done with metals or plastics with heat or chemicals. Soldering is basically glueing the pieces using heat. Next time you have to do some soldering try n get ahold of some stay Brite liquid flux. If you use silver bearing solder it will bond about any metal including stainless,copper,brass, aluminum and even cast iron or mild steel in any combination. The stuff is amazing
I know it's been ages since this was posted... since you already added an inline pump for the bear - what if you create a closed loop system for the cold water, into something like a 5 gallon water cooler - you could add a pump to the base of the cooler - then fill with ice, and circulate the ice water, as long as you have ice in the cooler you know the water in the loop is quite cold, this way your not running water down the drain, but recycling it.
A silicone seal would be easier than flaring it, great idea. As long as there was enough compression against it to make a nice tight seal, that would work well.
This looks like a great piece of kit. I'm going to start making one very soon. What did you use and how did you flare out the copper pipe to stop the leaks?
That's a good method! But I wanted to know if I can use a pump to continuous use for cycles of 12 complete hours or all the process has to be in pauses? the amount of water that I am going to work are 80 liters in a container.
Jose Luis Lopez Ramirez I have used the counterflow to continually recirculate 40ltr of hot wort back into the kettle, and then turned on the cold water to chill the entire volume in about 30min. If you are looking at using a counterflow for a prolonged heat exchange period, I cant see any issue with that, at some point the heat exchange will stabilise, ie both fluid sources should reach the same temp.
Great video. One question: how do you sterilize the chiller prior to its use? Just flowing some sanitized water through the copper pipe would be enough?
I built this also after watching your video...soldering every 4" doesn't hold it...the solder ends up breaking loose. had to use another method to hold it, ended up getting all of the copper pipe in but 18 inches of it out of a 20ft section...after rolling it on the keg, ended up with 7 coils....
turner111971 I had a couple of solder spots ping off as well, a bit of sand paper to roughen up the pipe helped. 7 coils is pretty good, thats what I ended up with also.
Thanks for the video instructions mate. I am thinking of building one, but would like to ask if this will work just by gravity feeding the wort through? also I am thinking of going to 9 meters 13mm (1/2 inch) of copper pipe. what are your thoughts.
Jared Venerussi Hi Jared, gravity feed would work perfectly well, the beer flow would be slower, and therefore more heat should be exchanged. You possibly dont have to go to 9m, but it wouldn't hurt. At the worst the last couple of meters might not be exchanging much heat.
Thanks for the advice. I might go to 6 m then. I've got a good plumber mate that's gonna solder it all up for me. I will let you know how it goes when its all done. thanks again.
This is bloody awesome, another little project to build! If you would do this again, what would you change? Longer coil? Could you recirc the water used for cooling in a bank and reduce wastage? Also, what part of NZ are you in?
Super nice! I am going to attempt to duplicate this really soon. I have an immersion chiller that isn't cutting it. I am going to try to unwind it and use it for this counter flow design. I wonder it this is gonna work? Hahaha. Top notch video.
danr308 be careful unwinding the copper, as it tends to buckle and crack after it has been bent for a long period of time. If you can, fill the tube with salt completely and bung the ends, "probably a bit hard when its coiled up", but the salt acts as counter pressure to prevent buckling when you bend it. Then run hot water through it to dissolve out the salt again. Cheers
Silly question, but if your kettle doesn't have a connection port/outlet for the counterflow chiller, can you still make the counterflow chiller work somehow?
Cheers for the request, I think the cost for shipping from NZ to Europe would be pretty high. There are some counterflow chillers available on ebay[dot]co[dot]uk that are $170USD delivered, that would be a much cheaper option, search for "wort chiller"
I'm curious to know the basis behind the idea to create a turbulent flow in the water portion of the chiller. Intuitively I'd guess that less turbulence means more contact with the hot inner tube, which in turn means more efficient cooling. But fluid and thermal dynamics are never very intuitive...
