Counter flow chiller

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

Moderator: slothrob

Post Reply
rathskellar
Posts: 2
Joined: Wed Feb 03, 2010 6:36 pm

Counter flow chiller

Post by rathskellar »

The copper pipe inside the counter flow chiller taints the flavour of the chilled beer as it cools. Tastes like copper. I m assuming it is corroded. How do I clean or shall I start again with fresh tube and how do I check this when purchasing copper tube.
User avatar
Grizz
Light Lager
Light Lager
Posts: 30
Joined: Tue Apr 08, 2008 10:55 am
Location: Las Vegas

Post by Grizz »

Fill it with PBW and let it soak for a while. Drain and refill. If the PBW water keeps coming out with a tint of green keep doing it. The only other thing that could help was if you could run some kind of brush through the chiller to aid in cleaning.
Beer is to Men as Water is to Fish!
beernut
Posts: 7
Joined: Tue Jan 22, 2008 4:36 am
Location: South Channel Tasmania

Post by beernut »

Like Grizz I run PBW through the CFC and let it soak for an hour or so after each brew then flush out with hot water. At the start of chilling after the boil I run a litre of hot wort through the chiller before turning the water on, the theory being is to kill off any nasties and clean out any copper residue. Works for me[/img]
homercules
Posts: 3
Joined: Mon Mar 15, 2010 11:04 pm

Post by homercules »

I have been using a home made cfc for about 4 years total, with a six year period of neglect in the middle. After several failed attempts to clean the inside of the copper tube, I ended up pushing a slurry of pbw solution, and 0.5 mm glass beads through it with about 10 psi of CO2. After a few passes, the inside of the tube looked like a mirror, then just a soak in starsan to passivate the copper, and back in action.

I can't deny that it was a bit of a hassle, but It took less time and money than making a new one.

hope this helps.
Post Reply