CF Chillers & Sanitizers

Buying, building and using brewing equipment and apparatus. Product reviews and questions.

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BillyBock
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CF Chillers & Sanitizers

Post by BillyBock »

Which of the available sanitizers (iodophor, star-san or one-step) is best to use for long-term storage in a CF chiller? I have copper chiller coils and long-term is defined as one month between brewing sessions.
Azorean Brewer
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I use one step

Post by Azorean Brewer »

Billy, I store my chiller empty with two platic caps on the ends to keep out the spiders and what not's. However what I do is the day before I brew I syphon one step through my CF chiller and use two caps to plug both ends. I let it soak in there for ten minutes and then I flush it with boiling water, allowing the boiling water to become trapped and to stay in the CF by using again the same two plugs, the water stays in there until I brew the next day. When I am ready to use it I start the flow of boiling wort and flush the water out of the CF with about 1-2 cups of hot wort before I turn the cold water on and chuck out the "flushed" wort. While I am brewing about the time I pitch in my Irish Moss (15 min. left) I start 1-2 gallons of water to boil. When I have pitched my yeast and "locked 'er up" I immediately flush the clean boiling water through the CF right away to clean it. About one third of the way through the flush I raise the tubing to stop the flow and I hookup my air compressor at about 10-15 psi and back blow the boiling water through the CF chiller, and then I start the flow back through it again. I do this again about 2/3 of the way thru. Then I "rotate" the CF to get all the water out of it and cap it up. It sounds complicated but when you get a system down it's a piece of cake. Don't forget to turn off the cold water though when you are flushing. Write back if you still need help. I have done this for some time now with no bad batches (knock on wood). Good Luck, Paul.
BillyBock
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My Thoughts So Far

Post by BillyBock »

Thanks for your response, Paul. Didn't you have a previous post on this about 15 minutes earlier than this post? Anyway, as you may have guessed from an earlier post, I'm constructing my 3-tier, complete w/ permanent plumbing and valves. I'd like to leave the CF chiller attached at all times. So purging the lines by rotation would require removal--which I can do if I have to. Of course, the main idea for making the stand was to ease the process for me and to keep domestic tranquility in the house by me not screwing up the kitchen :-) So, it'd be great if I could just flush with sanitizer and cap it at the end of the day. My anticipated cleaning regimen at the start of the brew day: (1) flush all vessels, chiller, and plumbing w/ PBW; (2) rinse all vessels, chiller, and plumbing w/ water to remove PBW; (3) cycle Star-San through all vessels to kill any nasties in the valves; (4) pump the Star-San through the CF chiller and connecting tubing to the awaiting fermenter. The fermenter would be previously cleaned and sanitized indoors and come outside sealed up with vodka in the airlock. I connect the chiller to the fermenter with a "T" made of hose. The bottom of the "T" goes to a pail to catch sanitizer. I've also put a hose clamp on this section which allows me to drain from either the fermenter or the chiller. I would then proceed with the brewing day and then post-boil: (1) pump 2-4 cups of boiling wort through the chiller (water off) and dump to flush out the Star-San; (2) chill and transfer to the fermenter; (3) take the fermenter inside and pitch; (4) flush all lines and chiller with cool water to remove trapped wort; (5) recycle PBW through the chiller; (6) flush it again; and lastly (7) fill and cap with a sanitizer. BTW, that PBW is great stuff! My first outdoor brew in November ended up in disaster from an infection. It was nasty! So, I've been trying to concoct a sealed system to transfer the wort and keep peace of mind. Well, what do you think?
Thanks, Bill
dartedplus
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GREEN

Post by dartedplus »

I am a little green with envy that you would have such a system and I don't. IT SOUNDS GREAT!!! As far as the cleaner use goes, that sounds good too. I too, some day, will have a "system"!!!! Right now there is a lack of space and $$$$. But that will change once my wife finally becomes a doctor. By then though, I'll have a (some) kid(s) and I might not have the time. That wont happen!!!! (I hope)
It sounds like a very good system and regimen, keep us posted on how well it works
BillyBock
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Thanks

Post by BillyBock »

Darted: Thank you. Congrats on your wife's future employment, that's cool! If you have an HLT, MLT, & kettle w/ stand allready, you could make the stand fairly cheap for about $50. I made it from 2"x4"s, 1/2" ply, & 6 locking casters. It's very sturdy. The stand is actually a 2-tier; the 3rd tier is my kettle on the stand. Dimensions are 66"H x 48"W x 24"D. The casters raise the whole thing 2.5"-3". For plumbing, I used 1/2"OD soft copper w/ sweat-soldered (lead free of course) copper fittings. I kept my use of brass fittings to a minimum--there's only 3 total. These are all flare fittings. The copper changes to 3/8"OD where it interfaces to the chiller. The most expensive aspect was getting all the tools that I didn't have before. But then what better way to convince your wife that you need tools because you're working on a project :-) I got some of my inspiration from Jean-Sebastian and Melanie's great web site at: http://brewery.mvlan.net/homebreweries.html
I've tried their site recently and I don't get a response. I hope they're still out there.
--Cheers!
Bill
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