![Hunxho - Ball Forever [Official Video]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/nki9ZTF9Uls/mqdefault.jpg)
Brilliant! As important as this is for building your own CFC it is equally educational regarding exactly how a CFC works exactly. 11 years on and still valuable
Hi Stefano,
I hook up the counterflow to the kettle and pump boiling wort through it and back into the kettle again to sanitise it for about 10 minutes before I turn on the cold water for chilling. Then at the end of the brew day, It is left connected to the kettle during cleaning and all of the cleaning solution used in the kettle is run through the it to flush it and clean it out.
Best counter-chiller build video, ever. I've been meaning to build one for a while, but imperial measurements and a parts list I'd have no hope of full-filling here in the outer suburbs of Melbourne have stalled my efforts time and again. Checking the website now, everything you have listed is available at Bunnings down the road.. Guess what I'm making this weekend :)
Me and a mate were so impressed we made one each. We found compression fittings, tees etc that did the job nicely, haven't soldered for 20yrs so that got interesting but got the copper in the tube so all good. Problem is the tap water here is 23 degs so now looking at making a recirculating water chilled reservoir to get from 35degs(current wort exit temp) to 22degs. But to chill wort from 100degs to 35 in 10secs shows how efficiently it works all for $85. Thanks for sharing!
gotsomecraic that is awesome, cheers
This CFC has now cooled over 180ltr of wort without any leaks, and an average cooling time from boil to pitching temp of 15min per 20ltr. Well worth the build
Thank you for sharing this video! I built one of these a few months ago using this video as a guide. The plumbing department at the hardware store became my second home for a couple weeks while I figured the connections out.
I ended up drilling the compression fittings like you recommended, and everything came together and sealed up nicely. I've brewed two batches with it so far, and it works like a charm. Your channel has outstanding content.
Yes the longer the pipe, the more surface area and a better transfer. You could probably increase the flow rate for a faster cool down also with a longer pipe. But one thing to consider is that the water flowing in the opposite direction will eventually start putting the heat back into the wort, and eqaulize the wort and the water to the same temp. It would take some serious algebra to calculate the exact length of pipe needed before that started happening. Cheers
I made one of these myself years ago, and it works like a charm. I think coiling wire around the beer tube to create turbulence is unnecessary (not to mention the hardest part of this process). The copper tube doesn't sit perfectly centered in the hose, and the variations in the water gap will create plenty of turbulence on their own.
This is awesome. I built my immersion chiller which is working fine for now (I only do 23L brews). I'll use this vid as a resource when I'm ready for a counterflow chiller. Thanks!
Just wanted to say thanks for putting this video up. I built this thing a while back and it has improved my brewing process so much. Love the videos. Keep up the good work.
that is awesome thank you for the message Matthew, Cheers Paul
Hi Michele, that will be fine, the glaze will burn off where you weld the wire to the pipe, and only water is running on the outside of the pipe so no glaze containment will effect your beer. Try to weld a bit of glazed wire first, and see how well it bonds though, just to be sure.
Hi Rick, I went to a plumbing wholesaler, and looked around at all the bits, trying them out for size, sort of an adhock design process. The most important part was finding a reducer that fit the snuggly around the internal copper pipe that I had.
Cheers for the comment.
The copper that the wort runs through doesnt have any obstructions so its pretty easy to clean by hooking it up to a pump and recirculating cleaner through it. Before I use it I pump the boiling wort through it and back into the kettle, that kills anything that could be left behind. As for sediment I haven't had it block up yet, pipe ID is about 10mm, plus I normally whirl pool, or run through a turb filter first so sediment is minimal coming in. Cheers have another1
Brilliant video! Built one based on this very succinct advice. Thanks! Cools in one pass from boiling to 18/19C.
That was the sickest build I've ever seen...I want to do this right now! Cheers to you!
