My Parks 50 Chiller

[P.Brewster]

I built this chiller yesterday. Same thing as a "wort chiller" used in beer brewing.

350 gph pump: $40
20 ft copper: $20
15 feet PE: $2
Fitting: $5
2 Hose Clamps: $3

all from lowes.

Kept it cool (melted 1 bag of ice) for 24 spikes (3/8" & 7/16" square).

 

[Will Leavitt]

LOL.... you going to put the P50 in a corney keg or bottle it?

 

[Kevin R. Cashen]

patriqq, an excellent idea and execution thereof, and I don't want to be the bearer of any bad news, but I thought I would pass on some information I picked up when helping some friends at a company whose heat treating facility I was consulting for. They were using Houghton products, not Park's #50 but they encountered a warning in the literature to avoid using copper for the circulation plumbing with their Houghton oil, as it could greatly contribute to the oxidation and shorten the life of the oil.

It may not be of consequence. I never would have thought of this myself and have no idea as to the chemical effects to explain this but it was emphasized in the literature. It may be worth investigating if such an effect is applicable to Park's oils as well.

 

[P.Brewster]

Thanks for the info. I wonder if I could use something else.

 

[P.Brewster]

I looked at the Parks 50 literature. No warning about copper.

 

[Gabe Newell]

Is this to deal with the thermal load of doing a bunch of spikes or is there some other reason to cool the oil? Since I can't figure out the latter, I'm going to assume the former.

 

[P.Brewster]

Yup, thermal load.

This chiller does have one major flaw: condensation collects on the copper that is above the oil line, and it drips into the Parks. Water is a big no-no with the Parks.

My new chiller will have steel tubing that comes into the quench tank from the side, below the oil line. (Or perhaps I will make condensate pans with the current set-up).