copper condenser coil

[Hippie3]

from air conditioner-
think it'll work ok ?

[SilvrHairDevil]

Yessir

[hyphaenation]

Making a Wort chiller ?

[Hippie3]

Originally Posted by hyphaenation

Making a Wort chiller ?

why would one chill the wort ?

btw-
what's the 'right' way
to clean up that copper ?

[hyphaenation]

Vinegar and salt or baking soda to clean ? Just a thought.

I asked about the wort chiller because I thought you might be using the copper coil for brewing.

Wort Chiller

Wort chillers are used to quickly cool the hot wort after boiling. Rapid wort cooling is important to the making of good beer. It helps to reduce the formation of off-flavor compounds and it allows the brewer to add the yeast to the wort more quickly, thereby reducing the chances for bacterial spoilage. This article describes the most common type of wort chiller, the immersion chiller.

Description and DYI
http://www.allaboutbeer.com/homebrew/equip/chiller.html

http://www.nermal.org/projects/brewi...e-wort-chiller

That coil would work awesome in a condenser also ... but you knew that , since its in the thread title. I was a bit stoned and didn't connect the dots about the condensing part.

[SilvrHairDevil]

Originally Posted by Hippie3

why would one chill the wort ?

btw-
what's the 'right' way
to clean up that copper ?

One chills wort to a) get the temp down so the yeast can be pitched without killing it - saves time, and b) impurities & solids in the wort, called trub, are precipitated out.

Does the copper tubing have visible deposits inside? I would fill it with isopropanol and a few BBs, plug the ends and roll it a while. Then blow it out with high pressure air.

If it's from an air conditioner, it won't have had anything through it except distilled water.

[shroom57]

Just some ideas I found for non-toxic cleaners...

Vinegar and Salt. If copper is tarnished, boil article in a pot of water with 1 tablespoon salt and 1 cup white vinegar for several hours. Wash with soap in hot water. Rinse and dry.
Salt, Vinegar, and Flour. Dissolve 1 teaspoon salt in 1 cup white vinegar. Add enough flour to make a paste. Apply the paste to copper and let sit for 15 minutes to 1 hour. Rinse with clean warm water, and polish dry.
Lemon and Salt or Baking Soda. Make a paste of lemon juice and salt, and rub with a soft cloth, rinse with water, and dry. Or use a slice of lemon sprinkled with baking soda. Rub copper with the lemon slice and rinse with water and dry. Vinegar and Salt. Pour vinegar over the surface Sprinkle salt over the acid and rub in the mixture. Rinse with warm water and polish dry.
Lemon Juice and Cream of Tartar. Make a paste of lemon juice and cream of tartar. Apply, leave on for 5 minutes, and then wash in warm water. Dry with a soft cloth.
Tarnished Copper: Polish with a commercial polish for copper following directions on the container. Polish can be made at home by moistening salt with vinegar or lemon juice to make a paste for a bright finish or a paste of rotten-stone and olive oil for a dull finish. After polishing decorative items, spray with lacquer to preserve color if desired.

[Hippie3]

thx...
had to google 'rottenstone'
nice to learn something new

[Soliver]

A wort chiller.... ha ha ha ha ha ha.....

That'll work just fine, Hip. The only tricky part will be connecting the copper to the
kettle, and extending the other end a bit so it will stick out of your chiller bucket,
assuming you're using one (I do). I've found a 3 gallon bucket and a tube of silicone
works well, just drill a hole in the side right at the bottom.

What kind of mash are you using? Found a good kettle?



soliver

edit - btw - there's no internally toxic elements to be found in an AC, just freon or like
coolants... a good rinsing should be good enough. Pastes won't work for squat
in a coil like that, but you could run some salt / soda through it if you're overly
worried... I just hook my new coils up to the water hose for a few minutes to ease
my mind, then I assume the fluid that comes through will sterilize the rest

In older AC units, you have to be careful using coils that have joints, as some
were made with lead solder, but yours seems to be a continuous peice, so
no worries there

[Hippie3]

so far i've just run sugar water yeast mash
but gearing up to sprout whole corn.
big kettles are pricey - still looking.

[Mushrooms201]

Just a suggestion for a big kettle, get an old hot water heater. I have seen a few videos of people using them. That's what I am hoping to do eventually.

[waylitjim]

Originally Posted by Hippie3

big kettles are pricey - still looking.

This site has good prices on kettles.
http://www.waresdirect.com/category/...7/Stock-Pots44

[Hippie3]

[driveslow]

i think you can clean copper by dunking it in coca-cola. like the penny project u mat have done in school.

[Chaos]

edit - btw - there's no internally toxic elements to be found in an AC, just freon or like
coolants... a good rinsing should be good enough. Pastes won't work for squat
in a coil like that, but you could run some salt / soda through it if you're overly
worried... I just hook my new coils up to the water hose for a few minutes to ease
my mind, then I assume the fluid that comes through will sterilize the rest

In older AC units, you have to be careful using coils that have joints, as some
were made with lead solder, but yours seems to be a continuous peice, so
no worries there

Soliver is correct.
Besides the freon they use alkylbenzene or mineral oil as a lubricant. That is easily washed out with a good solvent.
I f you cut the ends with the solder on them off, no lead worries.
CHAOS

[CoyoteMesc]

Originally Posted by waylitjim

This site has good prices on kettles.
http://www.waresdirect.com/category/Restaurant-Supplies/Professional-Cookware7/Stock-Pots44

NICE!



edit:
They are not stainless, thats why..oh well, still nice prices even for aluminum.