Man we miss you
Once water is flowing the turbulence settles down. The theory behind the wire around the pipe, is to increase the travel path for the water passing over the copper. So instead of flowing along the pipe it flows in a spiral around the pipe. this means that water has a longer contact time to transfer heat. The wire also adds a little bit more surface area for heat transfer, even though it is minimal. Ideally Convoluted pipe, of finned pipe would be more efficient, but is wire is easier for DIY
Hi Aaron, I have mine connected to a march pump, so it has no issue. I tried it with a gravity flow but, like you suggested the overall length of pipe is just to much to handle, there are also to many opportunities for air pockets to form and restrict the flow. I have to prime mine by pumping into it, to ensure all of the air has been expelled. If I rely on gravity to fill the coil, the liquid soon equalises pressure after a couple of coils and then, its going nowhere.
Hi there,
I built mine based on this video, works great! was getting extremely sick of my immersion chiller. BTW your brewery looks awesome. Thanks for the info, Jeremy.
I have a pipe flaring tool, and I used that to flare out the end enough so that when I screwed in a 1/2" nipple it compressed against the flare to might a tight seal. A metal spike would do the same thing with a bit of force behind it. Another option is to use a silicone washer to create a tight fit. Cheers
Well done video. Key I was looking for is the connection from the outflow of the kettle to the pump, then the chiller. Nice job showing how it is done all the way through, though.
We still miss you. RIP
yes, I pump back into the kettle to bring the entire volume of the kettle to pitching temp, I have done a video called the "chill off challenge" where on I compare both recirculation and straight into the fermentor, and both methods took the same amount of time. But I prefer recirculating as it is easy to setup, and a no fuss method, were as straight into the fermentor ball valve adjustment is needed to control output temp.
Cheers, I brought heavy gauge electrical wire and stripped the insulation of it, it is about 1mm thick wire. Galvanized would be okay though, as its primary purpose is to create turbulence not heat transfer. It might start to rust though at the welds, although solder would protect it somewhat. An alternative would be aluminium, but then soldering could be an issue.
Very important! Hot and cold water must tiles in the opposite direction!
Absolutely awesome piece of craftsmanship. Well done. If you put this much care and effort into your equipment, I can only imagine how good your beer tastes.
Is there any chance you could put up an exact list of what you used for the build (what to ask for in the store).
I would love to give this a go. :)
Using cornelius keg to coil ... love it, classic DIY ... very creative, great build, and good video. Already have a really effective coil chiller (not counterflow) but I'm gonna give this one a go.
Cheers Todd
What a fantastic build. I'll be pitching making this to my brew buddies.
Cheers Dave, the clear tubing is cool, I am going to use 1/2" clear Polycarbonate for my brewery plumbing, so I can see the flows everywhere, one big sight glass! might even bling it by putting LED light strips behind it to.
Very, very nice mate. Great Kiwi ingenuity. I am SO over my plate chiller. I will definitely be trying this build.
Awesome Design!!!! I loved my "rib-cage chiller" design, but it is still a simple design with no counterflow. I am re-building the brewery and think Im gonna build this next! I love it!!! Thank you for sharing.
There's a name I remember from the past. In case you don't know, Paul passed away the end of 2015.
As long as it is lead-free flux it is safe, like the solder and flux used in most plumbing. A good clean down with boiling water cleans away any flux that is left over also. 95% of the soldering is also on the water side of the pipe.
Cheers Gordon, the flare seems to be holding up fine, I have run it a couple of times without the wort lines connect to see if it was leaking, but looks all good. I have been meaning to get a silicone seal to ensure a tighter fit against the flare also, just havent got to it yet.
One other thing. I use buckets with my immersion chiller. The garden loves it 🍻👍
Unfortunately not, I went to plumbing supply shop with my copper tube and put together the bits that I needed, so I didnt think of keeping a note of the part sizes. But in one of my other videos "Counterflow chiller, Homebrew Wednesday Episode 3" I layout the bits that I got. Hope that helps and cheers for the sub
I really like your video and have decided to make one of these chillers as well. I'm a newborn to brewing, currently putting together my equipment. I've already made my keggle with the same 3 piece ball valve ending as the one in this vid. What I can't get my head around is how do you withold hops from clogging your thin diameter copper spiral pipe? I'd like to add whole and pellett hops directly in the keggle without using bags or spiders.
4ttys Great stuff, its awesome getting gear ready for a brew setup. My kettle has its dip tube 1/4 from the outside edge, so after a whirlpool the hops form a cone in the centre and don't clog anything. I always use pallets though, as they don't clump together while the hot wort is flowing, leaf hops would form a blockage. Luckily I have never had any blockages, a good pump with a decent flow rate will keep everything moving. Cheers
RIP Paul. Great video.
I have a mate that got me the copper, he works in air conditioning, and 1/2" is the standard that they use. Cheers
Your CNC project looks great, I have been wanting to put together my own CNC.
Thank you for taking the time to put this together.
How do you sanitize/sterilize this device? That is, especially to ensure that there are no deposits which remain to cause off-flavors, etc.
After a brew I flush it with water to clear it out, then drain it. Then on the next brew day, before I start to cool the wort through it, I hook it up to the kettle and recirculate the boiling wort for 15min. That sanitises it up. I cool my wort by recirculating it back into the kettle until the entire kettle volume has reached pitching temp, then transfer to the fermentor. I haven't had any issues with it at all, no off flavours etc. But I am looking at another counterflow design, one that is parallel, so that you can actually get line of sight through the copper. But thats another video, that will be coming up soon. Cheers
Those couplings are sweet. The only improvement I would make is to add an o2 in port somehow, close to, but after where the wort in port is, so that you could aerate as you cooled. I do see some cavitation happening in there though, so aeration might just be happenging naturally anyway. All in all, nice setup.
Cheers glad you enjoyed the video. I have plans for a second version on the drawing board now, want something that I can had plumb in a bit better with my brew setup.
That is a lot of work for something that works just as good as a regular coil. I use 2 double 1/2 coils. one in a ice pre chiller and one for immersion, just running straight garden hose water through it can crash 12 gals of boiling wart to 70deg in 11 mins flat.
Gone but not forgotten. Rip mate.
after the brew, I run the kettle cleaning water through it, and finally star sans. Then I let it drain and the star sans evaporates. Before I use it again, I also run the boiling wort through it, and back into the kettle for 10 min to give it a further sanitise.
Fiz um com 8 metros de tubo de cobre 3/8.. e mangueira de 5/8.. sensacional! Obrigado por ensinar!
Best wort chiller i`ve seen so far! Nice work.
Great project! Can I use copper wire glazed to coil around pipe? Or I have to pulish with sand?
That is a good video. Really nice. I will try it. What kind of pump did you bought, does it cope with the temperature ?
that was awesome!!! if you had a 7meter coil instead of 5meter it would be even better because the wort is more dense than water so it will chill not as easily. anyway great idea and I envy your Kiln/BrewPot
Is there a limit to the length of copper tubing when NOT using a pump? I have a 20 foot run of copper tube but I don't want to have to purchase a pump, wondering if gravity will be enough. Thanks for the great video.
Yeah those imperial wrenches are hard to find, lol. We only use inches as a measure of a man now, everything else is metric ;)
total build cost was around $140USD, which included the blingy brass hose fittings, copper pipe was extremely cheap, picked up a 5m off cut for $20
Gravity should be able to do it, as long as your kettle is high enough so that everything runs down hill into the fermenting vessel. However I prefer to use a pump so that I can reticulate the wort back into the kettle, once the entire kettle volume has reached pitching temp I then run it into the fermentor. Also I run boiling wort through the counterflow for 5min first, without cooling, this ensures that the counterflow is 100% sanitised.
I have a Sabco Chill Wizard and an Immersion Chiller, but this counterflow leaves them for dust. Its awesome.
That is pretty sweet!! I'm trying to decide whether to build something like this, or buy a plate chiller. Your solution was really elegant though, great little package.
Keith Christofferson I have used plate chillers before, but they blocked and caused cavitation issues with most of my brewdays. However alot of brewers haven't had any issues with them at all. I also have a parallel counterflow chiller build that I have done as well. Parallel Counterflow Chiller part 1 of 3 I built this to look at the tear down and cleaning of a counterflow chiller.
Time4Another1
That's interesting! I'll take a look. Did you find your coil counterflow ever had blockage or debris issues, or was the motivation to make a parallel counterflow chiller more so just for piece of mind?
Cheers, glad you liked it. Love the glass airlock on your mead, looks so much classier than a plastic one.
Loved the idea. Unfortunately i will no be able to find such a large hose in my country.
Very nice and clear video instruction. Great job.
That is soldering BTW not welding. Good job I am planning to do something very similar.
could you write down a complete list of items to buy for this?=)
have you thought to put a valve on the out put? That may help bring the water temp. up and the wort temp down by giving the wort more contact time with the liqur. I like what you are doing ! Very nice. I'll have to make one myself. Do you have a list of parts? That would be a great help. Thanks
if you mean the output of the waste water, no. I can control the flow of the water going in via the main water tap, and there is a ball valve to restrict the wort coming out, so that allows for pretty good heat transfer. I have found that slowing the water down you get better cooling, instead of having the water full bore. Unfortunately I don't have a list of parts, as some the parts were picked up from a local plumbing store and are not globally available. However I have a brand new counterflow video that I am working on at the moment, and with that one all the parts I have chosen can be sourced from international supplies, so that anyone can make it. Cheers
Thank. looking forward for the new and improved counter flow video. Hope to have some videos of my own some time down the rode of the brewing and random stuff that I'm doing in Northern BC Canada. :) Much love
Nice build but I've got to be that guy. That's not welding 😉that's soldering aka sweating. Welding is melting the 2 materials together along with a filler material. That can be done with metals or plastics with heat or chemicals. Soldering is basically glueing the pieces using heat. Next time you have to do some soldering try n get ahold of some stay Brite liquid flux. If you use silver bearing solder it will bond about any metal including stainless,copper,brass, aluminum and even cast iron or mild steel in any combination. The stuff is amazing
Great music selection for the spot. Great info. Thanks for filming and posting it!
made one in 2020 :) 5/8" OD copper with 7/8" ID Clear tube, was pain in the a... to get fittings that fit
Thanks from Argentine ! Gracias desde Argentina!
This looks like an amazing device. But is there a list of parts somewhere that I've overlooked?
Thank for your video. I made one and it works fine!
Greetings from Lima, Perú.
hi , thats a fine work.
i need to know how long will it gives such efficiency.
when the copper gets over heat wat will happen.
Sweet how to video, plus it looks cool when the water is running through good stuff
I know it's been ages since this was posted... since you already added an inline pump for the bear - what if you create a closed loop system for the cold water, into something like a 5 gallon water cooler - you could add a pump to the base of the cooler - then fill with ice, and circulate the ice water, as long as you have ice in the cooler you know the water in the loop is quite cold, this way your not running water down the drain, but recycling it.
A silicone seal would be easier than flaring it, great idea. As long as there was enough compression against it to make a nice tight seal, that would work well.
This looks like a great piece of kit. I'm going to start making one very soon. What did you use and how did you flare out the copper pipe to stop the leaks?
Great How To Video. Chiller Works and Looks Awesome.
Hi, Id be keen to see a materials list for this if you have one. Cheers!
These were all the rage in my day !
thats a very very very good job im from the U.S.
Did you ever compile a list of where you got your copper fittings? Especially that wonderful swivel fitting? Wonderful build by the way.
I picked up the swivel fitting in the garden hose section of a hardware store.
Very nice! Much nicer and cleaner than an immersion chiller. Keep up the good work.
Great Idea , I will build it for a water purification still , Thankyou !!
Pure beergasm !!!!! Awesome. My next buildup!
Cheers Dan, it was easy to build to, I thought that I may have hit some obstacles on the way but it turned out sweet.
That's a good method! But I wanted to know if I can use a pump to continuous use for cycles of 12 complete hours or all the process has to be in pauses? the amount of water that I am going to work are 80 liters in a container.
Jose Luis Lopez Ramirez I have used the counterflow to continually recirculate 40ltr of hot wort back into the kettle, and then turned on the cold water to chill the entire volume in about 30min. If you are looking at using a counterflow for a prolonged heat exchange period, I cant see any issue with that, at some point the heat exchange will stabilise, ie both fluid sources should reach the same temp.
hi, fantastic video. Wich pump is that you use at the start of the chiller?
Great video. One question: how do you sterilize the chiller prior to its use? Just flowing some sanitized water through the copper pipe would be enough?
Thanks for Greate video, can you list up the parts do use, please.
Mad counter-flow envy going on right here. One day.... Awesome video/build
yeah the water effect is cool, such an added bonus. I feel like pimping it and adding a small air inlet to maintain the bubble effect ;)
yeah why not, was intending on putting up a parts list
Very well done mate, may well be building one of these myself
I built this also after watching your video...soldering every 4" doesn't hold it...the solder ends up breaking loose. had to use another method to hold it, ended up getting all of the copper pipe in but 18 inches of it out of a 20ft section...after rolling it on the keg, ended up with 7 coils....
turner111971 I had a couple of solder spots ping off as well, a bit of sand paper to roughen up the pipe helped. 7 coils is pretty good, thats what I ended up with also.
This is one of the best equipment build video i've ever seen! Good job man, this is very helpfull. Cheers
Thanks for the video instructions mate. I am thinking of building one, but would like to ask if this will work just by gravity feeding the wort through? also I am thinking of going to 9 meters 13mm (1/2 inch) of copper pipe. what are your thoughts.
Jared Venerussi Hi Jared, gravity feed would work perfectly well, the beer flow would be slower, and therefore more heat should be exchanged. You possibly dont have to go to 9m, but it wouldn't hurt. At the worst the last couple of meters might not be exchanging much heat.
Thanks for the advice. I might go to 6 m then. I've got a good plumber mate that's gonna solder it all up for me. I will let you know how it goes when its all done. thanks again.
Do you have a list of parts. I would like to try and build one of these myself
yes, would love to make one too!
Time4another1, instead of flaring the pipe, can I just get a silicone seal that will fit between or would flaring be better?
This is bloody awesome, another little project to build! If you would do this again, what would you change? Longer coil? Could you recirc the water used for cooling in a bank and reduce wastage? Also, what part of NZ are you in?
Super nice! I am going to attempt to duplicate this really soon. I have an immersion chiller that isn't cutting it. I am going to try to unwind it and use it for this counter flow design. I wonder it this is gonna work? Hahaha.
Top notch video.
danr308 be careful unwinding the copper, as it tends to buckle and crack after it has been bent for a long period of time. If you can, fill the tube with salt completely and bung the ends, "probably a bit hard when its coiled up", but the salt acts as counter pressure to prevent buckling when you bend it. Then run hot water through it to dissolve out the salt again. Cheers
Good video mate , next time try some epoxy between the copper and brass fitting
Great vid, great system! What is your source for cold water? Is 13 degrees your ambient temperature? Thanks
Silly question, but if your kettle doesn't have a connection port/outlet for the counterflow chiller, can you still make the counterflow chiller work somehow?
Cheers for the request, I think the cost for shipping from NZ to Europe would be pretty high. There are some counterflow chillers available on ebay[dot]co[dot]uk that are $170USD delivered, that would be a much cheaper option, search for "wort chiller"
I'm curious to know the basis behind the idea to create a turbulent flow in the water portion of the chiller. Intuitively I'd guess that less turbulence means more contact with the hot inner tube, which in turn means more efficient cooling. But fluid and thermal dynamics are never very intuitive...